Sunshine etc
It's another scorching day here.
Since I last wrote something down we've been whale watching. A very interesting experience. We found a whale almost instantly. They sit on the top breathing (they store it all up) for between 5 and 12 minutes so once you see the spout you still have quite a while to get over and see them before they head on back down to the depths (around 1000m). The heading down bit being the climax as they arch their backs and plunge down sending their tail into the air. An awesome sight and one it took me three whales to get the photo right.
We also got another game with the dusky dolphins. They love showing off and this time I had the camera and the water was alot clearer (photos to follow when I find somewhere with the capabilities).
So we saw three sperm whales and a few hundred dusky dolphins and a fair few albatross. We then got taken to see a seal colony which we weren't particularly happy about given we'd already seen hundreds, we could see the from the shore and we'd paid to see whales.
Anyway a grand experience all in again. The weather held nicely for us too.
The next morning before we left kaikoura we went on a rather unsuccessful fishing trip with the owner of the hostel, Brent. We lifted his 3 cray pots which were all empty and fished unsuccessfully for baracuda for a matter of minutes before he decided it was futile.
That was us done with Kaikoura. It was the hardest place so far to leave behind. Maybe because it's quite like home and also because there's so many things to do.
Anyway we headed to the wine country, Marlborough. The main town is Blenhiem and there's not alot there. You won't find too many people speaking highly of the place. All around are vineyards though. Apparently the Sauvignon Blanc from this area is the best in the world. They do produce many other wines aswell though.
We decided to have a look around one and after laughing at being asked if we 'worked in the wine industry' we sat down to a little tasting session at Herzog Winery. Run and owned by a Swiss family who came to NZ in 1996. We didn't ask if it was the former footballer Andreas Herzog, he was Swiss too.
Anyway we had 3 very tastes whites (Jamie can't drink red) and asked a multitude of inane and dopey questions and headed on our merry way. If you like wine it would be a great area to visit but we sampled the atmos and we didn't really fit in.
That night we stayed in a hostel in Renwick (10km from Blenhiem) which was a bit like a prison. They were extremely security conscious and locked up everything and switched off the cookers etc at 9:30pm. It was a nice place though and the sun shone and we played petanque.
The garden was full of fruit trees too from nectarines to oranges to lemons to plums. All ready for eating. Very nice.
Next day, Saturday we headed for Jamie's old flatmate Fiona's parents near Picton. We first headed to Picton. It was exactly 8 weeks since we passed through on our way south and we watched the train depart at 130pm marking our full circle.
This weekend was maritime festival weekend in Picton and the whiff of burgers was in the air and all sort of small boats were on display and racing around the harbour. It was another scorching day and the festival atmosphere added to a cracking saturday afternoon feel.
Mid afternoon we headed down the notorious winding road to Port Underwood where we were to stay the night with Norelle and John Guard. Turns out John has lived in Port Underwood all his life and his ancestors were the first settlers in the south island in 1830 and at the exact same cove they still live in.
The Guards were great hosts and made us feel most welcome. It was good to see how people live in new zealand. Even if it's not quite how they do things in Auckland.
We left them this afternoon but not after a days fishing with John. I managed to bag a barracuda, a wrasse (or spotty) and two blue cod. Alas Jamie remains empty handed.
We also lifted John's net he had set in the morning. It had a Trevally and seven or eight Hoki. When we got home Norelle cooked the fish for us and they were absolutely delicious, this coming from someone who doesn't generally eat fish.
Anyway we're now just outside Picton at the sun-kissed Bayview Backpakcers before we head off tomorrow to walk the Queen Charlotte Track. 4 days. 71kms. Should be interesting. There are hostel stops every night so I should be able to update somewhere along there.
I'm off out on the balcony for some sunshine.
Since I last wrote something down we've been whale watching. A very interesting experience. We found a whale almost instantly. They sit on the top breathing (they store it all up) for between 5 and 12 minutes so once you see the spout you still have quite a while to get over and see them before they head on back down to the depths (around 1000m). The heading down bit being the climax as they arch their backs and plunge down sending their tail into the air. An awesome sight and one it took me three whales to get the photo right.
We also got another game with the dusky dolphins. They love showing off and this time I had the camera and the water was alot clearer (photos to follow when I find somewhere with the capabilities).
So we saw three sperm whales and a few hundred dusky dolphins and a fair few albatross. We then got taken to see a seal colony which we weren't particularly happy about given we'd already seen hundreds, we could see the from the shore and we'd paid to see whales.
Anyway a grand experience all in again. The weather held nicely for us too.
The next morning before we left kaikoura we went on a rather unsuccessful fishing trip with the owner of the hostel, Brent. We lifted his 3 cray pots which were all empty and fished unsuccessfully for baracuda for a matter of minutes before he decided it was futile.
That was us done with Kaikoura. It was the hardest place so far to leave behind. Maybe because it's quite like home and also because there's so many things to do.
Anyway we headed to the wine country, Marlborough. The main town is Blenhiem and there's not alot there. You won't find too many people speaking highly of the place. All around are vineyards though. Apparently the Sauvignon Blanc from this area is the best in the world. They do produce many other wines aswell though.
We decided to have a look around one and after laughing at being asked if we 'worked in the wine industry' we sat down to a little tasting session at Herzog Winery. Run and owned by a Swiss family who came to NZ in 1996. We didn't ask if it was the former footballer Andreas Herzog, he was Swiss too.
Anyway we had 3 very tastes whites (Jamie can't drink red) and asked a multitude of inane and dopey questions and headed on our merry way. If you like wine it would be a great area to visit but we sampled the atmos and we didn't really fit in.
That night we stayed in a hostel in Renwick (10km from Blenhiem) which was a bit like a prison. They were extremely security conscious and locked up everything and switched off the cookers etc at 9:30pm. It was a nice place though and the sun shone and we played petanque.
The garden was full of fruit trees too from nectarines to oranges to lemons to plums. All ready for eating. Very nice.
Next day, Saturday we headed for Jamie's old flatmate Fiona's parents near Picton. We first headed to Picton. It was exactly 8 weeks since we passed through on our way south and we watched the train depart at 130pm marking our full circle.
This weekend was maritime festival weekend in Picton and the whiff of burgers was in the air and all sort of small boats were on display and racing around the harbour. It was another scorching day and the festival atmosphere added to a cracking saturday afternoon feel.
Mid afternoon we headed down the notorious winding road to Port Underwood where we were to stay the night with Norelle and John Guard. Turns out John has lived in Port Underwood all his life and his ancestors were the first settlers in the south island in 1830 and at the exact same cove they still live in.
The Guards were great hosts and made us feel most welcome. It was good to see how people live in new zealand. Even if it's not quite how they do things in Auckland.
We left them this afternoon but not after a days fishing with John. I managed to bag a barracuda, a wrasse (or spotty) and two blue cod. Alas Jamie remains empty handed.
We also lifted John's net he had set in the morning. It had a Trevally and seven or eight Hoki. When we got home Norelle cooked the fish for us and they were absolutely delicious, this coming from someone who doesn't generally eat fish.
Anyway we're now just outside Picton at the sun-kissed Bayview Backpakcers before we head off tomorrow to walk the Queen Charlotte Track. 4 days. 71kms. Should be interesting. There are hostel stops every night so I should be able to update somewhere along there.
I'm off out on the balcony for some sunshine.
posted by PeterZ at 8:30 PM
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