Kaikoura to Picton and the Marlborough Sounds

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Well as you may be able to tell, our blog writing has got a little slack. Its actually the 1st of June and I am writing this entry and probably we will be writng the rest from sydney until we catch up. We are staying at Becci's familys unit in kirribillii for the next two weeks and the plan is between more sightseeing to catch up on our blog. So we will apologise in advance for any vague descriptions and false information from here on but we will try our best.

11th March 08

After a surprisingly comfortable first night in Hubbel we awoke refreshed and ready to leave the campsite. We then drove back to Kaikoura town centre and followed the coastal road to the seal colony car park. As soon as we got out of the car we spotted our first seal who was actually in the car park itself sleeping by a wall. The Seal was quickly surrounded by tourists taking photographs and I had my camera ready but could not get a good angle due to the hoards of people in front of me so Bex and I decided to head off on the walk around the seal colony.
So we headed off and walked up a cliff on the edge of the car park and when we got to the top we were rewarded with some fantastic views of the Kaikoura coastline and the snow capped mountains on the horizon. The walk in total took about 3 hours and we got to see some stunning scenery & plenty of seals. The funny thing was that we got much closer to the seals in the car park than we did on the walk but we enjoyed it all the same. We got back inside Hubbel and hit the road and headed north to Blenheim.
Atlhough it had only been two days since we picked up our spaceship we already had seen some spectacular scenery and the drive to blenheim was no different. The weather was still sunny and there was not a cloud to be seen and the landscape reflected the conditions. All the rivers and creeks we passed along the way were bone dry and according to the radio the kiwi farmers were, not surprisingly, upset at the current drought. We drove through the Marlborough wine region which had a completely different feel to anywhere we had been through so far with sign posts for vineyards and wineries not farms and beaches.
We definately wanted to return here hopefully on a tour so I didn't have to drive and worry about the amount I was drinking!
Our next stop was Blenheim where a lot of the wine tours went from. We parked up and had a walk around the main High street. The place was okay but not as quaint as the lonely planet said it was and to be honest a little disappointing. We soon left Blenheim after buying a cable for our I-pod (which we should have got with our spaceship) so it could be played through the car stereo.
About 1/2 an hour later we arrived in Picton. We spotted the sign post for the I-Site and followed a few more until we pulled up at a huge car park which was next to the ferry terminal. Picton is where the ferry runs linking the North and South Islands. In the distance we could see the Marlborough sounds and the place was really pretty which was surprising as my only experience of these such towns are Dover & Calais and it helped that it was another gorgeous day.
We popped into the I-site and had a bit of a mad moment. After 10 minutes we had spent around $300nz on 2 tours. A wine tour at $50nz each for 5 wineries which was great value & 1 day Mountain bike hire and a ferry out to the Queen Charlotte track on the Marlborough Sounds which after we thought was ridiculously expensive. The I-Sites are great but the problem here in New Zealand is that all the leaflets and booklets have no prices on, so you spend a little while looking at a few different options and then you que up to book what you decide on and by the time you get to a clerk you kinda get bullied into agreeing on the price.
Oh well you only live once & we have learnt for next time so we decided to go and look for a place to camp. Whilst in the information centre we picked up a DOC campsite leaflet. DOC or Department of Conservation camp sites are usually small and really really basic like having no showers or washrooms, and just a smelly chemical toilet but they have the most amazing locations and are a lot cheaper than other campsites. They work on a honesty box system where you just put the correct amount in an envelope and post it through a wooden letterbox. Can you imagine that in England...........? The wooden box let alone the money inside wouldn't last five minutes!!!!
Anyway we looked up the closest D.O.C campsite and we found one at a place called Ausie Bay on the Queen Charlotte track a few k down the road so we headed straight there. It took us around 30 minutes to get to as the road was extremely windy (I mean the type with a lot of curves not coz the weather conditions were poor) and the views were spectacular with the road right on the side of cliffs over looking little coves and bays & the calmest water you have ever seen. Becci survived the drive without being sick which I thought was even more amazing than the scenery.
Aussie Bay was so pretty and we parked up hubbel about 20ft away from the sea and we paid only $8NZ about 3 pounds for the privilege. Yes the toilets stank and we had no shower or washing facilities. But we did have fresh running water through a tap in the ground and a fantastic view. We cooked Sausuges on our stove and then after moved our chairs onto the sand and watched the sunset whilst drinking Belizian Rum and Value Cola.

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