The last few times we’ve stayed in the Nelson area, we’ve based ourselves in Richmond.
Click on any Image to enlarge
There are two caravan and motorhome parks here at the racecourse, and we’ve stayed in both. One has a few trees scattered around, while the other is wide open with solid gravel pads. On the way over, I’d rung ahead and booked a site for a few more days to recover. As it turned out, we ended up on the open-air side, with the gravel pads.
It’s a really nice setup, run by a lovely couple, Lynn and Jude from their own motorhome. They’ve got things well organised, and it’s very affordable too.
They were needing some drone images but being right in the flight path for Nelson Airport, I was a little unsure about the whole thing. I decided to download an app that allows you to apply for permission to fly. It’s called AirShare.
As long as I stayed below the tops of some really tall trees on the property, I had an hour to get the drone up and capture some images.
What an amazing system! It was really easy to use. All I had to do was lodge a flight path, say where I was, who I was and what I was planning to do. Within minutes, my flight plan came back approved.
Yippee! Away we go!
It’s a great system for anyone with a drone, particularly when you’re in an area where flying is restricted. It certainly made the whole process painless.
The park had quite a few full-timers living there, but there was still plenty of room, and everything was very tidy. It was also an easy walk to Richmond Mall and some great restaurants, so we didn’t have to worry about cooking. Always a bonus!
Unfortunately, we were still feeling pretty miserable, and after a bit of discussion, we decided it was time to call it quits on our South Island adventure and head home to get over this vicious flu.
It was time to ring Bluebridge and see if we could change our tickets to get home a little earlier.
While sitting around in the sun with my tablet, I managed to get two tickets to the Wearable Art Awards in Wellington for the day after we arrived back.
Our old friends Mark and Dinah, who have been competing in the event almost since it began, had won an award. Fantastic! We were absolutely thrilled for them, and it was something really special to look forward to.
After another couple of lovely days in the sun, wandering around some of the local shops and enjoying Richmond, it was time to start getting ready for the trip home.
Neither of us was in particularly good nick, so we figured it was time to be sensible.
Sometimes the best decision on a motorhome trip is knowing when to call it a day.
Rafe would be heading back across the Strait, and we’d be looking forward to getting home, getting well and catching up with some old friends.
Not quite the end to our South Island trip that we’d planned, but there was still a little bit of excitement waiting for us in Wellington!
