"A touch of paradise" a Nelson Travel Page by hailsbails

I love Nelson so much...Just a short trip on the ferry from Wellington, you arrive in Picton, and can drive on to Nelson. Its definately worth the drive. So many untouched sites, the beauty still remains in this growing city! It has the most sunshine hours in New Zealand, and its known for its long beautiful summer days!!

This is my Aunty Liz, shes 40 years old here. I went down to visit her on my birthday, as she had only a few months to live. She was diagnosed with a brain tumour, in 1996, she battled that for a year, and it went away. Only to return in 1999. She slowly got worst and worst over the year. We were told after a few months, that she wasnt going to beat it this time, so we all flew down to see her. And here she is in that pic, a month before she passed. This isnt what she really looks like, she was on so much steroids her faced swelled up. She's barely recognisable to me here, but she was so beautiful, always smiling, such a cherry person. She couldnt speak while i was there, so i used to read her books in bed, and massage her head, as it was so tight from being so swollen. All i could do was look at her three beautiful kids, Lauren (7), Belinda (5), Ben (3). Its the sadest thing in life, she was so young, and those kids growing up without her i cant even think about it, its just horrible. Its something i like to put to the back of my mind.

So this was why i visited Nelson those few times. In the times i spent away from the house. I saw a lot of Nelson, and Richmond, i really loved this area. At least the sun was shinning! So there was always something little to smile about under the circumstances!