30 January 2017 - Rutherford Park, Nelson

There was much more to the music festival and rally than we took part; the morning teas, the lunches and dinners catered by the locals, the mass Happy Hours, the raffles and competitions, to name but a few, however we are not really rally types and limited our activities to our own preferences. 

Sun seeking audience

Yesterday morning we set off on a walk which would hopefully give us a bird’s eye view of the school and surrounds, from where we ourselves could see the extent of this giant temporary camping ground. We had hoped to learn the number of vans that did turn up; Chris guessed at 747 but I suspect that even that would have been short of the mark. But even assuming there were only 700 vans in, that’s 1400 folk. We were a force to be reckoned with, albeit belonging mostly to the Middle and Third Age.

The walk through the Shedwood Bush certainly gave us opportunity to get the blood circulating after having spent so much time sitting and listening, but we did not challenge ourselves to the extra climb to the top of the ridge, hence the photos I scored of the crowds were taken by another.

Views down toward Tapawera

During the afternoon we were entertained by a very talented couple on a violin and classical guitar, but unfortunately for the greater part of the session the sound system was playing up and it was no more than a background melody, such as you might have in a corner at a wedding, or even background in a shopping mall, a pity really because they really were so much better than that.

Then after dinner we went back across to the stage area and were brilliantly entertained by a group called The Great Pretenders who did pretend very professionally to sing and entertain like so many of the greats that have preceded them. We loved them and thought them superior to the previous evening’s more famous singers. Chris left me part way through their routine, preferring to watch every moment of the final tennis match between Federer and Nadal, but I braved the cooling evening temperatures and groped my way back across the paddocks much later, in time to catch the second set.

So we left Tapawera this morning very glad to have elected to attend the annual Music in the Mountains festival, and would be glad to come again should our time in the South Island coincide. We travelled back over the Spooner Saddle and down toward Tasman Bay yet again,  refuelling at Hope, dumping and filling with water at Richmond, then lunched at Tahunanui. We decided to check out this car park, today being nelson’s Anniversary Day and the greater number of the workers on holiday. There were still the dozens upon dozens of whizzbang vanners lined up and littering the area with their diversity and colour. We decided that joining them would be no worse than the DOC camp up at Canaan Downs, so here we are surrounded by this eclectic collection of travellers. All a bit of a change from our fellow campers of the last two nights!

We did walk up across the city earlier in the day to visit the Suter Art Gallery and were very impressed. Initially we wondered if we were in the same place, because there have been massive changes since we were there ten years ago. The building has been completely revamped, still incorporating the original structure. Among the many artworks upon the walls are several Colin McCahon’s, whose work we both abhor, several Toss Williston’s, work by Hodgkinson, Rita Angus and Benseman and others that did please. We were so glad we had made the effort.

We also called at the Information Centre and gathered together maps for our next little adventure. Tomorrow we will head away again once we have managed to have the gas bottle refilled.

A glimpse of our overnight city camp