We had in mind a couple of nights in Kaikora, hopefully taking in some whale and/or dolphin watching. Being the apparent crayfish capital of NZ, we anticipated a little lobster as well.
Kaikora is right on the ocean. Apparently. We couldn't actually see ocean through the "low cloud" when we arrived, so we figured that lunch at the Cray Pot would be a fine idea. Surprisingly, they had no crays. We busted the proverbial move and had some quite decent Thai instead (when we travel, we seem to develop cravings for spicy food swiftly and frequently).
The "cloud" hadn't lifted by the end of lunch, so we decided to make straight for the main Marlborough wine zones instead - not without first picking up a fresh crayfish for dinner.
We understood Blenheim to be pretty much the epicentre of Marlborough, and were increasingly excited as we neared it - accompanied by the local soundtrack, the din of rain splattering itself against Bertha. It alternated between raining and pouring all day. Blenheim is supposed to be the second sunniest city on the south island, we guess it is all relative. They say Hobart is the second driest capital in Australia, we get the odd bit of rain there too.
We settled into a camperan park for the rest of the afternoon, sharing it with many ducks... great weather for ducks. The rain continued on unlentingly through the night, while we consumed our crayfish with a local chardonnay (and being foodivores, promptly made some stock from the carapace for a future risotto).
Next morning: still wet. No problem. Perfectly fine conditions for a bit of wine tasting.
We started our tasting tour at Cloudy Bay, the home of some of our favourite NZ wines. It is also where we learnt a lot more about duck hunting season opening shortly. Apparently a popular local passtime enjoyed but many....not the ducks. The blanc de blancs fizz was very good, as was their flagship sauvignon blanc. The 2008 late harvest riesling was particulary fine, and we made sure we left with a couple of bottles to accompany cheese :)
Our next stop is 50 metre up the road, Moa Brewery. You reach this via a long driveway with sheep filled grape vines enroute.
Apparently they are frequently asked by visitors what grapes type they use in their beer...really. The brewery is the side project of the winemaker from Alan Scott Family, and decent beers indeed he makes. Andrew was amused to learn that the hops used in the IPA (cascade & nelson sauvin) are the same as used in his staple homebrew. Clearly fine taste.It was, happily, time for lunch. We tracked back a couple of hundred metres to Alan Scott Family winery, which we had selected on the basis of (a) delicious gewurtztaminer of theirs we'd sampled and (b) an online menu promising an enticing lamb shank. The shank recipe had changed but that was no trouble, as we sampled their wild boar terrine with an embeddded chorizo, osso bucco and pulled pork tartine. A really pleasant outdoor ambience (heated, mercifully) and recommended. Their wines were also good, notably the sparkling rose (Joues des Rouges), and they've got a very cool giant chess set.
The tastings continued after lunch at Hans Herzog (fine pinot gris) and Georges Michel (good viognier & also a Marc de Marlborough). We figured the surname had been spelt incorrectly, so added the missing "A".
Having tasted as much as is reasonable, bearing in mind the NZ 0.08 blood alcohol limit, we headed off towards Picton for a couple of nights at Smith Farm. Camping grounds are rarely notable, but this one boasted one very very round pig indeed :)
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