As we left Motueka the rain began to fall and the journey to our next stop in Nelson was somewhat blighted by it. Infact our whole stay in Nelson was blighted by the rain. We spent the day at the backpackers either playing games, doing puzzles (Rich) or blogging (me).
We hoped for clear skies the follow morning, to sightsee around Nelson before we headed to Picton but this wasn’t to be. We drove around a wet and bleak looking Nelson, not wanting to pass through without seeing anything at all.
“It was slow going and a frustrating drive for Rich.”
Whilst the rain fell we discovered that Nelson is home to the centre of New Zealand and the first rugby match ever played here as well. It has a lovely harbour with hundreds of yachts and a pretty town centre filled with streets lined with trees and shops. We didn’t look around for long but what we saw in the rain looked nice.
As we drove to Picton the rain continued to fall but eased off slightly. We were driving around really tight twisty roads so it was slow going and a frustrating drive for Rich.
The radio stations in New Zealand aren’t the greatest either, we can never find a radio station that plays one particular type of music, each one is an eclectic mix of songs. Here’s a snapshot of fifteen minutes of radio on our journey from Nelson to Picton:
- Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Deep Blue Something
- This Used To Be My Playground, Madonna
- Night Changes, One Direction
- Take Me To Church, Hozier
- The Way You Make Me Feel, Michael Jackson
- Dark Horse, Katy Perry
As we drove along the Marlborough Sounds and into Picton, we saw a huge cruise ship which turned out to be one of the Royal Caribbean fleet. It looked huge in the small waters of the Marlborough Sounds.
When we arrived at our backpackers in Picton, we found that there were flies in abundance there too. After enquiring at reception for some bug spray, Rich discovered that flies were a known problem all around Picton and the northern towns. Great, no matter how many Rich managed to kill, there would be more to come!
We did our best to ignore the flies and looked forward to spending the evening watching the Australian Open mens tennis final between Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic. Unfortunately Murray didn’t win on this occasion but it was a great match to watch into the early hours of the morning anyway.
“We drink a lot of Marlborough wine at home so I was particularly looking forward to an afternoon tasting the local wines on offer.”
The next day we had a lazy morning. With our late night watching the tennis and it still raining outside, we weren’t in a rush to do anything.
That was until one o’clock in the afternoon when we were getting picked up to go on our Marlborough wine tasting tour. We drink a lot of Marlborough wine at home so I was particularly looking forward to an afternoon tasting the local wines on offer. As we drove out of Picton and down to Marlborough, the sun shone and all was right with the world!
We started off with the Allan Scott winery where Rich and I didn’t like any of the tasting wines, so we were happy to move swiftly on to our second winery, Spy Valley. Named after the local US Spy Base set up in the valley.
Not only did this winery have a cool name but it had art work in the form of a sculpture called ‘The All Seeing Eye’, fantastic views across the vineyards and tasting wines that we actually liked, particularly the 2014 Chardonnay for me!
We continued our wine tasting tour at Wairau River Wines, where they have hats with their own winery name on. Having tasted around fourteen wines, I of course thought it a wonderful idea to borrow a hat for a quick photo.
Our favourite watering hole of the day had to be Hunter’s Valley winery. Home to our pick of the day, the 2014 Sauvignon Blanc. We liked it so much we bought a bottle of it to enjoy in the coming days!
“It seemed like such a bargain in our alcohol induced state!”
Although our wine tour was officially over, having visited four wineries and completed tastings at all of them, some of the men in our wine tour group managed to talk our wine guide into taking us to the local brewery too. Nestled in between vineyards, the MOA brewery is home to a plethora of beers and ciders.
It was here that Andrew from our tasting group paid for Rich and I to do the beer tasting with them. A kind of thank you for putting up with their bad jokes all day. They of course had nothing to thank us for but we accepted their kind hospitality and set about the tasting!
Whilst the craft ales weren’t to our liking, the cider and cherry flavoured beer certainly was. So much so that we bought a magnum of the cherry flavoured ‘breakfast’ beer. It seemed like such a bargain in our alcohol induced state!
Back at the backpackers and tipsy from the afternoons activity, neither Rich or I wanted to cook dinner and so we headed out for an Indian meal. We may not live in Manchester anymore but we still go out for curry after a few drinks! Needless to say, after copious amounts of food and lots of wine it was an early night for us.
As the sun rose the next day, we packed our things and got ready to leave Picton. We treated ourselves to a takeaway breakfast from the bakery next door to the backpackers and headed down to the harbour to enjoy it in the warmth of the morning sun, looking out across the Marlborough Sounds.
Picton is a beautiful little town. Only around four thousand in population, it becomes a bustling hive of activity on the day the cruise ships come to town, doubling the population of this idyllic little place for a day at a time.
We didn’t see the manic side of Picton. We’ll remember it for the stunning view that morning as we ate our breakfast at the harbour and for the fantastic afternoon in Marlborough tasting lovely wines.
Lambs on the loose 
Hi from the IOM. Looks like a good life out there, could be perfect if Okells was available. Missing you xxx
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It would be perfect for you if Okells was here, that’s for sure Dad. I’m happy with all the wine on offer!xx
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