“On The Track Lodge" Nydia Bay, Pelorous Sound, Marlborough

    On The Track is an eco lodge that can only be reach via the track we came in on or by boat, it has a variety of accommodation and you can choose to have all your meals catered for or use the camp kitchen to fend for your self.

On The Track is set in beautiful gardens and has an extensive vegie garden and fruit trees

The first class railway carriage is a luxurious accomodation option and includes ensuite

The Incline

Tuesday

    A very crisp morning - I heard tell of frost on the ground - turned into another beautiful day and a group of us headed out early to explore some of the trails around the lodge, our walk takes us to The Incline which true to its name is a very steep ascent along the path of a historical railway and winch system used for logging.

The birds were very curious and friendly

The incline is aptly named.

Not much at the top apart from a few historical artifacts!

In the afternoon Julie and Alice led us out on a ride along the shores of the picturesque Nydia Bay

 We had a good laugh with Andrew trying to pronounce Ngawhakawhiwhi

 Group photo time, note the possum skull on Julies head, for those of you who don't know possums are a huge pest problem in New Zealand.

We got to meet the resident 80 year old eel, he made a pretty solid effort at eating my finger but I was too fast for him...just. Note to self  - don't hand feed eels.

Time for a spot of fishing

Time for some oyster and mussel gathering

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Saying hi to the goats at the lodge

Sue passed the sacred Tiki to Kees who had spent the day doing plumbing work at the lodge.

We finished the day with Phils bomb fire.

A fond farewell from Fe

Wednesday

Time to pack up and ship out as we have to be at the dock at 8.30 to meet the water taxi which will take us back to Havelock

A pretty happy looking bunch - Nydia Bay is good for your soul.

Duncan and Fe take our bags down to the dock.

Fe is keen to be there to greet the water taxi

It's all hands on deck to get the gear and bikes into the water taxis

We drop the drivers, Phil, Kees and Julian at shag point and continue on to Havelock

A relentless Uphill

Wednesday Part II

      Back in Havelock its time to get the bikes and gear packed up again for the short drive to Pelorus Bridge where we set off on the next ride - Pelorus Bridge to Nelson. Some of us are feeling a little anxious at this point as the description of this ride goes something like this: " The ride is not a doddle ( thats a good thing I think? ) it's a relentless climb ( what! I dont' like the sound of that ) and in a couple of places requires bike pushing ( that's alright I'm good at pushing my bike ) the reward is the awesome downhill. The ride is not technical.    ( hmm...we'll see )

Pelorus bridge to Nelson - 45km

Pelorus Bridge

Full size sculpture made of corrugated iron

Believe it or not this is not a sculpture.

Yep a relentless climb.

Looking back towards Pelorus Bridge

A welcome rest stop at the top.

Jane expressing just how much she enjoyed the ride up the hill.

 A smiling Julie knows it is all down hill from here 

On the last stretch along the beautiful foreshore heading to the Motel in Nelson. Terry very kindly met us at the Motel and drove Andrew, Phil and Julian back to the cars.

A well deserved feast at Smugglers. Julian received the sacred Tiki for being the most valuable member of the team.

I  receive the Queen of the Mountain Crown, which I was very reluctant to take off, I just love a good princess crown.

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