Blenheim - Our last day on the South Island

Amelia has decided to do early morning workouts, which means a lovely early wake up call. Happily, after the initial alarm, I fell asleep again and didn’t even wake when she climbed out of the van to train. Unfortunately this meant I couldn’t annoy her by taking a video from in between the curtains, but at least I got back to sleep. Today was basically a drive to Blenheim, where there is a large farm park to explore then a famous Biergarten to drink at. 

Blenheim, and surrounding Marlborough, is wine country. So we passed many many vineyards, it’s likely if you’ve had a New Zealand bottle of wine, it’s come from here. We could do a wine tasting/vineyard visit here but are saving this for when we’re back in Auckland. The drive was beautiful, although with a lot of roadworks along the coastal road which did slow us down a tad. 

Our first destination was the Wither Hills Farm Park, where there are loads of different trails to take, from 30 minute lakes to multi day treks. We opted for an hour and 45 minute loop up some hills and down into a valley next to a stream. As expected, we saw many sheep. 

Views over Blenheim

After lunching in the forest next to the dry stream (not the most picturesque spot) we got back to Iorek and headed to the campsite. There’s a bridge under construction in the middle of the campsite so it’s a slightly odd arrangement with not the most luxurious facilities however as I write this we’re sat in the van watching the sun set over the mountains next to a small stream, very idyllic indeed. We’ve just come back from the Biergaten and settling in for the night as we’ve got an early wake up tomorrow for the ferry over to Wellington.