MacsTravel Blog

After the exhilaration of the Tongariro Alpine Crossing we crashed hard only for Robin to awake to the sound of what sounded like air raid sirens at 11:30 pm. Robin being Robin immediately jumped to the conclusion that a volcanic eruption or tsunami was imminent. The sirens stopped relatively quickly. Rich being Rich concluded that the sirens stopped because a: false alarm; b: the volcano or tsunami had swamped the siren and destroyed it. There was no need or it was too late to worry about doing anything. Let’s go back to bed.

A morning Google search determined that short intermittent sirens are used in remote area in New Zealand to alter volunteer firefighters to check their phones. Mystery solved.

We headed out the next morning en route to Wellington for a quick layover before taking the ferry to the South Island. Their was a hitch in our plans, however. The ferry we had booked passage on with our rental car had been taken out of commission. This has become a major issue in New Zealand because of the critical importance of reliable and frequent service between the islands. Our travel agent in New Zealand, who had booked our accommodations and transportation for this trip, got us on a different ferry but as passengers only. This meant ditching the car in Wellington. Due to a nationwide shortage of rental cars we were not able to pick up a car on the South Island until Greymouth. Some quick rejigging and we were able to keep our Marlborough plans and then take the Coastal Pacific train to Christchurch rather driving to go whale watching as we had originally planned. All in all, small potatoes. It was great having the folks at First Light Travel figure out the logistics rather than having to wrestle with it ourselves.

Wellington is a really neat city and we wish we’d had a little more time there. It’s the arts capital of New Zealand with the vibe of Halifax in the downtown area. It was St Patrick’s Day, and the core was crawling with lots of folks who were weaving about in profoundly unflattering green ensembles having a great time. The wind had really kicked up, buffeting revellers and ourselves as we plowed along the sidewalks in search of some food. Both of us were thinking about the next day and the conditions for crossing the Cook Strait.

Robin found a fabulous Asian fusion restaurant called Mr Go’s a short walk from the waterfront. We got in and enjoyed a great meal.

Early Saturday we made our way to the Ferry terminal for our passage from Wellington to Picton on the South Island.

I haven’t been sea sick in ages but always take precautions, and Sarah and Ian had really talked up this particular ride as one that can get very rough. A quick scan of Wikipedia and phrases like “one of the most dangerous and unpredictable waters in the world” led me to swallow a beta histamine, some Gravol and invest in a set of anti-nausea wrist “acupuncture wrist bands” that were sold on board the boat. I passed the journey in a sleepy haze with the circulation cut off to my hands, but no nausea!

Actually, the trip was a breeze. The high winds settled down and we travelled between the two islands for some time before cutting south towards the beautiful rocky sounds of the South Island and Picton.

The whole journey is about three and a half hours and it’s a spectacular way to appreciate the unique coastline of the country.

Blenheim and Marlborough were scheduled as some much needed down time. Blenheim is actually a pretty sleepy little town right in the heart of one of the most famous wine regions in the Southern hemisphere. We had no plans for the day of our arrival and had heard about a restaurant called Gramado’s from some folks we had hiked with in Tongariro.

I called to see if there were any tables free: no luck. Then Robin submitted an online request and within minutes we got a call from the restaurant offering us a 6:00 seating. Bingo! Another victory for Robin!

All we can say is, if you’re ever in Blenheim…! It was a terrific meal, perhaps the best one we had on the trip. Great service, creative twists on Brazilian cuisine, just superb.

Sunday morning we met the folks from Explore Marlborough to get our bikes, helmets, and head out for a tour of the area and some wine tasting. We were matched up with a young British couple and our tour guide Franzi. After getting our gear we set off!

This was an absolutely wonderful way to get a sense of the region and to enjoy some of the wines that the area is justifiably famous for.

Marlborough is in a huge flat valley much of which is in the Wairau River plain. To the north, mountains that are covered in temperate forests and bush; to the south dry and arid mountains. This mix of temperate and dry, warm and cool, is what contributes to the character of the region.

We had four stops on our tour, the best of which were the first and the last. The cycling was easy as the terrain was very flat and distances got shorter as we moved from winery to winery.

We began at Forest Wines. This was a terrific tasting as we were led through a really interesting wine and food pairing tasting. We will be stealing this idea for our next wine club event! Our host at Forest, Sue, was generous with he knowledge and perhaps overly generous with the pours!

We moved from Forest to Framingham Wines where the tasting was less organized and we had a chance to sip on a range of very nice samples while getting to know Martin, Caroline and Franzi a little bit more.

Newcastle honeymooners Martin (a BBC radio reporter) and Caroline (Equity and Inclusion Officer at a tech firm) were great fun. Our guide, Franzi, was a transplanted Swiss national who had been working in the Marlborough wine industry for over 20 years as a grower, vintner and researcher, and who had only recently sold off her acreage. She was more than generous with her time as we kept running further and further behind schedule.

The next stop was at No. 1 Family Estate, a winery that specializes in Champagne style wines. While the tasting was a good palette cleanser it wasn’t all that notable.

We finished with a final tasting and lunch at the Saint Clair Vineyard Kitchen where the host turned out to be a young woman from Golden B.C.! The wines were terrific and the food just as good. Robin enjoyed a potato gnocchi dish while I had the fish of the day, grouper caught in the Marlborough sound.

A tour that was supposed to be three and a half hours beginning at 9:30 took almost double that time, and wrapped up at 3:00pm. I’m not sure if it was because we were slow learners or just enjoyed each others company! A fantastic day all in all.

Tomorrow we go by rail (The Coastal Pacific to be specific) to Christchurch.