Stopped in Kaikoura for dinner. While looking for a restaurant, Dad notices a sign in the park pointing to a building that says, "Toilets/BBQs". What do you say when you're barbequing in a bathroom? "Tastes fine as long as you cook the **** out of it." Or, "I have a burning sensation when I pee." Stopped in Renwick long enough to sleep and make ...

By early morning we were back on Highway 6, headed north along the coast. Today would be our first long road trip. Joe did a really fantastic job of maneuvering through the tight, narrow mountain passes as we headed east. The scenery was....well, you know, AMAZING!!!! Along the way we came across "New Zealand's Longest Swingbridge," and we decid...

Etelasaari, Marlborough. Loistavat sauvignon blancit ja rieslingit. Siina onkin ollut teema eiliselle ja talle paivalle. Eilen aamulla jatimme sateisen ja tuulisen Wellingtonin ja ylitimme Cook Straitin lautalla, joka saapui Etelasaaren Pictoniin. Pictonista otimme allemme vuokra-auton Pegasus-nimisesta paikallisesta autovuokraketjusta. Olimme h...

Nelson was trying to prove this morning that it is sunny most of the time! We ventured out on route 6 again towards Blenheim via a small detour to visit Cable Bay. Sunshine and the sound of the sea was a relaxing start to the day. Not as dramatic as the West Coast scenery, but peaceful instead. Short drive round some more twisty roads brought us...

Wine touring is great! Unfortunately we followed the Lonely Planet and camped up in Blenheim, and got the bike from there, when we should have gone to Renwick, thats where most of the wineries were. And we slightly misjudged the distances and our ability to cycle a tandem and to read a map, so only managed to hit 3 wineries, of which the first ...

Well i'd decided to head off somewhere with a few mates this day - we were gonna drive and go chill out and see somewhere new - outa blenheim for a change after workn the vineyards all week.. So we picked a direction and road at random and began the trip! Only drove about 40mins away... didnt pass one single open petrol station on the way which ...

Our last stop in the South Island was at Renwick. Renwick is a small town just outside Blenheim and is located in the Marlborough wine region. During our day there we hired some bikes and rode out to the vineyards to do some wine tasting. At our first wine tasting of the day (at 10am!) we felt obliged to buy a bottle of vino after taking advanta...

Our hostel rented out bikes for $10 each on which you cold tour around the nearby wineries for wine tasting, the whole purpose of our trip here. We were given helmets, bikes, a loop track to follow and notes on which ones did the free tastings then sent on our way. The weather wasn't so great today, it was grey and drizzly, like those horrible d...

Someone asked me what I though of in terms of NZ before I got here & I had to admit it was wine not the stunning scenery & opportunities for adventure. So here I am in the heart of the Marlbourough wine region (think yummy Sauvignon Blancs) bicycle in hand heading off for adventures. I was really keen to do the bike thing (even though th...

Sleep in today for the first time in a week. Farm fresh eggs. Takes us a while to figure out the temperature dial on the travel cooker provided. Farmer's market on today until noon. Sheep cheese, hazelnut oil, red currants, quince and fig jam, olive oils, venison, fresh veg. Today we visit wineries: Lawsons, Wither Hills, Matua, Fromm, Seresin, ...