In New Zealand, the first Monday of June is a national holiday, the Queen's Birthday, and this year it was celebrated on June 3rd. That's Eric's birthday as well, so we got a three day weekend to celebrate, and raised our glass to Queen Elizabeth too. (Her actual birthday is in April).
We traveled back to Nelson for two nights, with a quick side-trip to Maruia Falls which was created in a 1929 earthquake. The fault line crossed the river with land on one side being raised up. The riverbed was shifted and a new waterfall resulted. It was raining, so we didn't stay long.
Nelson is a beautiful town on the Tasman Bay. An Irish musical festival was taking place, so our first night, we ate a great Indian food dinner, then went to sit in a Mongolian yurt and listen to Irish session players. A mix of cultures, but the music was clearly Irish and reminded us of the pubs on the Dingle Peninsula.
On Sunday, we drove through the Moutere Valley, wine-tasting, stopping at galleries and coffee-shops, and picking up shells on the beach. One reason we like wine-tasting is that vineyards always seem to be located in the prettiest spots! Harvest is over, but the views are still great.
Eric at Woollastone Estates Winery
Carolyn waiting for lunch on the vineyard patio.
Sheep grazing in the vineyard.
Modern art at the vineyard.
Monday, Eric's actual birthday, threatened to be rainy. The rain didn't start until we were back near Westport. One of my favorite signs on the Buller Gorge Highway is "Beware of Slumps!" but I didn't really understand what a slump was until I saw one on the drive home.
Slump = part of the hillside collapses onto the road. With an average rainfall of 6 feet, it's not surprising that drivers need to be wary. Over the holiday weekend, 3 inches fell in 3 days, and we were glad we were over the mountains and dry.
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