We got up at the crack of dawn to get down to the ferry terminal for 7:30am. We waved goodbye to the North Island - well actually we slept pretty much all the way to the South Island so we didn’t wave. Nor did we witness “one of the most beautiful ferry rides in the world” - you win some, you lose some.
We docked in Picton at about 11:30 and set off straight away for the Marlborough Wine Region. We had read in the book that you could just rock up to vineyards and they would welcome you with open arms and give you loads of free wine. So we chose the one that the book said was best for inexperienced tasters and headed along there. We were kind of expecting a big warehouse full of bottles of wine that you could just pick up and swig, with loads of people all looking really pleased to see us - what we got instead was a very quiet place with only one man working there and a strong sense that we didn’t really belong. We almost chickened out and didn’t go in because it looked so quiet and posh but in the end our desire for free wine won over and we went in.
As it turned out, the man working there was very nice and we explained to him that we were novices when it came to wine and asked him if he had any jagermeister. Not really. He gave us some glasses with a little bit of sauvignon blanc in and showed us around the vineyard - it was dead interesting and we looked at all the vines for the different kinds of wine which had little boards by them explaining the different types of wine. We also did some kind of aroma test thing where you had to smell grass in a glass.
Chris pretending he knows about wine.
After we oohed and ahhed for a bit we successfully convinced him we were serious so we got to the good bit - the free wine. He gave us a taste of 5 of their wines and we talked about them without making twats of ourselves. Which is always a bonus. Then we bought a bottle of their Sauvignon Blanc and left feeling rather pleased.
Jen with our bottle of wine (and squinty eyes)
We headed on towards Kaikoura - we had been advised that you have to try the crayfish in Kaikoura as it is caught locally and is delicious. We stopped a few kilometres outside Kaikoura at a place we’d read about called Nin’s Bin. It is essentially a caravan by the side of the road but do not be fooled; this is no Mrs Munchies snack wagon. There was no-one there when we arrived but we waited a few minutes and a woman appeared carrying two big plastic boxes full of cooked crayfish - they were massive like lobsters and had the prices written on them. We chose one of the smallest ones which was still $37 - and as we wanted it heated up with garlic butter it was $41 all in. But it was totally worth it. We shared the tail and even though Chris doesn’t really like shellfish he thought it was bloody lovely. Then Jen made him go and get the pliers out of the car so she could crack the legs and the claws open and get every last morsel of meat out of them. Chris lost interest at this point but Jen made short work of it and there was little left in the end.
A few kilometres nearer to Kaikoura we pulled over as there were seals on the rocks by the beach and we wanted to get some photos - they were so close and really not bothered by us at all. This was just a taste of the marine delights that Kaikoura had in store!
Our campsite was lovely and we had a great view of the mountains which are really close to the beach in Kaikoura. On our first day there we went whale-watching. When we arrived at the Whaleway Station (ha ha) we were told that they’d only seen one whale today and it was unlikely that we’d see anymore, but we were really lucky and saw two. Jen got a bit emotional; Chris was mainly trying to keep his lunch down. He’s not great with boats. After we’d seen the whales they also showed us a colony of dusky dolphins which was awesome as they swam alongside the boat and jumped out of the water and stuff. When we got back to the campsite we saw some girls get their dinner stolen by seagulls and laughed. Then we went out into Kaikoura for beer and ribs.
The following day we went on a snorkelling trip to swim with fur seals, like those we had seen on the drive into Kaikoura.
Chris: Aren’t you going to tell them about the night before when the fire siren went off and I couldn’t find you for ages because you were in the disabled toilet having a poo?
Jen: …no.
We had wanted to go swimming with the dolphins but left it too late to book and all the trips were full so settled for the seals instead. Jen was a little bit terrified but it said on their website that there had only been 2 bites in 21 years of trips and neither were serious. Despite Jen being convinced that she would be the third we went ahead. It was a very small trip on a tiny boat and there were only 7 of us in the group. They gave us wetsuits, snorkels, masks and fins and took us out to Barney’s Rock where a large colony of seals live - on the way there the guy told us that we might see some baby seal pups and we were not disappointed. There were loads of the little buggers but they’re only about 2 months old so they can’t swim yet and just splash about in little rock pools. Very cute.
The adult seals were very inquisitive and often swam really close to us. Jen was still a little bit terrified and did quite a lot of squealing into her snorkel but there was no biting and Chris managed to get some amazing photos and videos on his new camera with the fancy underwater housing.
When we got back to the campsite we had a few hours of lounging around which was well-needed. Jen lay by the pool working on her tan and Chris lay in the tent working on his snoozing. Later we cooked some fish that we’d bought from a local fishmonger, on the barbecue and drank our bottle of sauvignon blanc that we’d bought a few days before. Lovely.
The next day we sadly said goodbye to Kaikoura and headed further south to Christchurch. It rained for most of the drive there and it was still raining when we got to the campsite. We were not pleased and so we put tent up in record time and then sat in the car and watched a film on Chris’s ipod.
After dinner we decided that we would drive into Christchurch and have a wander round. It was still cold and a bit rainy though and we found Christchurch a bit grim - even though it was Friday night. We walked down some backstreets and found a few bars that looked very Shoreditch. We went into one as Jen had seen people with cocktails, but as we were standing at the bar some guy in a pork pie hat started playing the saxophone loudly and Chris decided it was time to leave. We later read in the Lonely Planet guide that it was “Christchurch’s coolest bar”. We are not cool.
Chris: No. It’s Christchurch that isn’t cool. We are awesome. Pork pie hats are for douchebags.
After a few drinks in another bar we went back to the campsite to bed. As we were lying in the tent we could hear some kind of snuffling noise - Jen was a bit worried but Chris laid any fears to rest by saying “Maybe it’s a possum…?” and then falling asleep. Thanks for that.
This morning it was still very grey and wet but not raining anymore. We made some breakfast in our least-favourite campsite kitchen so far (lots of flies) but then had showers in our favourite campsite bathroom so far (very clean. Jen: And there was a hairdryer!). Then we drove into Christchurch and went to a market near the Arts Centre. Whilst we were there it started to brighten up and the market was very nice so we started to feel a bit better about Christchurch.
We then drove out of the city centre to go up the Gondola (it’s a cable car). The views were lovely and by this time it was very sunny - Jen had read that you could get the gondola up the mountain and then do a nice hour-long walk back down. We thought this was a good chance to practice our hiking as in a matter of days we’re heading to Mount Cook National Park where we will do a four hour walk and we’re not exactly experts at that kind of caper. However, the bridle path walk that we did today was neither fun nor good practice for anything. Unless you wanted to practice walking down a really steep path that is really gravelly and therefore dead slippy all the bloody way down. Jen was not pleased. We’re not feeling hopeful about Mount Cook. There may be some kind of helicopter rescue involved.
At the top.Jen is not pleased.
This afternoon we went back into Christchurch city centre to hire a row boat along the River Avon. Chris decided that he had done enough driving and nominated Jen to row the boat. Jen was awesome at rowing.
Chris: Yeah apart from that time when you crashed into the side because you couldn’t turn the boat around.
Jen: That’s because you weren’t helping me!
Chris: You kept telling me to shut up!
Jen: Shut up.
Photographic evidence of Jen being awesome at rowing.
Now we are sitting in a café just outside Christchurch enjoying lattes and using their free internet.
Chris: I used to think people in Starbucks were dicks but I bloody love coffee shops now.
Tune in next time to see how we get on at Mount Cook. (Jen’s mum and Chris’s mum - we are joking about the helicopter rescue and we will be taking plenty of water and corned beef sandwiches and sticking to the marked route. We are good children really.)
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