Went down to the "beach" and played a bit with the self timer ;)

such a lovely place here at Eden's Edge Hostel...
Chris & Liz are sooooo nice people and their concept behind this brand new site is just brilliant!!! Would be a Must-Visit on a next visit of NZ in some years ;)

Hi!
Didn't have the time to sort out the pictures of the rounding of Lake Rotoiti yet... Sorry for that ;)
Before I put some pix of that walk on here I'd just show you where I stay at the moment :)
I went from Nelson on the lovely Moutere Hway to Motueka.
Was a great ride with lots to see along the road and wind coming - mostly - from the right direction :)
During the first - dull - km on the main road out of Nelson I finished the 2nd audiobook and for the rest I enjoyed the sound of Jimmy Eat World while riding smoothly at a speed of ~30km/h... Couldn't be better :)
Will stay in Motueka for some more days (hopefully incl a niiiice MTB Trek :) ) and then move on towards Abel Tas and Farewell Spit.

so much for the moment

greets from Motueka libray ;)

some impressions from Nelson...
Stayed after Nelson Lakes NP another 3 nights in the Shortbread hostel, before moving on to Motueka and Farewell Spit.

on the beginning of the trek the weather wasn't that good, but the trek itself kept it interesting...




sehr stilles Oertchen
(sorry don't know what that is in engl ;) )







that is the direction I will be heading for the next
hours




















from the open, wide area I'm following my way again into a nice forest...
already looking forward to the swingbridge that should be quite nearby ;)















and then finally even the sun is coming out :)
seems to be a perfect day for a long trek like that one








lovely different tones of green all over the place


















my first swingbridge to cross...
was good fun to see the river running underneath in a distance of 2ms while crossing it :)
















and another 1,5hs to the next little hut being almost in the middle of the whole trek, where I planned to make a little pause to eat some rice with curry paste (god I already hate curry, but it's the most practical thing to carry with...)









the coldwater hut directly besides the lake.
nice little place for a rest











always alongside the water, and every now and then changing from open parts...









...to parts inside the beech forest with lots of roots and stones to walk over...




















some balancing over fallen trees is also part of the program ;)












that waterfall was a bit off the trek but well worth a little detour...
Just the sandflies made it a bit difficult to make some photos with long shutter speed. What for are those damn little beasts???
Couldn't figure out any positive aspect of those creatures...
After that waterfall it was another ~3h walking back to the campsite which got a bit long in the end ;)
Was a brilliant day trip on the whole!!!

Did the complete circuit of Lake Roititi on my last day up here.

At the end of the day the GPS told it was 40,3km all together... (with an overall average speed of a bit over 6km/h I'm quite content indeed ;) )

This day was absolutely fabulous. Weather couldn't have been much better and the walking was soooo fine (met within the first 30min 5 people coming from the opposite direction, but afterwards there was absolutely nobody around) :)

The way had something new every now and then and so it stayed interesting during the whole day.

Now I'm really done but happy :)

Let's see if I can do the whole trip back to Nelson within one day tomorrow as I planned it to...

But if I can't move I'll try out if it's possible to hitchhike with a bike ;)

Already booked my next 3 night in the hostel I stayed before in Nelson, so there is no other way but going the distance.

Now I'll try out if the shower is – now – working and then have a close look at the inside of my tent and sleeping bag :)

good night & byebye Nelson Lakes

nice little details around here

looks interesting everywhere you look :)

on the way back down.

seems to have been a good idea to go up here ;)

the clouds were only cms above my head...

the view from above the treeline after ~4h of walking through this beautiful forest

beech forest alongside the walk

Slow start into a rainy day...
Then decided to “just have look at some short walks”...
That thought was changed spontaneously during walking and I went up quite a bit towards Parachute Rocks.
View was really nice from directly below the low hanging clouds!
Was fabulous up there even though the wind was blowing quite strong and it was getting cold within some minutes!!! :)
Back at the campsite I quickly got involved in the late afternoon meeting of the Marlboro Camper Club including lots of nice chats, some fine wine, a cold beer and address in Blenheim (“only if you are around and want to stay at our home. Of course you don't have to, but be welcome at all time”). Was a real nice ending to a nice day even if the weather was not really feeling like summer :)

Kaka parrots are flying from tree to tree every now and then

sunset at Lake Rotoiti

dinner by the lakeside
this outdoor food stuff is really good when it's the only thing you have with you :)