Another day for you & me in Paradise

Friday 17 October

Just another stunning day in the Nelson Lakes National Park - I woke around 7.30 and wandered out to catch the morning light over the lake. It was colder than I realised as I walked along the jetty, leaving frosty footprints on the wooden structure, but oh so beautiful!

After our unexpectedly hilly walk the day before, we opted to follow the Anglers’ Walk along the Buller River from where it left the lake at West Bay to the bridge on SH63 and back. It was much flatter, but quite a lot squelchier!

Back at Banjo we were visited by a pair of mallards but declined to share our lunch with them…

Louis got down his bike and went over to the mountain bike tracks over at Teetotal Camp and I headed off along the east side of the Lake on the Honeydew Loop through the beech forests. I was wondering why it was called this as the only honeydew I knew of was a melon, but it turns out it refers to the bizarre black sooty mould type product with covers many Southern beech trees - google is your friend - "Honeydew beech" refers to a natural phenomenon in New Zealand's South Island where scale insects feed on the sap of beech trees, excreting a sugary substance called honeydew. Bees collect this honeydew to produce a dark, rich, and non-crystallizing honey that is high in antioxidants.

Returning a tad hot & sweaty from his cycling adventures, my foolhardy husband decided to take a plunge in the lake… it didn’t last long as the water temperature was only single figures!

I took a far more relaxing approach to life, with a sunset stroll to see the eels at the far jetty and lay in the last rays of sun soaking up the landscape and listening to Marlon Williams… beautifully tranquil 🥰

Dinner in Banjo, Celebrity Traitors on TV and then a wee while spent stargazing before the cold drove us in to snuggle under the duvet. 💤