New Zealand - Day Four

Day Four – Tuesday 4th May 2010 Last night we researched the next stop that we had in mind, we wanted to get to Collingwood tonight and go on a Farewell Spit Eco Tour but unfortunately there are no tours available until Thursday and that puts us a day behind our proposed schedule and gives us an extra day to get to Collingwood. It’s not the end of the world so we can just take it easy and take two days to get to Collingwood. Picton is the port where the inter island ferry docks it is Marlborough's main commercial port and provides access to Queen Charlotte Sound. We watched the inter islander Ferry as it left in the morning on its’ way to Wellington. The 92km voyage takes 3 hours.

Just around the corner from Picton was this huge logging port. All of us were impressed with the size of it!

We chose to take the scenic Queen Charlotte Drive through the Malborough Sounds and it was a really beautiful trip.

Further along we stopped to “ooooh” and “aaaah” over the clear water at The Grove near Okiwa Bay.

We drove into Havelock and stopped for coffee at a cafe near the harbour.

As we got closer to Nelson we turned off the main road onto Cable Bay Road to stop in at an adventure centre and enquire about their four wheelers. Nicholas really, really wanted to drive a four wheeler however most places there was an age restriction and even though our son is tall he is only ten. No luck for Nicholas but lucky for us we found the ideal spot for lunch!

This was one of those moments when I really appreciated the flexibility of the motor home. Great views and great food and thanks to our wine tasting the day before, great wine! We arrived in Nelson fairly early in the afternoon so we stopped in the city to look around and explore. The church was outstanding and if I remember correctly cost $800 per day to maintain! We were able to go inside and look around as well.

This is where we stopped for the night.

Picton to Nelson (110klms)

xx

New Zealand - Day Three

Day Three - Monday 3rd May 2010

Yesterday we travelled from Christchurch to Kaikoura (181klms) and arrived in the dark, found a lookout and stayed there the night.

This morning we woke up early so WH could get some sunrise photos. This was our view from the bedroom, lounge room, dining room and kitchen! At this stage I am thinking that the Motor home might be a really good thing!

After breakfast we packed up house and moved on. We drove through the town and had a look around.

Today was wine country day and I thought we should wait until mid morning at least before we started wine tasting!

This Church was beside the highway with beautiful views to the ocean! Everything was so neat and green around this area!

Next stop Montana Cellar Door.

I could live here, the building is gorgeous and the gardens are fantastic!

We tasted the selection that was on offer for the day (pleased to say that we weren't the only ones tasting wine before lunch!) and we bought a few bottles, fortunately the cellar door had a playground for the kids to run around in, so Nicholas was happy too!

Next stop Blenheim town centre to find a map of the surrounding area and decide on what we wanted to see. Blenheim reminds me of Mudgee in NSW Australia and the Hunter Valley in NSW Australia. There are a lot of cellar doors in the area and plenty of choices. We decided to drive around, sticking to the main road and stopping at another two cellar doors to do some tasting and just admiring the rest as we drove.

Wither Hills was an impressive cellar door and the lady who served us was fantastic, she was friendly and knowledgeable making the experience even more enjoyable!

Wither Hills had a great area outside on the beautifully manicured lawns with bean bags and low tables where you could kick back and enjoy a drink or a meal! It looked so inviting, however it was time to move on again!

Unfortunately no playground here so Nicholas patiently waited by the fire.

Next stop - Saint Clair Cellar Door. This cute cellar door was nowhere near as big as the first two but it was lovely and welcoming. The outdoor eating area was lovely and we stopped here for lunch as well. I think we could have happily stayed here for longer in the sunshine enjoying the garden, the views and the wine but the road was calling! Given the short length of the days and the amount of travelling and activities we wanted to do in our two short weeks we really had to keep moving along!

We arrived in Picton late in the afternoon, stopped for a wander around the town and for some coffee. We decided that we would stay here for the night and get an earlier start in the morning.

We think this was meant to be Mickey Mouse (Donald Duck was standing close by) but something about his ears was not quite right!

Kaikoura to Picton (157klms)

Well I hope you are still awake and have stuck around for the end of Day 3.

Thanks for your patience! xx