Harvest Lodge Havelock

... to head on to Picton, another 150kms north, which is also the ferry port for crossing to Wellington and the North Island. The road and a single track railway, run together alongside the sea and at the foot of some very tall cliffs, for much of the journey and, as we got further north, we saw more trucks and commercial traffic heading south, presumably just off a ferry.  After travelling through the first part of the Marlborough Plain and seeing the beginning of the huge ...

... had no choice. Is that an offence in England to park the wrong way? Stupid kiwis. So Paul has written a lovely letter to the police about it and hopefully it will all be ok. So all you people who come to NZ. Park the right way or there'll be trouble. They also fine you for parking outside the lines. However, we heard on the radio that they are too busy to deal with burglary. Probably because they are taken up with parking offences. It's a cruel country.

I phone the microlight company at about 0900 as arranged earlier and they said they would pick me up at 1500. So I decided to go out with the group for the morning. We visited the " WOW " museum of wearable art and vintage cars. When we got to the museum I didn't bother with the wearable art exhibition. Apparently the idea was started in Nelson but has now become world famous!! I went to have a look round the vintage cars. They had some very good ...

... to kill them!!!! Our next stop was a bit impromptu!!! :( If you look carefully at the photo of the lorry, you see that the road has ben carved out of the rock face. Only one vehicle can pass at one time, it's a dodgy to say the least!! Our last stop on the way to Nelson was at the Beechwoods Cafe in Murchinson, this was yet another good rest stop with plenty of food etc. We then finally arrived at Nelson, this had been a long drive but at least it had stopped raining!!!

... bought a pair of shorts in the sale - not a pretty sight, but the forecast was good for the next few days, so what the hell ... While I was having my lunch back at the YHA I got talking to a lady in the kitchen who seemed nice enough until she asked what room I was in ... That seemed like an odd thing to ask to me so I feigned ignorance! She did however point me in the right direction to walk to the Geographical Centre of New Zealand. She had gone there the previous day and took ...

... or up the coast I should say) to Westport and Cape Foulwind where we find a seal colony and the weather is become quite nice. The seals are so cute to watch and entertaining...it is hard to pull ourselves away but we have a drive ahead of us and so we head away. Stopping in Westport we eat a bite at Gilly's Cafe and start our trip to Nelson where we have decided to spend the night. It is a four hour drive that is mostly around mountains...so ...

... motel in its own gardens in the centre of the small town. The 'Marlborough Sounds' area is an enormous spread of big islands and convoluted fjords on the north east of the South Island. A mountain range seperates 'Queen Charlotte Sound', with its main ferry port of Picton, on the east from the 'Pelorus Sound' and the small port of Havelock on the west side. Havelock started as a log milling town but now has the distinction of being 'The Green Shelled Mussel Capital ...

... were the 2006 Select Riesling and the 2003 Dry Riesling. Scott liked the 2006 Gewurtz, and I enjoyed the Pinot Noir and the Montepulciano, an Italian grape they decided to try growing. Our third winery is Hanui, named after an extinct NZ songbird. This one is organic, so the hand-picked grapes taste a bit unusual to us. We are again impressed with the variety of vintages and how each tastes distinctly different, even to our untrained tongues. Our last stop is at a mini-mall ...

... the Nydia Bay side, unfortunately, had been cut and was in various states of regeneration. Another two hours downhill and the Duncan Bay pier and parking lot signaled the end of the track. The 5 ½ hour estimation was a bit off. By this time, however, the clouds had lifted and sun again shone bright. Since I was three hours early for our shuttle, I ditched my pack in the woods, took off my boots and headed for the beach to read ...

... crossings, some cattle sightings and two hours later we arrived at Te Mahoerangi. As we walked into the yard it reminded me of the scene from the movie The Beach where Richard and Co. waltz into the island village. Random people were scattered about the grounds doing odd chores, fixing grounded boats, or inspecting fishing reels. And surprisingly, young people too...though the only one who had the looks for Hollywood was the new ...