Captain’s Log: Authur’s Pass to Kaikoura, Ferry, and Martinborough , Day 46-49

Hi All,

Seven weeks and counting and yes, we are still married:)))

Kaikoura: Not a bad drive from Arthur’s Pass…when we started we decided to go see Arthur’s Pass, we thought it would be a nice lookout over the mountains…..20 min the other direction…not…it was a Pass with no views and it had started to rain so no views anyway….drats!! When we got down from the mountains on the eastern side, the sun came out and it was a beautiful day, albeit still windy and cold….we have just concluded it is Fall and put away the summer clothes!!!

And, the night before we had a gorgeous Pinot Noir from Pegasus with our CO lamb rack….we had not had it before and wow. So guess what, we drive into another wine region….Waiapara….north of Christchurch and yep, there is Pegasus…..hard on the brakes, quick right and we are there….excellent winery…..about 20 others in the region but since we had a ways to go just tasted/bought at Pegasus….LIG:))))

We came out of the foothills and bam, right onto the coast…the highway was like HWY 1 in CA….steep and curvy with a gazillion trucks on the road trying to take up half my lane….arghhhhhh!!! But it was beautiful with a wild surf pounding the rocks!!!

We liked Kaikoura but we got aced out on the whale tours….we just seem to be unlucky when it comes to seeing/swimming with whales other than on Mystic. When we got to Kaikoura, the surf was way up and the whale boats had not been out for 3 days. But, the forecast for the next day was calming conditions so we signed up for the 12:15 boat. Got there at 11:30 and good to go….had a bite to eat, another meat pie….then went and paid around noonish after they posted the official go…but, severe sea sickness warning due to deteriating conditions….hmmm, looked outside and no wind, bright sunshine and maybe a 3-6′ swell….we have a seat in the briefing room and the man says….for those waiting to the 12:15, 12:45 and 1:15 boats they have been canceled due to poor conditions….arghhhhhh….went up to get our refund and I said gee, the conditions look pretty good to me…the guy just smiled and said he just works here….Kathy thinks it is a conspiracy….who knows….arghhhhhh!!!

So, we went for some short hikes and fur seal sighting and were not disappointed….found a colony of maybe 75 with 50+ pups….all playing in the various tide pools….what a treat to see these little guys!!!

Kaikoura is famous for their crayfish….caught daily right off the rocks in the south harbor….so for our last night on South Island we splurged and had a crayfish dinner….expensive….US$65 for 1.5 pounds but were they perfect….oven baked in garlic butter….CO quality for sure…reminded us somewhat of the garlic dungeness crabs at Daniel’s restaurant on Lake Union in Seattle!!!

The next day we drove the 100 miles to Picton to catch the afternoon ferry across the Cook Strait….conditions were moderate….10-15 kt wind with 6′ swell but it rained quite a bit so not too many good pictures. It was very sad to leave South Island….6 weeks this year and 2 weeks last year….just a special place and one we will miss and cherish the memories!!!

Martinborough: What a treat…..this is a very small but yet one of the oldest wine region in NZ. Very boutique-ish wineries and proud of it….some whites but 70% of the grapes are Pinot Noirs. We went to the Martinborough Wine Center fist as many wineries do not have tasting rooms…tasted Gladstone and Ashwell there, and then went on to some of the wineries that do taste: Poppies, Ata Rangi, Shubert and Martinborough Vineyard….a good day!!!

Stats:
Traveled: 250 miles today; 2950 miles total; that’s almost 5000 km!!
Hotel: Kaikoura: Waterfront Apartments – just ok, it was a 2 bedroom and when we went to put our luggage in the 2nd room the proprietor asked us to not put the luggage on the beds….ok, why…well, luggage carries bed bugs….oh, do you have issues with bed bugs…well, no, but we have to be careful…..yep, didn’t sleep much as every itch I thought it was a bite…..but, good news, all was ok!!!
Martinborough: Peppers-Parehua: very nice, set amongst the grape vines in Martinborough; excellent hot breakfast!
Wrong Turns: Zero, total 9
Turned into wrong lane: steady at 3!!!
One-Way Bridges: 20, now 240 total!!!
Food: Crayfish at Kaikoura!

Tomorrow we head north to the Tongariro National Park to do another hike (crossing) on Wednesday….this is where Mt Doom is located for those LOTR fans….actually Ngauruhoe (Mt Doom) , Tongariro and Ruapehu mountains…..this is a volcanic region (Mordor) and reminds us somewhat of Mt Lassen in northern CA……our friends have passed us the ring, we will not fail, we will destroy the ring in the fires of Mordor:))))

Hope all is well!!

John

PS: Cargo still scheduled to leave LA on March 22 and ETA Auckland is April 4th