We drove to Blenheim this morning - a nice, small town about 25 minutes away from Picton. Our main reason for going was to visit the "i-site" - these information centres are all over New Zealand and they are so useful. They are full of leaflets and maps about the area and not only do they have good deals and recommendations, but they also book things for you, completely free of charge. This is especially helpful when you don't have a New Zealand phone number!

I actually drove the campervan myself for the first time today! It was a bit scary at first to drive something so big and really weird getting used to not using my left foot (it's an automatic). Also, the indicators are on the opposite side to what I'm used to so I kept putting the wipers on by accident - this wouldn't have been an issue except that the wipers on this thing sound like ridiculously loud nails on a blackboard - nightmare! I sure corrected that mistake asap. It was really nice to drive once I was used to it though, well done Phil for being brave enough to let me!

You may be thinking it's a little late in the trip for me to start driving, as we're giving the van back in a couple of days. That is true, however, perhaps there's a small coincidence that the day I start driving is the day we visit a winery, eh Phil?! Of course, we couldn't visit Marlborough without doing some wine tasting so that's exactly what we did. There were tens of wineries to choose from so we decided to visit Forrest Winery in Renwick as it is owned by the doctors John and Brigid Forrest (Brigid being the sister of Jo Hills - remember the Hills in Taranaki?) Jo Hills had given us a glass of their Sauvignon Blanc to try back in Taranaki and it was the best wine I'd ever tasted.

Forrest Winery is a beautiful place, not only do they do tastings, but they also have a picnic area, volleyball and lawn tennis so you can really make a day of it. We were the only people there when we first arrived and we opted for two tasting trays - one white, one red and dessert wines - and a cheeseboard! This only cost us the equivalent of £5 each! With 12 different wines to taste and the sun shining, we made quite the afternoon if it, my first ever wine tasting experience! I hadn't expected to enjoy it quite so much (even if I did have to let Phil finish them off so I could drive us home!)

After such a strenuous afternoon, Phil was ready for a nap back at the campsite, so I went for a good run out towards Queen Charlotte Sound and along what they call 'The Snout Track'. It was a glorious evening and as always, my only issue was having to force myself to turn round and start running back again.

A lovely, relaxing day, topped off with a wee glass of Forrest's Sauvignon Blanc... Well it would have been rude not to buy any! ;)