March 26, 2016
In spite of the Easter weekend, we managed to rent a car so we could make a day trip to Nelson.
Nelson is a large town located on the north coast of New Zealand’s south island, just west of the Marlborough Sounds region. We’ve made two attempts to get there from the tropics, but both times have been foiled by that crafty El Nino and its weather patterns.
The reason we’ve been trying to go? We’d like to explore the south island at our leisure, and Nelson would be the perfect base from which to do so. There are pocket areas of New Zealand that, due to their geographical characteristics, have especially good weather. This group includes Waiheke Island, Mount Maunganui, and Nelson. In fact, Nelson may well have the best year-round climate in New Zealand.
Also, it’s a port town and an official entry and exit point for the country. It has a big marina, and the town’s large enough to have the things we like: boating supply stores, good grocery stores, lots of potential day trips, and a variety of eateries. On top of that, people we knew who’d stayed there had nothing but great things to say about it. It sounded wonderful, but getting there’s been problematic.
Now we were finally in Picton on the south island. We had a free Saturday, beautiful weather, and a car. It was time to make the drive to Nelson. We planned to take the scenic Queen Charlotte Drive to Havelock, the town and marina in the neighboring Pelorus Sounds region, and then continue to Nelson, a 90-minute drive in all. We could check out the marinas in both Havelock (a possible future stop) and Nelson, take a look around Nelson, then make some decisions about how fast we wanted to get there.
And so we began with the famous Queen Charlotte Drive, a narrow, winding road through the sounds with several lookout stops on the way. The first thing we learned today is that this drive is best made from Havelock to Picton, not vice versa. Driving from Picton we were on the mountain side of the road, unable to see the views or, because the road was so winding, cross safely over to the viewpoints. We made the decision to return this way, in daylight, so we could be on the scenic side of the road.
Below, a gallery of photos from lookouts on our return trip, including the Cullen Point Lookout walk, a 10-minute hike up a hill. (Click to enlarge and scroll in any of the galleries below)
About 30 minutes later, we arrived in Havelock. Like Picton, it’s a small town located in the Marlborough sounds region of New Zealand. In fact, it’s even smaller than Picton, pretty much a one-street town, but it has a good-size marina and is known as the Greenshell (Green-lipped) Mussel Capital of the World. And of course this mussel capital of the world has an iconic eatery: The Mussel Pot Restaurant. It’s no surprise where we planned to eat lunch. We found the restaurant and decided to order the mixed mussel platter for two, including steamed, deep-fried, grilled (with multiple toppings), marinated, and smoked mussels, plus bowls of mussel chowder.
The second thing we learned today was that there is such a thing as too many green-lipped mussels; we were so full we could hardly finish our platter. The steamed mussels, done in our favorite wine, butter and garlic broth, were huge. So big that we either had to stuff the mussels into our mouths, losing that ideal ratio with the tasty broth, or cut them in half, seeing more of the inside of the mussel than is good to see. After that lunch, we decided to take a break from mussels for awhile.
Below, a gallery of photos from Havelock, including the Mussel Pot Restaurant and its cute green-lipped mussel sculptures contemplating our rental car. The panorama was taken from a viewpoint above the town.
After checking out the Havelock Marina amid the tall, surprisingly dry mountains surrounding it, we decided we might bring the boat here if it’s convenient, but we wouldn’t make a big effort. From there, we continued on the highway through mountains, valleys and farmland to Nelson.
Arriving in Nelson, we were surprised to find it different than we expected. It’s a lovely town surrounded by green hills, situated on a bay made placid by the natural boulder bank surrounding the harbor. Nice homes scattered on the hills overlook the area. There’s nothing not to like about it, but with it’s reputation for sunny weather, we were expecting a beachy, surfey sort of place, and this felt more like a European lakeside town. We’d need some time to adjust our expectations.
We visited the marina and the surrounding businesses, and the whole area was closed for the holiday weekend. The town itself was lovely, with lots of brick walks, big, leafy trees, and more hanging flower baskets than I’ve ever seen in any one place. I think we could like this place, but the combination of Easter-weekend crowds plus closed places made it hard to get a sense of it. We did realize that it would be a half-hour walk to town from the marina. This isn’t such a big deal, but when we’re “living” someplace we end up in town at least twice a day. Thus, we may want to rent a car for our time there.
Below, a gallery of Nelson and the marina area. Click to enlarge and scroll.
With that, we learned we should take our time in the Queen Charlotte Sound and the Pelorus Sound and not rush to get to Nelson. After braving the holiday crowds to get some ice cream, we headed back to Picton, stopping at the viewpoints along Queen Charlotte Drive.
Our final stop for the day was Waikawa Marina, about 3 miles past Picton and an alternative to going there. It was a big, beautiful marina, but strangely it only has one mediocre, overpriced restaurant. (We didn’t actually eat there; I’m just judging it by the menu, the prices, and the reviews.) How a marina this size doesn’t have a selection of eateries nearby is a mystery to me. I guess people who have boats here drive to Picton.
To finish our big day, we headed to Cafe Cortado to get Not Mussels! Instead we had the shrimp and garlic prawn pizza. It was a wonderful end to a great and informative day. –Cyndi
