Kristin Laura

Knowing that we would be beer tasting today, we started our morning walking about downtown Nelson to get our step count up.  Our first stop was at Jens Hansen The Ringmaker , not for me but for Shawn.  Jens Hansen created the One Ring for the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit movies, and Shawn wanted his very own (right, that makes no sense if there is only one). Shawn holding the one One Ring Shawn's One Ring sitting inside the One Ring Up on a hill, we came across the Cathedral of the Anglican Dioceses of Nelson.  The grounds, stone work, stained glass and pipe organ are beautiful. Walking about town we found an alley with some good grafitti. We stopped for a light meal at Sweet As, a cute little locally owned cafe. Then it was off in search of Nelson's famous breweries.  First stop McCashin's Brewery in Stoke.  We tried four beers and a cider.  The beers here are much lighter in flavor and alcohol content, w...

Before leaving Wellington, we went to the Te Papa Museum of New Zealand on the advice  of the Auckland museum director.  We got there 10 minutes before the opening and queued (we do that now) for the exhibit Gallipoli: The Scale of Our War.  It was a very moving display told through personal stories of the soldiers (and one nurse).  Larger than life 3-D displays of the soldiers (and one nurse) were amazing.  The museum is 6 floors and includes an art and photography gallery, Maori culture, and an exhibit showing New Zealand's ties with the U.K.  There is an outdoor exhibit of the different plants and wildlife  throughout the region.  A beautiful museum, and it was free! We drove to Wellington airport to catch our flight to Nelson on the south island.  After a quick curry and naan in the terminal, we boarded our aircraft.  Are you in first class when your knees are jammed up against the pilot's seat?  Steve, our f...