WARNING. I’m starting this missive with a mini rant. Stop reading now if you’re easily offended.

It’s just swimming. Not “Wild Swimming”, a marketing invention to sell books or fancy ‘wild’ clothing or bespoke flip flops. Yes. Please go swimming in the sea or the river or the lake or your Aunty Madge’s pond at the bottom of her garden. Have a fab time. But, don’t give it an unnecessary moniker that merely adds a smugness. As the cliché says, It’s not big and it’s not clever. 

Rant over. On with the story. And yes Poirot, you have deduced what’s coming next. We’ve been swimming in the Maitai river for several evenings now. It’s been hot and humid so a dip and a splash in the evening has been most welcome. 

There are a couple of holes deep enough to swim in on the edge of town. They’re popular as they’re easily accessible with car parking and grassy areas. It appeals to my sense of what’s right and good and free about the world to see people having an enjoyable time by the river as the sun sets. I like it. 

Having driven up the Maitai valley for a walk earlier this week, I’d spotted a couple of other places in the river for a dip. It’s a few kilometres drive up a gravel road but the reward was worth it. We found a spot with its own natural slide and a pool plenty big enough to swim in. 

If you’ve never had the pleasure of watching Dave get into cold water, I can only sympathise with you. It’s an utter delight to see him squirm and grimace and creep deeper at a glacial speed. Yes, it’s probably a bit mean of me to write this. It does amuse me though and if you have a little bit of pleasure too imaging him tippy toeing squeaking ‘ah, ah, ah’, that’s all good. 

He was just fine when he got in and we plan to go back again tonight. I’ve got 30 minutes to finish writing this before we head off. A few boaty chores today. Dave whizzed up the mast to re-rivet the wind indicator as a particularly chubby bird had dislodged it. We cut some new clear plastic vinyl for the windows in the cockpit tent as the current ones have had their day in the sun, literally. A kind Frenchman gave us the ‘extruded Japanese plastic’ for nothing.  It’s a high end product so that’s a boon.

We’re gearing up to leave Nelson at the end of the month-ish and head down to Fiordland and Stewart Island. It’s pretty remote down there so we need to be in good shape before we depart. The ships biscuits need to be plentiful. 

It’s been a regulation Saturday here in Nelson Marina. 

• Get up.
• Drink tea. Drink more tea. 
• Cycle to my hill.
• Walk up hill in a sprightly fashion. Morning is good for this as it’s still pretty cool.
• Cycle to market and buy freshies for the week. Summer is here so plums, cherries, apricots, strawberries, raspberries are all crying buy me, buy me.  I’m delicious. They have a point. 
• Continue with sewing project. (Dave is rebuilding the hatch garage as we have had a leak.)
• Feel disappointed and frustrated with my level of sewing incompetence.
• Forgo tennis as I want to finish my project.
• Do finish. It’s a 6/10. Much effort but glitches, errors and imperfections abound.
• Head out together for an evening off road cycle ride. Much more fun than sewing.
• Come back and have to move the boat as the marina have erred in the berth they have given us. We decided to move this evening rather than leave it till tomorrow morning.
• Dave cooked veggie stir fry and we drank a couple of the free beers a fellow cruiser gave us (unnecessarily) in return for us lending him our car.
• It’s now 9.55pm and the day is almost complete. 

We have done a little day sailing recently and have decided the bottom end of Tasman Bay collects square waves. 

We’d committed to meeting some friends on New Years Eve up in the Sounds about 30 miles away from Nelson. It was one of the worst sails ever. The wind was maybe 20 -25 knots but the square waves lined themselves up at 4 to 5 second intervals with a vicious metronomic evil streak. We very nearly turned back but having Grace to live on when we arrived was a big incentive. I felt grim, green and ghastly. Far worse than any recent sailing ‘icky memories. 

I know the UK has been drowning recently and now it’s proper chilly. Summer has definitely arrived here in NZ. (Slight gloat). We went to the beach last night and it’s felt ‘reet summer-y’. A couple of bands were playing in the park, folk were still in the sea, the pub garden was full and I very happy to ride my bike there.

Some **** nicked my back wheel this week. We found a discarded wheel with a bald tyre and a flat tyre in bush a few hundred yards away. Reckon the perpetrator decided my wheel looked better than theirs and purloined it. Their wheel (which turns out is a better wheel than my original) fits okay. It’s a little bigger than mine so I have a knock off chopper now. Cost me a few dollars for a new inner tube and tyre and a bunch of irritation but it’s good to have wheels again. 

I am now on the look out for a bike with my old wheel on it. Mis Marple is on the case.

If you’re going on a 4 night, 5 day walk, how many tea bags do you need to pack? It’s not a joke where the punchline involves an Irishman or a priest or an Ayrshire duck. It’s a very serious contemplation when heading off into the bush / forest / hills for a leg stretch before Christmas.

The fantastic news to report is, I packed enough. We finished the Old Ghost Road yesterday, Christmas Eve. (Today is Christmas Day so make sure you have a good one please).(Update….It’s not anymore, time has ticked on, but I sincerely hope you had a good one.😀)  

It’s an 85 kilometre trail from Lyall to Seddonville, all either rediscovered or built afresh and finished in late 2015. This was a big gold mining area back in the late 1800’s and a long forgotten map from that era seemed to suggest there was a trail link over the tops and down a river between these two outposts. 

On investigation, meagre trail evidence for the first 8km’s had returned to the bush and after that, a massive clearing, construction and blasting job lay ahead. I find it hard to comprehend the motivation and determination of the small team of 4 volunteer guys who led the project, raised funds, worked with many interested parties, recruited volunteers, braved the weather and sandflies, built huts and bridges and stayed the course over 10 years to make it all happen. Hats off to you. A monumental effort with an amazing output. 

We avoided blisters, endured Hamish, the snorer in one of the huts, ate enough oats and pasta and rice for a month, had darned good weather with some stunning views, met a mix of folks and enjoyed scoffing the venison pie and hot chocolate when our friend Debs took us to a café on exiting the trail. 

Tramping, as this kind of walking is called in New Zealand, is very popular. Huts abound, some serviced, some not. It’s one of the welcome attractions here if you like getting out and about. Families will walk to a hut for a night then walk back the next day. Dads will bribe their kids to carry beer in for them. We know this to be true because we met a kiwi dad doing this very thing. 

Our friend Debs told us about a remote 30 day hike she did when the group got supplies dropped off by helicopter part way along their walk. That’s quite an undertaking. Kiwis are hardy people. 

The festive season has happened. 2024 is here. I’ve not written anything for a while but I have a couple of pieces almost ready to post. But here’s a stop gap post. With a few piccies.

Before Christmas we spent more time in the Able Tasman Park plus did some walking in the hills behind Nelson. I bought new boots in anticipation on a multi day walk and they needed testing.

There’s a walk I like to do at least 4 or 5 times a week here if we’re around Nelson. It’s my daily stomp. I cycle to the Botanical Park then walk up the hill to the Centre of New Zealand. It called the centre as that’s where the local area surveying started, not because it is the centre. It’s not far, but it’s all up. Till you turn round, duh! When I started walking in late October it took me 13 minutes and 45 seconds to the top. I timed myself the other day and it took 12 minutes 51 seconds. There was I admit a warm feeling of accomplishment. 

Stand by for more. And here’s wishing you, yes you, a totally fab and lovely 2024. 🍾🎂🍷⭐️☀️😀⛵️