February 2019; South Island Trip - Part 2
So, with a somewhat heavy heart, we left Golden Bay on Waitangi day (6th Feb.) and headed back over the Takaka Hill Road to the Tasman Bay side. We were heading for the small town of St Arnaud for one night which meant a right turn just before the town of Motueka onto the Motueka Valley Road heading inland. This was a fortuitous choice of route. Just before we departed Golden Bay we heard about a big bush fire in Pigeon Valley, South of Nelson. This turned into the worst bush fire for many years with road closures which may have affected us if we had headed straight back to Nelson (see link below). The smoke could be seen from the road on the other side of the ranges to our Northeast.
At St Arnaud we stayed at B&B accomodation which I can best describe as disappointing. I will make it a general point not to slag off anything or anywhere on this blog but, suffice to say, we were glad it was only one night and we will not be staying there again!
The little town itself was interesting and we had a good walk around part of Lake Rotoiti, and a beer and snack in the local hotel.
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| Lake Rotoiti - reminded us of Scotland |
The amateur ornithologist in me was interested to read on the information board that a flock of Black-billed Gulls had recently flown in and I managed to get a few reasonable photos of them splashing about on the lakeshore. This gull is endemic to New Zealand, endangered, and the majority of its population is in the southern half of the South Island, so it was good to see them here. It looks a lot like the much commoner Red-billed Gull (particularly juveniles which have blackish bills), but has a more delicate structure, a thinner bill, and is more often than not found inland by lakes and rivers rather than the seashore.
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| Black-billed Gulls |
After our single night stay, it was back on the road up the Wairau Valley to Blenheim, the centre of the Marlborough wine growing region. We stayed at another B&B in nearby Renwick and this was much more than expected with wonderful hosts, a good sized room and excellent breakfasts.
One of our first stops on arriving was the tourist information centre where we found out the Marlborough Food and Wine Festival was on the Saturday of our stay and tickets were still available. Serendipity or what!!
First of all, though, was a winery tour on the Friday, a must do when here. Although the B&B we stayed at had bicycles for hire (free to guests), we decided a small group bus tour would be best for us. So, not too early on the Friday morning, we got on the "Hop'n'Grape" tour minibus for a trip around four wineries, then the Moa Brewery for a beer to finish. We sampled numerous wines, most good, some not so great, but, all in all, a great day out. Our driver, Cam, was very knowledgeable, having previously worked at a winery, and was able to take us "behind the scenes" at the winery he used to work at. You, too, can sound knowledgeable when here as when asked what type of grapes are growing in the vineyard you drive past. If you answer, "Sauvignon Blanc", you have an 85% chance of being right in the Marlborough District.
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| "Savvy Blanc" Grapes |
So, on to Saturday and the Marlborough Wine and Food Festival. This is now a big event, the publicity blurb stating it is New Zealand's original and longest running festival of its kind - 2019 its 35th year. Interestingly we went to it in 1987 when we had not long arrived in NZ (we spent that year in Wellington) and it was a fairly small affair then. It is much larger now with a large array of food and wine stalls. It was also a warm, sunny day so a great time was had by all.
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| Suitable temporary tattoo for parents of three daughters |
And so, for our final full day it was off to the Omaka Aviation Heritage Museum near Blenheim. This was the aviation geek's (my) day out. It was very interesting and recommended for anyone interested in aircraft or First and Second World War. Most of the exhibits are dioramas which tell the tale of war in the air admirably.
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| When you took your hunting piece up to have a pot shot at the enemy |
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| See story below |
The tale of "Spud" Hayter. He was a New Zealander in the RAF who was shot down during the Battle of Britain. He bailed out of his burning Hurricane, landing in the grounds of Great Swifts Estate where a cocktail party was in full swing. The wounded airman was patched up by a female doctor who was at the party and, naturally, offered a glass of champagne. The doctor later sent him a bill!!!
"Spud" survived the war and returned to farming in NZ.
The next day we said farewell to the "mainland"*, driving back to Nelson to board the plane to Auckland. A great holiday!
* The South Island is often called The Mainland.
