Blogs from Blenheim, South Island, New Zealand, Oceania - page 2

Hi, well we left Janet and Ian's house this morning after coffee and bacon sandwich, we had a great time hanging out with them. We headed to Blenheim which was next on the list, this is wine country! lovely, vineyards everywhere ! It was one of those funny days where we couldn't get it right. It was pouring with rain when we left Nelson, gloomy sky, not sure if it was a bit of Cyclone Pam, as that was supposed to hit a bit of the North Island, east Side, not where we were, but you never know !! Anyhow we arrived at our motel, took a couple of hours drive, motel very nice, cleared out the car because it was a right heap ! We have bags of washing, will have to do that boring ... read more

Spent a few hours relaxing today at Hamner Springs; lots of geothermal pools at different temperatures, absolute bliss, even though the sulphur pools were a bit stinky. Also a few water slides here to keep the girls and Stuart happy! Back to the coast to Kaikoura, then followed the coast road up to Blenheim, passing hundreds of seals, just metres from where we were standing. Really entertaining watching them. Freya decided some of the biggest ones were real bullies! The drive into Blenheim was incredible, miles and miles and miles of vineyards stretching in every direction, can certainly see why the Marlborough region is so well known. Found a great place to stay called the Vintners Retreat surrounded by vineyards. When we arrived we all played tennis and then had a refreshing swim in the pool. ... read more

Hi everyone - now in South Island. Before we left North Island we spent the day at Te Papa Museum, Wellington. Last time we were here we did the three lower floors this time we started at the top and did the other 3 floors - an amazing museum dedicated to Maori history, early settlers and pioneers as well as the fauna, flora and geology of New Zealand. We got there at10.00 and left for lunch at 5.00 !! Caught the ferry on Saturday and en route saw an article on a 1-day tour of Molesworth Station (which was on our wish list) so made the call and booked up for the next day. Geoff & Lee the organisers invited us to camp at their place as it was an early start. We camped in their ... read more

We left Kaikoura on Thursday 17th Jan and headed North towards Blenheim which is at the top of the South Island. We decided to change our accomodation style and moved away from the motor home / motels that we had been staying in and instead chose a private homestead with small a camping ground with a 'bach' (like a small cabin or cottage) These are normally in grounds with shared kitchen facilities so we could also cook our own meals as eating out in NZ has been a disappointment.... either expensive or rubbish or usually both! After all the travelling and a pretty intense itinery to date we were ready to just rest! So, we stocked up on provisions and drove the relatively short distance along the coast to Blenheim. We had already covered 2,000km since ... read more

Wee bit of luxury before our hardcore backpacking :) - Worth the visit, 15minute drive from the South Island Ferry dock. One of the most famous family estate wines in NZ... read more