We had to get up super early in the morning to catch the first ferry across to South Island. It was a few hours crossing but thankfully the weather was a lot calmer than it had been in Windy Wellington (it's local nickname!). We upgraded to the VIP suite where we got a full breakfast and sofas to relax on so it was quite a pleasant journey. There were some stunning views especially as we approached the port in Picton. Once off the ferry, we picked up the car and made our way to Blenheim for some lunch. After that we dropped out bags at our hotel which was lovely (Marlborough Vintners Hotel). It was situated in the middle of a winery with fantastic views either side of the mountain ranges. The whole area was beautiful and very dramatic - from the flat expanse of wineries to snow capped mountains! We decided to get in the spirit of the wine country and visit some cellar doors for some tasting. Needless to say there were some lovely wines and it had definitely got us excited for the following full day of wine tasting!

In the morning, we stopped off at the local farmers market in town to have a nosey at local produce and crafts. It was fairly small so didn't take too long to go round. After that we went on to our first vineyard (Highfield) which had a viewing tower giving us some spectacular views of the region. We also found out the winery was for sale so we may be back sooner than we thought ;)! A few wineries later we were feeling a little tipsy so thought it may be best to have something to eat! We stopped at Rock Ferry a cellar door with restaurant and had one of the best meals of the holiday, that may have been the alcohol talking but it was yummy at the time! By the time we got back to the hotel we were unable to move from too much food and wine!

Wineries visited: Drylands, Highfield, Hunters, Rock Ferry, Cloudy Bay, Giesen, Wither Hills, Lawson's Dry Hills and Yealands (visited the next day).