Wander & Nest

Our big South Island trip continued in Nelson. We spent 3 nights there in a, you guessed it, airbnb with amazing views. it was great to be in a big place with the whole family. Mara got so much good time with her grandparents and even picked up some of the Thai alphabet!

We spent our first full day enjoying Nelson. It really seems like a great little city (maybe large village would be a better characterization), and we wish we could have had more time to explore more. We had a nice brunch at a downtown spot recommended by my mom that she found when she came through during her visit. We found some nice shops downtown including an awesome opportunity shop that had a whole kids toy area. Mara got to play then pick out a pre-loved toy to take back to the Airbnb. We actually went back to that shop multiple times! Though still not quite as toddler friendly as Christchurch feels, we managed to walk to a nice little playground where Mara played with some local kids. It was nice to have a low key day like this in the middle of a busy week of travel.

The next day was a big one – our day trip to Abel Tasman national park. We drove about an hour from Nelson to Kaiteriteri where we boarded the water taxi that took us to our destination within the park. We chose to go to anchorage bay as it had some amenities and was most easily accessible by our multigenerational crew. We had a nice picnic lunch then Wylie, Mara, and I headed off for a short loop hike. It was such a beautiful hike and really made us want to come back and see more of the amazing park one day. Maybe next time Mara will be awake for the views 🙂 We ended our time at Anchorage Bay playing on the beach and in the water. It was amazing! Definitely a highlight of our entire time in NZ!

On our last day in Nelson we made our way to Mapua to meet with my friends Cecil’s uncle and aunt. Since we arrived in Christchurch they have been a great help and resource for us so we were so excited to get to finally meet them in person at their BnB outside Nelson. The property is beautiful – Views of the ocean, mountains, and rolling green hills covered in vineyards.

For the last stop on our big trip we headed East to Picton. We thought Picton was just a small port town and didn’t have many expectations, but it had way more to offer than we thought! First and foremost was the great playground right on the water, Mara loved it. And the splash pad was even on at one point and Mara just had to play, even in just her diaper.

I was excited to make a stop in one of the major New Zealand wine regions, Blenheim, near Picton. We went to a really nice winery when the weather cleared and enjoyed some nice New Zealand wine as Mara played on the beautiful grounds. It’s so cool how kid friendly everything is, even wineries!

And that takes us to the closeout of our trip and the scenic Coastal Pacific train from Picton back to Christchurch. This was a very similar experience to the Tranzalpine that we started our journey on but this time with coastal views. With the trip and all the logistics now behind us, Wylie and I could really relax on this train. And you know what’s coming… so many stunning views!

That’s a wrap on our last big NZ trip!