From South to North

I'm getting behind with the blog, so I'll condense a little. Blenheim is an amazing place, wall to wall vineyards! We were taken to seven, at the first of which we had a very tasty lunch with a glass of one of the wines we'd just tasted. Most of the places were quite similar: one was organic and 'biocultural', and so more expensive, but I can't say the wines tasted anything particularly special. One was a small vineyard, Bladen, was owned by a couple fulfilling a dream, and they had an agent in the UK who delivers there. Their wines, mostly white, were very good and not over priced as so many are, and I was on the point of ordering: what held me back was a prospect of something even better later. But in the end they were the best of the day, and I wished I'd followed my instincts and spent £150 on a case. I still can, though, once I'm home. Another vineyard was Cloudy Bay, well known on supermarket shelves at home, with several brand names including Nobilo. I think you pay for the name here: Our last port of call wasn't wine at all, but chocolate! We went to the Makana chocolate factory, where they hand made the most delicious truffles, and I bought three very expensive boxes, one of which is now half a box! Next day, we drove up to Picton for the ferry to North Island. We'd planned to go the 'pretty way', but we had no detailed map of the Blenheim area and got a bit lost, ending up at the chocolate factory again! We both felt that North was the way to go, but the road took us back to the main state highway. So we went the short way to Picton, arriving in very good time, and then took a detour along the sound, on the most twisty turny road we'd been on yet! But the scenery was delightful and it was well worth taking the trip. Back in town, we found the ferry, checked in our cases and then went for lunch. We handed in the car and boarded the ship, a largish car ferry and not at all crowded. We had a very smoorth, sunny crossing - it's a three hour voyage - and on disembarking collected our luggage and another hire car in short order, and drove to our B & B. This was more like a cheap hotel than a 'homestay' that we'd had up to now, but the owner was friendly enough and it's very conveniently placed. On our first full day in Wellington we visited the lovely modern cathedral, which is quite reminiscent of Coventry, with a similar modern altarpiece and light, wide nave. It was good to sit here for a little and reflect on all the blessings of this holiday. Then we looked at the 'Beehive', the modern building for MPs attached to the parliament building: but we didn't want to wait the 45 minutes for the next tour, so we went on into town, and then up in the cable car (more a funicular tram) to the botanic gardens. We walked through these back to Tinakori Road where our B & B is, and reached home for lunch. After a nap we drove out to the Lookout Point, the top of a hill in the south of the city, from which you can see a long way in all directions. Then my sister dropped me in town so I didn't have too far to walk, and met me again at the cafe where we were meeting Quentin and Marion, Quaker friends who used to be in Newcastle Meeting. We enjoyed a meal together and exchanged a lot of news. We had one more day in Wellington, which I'll describe in the next post.