Day 15 - Tuesday 15 Feb

Cruise #2 - Marlborough Sounds! This marks the end of our time on shore and the beginning of our cruise in the Marlborough Sounds at the tip of South Island, at the mouth of Cook Strait which runs between Wellington and Picton. Eggs benny breakfast at Blenheim at 8am before doing the final provisioning at the local supermarket then loading the bus at 10am to take us all to Waikawa Bay, the bay next to Picton, to Charterlink - the boat charter company. Our 50ft Beneteau "Millenium Spirit" sat in berth 24 on dock 9W in the marina, glistening in the morning sunshine, her decks all clean, the dinghy stowed on the forward bow. Provisions were loaded, before all the gear for the 9 passengers on this leg! Thorough boat check with Tony and studied charts for advice on good mooring/anchoring spots. These are deep fjords with deep water close to shore, so anchoring not always possible and most bays offer mooring buoys. From the charts the Sounds looked about 4-5 times the size of the Gulf Islands in BC with a plethora of inlets, bays, islands, channels. We were not allowed to take the vessel into Cook Strait!
Cast off at 16.00 and motored to neighbouring Ngakuta Bay, arriving at 18.00 where we rafted up to 35ft Jeanneau "Vis a Vis" and Cookson 40 powerboat "Antaris" staying in between the other vessels as the mother ship!

Day 14 - Valentine's Day!!! - 14th Feb

Another day, another winery! This time Wither Hills (near Cloudy Bay winery where we went yesterday afternoon by the way!) Very grand exterior, lovely layout and expansive views sweeping across the valley from mountains in north west to the southern hills. Horse riding country and vineyards galore! Windy and warm - perfect growing conditions. Toured and tasted (getting to be a dab hand at this) and then our final lunchtime banquet in the fresh air, tasting more delicious lamb and drinking way too much wine! Pinot Noir (museum release) - a stunning wine showing bottle age and earthy, forest-floor characters @ only NZ$49 per bottle retail! Drove back into Blenheim to fit out with scuba gear ready for two dives during the sail in Marlborough Sounds 15th-20th Feb. This may be my last blog until the end so hope its been as much fun for you as it has for me................xxxxxx

Day 13 - Sunday 13 Feb

Winery Day - Astrolab in the morning - a charming NZ family (husband and wife team) at their private home. We sat in their garden overlooking the olive orchard and revelled in the wine tasting, walking through the vines, stroking the cat, snapping photos of the chickens, beautiful home, walnut and lemon trees, and listening to the intricate account of wine growing from an obvious connaisseur! Very low key but a thorough learning experience and ended up buying 3 bottles - fabulous Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir. Could easily have swapped my house in Gibsons for this place - own pool, grass tennis court, vineyard, mountain backdrop - wow! Maybe we'll emigrate here next?!?

Day 12 - Sat 12 Feb

Wellington (North Island) to Picton (South Island) - 3 hour ferry ride. Weather dull and rainy so not as impressive a cruise as hoped. In fact the ferry rides in BC way more impressive, although scenery very similar. Picton very small town and got bus to Blenheim about 15-20 mins away to our hotel. Rest of day at leisure.

Photos - Wellington

Day 11 - Friday 11th Feb

Rushing this Blog a bit as last night on dry land before we head out from Picton (South Island) on 2nd cruise! Friday was spent driving the last 335 km south to Wellington, the impressive capital of N and way friendlier than Auckland. Lunch on the waterfront and then visited the Museum, before catching the red cable car up the mountain to the Botanic Gardens up top - took lots of photos here and was soothed by the floral displays and constant buzz of the cicadas in the tall trees. Lovely scenic views of Wellington from up top with sail boats in the distance. Spent the evening in town - very lively university town so throbbing with young folk at street-side bars and cafes. Found cool bar and stayed for dinner and dancing which was a great release after the long journey over the past two days.

Day 10 - Thursday 10th Feb

Day at Craggy Range winery, deep in Hawkes Bay wine country, at the foot of Giant Mountain. Stunning scenery with vines, pond, cows grazing on the mountain side as we toured the winery, tasted the wines and enjoyed a fabulous lunch al fresco - lamb (of course!) and Merlot with creme brulee to finish. Not much obvious wine production here but very upmarket concern with impressive, high end facade.

Rotorua - Day 9

Day 9 - Wed 9th Feb

Left Auckland at 09.00 in the driver's seat, bound for Rotorua (225km) and arrived at 1pm. After lunch walked through the Government gardens and visited the museum of art & history housed in the old spa building where officers from WW1 were treated in the mineral hot springs. Saw the geysers in the surrounding grounds - overpowering sulphur smell - and enjoyed the manicured bowling greens and flowers. Drove on to Napier (235km) - Hawkes Bay area not unlike a typical English seaside resort (think Bexhill rather than Southend). Driving through the rolling countryside with herds of cows and sheep reminded me of England although the roads are better here and far less crowded! Found fun bistro on the waterfront next door to a youth hostel for steak dinner. Slept like a log!

Hey!

Hope you're liking this travel log so far! More photos to come and now we embark on our land trip travelling down to Rotorua - 230km from Auckland and home of hot spring baths and then on to Napier - a further 225km where we stay for two nights. In Napier we visit Craggy Range and savour the wines of top end restaurant wine lists the world over including the Savoy Hotel in London. We'll also be touring the fabulous "Giants Winery" site - cellar tour followed by lunch at winery! Then we head to Wellington, NZ's capital for more vineyard tours at Atkins Ranch and Martinborough before catching the ferry over to Picton on the South Island.

Watch this space for more exciting news.......................love to all friends and family at home..............
wishing you were here!

Day 7 - 7th Feb

Waiaua Bay to Russell - Total distance 20 nautical miles.
Cast off at 11.50, moored at 16.15
Drove zodiac ashore before departure to enjoy some last snorkelling and spent 45 minutes swimming in the shallow reefs around the edge of the bay, chasing shoals of silver sided fish in the cloudy water. Fun to take Alex's underwater camera and shoot them up close - promise to download these soon!
Set off at 11.50 under power in light winds only of NE5kn. Passed another large pod of dolphins and took more lengthy video footage (can't get enough of these magical beings) - videos take longer to download so again watch for this in later instalments OK! Came into Russell and hooked up to a mooring buoy just off the waterfront of this old colonial town - once the capital of NZ but also known as the hellhole of NZ for its shady past of hookers and sea dogs! Also boasts the oldest Anglican church in NZ. Lively waterfront restaurants along the promenade - but plumped for wood-ovened pizzas served up by yet another hunky Mauri with right bicep covered in Bob Marley tattoo talking about his time working in Vancouver and his love of the Canucks ice hockey team! Super friendly people - genuinely laid back. Met two other Mauris in local bar as I was enjoying a cool beer and writing my post cards. One of them was wearing a Red Sea Divers T-shirt which said Hurgada, Egypt on it - and since I used to work for Red Sea Divers in Sharem-El-Sheikh way back in 1979 when it was then Israel, well, it was a great way to start a conversation!
Launched the zodiac from the beach at about 9.30pm and made our way back to the boat, singing all the way, with ice cream for dessert.
Last night aboard "Shard" - thank you for a wonderful 6 days on board in the Bay of Islands!