DAY 11 OUR DAY OFF IN NELSON

It is morning and off to breakfast at the Trailway Hotel.  Our plan is to walk to the Cathedral and visit inside.  It was an opportunity to get some medication as Masa came down with sinus problems and Franz has been sporting a cough.  After Medicaid we walk up the hill to the highest point in town where the Cathedral was constructed on the site of the first act of Christian Worship in 1842.  The corner stone was laid in 1935 and was   ultimately consecrated in 1972.  The time delay was due to division over design ( nothing new here) and of course money.  The structure is an Anglican English design with stained glass windows and polished wood throughout.  We enjoyed our visit and the organist was performing for the early arrivals.  We then walked back to the motel, grabbed our riding gear and 4 of us set out for some exploration.  Our trip took us 125K to a place called PooPoo Pools.  They are noted for being the clearest water on earth with visibility down to 18 feet.  The road to the pools was a technical mountain with a lot of switch back turns.  Harvey remembered an overlook with a little café so he turned off as he didn’t see the closed sign.  Unfortunately Franz followed and Thomas and I continued on to the next turnoff.  We waited until Harvey arrived and he was concerned that Franz may have gotten in trouble on the gravel road out of the viewpoint.   Harvey wasn’t wrong as Franz was standing alongside of a tip over.  They were soon back at our stop and the 4 of us continued the descent down the other side.  Thomas and I decided to turn around so we could assault the mountain again.  On the other side I took one road and Thomas another and we could not find each other again.  I stopped in Motueka for an apricot crumble, they should patent it, and a coke and a chance at watching the locals pass by.  I then returned to Nelson and the motel.  We are constructing a barbeque this evening as this is our free night for dinner.  Renini put together steak, venison sausage, salad, cheese and bread.  A great meal had by all.  Tomorrow it will be Wellington the capital of NZ.

Cathedral sign.  Anglican denomination.

The Rose window at Nelson  Cathedral.

The Cathedral is open!