TUESDAY, DEC 23
Yesterday, we got on the road after breakfast in Nelson. We were picked up by a Super Shuttle, deposited at the bus depot, then took the Intercity Coach to Blenheim. I expected the drive to be less beautiful than our other drives. I was wrong. We drove over two minor passes. The hillsides, as in much of South New Zealand are steep, cut by farming valleys, and lovely streams. This area specializes in timber. The trees that they use are called pinus radiata (Monterrey Pine??). We were told that it grows in Canada, but takes 75 years to reach full height. In New Zealand, it takes 25 years. These pines looked straighter than the Monterrey Pines we've seen growing all over, so not sure if the name is true. Apparently, the wood has to be treated, or a borer insect destroys the wooden buildings in 6-7 years. It made for pretty hillsides however.
A government building in Nelson
Hillsides covered with pinus radiata -
An area where the trees had been harvested
Most of the buildings in New Zealand have corrugated iron roofs - it does rain a lot
Farming valleys between the hillsides
This is a mountain of mussel shells outside the town of Havelock. Havelock is the mussel capital of New Zealand - the green lipped mussels that get imported all over (and in the US). The shells are used for fertilizer
We've reached Marlborough - and the wineries continue
We reached the Blenheim railroad station in about 2 hours. We were picked up by another Super Shuttle and brought to the Scenic Hotel in Blenheim. Not much to look at from our window. Blenheim is in the valley between yellow hills on the north and larger mountains to the south. The general appearance is much like central California.
Once settled we decided to walk around Blenheim to see what we could find for lunch and eventually dinner. There were an incredible number of pharmacies in town. Given the number of pharmacies, the warmer weather here, and the number of elderly people, this must be like Florida for New Zealand. Blenheim is about 3 blocks wide and 5 blocks long, so our walking tour didn't take too long. We found a sandwich shop for lunch. There didn't seem like much for dinner, so we ultimately opted to eat at the hotel.
Seymour Square close to Scenic Hotel in Blenheim
One of the many pharmacies in Blenheim
The town centre
Another example of the corrugated roofs around here
Me at Seymour Square
The Dry Hills beyond the hotel made the area look like California
We walked around town later in the day, and had a coffee. The coffee here has been superb! Dinner at the hotel was good too. We experimented and tried a few local wines. They were good to great.
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 24
We met the wine tour lady, Carol, and found for the first time since we've come that we were the only people with the 5 hour wine tour. Last night we liked a Savignon Blanc from Villa Maria (sounds Mexican) the best. So that was our first stop. Their wines were really nice. The most expensive wines from last night's menu weren't available on a 1 glass only basis - so we didn't try them. The winery Cloudy Bay, was our second stop. Nope. We really didn't like their wines. Any of them. How disappointing. Then on to Allan Scott. There wasn't much there that we liked. They had a Pinot Gris that smelled like apricots and had a bit of an apricot taste. A little on the sweet side, I'm not sure if it hadn't been my third winery this morning, I would have like it as much as I did. Mercifully, we stopped for lunch at Rock Ferry Winery (some of the wineries have restaurants as part of their tasting rooms) - I was kind of tasted out by this point. I had fish and Charlie had a cheese platter. The food was outstanding, the setting was lovely, and, they had great coffee. We had a tasting after lunch. Their wines were good - but their food was better. Since it's the day before Christmas, the place was jammed full of people. The servers did their best, but they had slightly hysterical expressions on their faces.
At the Forrest Winery they told us about the grape vines here. They are planted north to south, are drip irrigated, and hand-pruned. They are so carefully pruned, the vines look a little like candelabras. They allow them to grow more fully to the east, where they can get more moisture. Under the vines they keep a netting which they extend over the bottom of the vines when the grapes just begin to ripen to keep birds away. Lots of details...
We took this photo to show off the Villa Maria wines - not us - hence Charlie's cut off head
Outside the Forrest Winery
Grape vines lined up north to south
Outside the Rock Ferry Winery
In the display cellar of the Framingham Winery
Old cork jammer from Framingham Winery
We picked up some other wine tourists at Drylands after lunch - a place that had a lot of wineries represented in one place. Nobilo could be tasted there - we didn't taste. From there we tried Forrest Winery - another great Savignon Blanc. Their Pinot Gris was not so good. Lastly we stopped at Framingham Winery. The owner had come from the Framingham Estate in Nottingham and named his winery after it. The specialty there was Reisling. We said we liked dry wines, and were given an outstanding Reisling - and I'm not a particular Reisling fan. At that point I was definitely wined out. Downstairs at the Framingham Winery was an old cellar that was for display purposes only - great stuff in there.
Our last stop was at a chocolate shop - Makana Confections. The little sampler didn't get me, but they handed out a Macadamia Chocolate Toffee that Charlie and I fell for. Carol was afraid the shop was going to close early for Christmas - fortunately - they were open until 4:30 and we got there at 4:15. . Back to the hotel. Quiet evening - we'll eat in the hotel tonight - we're planning to try some New Zealand venison - reviews to come.
Tomorrow on to Picton - for the ferry to Wellington - and the beginning of our homeward journey.
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