The wet weekend in Nelson and Marlborough

 Hi,

What a weekend. Mike and I left Wellington at 2am on the Bluebridge ferry. We had a cabin booked - as did a lot of people. But the cabin was perfect for a sleep as we drifted across the strait to Picton. Nice and clean and warm. I had a shower just before we tucked ourselves in (good water pressure - tiny space with a clingy shower curtain).  

Up at 5am to head down to the car for our 6am arrival. And we were driving through rain and surface flooding to Blenheim nice and early.

Got to Iona and Col's place in the dark, so I couldn't really see the new garage easily.  But Iona had cooked up some amazing scrambled eggs and they had got in some Lewis Road iced coffee for me. Mmmm.

We chatted away to Iona and Col to hear about the garage fun and what their weekend plans were. Iona was heading south for a rogaine event. Col was heading to work later in the day.

I got Lewis Rd in Blenheim - thank you

Blenheim backyard

We left Blenheim around 8.20am ish.  The roads were starting to close so we had to go through Renwick and the Rai Valley was already called out as a spot to be careful for flooding.  We had a lot of surface water to negotiate to get to Havelock and the paddocks were quite flooded. We got into Havelock at 8.45am and Mike decided to charge the car at the 4 square in case we were delayed in queues through to Nelson.

There was a faff to get hooked up because the 4 square is sealing their car park.  Mike had to reach the cable across a fence to get into the car. But eventually, in the rain, he got the car charging. Yay. We popped into the cafe not far from Barb's house. As we got our coffees the owner was keeping us all abreast of closures.

The Rai valley closed.  Oh.  And then the Wairau valley closed. So no way to Nelson. And then there was commentary around the road back to Blenheim getting closed. So we got our coffee transferred to a takeaway cup and fled. Unhooked the car and headed back.

Oh

Yeah

Col was probably not surprised to see us back at her place. Iona got her stuff ready - they did some messages (Twigg to the vet etc). And we sat and watched TV all day.

Back in Blenheim

Iona headed south with Nicola and their friend Andrea. Col went to work. And we sat there, with Twigg. Hahah. Did go to PacknSav to charge the car. Bought some stuff at Mountain Warehouse. Ate at Catalyst.

After a good long sleep (still tired from the 2am ferry I reckon) we went for a walk with Col and Twigg to survey the flooding.

Let's check out the flooding

Mighty tree in Pollard Park

Submerged bridges

Okay - Taylor River is huge

We tried to rescue at wee dead eel stuck in a grate. But once we pulled it out, it was obvious it had died.

Everything is underwater

Looking upstream

High tide mark

No park run  - it is well underwater

The road opened up again so we left to go to Nelson. Got through without any drama. We were going to meet the real estate agent Friday to see the house. Told her we couldn't get through. The campground said they would give us a credit for Friday night. 

As we came in Saturday we decided to go straight to the house and examine the outside. All looked good. And as we peered in a window, I tried the sliding door. And it was open. So we inspected the inside thoroughly. It is empty - new tenants coming soon.

Nelson is sunny after the deluge

Mike enjoys the view

House is empty

There were not too many issues with the house. Mike told the real estate people what needs to get fixed. 

We headed to Tahunanui campground and got diverted into Britannica Heights to avoid a slip on the coast road.

Checked in and they refunded me for Friday night. Awww - thank you.

The SH6 around the coast is slipping

Skull Island

Skull island

Went for a walk to check out the slip. The cliff was just oozing and a bit of dirt had landed on the road. Walked back by Sprig and Fern and enjoyed dinner there.

Up Sunday for a run. We went along the beach (nice firm sand) and I spotted intact sanddollars. Wow! Only seen broken ones washed up before on Kapiti.

Sunday run

Yeah - Nelson is nice

Sandollars - intact!

There were a few of them in a patch of sand

Underside of a sanddollar - related to sea urchins I think

We checked the slip out - another part had let go and the entire road was shut. Oh dear.  We checked out and went to Richmond to visit the Gear Shop and Ambrosia cafe. Our car charged at the Richmond library while we shopped and ate.

Iced coffees

Gear Shop

Ambrosia cafe in Richmond

Then back to Blenheim. Poked our noses in at Pelorus. 

Pelorus

Roads still closed in Marlborough - Jackson Rd

Taylor River late Sunday

You need gumboots to explore - everything is sodden

Still a lot of water

Went for a walk with Iona and Col to see the Taylor river. It had dropped a lot - but still a lot of flooding. We saw a dead eel - probably the same one. Half eaten - probably birds.

Back to Iona and Col's house. We got some soup to take - yay! And then we headed to our ferry at 5.20pm. Early for the check in. And the ferry was delayed. We didn't get on until 8pm. In our cabin by 8.30pm. Mike slept well but I did not. Huge swells in the strait. My water bottle was moving on the table. Hahah.

Back home by 1am. Cats were happy to see us. Into bed. 

By the numbers:

Where	When	Start	End	Duration	Rate (c/kWh)	Cost	kWh
Havelock 4 Square	27-Jun-2025	08:53	09:11	00:18	$0.85	$5.02	5.9
Blenheim Pak'nSave	27-Jun-2025	14:23	15:17	00:54	$0.90	$17.07	19.0
Richmond Library	29-Jun-2025	10:24	11:20	00:56	$0.80	$22.56	28.2
Blenheim Hub Chargenet	29-Jun-2025	14:07	14:30	00:23	$0.70	$9.36	13.4
TOTAL	4			02:31		$54.01	66.4

419.6 km

8h 5m driving time

4 charges

2h 31m charging time

66.44  kWh charged (82.66 kWh total)

$54.01 charging fees

Plus RUC ($76.00/1000km) $31.89 = total cost $85.90

Versus the Forester, at $2.57/L for 95 petrol, would have cost $107.84

Hard to get up this morning. Terrible news about the flooding coming in. Someone died when they went to check floods. Waaaah.

I am heading back to Marlborough this Friday - along with more rain due to hit them then too. Hopefully things dry out before then.

Have a great week.

Love,

Angela