Havelock to Nelson - Night 87

I wandered the side streets of Havelock for my morning walk and stumbled upon the Havelock Cemetery. A brief investigation showed that no one had been buried here since 1996. Many of the old tombstones had tipped over, likely the end result of some juvenile prank, yet the lawn was freshly mowed around said toppled stones. An odd mix of overall apathy and diligent landscaping maintenance all mixed in.

In case you are wondering why I’m writing

The Pelorus Bridge

about a graveyard, its because that’s about as exciting as it gets in Havelock on a Saturday morning if you aren’t somehow involved in the marine industry. Unfortunately my bus wasn’t due until 1pm, so I had plenty of time to reflect on the serenity of small town life until then. Shortly after boarding we stopped at the Pelorus River wayside for a toilet stop; the majority of the bus having been riding since Picton. The Pelorus River travels through a bit of a gorge at this spot allowing for a picturesque bridge high above the deep water and plenty of swimming pools below. As is common with such bridges, every year or two a drunken youth misjudges the wind and ends up diving into the rocks, instead of the water, below.

The Geographic Centre of New Zealand

We arrived in Nelson, the so-called Sunshine Capitol of New Zealand at 3pm. I’ll be calling the Paradiso Hostel home for the next two nights. The place is located on the outskirts of Nelson, a city of 60,000. The Paradiso has a sprawling front yard with pool, hot tub and volleyball court – Erin, you’ll be pleased to know that the games were serious picnic ball…I could not bring myself to partake. In the back parking lot is a Thai food trailer offering huge portions for $7. They weren’t kidding about the portion size. Easily the cheapest meal I’ve purchased in New Zealand yet. Just outside of town is the geographic center of New Zealand. Being a bit of a geophile, I made the 45-minute hike to see the moment marking the center of the country. I spent the evening grocery shopping and drinking wine and talking travel in the hot tub with a British girl, a Swedish woman and a Dutch couple.

What I Learned Today: Due to the dominance of soccer on the European continent, it is often easy to pick out European youths on the volleyball court strictly by their abysmal hand eye coordination.

written by

exumenius on January 5, 2008 from Nelson, New Zealand

from the travel blog: Kiwis and Kangaroos

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