The South Island - Blenheim

We were up early on Sunday in order to catch the ferry from Wellington to Picton. The weather was the same as it has been for the last couple of days but at least it was dry so we had no hassles in packing up the tent. The crossing (Valentine Days Cruise!) took three hours - for most of it Rach slept while Mark 'acquired' some proper knifes and forks from the restaurant to replace the plastic ones we've had since Sydney! We arrived in the South Island to glorious sunshine which made us extremely happy. We picked up a car (Nissan Micra) from Quality Cars and headed towards Blenheim some 30km from Picton. During the journey we'd noticed that the passenger door window didn't work very well and there was a continous rattle up front!

Once we arrived at the campsite (a lovely little place by the river) we explored the town, did a spot of food shopping and went on a 'recce' mission around the vineyards of Marlborough. Back at the campsite we didn't think much of the car so phoned the company to get a replacement which they agreed to do but the following day. That night we had a romantic dinner of fajitas in the campsite kitchen - just the two of us (apart from occasionally being disturbed by fellow campers wanting to wash up!)

On Monday we had to get back to Picton early to replace the car but as we left the vibrating up front had become a lot worse. We then noticed that we had a flat tyre which needed replacing. Fortunately the car company came to us while Mark changed the tyre. Supposedly the previous hirer had hit a bridge and had damaged just the hub cap - looking at it she'd done a lot more damage! Our new car was bigger and rattle free so we were happy.

For the rest of the morning we hit three vineyards including our favourite one (Isabel) before returning around lunchtime to meet up with the guys from Newcastle to continue our vineyards trip but on bikes. In the afternoon we toured around the region stopping every km or so and tasting some of the wines. We got back to the campsite around 6pm very content with our bellies full of wine and our legs (and heads) a bit sore after covering over 30km! We capped off the afternoon with a couple of pints in the local pub. That evening we took control of the campsite kitchen again and played cards with our Geordie friends, listened to music (big Knopfler fans - Newcastle being his hometown) and drank some of the wine we'd purchased. We went to bed around 1am all a little worse for wear!

Today we drove from Blenheim to Richmond which is near Nelson after one more vineyard stop at Cloudy Bay. Rach was driving so Mark was the designated drinker! The scenery in the South Island so far has been stunning and we're sure there will be plenty more to come. The journey didn't take long so we spent the afternoon exploring Nelson.

Tomorrow we head up to Motueka where we plan to do a Kayak / walking trip around the Abel Tasman National Park. We'll be meeting up with David, David (Frank lookalike) and Andy (The Geordies) to do the trip.

Hope all is good at home.

Lots of love

Mark & Rach. xxx