Nelson Country Club (Free
Freedom Camp)
We arrived at the Nelson CC but no-one was there. It was early. So we set-up camp and went to explore Nelson.
Wow – what a beautiful mini-city with a real character because of the wonderful architecture and central (mini) cathedral.
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| Door of the old customs house on the quayside |
The cathedral was very busy inside with an exhibition of Christmas trees decorated by local community clubs. I lit a candle in memory of a friend I lost last year to cancer. I read about the early Pākehā settlers to Nelson who traded and mined for precious metals.
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| Nelson's (mini) Cathedral in the centre of the City |
And to have this pedestrianised little city surrounded by wonderful beaches was a luxury too (cheap, fresh seafood from the quayside shops!)
What struck us instantly about Nelson was the bird life – all around us was Tuis, Fan-tails and Minahs during the day and the delightful sound of Morepork at night. This was something that would become a familiar pattern as we got used to the areas that were routinely poisoned by DoC and private landowners, and compared them with the non-poisoned (often residential) areas. More on this later...
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| One of a number of beautiful sandy beaches around Nelson |
Later that evening, the locals welcomed us to the
Country-Club for drinks (they only serve food at the weekends). They were an eclectic bunch from the rural communities around us, who were passionate about their club and providing a good service to travellers like us.
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| View over the city from the Cathedral hillside |
We met Spike who among other things, ran the local veggie van (where we later discovered we could buy very cheap and very delicious beetroots, cucumbers, tomatoes and lettuce). And also Dezzy and his partner, a hunter keen to tell us he would be up and about in the bush at 4.30 the next morning (despite being somewhat worse for wear at the bar at 9pm)…
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