GFC looks to be over for now

Looking around Nelson this past month……..

it looks like the Global Financial Crisis may be behind us…..

car carriers are calling again to disgorge their contents……

there is plenty of activity again in typical Nelson region exports

fish exports, timber/log exports are two of the main ones, especially the logging sector……………

……..cultivated hillsides are being deforested ………………….

but in a sustainable way that is…..

and shipped off-shore (don’t understand why we don’t do more ourselves here in NZ rather than just ship the raw materials overseas)

…..however I acknowledge shipping costs would still be considerable for any like minded exporter

Promising too is a new found surge in local New Home construction…

Best Advert Ever

Ok nothing to do with the theme of this blog but I found a post tonight and photo that I had uploaded on another site about a year ago ......and frankly......just had to share it under the caption of the "best bloke advert ever" because I do think it is a such a fabulous example.

What a Week in the South Island of NZ

As an official old chap, this past week has not seen too many posts.

Why?

One major reason really.

After travelling half way down the Island.......and seeing some sights…..

……….via Murchison and onwards south…….

…..via the infamous “Frog Rock”…….all the while experiencing the obligatory end of fiscal year "roadworks" we arrived at our destination.

I have given away this past week my eldest daughter to a man who wants to whisk her away…….forever……...but……….with my wife and I’s blessing.

Akaroa – the French outpost about an hour and a half past Christchurch was where we were headed.

Its actually quite  popular holiday spot for Cantabrians.

And although the night before at Akaroa was absolutely full.......and I don't mean me here......we truly had all four seasons in about 75 minutes.

Not visible here from my Australian best friends apartment above, was the rain, the lightning and the thunder that we had to endure…….

After a delightful day....involving the "rehearsal" (which I am led to believe is mandatory now) on a beaut clear....although overcast day....everything went perfectly the next day.

In fact the only complaint was............sunburn.

Its the start of the 2010 Apple Season in Nelson….

Even I remember as a kid working after school at one of Nelsons Packhouses to get some after school pocket money.

Every year from around Feb – May/June the Apple Season is in full swing.

In the days many decades ago, when I worked a season for the now defunct Apple & Pear Board at their sorting/inspecting yard and associated coolstores at Port Nelson, 98% of apples were loaded over the dock and shipside on slings.

“Wharfies” (stevedoring workers) would furiously move around like a swarm of bees unloading the sling, then repositioning the Apple cartons into the ships hold one by ever single one, thousands and thousands of cases per hold.

Today, most are carried by container ships like those photographed above, today, from near the beach at Tahunanui, something I am sure the Wharvies are pretty happy about.

Although in so saying, I am sure there must have been a time when no one looked forward to the inevitable redundancies that this containerisation must have caused.

I am reliably informed that Port Nelson will still have 4-6 Reefers show up this season to be loaded the old fashioned way.

Port Nelson has for the last few months been absolutely inundated with empty containers………

…….the Nelson Mail reporting that as many as 4000 are lying around the Port Nelson complex awaiting their load of Apples. Maersk look to have cornered the Nelson market if these photos are anything to go by.

And while this years harvest gets into full swing Australasia's biggest fishing Port still gets on with the other normal business like unloading vehicles from a VLCC (Very Large Car Carrier) Vessel……….

……….meanwhile the fishing……..

….boats enter and leave Port Nelson every single day to dislodge their catch….

and it - well - it just never stops.

Nelson - from the Water

I took my wife on a fantastic harbour cruise Thursday night onboard the Yonder Star, out through the Haven and out into Tasman Bay, and despite what the forecasts had predicted …..the weather held………..

…but before going out via The Cut to the Open Sea, Tasman Bay (as above)…..

I thought I would snap off a few photos of the waterfront /waterfront apartments

along Wakefield Quay and Rocks Rd to show what the view is when viewed from the water side.

That’s the Boathouse Restaurant centre left of the above pic.

Most of these have been there now for many years, and we haven’t seen any new developments in quite a few years.

The photo below is taken looking from the Haven in a southerly direction towards Tahunanui – that’s Haulashore Island on the left centre of shot.

The photo below depicts the shoreline near a couple of well known local Restaurants.

In fact one of them, the Waterfront Cafe is actually home to one of Takeabreaks Nelsons webcams that you can view via my other site here.

(Apologies for quality of above pics, I only had a small handheld DSC with me)

Slowest & Fastest all in town at once

Earlier around the waterfront Friday, and then later in the day, in town I came across some old forms of transport not usually seen on our suburban streets……

then more…

and yet more tractors.

Turns out it was the 2010 Tractor Trek, in aid of raising funds for charity.

Yet Saturday afternoon while enjoying a coffee with my wife at Tahunanui, the roar of V12 Ferrari engines broke through the normal traffic noise….along with some V8 ones too.

Another rally of some sorts I suspect because I counted at least 20 that went past…….millions of dollars worth, with some very late model versions there too like this current version California…….(or to give it its proper name – Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano) with a 2009 NZD$ RRP of $662,250!

Panoramas of Nelson

Have just posted on nelsonians.com about some fabulous photos & panoramic shots of our region………

IMAGE CREDIT – Markus Baumann - (www.skylark.co.nz)

………visit fab photos / panoramas here, and thereafter visit Markus’s site.

See Thru Rain last night?

Yup strange weather conditions last night alright.

I could see the sunset ……………………………

even though at the time, it was actually raining ……and as you can see above still managed to see the sun as it was setting behind the Western Ranges.

Then about 5-10 minutes later the sky took on a golden type of glow.

Nelson Beaches are incredible for it

Thats the comment just made by Sam Price from Auckland.

He’s talking about the suitability of Tahunanui Beach for skim-boarding.

According to the Nelson Mail “skim boarding was more established in Canada, the United States and Australia.”

The local Nelson Mail went on to quote him as saying;

The beaches in Nelson are incredible for it. Even a high profile Canadian guy came her 18mths ago, and he said its as good as anywhere in the world.

Mr Price would appear to have a vested interest as he runs a company selling Skim Boards (oxsskimboards.com) nonetheless its yet another factoid about our beloved Tahunanui Beach, and you really don’t need any more evidence that the thousands and thousands of holiday makers that pack the Holiday Park at Tahunanui each Xmas holidays to point to that.

You can buy a part of Aviation History

NZ’s first Flying Hovercraft in fact.

…….yes it is true, there is such a beast, and if you’re quick……….

……….NZ auction site Trademe has it for sale.

The auction finishes this Saturday and the bidding is already up to $22,000.

And who can blame anyone for wanting to bid on this………….

…….imagine be able to tell you’re friends that this weekend you are going to take them out and show them something they have never seen before…..

…….a Flying Hovercraft.

The bidding is up to NZD$22,000 and the auction finishes this Saturday….so you better be quick.

Oh and yes, this model was developed and test flown right here in good ole Nelson.

And truth be known the fact that we have the perfect take-off and landing strip in the inner Haven, protected from the ocean by the Boulder Bank, is just another reason why folk love living here.