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Published: March 17th 2009
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Cape Farewell
there were seals laying around these rocks March 17th
Blenheim is a lovely little town - very prosperous as it is the centre of the Marlborough wineries Sauvignon Blanc everywhere! We drove around the wineries tour but as D was driving I didn’t feel able to get sozzled all on my own so we went into two - Villa Maria and Hunters. It was amusing to see their brochures; “we have been in the wine industry for over 25 years” oh really? that long huh?
We drove along the Queen Charlottes Drive - a lovely road which takes you along part of the Marlborough Sounds - again fantastic views of mountains coming down to calm waterways without roads to mar the view. We camped at Havelock - the mussel centre of the universe apparently! We had a meal in the Mussel Pot - a local café run by an Italian ice-cream maker! Again a prosperous town - the marina is full of lovely yachts and motor boats.
We met Andrew for lunch in Nelson as we were going through - it was really nice to catch up and he helped us plan the next couple of days as we are due back with him and Sarah for the
Abel Tasman
L&D on the water taxi on a tractor going to the sea! weekend - more wine tasting I think! We drove over ‘The Hill’ as it is known - Takaka Hill - very high - lots of hairpin bends - we counted 94 up one side and 164 the other !!!! You get a fantastic view of the Tasman Bay from the top and as you go over you see Golden Bay on the other side.
Our tour of the South Island is nearly over - but we had to visit the topmost point - aptly called Cape Farewell. There is a long spit out into the bay which is a nature reserve/ bird sanctuary, only accessible by guided tours when the tides are right. A view of this area from above gives a strange outline very similar to the head and beak of a Kiwi!
There is a beach nearby - reputed to be NZ’s best beach of all - Wharariki beach. It is a wild and windy place - the sand is just blowing off the dunes - you feel as if your face is being sandblasted. It’s beautiful - lovely rock formations with arches through; it would make fantastic photos but you daren’t get the cameras out because of
Abel Tasman
looking from the walking track across the bay all the sand. It is very lovely out there.
We had a lovely day in Abel Tasman National Park- we caught a water ferry up into the beginning of the park and had a long walk back out again - 12K by the time we got back to the van!
We seem to have run out of superlatives over the scenery here -or at least over-used the ones we know - I can’t say how lovely a country it is and how much we have enjoyed it. Come and see for yourselves as soon as you are able!
We spent the next few days with Andrew and Sarah in Nelson. They too are packing up as their 26 MONTHs of living in NZ have come to an end and they are going back to Wales. So it was a celebratory weekend ! We joined them and a group of their friends on a Nelson wine tasting tour which got wilder and sillier as the day went on. It was great to meet such a lovely group of young people - , all enjoying different aspects of life in a new country. On Sunday we joined them and
Wine tasting day
we had lunch to help soak up the alcohol others again on a barbeque picnic and swim day at Rabbit Island, a local favourite place for weekend relaxing. The weather has at last begun to behave itself - we’ve had a really hot and sunny week, so we feel we’ve been on holiday from being on holiday. It was lovely to have a break from campervan life - too.
And so we say farewell to this loveliest part of NZ - we can’t believe it’s time to go. Today we caught the ferry from Picton. We had a lovely surprise when we found that we were booked into the travel lounge with access to the bar and snacks and Internet, thank you Bernie! It was an amazingly smooth crossing, not always the case I gather. And so the next phase of our trip begins - Hello North Island!
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Bernie
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Onwards and upwards!
Hi Lynne and David, so pleased to see that you are having a wonderful time. The photos are wonderful and so are all your descriptions. I am sure you will find the North Island just as lovely - very different scenery but still very beautiful, and yet more wineries for you to visit! Looking forward to reading your next blog. Bernie