Nelson

It was tough after such a busy time to get up at 5 in the morning, but the flight to Nelson more than made up for the sleepy start! It was so beautiful there was no way I wanted to catch up on lost sleep.

As we approached Nelson and flew over the hills which surround it, we could see the mountain ranges and valleys cloaked in early morning cloud.

Fantastic to see Alison again and to catch up on the past year. Nothing changes in friendships. You simply start where you left off. Fabulous!

No trip here is complete without a visit to the WOW museum, the World of Wearable Art. As last year, it was absolutely brilliant and the creations simply remarkable. This one below was the winner of the recyclable clothing. I loved it. So clever. Alison and I are going to the show this year in October. I am so excited about that .

The New Zealand section had some beautiful exhibits too, my favourite being the Warrior Cloak, which amazingly was only Runner Up! The paintings of the magnificent Huia birds were exceptional.

Not far from Alison's lovely home is Motueka, a nice little town next to the estuary, with a beautifully refurbished church, now a very elegant clothes

Shop. Not my type of clothing, but a great use of an old church.

We had a pleasant stroll along the estuary looking at some of the heaps of timber and driftwood left after the two storms, the latest only a week ago, Cyclone Gita. Glad I was not here then!it will take a while to clear up and fix some houses and roads. Poor NZ it has been so busy on its storm and earthquake damaged roads!

I had to laugh at Alison's 6-year-old granddaughter telling her that if there is a tsunami warning, she must go straight to their house, with food and emergency supplies, because they live on a hill. Incredible to hear such a young child being so knowledgeable about disasters! It is great that schools make them aware.

Alison's home is also on a hill but not so high up. What a gorgeous view from the deck which surrounds the home

Despite the greyish day, temperatures are perfect for me, there is no wind, and it is great to sit here and complete my blog before we head down to the wharf at Mapua for dinner and some of the very tasty Nelson wine!

What a wonderfully relaxed weekend.