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

Geo: -41.5116, 173.957After a roughish night for David (too much coffee and tea for this usually-decaffeinated man?) we were up and at 'em by 6:15, and out the door at 7:15, sadly bidding adieu to our new adopted cousins Everard and Antonella. We found the Ferry Terminal without difficulty, but then waited for about 2 hours to board. We were beginning to wonder. We were blessed to sight a new bird, though - a goldfinch, but completely different from the American type. Left by 10:30, with a full dramamine in David. Probably unnecessary as it wasn't all that bad.We had the honor of being the absolute last car off - don't know how that happened. We drove the coastal road west to Havelock along the Queen Charlotte road - beautiful views, up and down, up and ... read more

We farewell Blenheim today (Saturday), calling in at the Wairau Bar for a look. What a cool little spot with the river mouth and views across to Boulder Bank and White Cliffs. A couple of local fishermen were having a great time catching good sized Kahawai just inside the river mouth. Today there was a busy Spoonbill bird mooching around looking for food in the shallow waters. Further up the road is Rarangi Beach and DOC camp. The small DOC Camp borders the beach and is a great spot for the night. A short walk from camp takes you over a stone staircase and into Monkey Bay. Both Rarangi and Monkey Bay are pretty but beware probably not too safe for swimming. Reminded me a bit of Napier with the pebbly beach and steep drop offs. ... read more

C: We left Wellington on Good Friday heading across the Cook Strait on the aptly named Interislander ferry. It was really busy due to it being the start of the Easter weekend but we were very excited when they brought round (free!) hot cross buns. The crossing takes a little over three hours but the last hour is spent travelling through the dramatic Marlborough sounds which meant beautiful views all around. We collected our next hire car at Picton and then headed off to the centre of the Marlborough wine region, Blenheim. Very little is open on Good Friday so we were relieved to see a nice-looking pub directly opposite our motel. However, they have strange licensing laws which means you can't have a drink on Good Friday without ordering food. As we wanted dinner, this ... read more

The first agenda of the day was to get all the bookings squared out for the remainder of our trip. I've been busy at it throughout yesterday's flight and finally figured out our course of action. Before the offices opened, we grabbed coffee across the street at Zumo, which was surprisingly open at 7am in this sleepy town. They have 7 different roasts and I liked my flat white :). Productive morning. We booked a water taxi for tomorrow's Abel Tasman Coastal Track, got a Queen Charlotte Track pass for Tuesday, and picked up the car. This called for a bite from Robert Harris Coffee…fettuccini frittata, a loaded muffin-looking solid pasta! 1.5hr drive on the windy narrow road took us to Marlborough wine region. V looks comfortable driving on the left side :D. Vineyards started to ... read more

Well we have crammed a bit in since our last blog. Left Kenepuru Heads on Saturday and headed to Portage where we walked over the Torea Saddle (part of the Queen Charlotte Walk) to Torea Bay. At the top of the hill is a War Memorial to fallen local soldiers. The bay is small but looks like lovely safe anchorage. A good wharf, where Queen Charlotte track walkers can be dropped off by water taxi. If you don’t like roughing it (DOC Camp style) you can organise someone to get you bags dropped off here and taken to the hotel at Portage:). From here we headed onto Havelock to pick up a few supplies. There is a great lookout on the way that sits high on the top of a ridge before you head down to ... read more