It was a grey and misty departure from Wellington and from the sounds of the weather report my destination – the south island – was to be more of less of the same…

My ferry crossing was pretty much uneventful but the scenery I was approaching… the Marlborough sounds was gorgeously green – lush vegetation and emerald coloured waters. The colour of the water was different from what I expected and the views remained one of the most spectacular throughout my touring through the region of Marlborough and Kaikoura.

My trip over the last few weeks has been full of exploration and walking along the coastal paths in the region. Come rain of sunshine I have made the most of getting out there to see the great scenery New Zealand has to offer and I am sure my photos will speak 1000 words on what I have seen and discovered.

Quick Highlights:

Nelson – a great feel town with lots of art and craft shops – plus a great market to visit on a saturday morning.

Abel Tasman – even though this is the smallest national park in New Zealand it has some amazing walks. I managed to spend about 5 hours walking along the coastal paths getting caught in some rain showers and climbing as high as I could to try and take some good pictures. I will admit I was freezing by the time I had finished and enjoyed every mouthful of the free hot chocolate pudding at the hostel that evening.

Blenheim – getting a break from the rain I ventured off to explore the wine region and you guessed it New Zealand does have some yummy wines

Kaikoura – I was so looking forward to getting here to see the resident sperm whales but disappointedly the seas where too rough and I lost my chance. I did however go on a 3 and a half hour walk around the coast and visited the local seals instead – not the same but at least something.