| by Diana Balham, NZ Women's Weekly.
Diana Balham enjoys the great outdoors around
Nelson without putting up with the usual hardships of tramping.
Tasman
Bay unfolds to our left, while the Tasman Sea is a solid swatch
of brilliant blue, stretching off into eternity. On a perfect
Nelson day, the sky rivals
the sea in colour and the sun cuts like a hot knife. It's
been a bit of a gutbuster to get up here but we are travelling
light, carrying only day-packs and plenty of water!
Walking,
tramping, hiking, rambling -whatever you choose to call it,
this outdoor pursuit is a wonderful way to see a country lift
your spirits, invigorate your soul and work up a really good
sweat.
For the more intrepid, that smelly socks aspect of tramping
is part and parcel of the experience. You hike, you perspire,
you pong like crazy, you climb into a vaguely rancid sleeping
bag in the evening. But what if your desire to wander is matched
by your desire to sleep comfortably in clean sheets after
a long, hot shower at the end of the walking day? Let's face
it, not everybody wants to do that hardcore tramping thing
where you trudge like a packhorse all day, eat dehydrated
pasta gloop and swap "tracks that I have conquered" stories
with fellow hikers in the hut at night.
Guided day-walking might just be your billy of tea then. Popular
overseas, Kiwis need a bit of encouragement to hand over money
for other people to show us our own country but it's an appealing
idea if you like your home comforts. The New Zealand Walking
Company runs walking holidays in Queenstown, Akaroa, Nelson,
Rotorua and Auckland, as well as overseas jaunts through picturesque
parts of Britain, Italy and Spain. They provide knowledgeable
guides who will tailor walks to suit clients in groups that
never number more than 11 people. Walkers don't need to carry
large backpacks as they
return each evening to luxury accommodation.
Walking
holidays are usually four or seven days but we did a shorter,
two-day tour.
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| looking
down on Cable Bay |
Day one took us from The Glen, overlooking Tasman Bay, over
privately owned farmland with spectacular views through a beautiful
area of covenanted beech forest and down the other side to Cable
Bay.
The descent into the bay (so named because it was the site of
New Zealand's first telegraphic link with the outside world
when a cable station was established in 1876) is spectacular.
A wide sweep of turquoise water meets a strip of beach, which
is bordered on the other side by the muddier waters of the Wakapuaka
estuary.
It's a heavenly spot that acts like a magnet for artists and
others who want to live a peaceful life. We had to settle
for a packed lunch under the trees but our guide, Keryn, who
seemed to know everyone within a 50km radius, took us a for
a cup of tea with a local jeweller friend.
| |
| the
wonderful
Cathedral Inn |
At
a time when real trampers would be gearing up for the final
push before nightfall, we were spirited by car back to Nelson
and returned to our bed and breakfast, the delightful Cathedral
Inn. This wonderful old building (circa 1870) is next door
but one from Nelson's Anglican cathedral and was once the
deanery. It has been impeccably restored with vast lounges
and dining rooms, open fires, chandeliers, antique fur- niture
and lots of places to linger with a cocktail in the evenings,
both indoors and outdoors. Breakfast (a lavish affair) is
served on a magnificent table that appears to have been constructed
from old floorboards and there are beautiful things - both
ancient and modern - to admire everywhere.
The next day, we were taken south to St Arnaud in the Nelson
Lakes National Park and given the option of a stroll around
the loop track through the "mainland island" that surrounds
Lake Rotoiti or the "proper tramp" that continues up the St
Arnaud Range.
| |
| Honeydew
beech forest in St Arnaud |
This
is an area where intense predator-trapping work by DOC is
helping to restore the honeydew beech forest to what it once
was - an area of bush that clangs and clatters to the sounds
of native birds. And for walkers who have become accustomed
to bush that is almost silent, it is very moving to experience
the kind of frenzied avian activity that goes on here - there
is a constant whirring of wings as tui and bellhirds whoosh
through the trees. These two species make most of the noise
- a bellbird landed about a metre above my head and its shrill
and confident call actually made my ears hurt - but sightings
of kakariki, grey warblers and riflemen are also common.
We tramped high up into the mountains to Parachute Rocks,
almost at the summit of the range, where we could look down
on to the lake and St Arnaud township - an informal collection
of mostly holiday baches for South Island folk to escape to.
In the distance, a paraglider cut a little red crescent in
the blue, blue sky.
It was another perfect day - in every sense of the word. Nelson
has outrageously good weather most of the time, even in the
mountains, and it must be easy to take it for granted. And
then "home" to a long soak in the shower and a change of clothes,
followed by gin on the verandah and dinner at an excellent
local restaurant. It's not tramping - but it's not bad either.
Cheers!
*Diana Balham flew to Nelson courtesy of Qantas New Zealand
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