Day #7, Nelson, Lake Rotoiti

Wen and I stopped in Nelson to stretch out legs and grab some grub, we were starving! Plus we heard it is an artsy town, and we're all about buying locally made goods and crafts.



Walking around, we were trying to find two different stores that a local information center promised would sell yarn. We never found either one, but we saw a nice park and the downtown looked like Church St. in Burlington, VT.

After we felt a little more rested, and around 5 p.m. when pretty much everything shuts down, we headed south towards Nelsons Lakes National Park, our evening destination.

Extremely windy roads through forestry land, no other cars, and suddenly we were in the valley, a mountain pass full of pastures of thousands and thousands of sheep intermingled with cows. Clouds kept spitting rain and the sun broke through some spots to illuminate green trees, tan meadows, gray rocks. Even a pretty rainbow.


We found Lake Rotoiti, a pretty view even when socked in with mist and clouds.


The mountains kept going up and up, and we drove over a teeny tiny wooden one-lane bridge (our first of many on the South Island, not enough space for two lanes!) up Mt. Robert to sub-alpine vegetation. A couple of campers at the top dressed to ward off the chilly damp mountain air. We turned back around and descended steeply back to Kerr Bay campground operated by the Department of Conservation on the lake.


What a cool place to stay for the night! And at NZ$6, who can beat that? Hot showers, flush toilets, even a tiny laundry facility, in the middle of nowhere. Wow!

I cannot express how amazing it is, even without a full view of the gigantic mountains in front of me. The clouds hang low, move across and over the water. A skinny pass between mountains is the only sign of their sheer mass. Black flies and mosquitoes are still here. No lights, very quiet, only a handful of other campers. Signs for kiwi birds! They are nocturnal so Wen and I went for a 30-minute nighttime hike to hear them. No luck, but still a nice little walk.

Ducks hang out near the water's edge near our wine bottle and L&P chilling in the water. All pebble beach. We are tucked in, nestled deep in the folded arms of these gorgeous rocky gems. It takes forever to get places, but most places are well-worth the effort. Static, solid. Time has forgotten it and life carries on just fine here.