As I write the rain is pattering on the roof above in our B and B. We have eaten and then sat by the fire with our host discussing world issues as you do when travelling and know that whatever you say won’t make any difference to the world at large. Today we saw everything in its atmospheric state as we have seen many sights in the world. It is a unique perspective, different, not quite as described in the tourist brochure but with its own beauty. Our journey took us from Nelson, to Havelock, along Queen Charlotte and Shakespeare Bay  road, past Picton ( where ferries come to from Wellington), and then inland ,through Blenheim to St  Arnaud.

Havelock is the Greenlipped Mussel capital of the world. They look cute on the building and taste yummy.

Blenheim itself ,like the other towns we visited, is small with shops that ru along the street rather than in shopping centres. We were looking for a chocolate shop that I had seen advertised in a brochure, so no luck so no chocolates for you. On route from the town , we saw a sign for an aviation museum. Now no eye rolling and sighing please. It was a real boy toy museum but I found it amazing too. One part is devoted to classic cars……we missed that…..my interest only goes so far. Now unlike most museums where they have models and memorabilia, this museum has models that are exact working replicas or originals. Each one is flown at least once a year and is set up with mannikans. Beside each exhibit is the story of someone who flew that plane so you have the human face for the event.

   Maybe this one won’t fly any more.

   Apart from the planes, there was a collection of uniforms from both World Wars and other personal objects owned by famous pilots. At the end of the display is a visual inactment of the bombing of Stalingrad produced by Sir Peter Jackson who has funded the museum. It certainly brought the realities of war and its destructive power to you.

Fauna…..one Weka crossing road

Flora unidentified plants:

One quirky story from the history of Nelson. A shop keeper purchased the Temperance hall building and turned it into two shops. The neighbouring shop owner disputed the land boundary and said the Temperance hall had been built four feet onto his land. The solution, the first shop keeper chopped off the offending piece of building but left it intact. This created a corridor between the sections. Eventually twenty years later, the neighbouring building was purchased, the corridor roofed and a bigger shop created. Till tomorrow!