Waking up to another grey day with a chance of sun on Tuesday, we decided since we were in wine country we'd better check out some wine.

After breakfast and packing up the van we drove a little way out of Blenheim to the Brancott (formerly Montana) winery, one of the largest in the Marlborough region to find out about their tours. After discovering there wasn't a tour of the winery until 1pm, we decided to come back later.

We drove back through Blenheim and then out and around in a 20-odd km loop through the Wairau Valley, past vineyards stretching in ordered rows towards mountains in every direction. The vines were bare at this time of year, with sheep grazing in between them, but the scenery was still great, with low cloud hanging around the distant mountains and various smart winery buildings situated along the road.

Before going to any wineries, we stopped at the Manaku boutique chocolate factory, nestled in between some vineyards. Here, we watched the confectioners at work making chocolates and other goodies through big glass windows before browsing their selection and eventually picking up some candied macadamia popcorn, the profits from which were going to an earthquake fund to help Christchurch.

The first winery we decided to stop at was Allan Scott, where we tried a few different wines (I just had a tiny sip as I had to drive), with the Sauvignon Blancs being the best, predictably. The girl at the cellar door was very friendly and helpful and recommended a few other place we should go whilst we were in the valley.

After that we went across the road to Cloudy Bay who had a very smart building and cellar door. Here, we tried another selection including a rather different oaked Sauvignon Blanc which had a really complex flavour.

From here, we cut across the valley to Wither Hills who had a really smart modern building perched on top of a small hill with landscaped grounds, housing their cellar door and restaurant. The friendly lady there let us try a few wines without paying the normal charge and we loved both their Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Gris, but opted to buy a bottle of the Sauvignon Blanc as that's what the region is famous for.

After Wither Hills, it was time to head back to the Brancott winery for our tour at 1. We were the only two on the tour, which suited us. We were shown round their large and impressive operation inlcuding the numerous huge settling and blending tanks, bag presses and their Coquard press used to make 'Champagne' despite them not being allowed to call it that. We also saw the oak barrels and huge cuves where the wine was fermented before watching a video all about the winery which, although large by regional standards still operates like a small winery.

It was all very interesting but the best part of the tour came at the end, when we got to try the wines. Again I was only having tiny sips if any at all, but we tried a few of their wines and in the end opted to buy a bottle of their Gewurztraminer as something different, and to go with the leftover Thai food we were going to have with dinner.

After our time at the winery, we decided to move on. We drove back through Blenheim, picking up a McDonalds drive through for lunch before making our way back north to Picton. From Picton we took the scenic Queen Charlotte Drive west to Havelock.

The Drive took us up and down incredibly twisting roads around the coastline with the impressive Marlborough Sounds on our right and steep rainforest cliffs on our left. We were shocked and the number of landslides covering the road from the cliffs, not to mention the gaping holes where parts of the road had collapsed to the sea, all thanks to the heavy rain the area had had over the past while. The workmen sorting out all the mess had their work cut out for them.

Despite the conditions the drive was very pleasant, with great views out to the Sounds with similar fantastic scenery to that we'd experienced on the ferry on our way into Picton.

After reaching Havelock we joined the main road SH6 and carried on north then west towards Nelson. The scenery was great, with steep hills of rainforest and flat, verdant valley floors filled with livestock. Upon reaching the north coast as we approached Nelson, half our view was filled with mud flats and the flat, shining Pacific Ocean as the sun set over it.

We drove past Nelson to reach our stop for the night, the Top 10 Holiday Park in nearby Richmond, admiring the views out to sea and of distant Abel Tasman National Park to the northwest.

After getting settled at the holiday camp, we both read for a while before succumbing to tiredness and napping for a while. After our nap we got up, had some leftover Thai food from the night before in Blenheim for dinner and went for a walk around a cool, damp Richmond for some fresh air. The town centre was fairly nondescript and really quiet, so we didn't see much on our walk before returning to the van and reading some more before sleep.

The following morning we had our usual breakfast of cereal, toast and tea in the park's kitchen before driving back through Nelson and a few km down the road to Happy Valley Adventures, on a farm in a beautiful green valley surrounded by tall hills of rainforest.

Here, we planned to ride the skywire, a 1.6km cross between a zipwire and a cable car which spans a valley high above the rainforest in the hills above the farm. After discussing our options with the staff, we decided to opt for the quad bike hire package which meant we would get to ride quad bikes up to the skywire rather than take the usual 20 minute minibus journey.

After getting kitted out in old jackets to protect us from sheep poo and other muck, as well as getting a quick lesson on using the quad, we set off, following our guide Dazza and his dog riding pillion, with me piloting our quad and Lucy riding on the back.

We made our way across the valley floor, crossing a couple of rivers with our feet up on the front of the quad, then made our way up the steep valley hillsides on twisting muddy tracks through the bush.

We'd worried that it might be too cloudy to enjoy the skywire a there was lots of low-lying cloud clinging to the hills, but as we climbed we got fantastic views out over the little puffs of cloud to the valley below and the rainforested hills surrounding us, as well as the ocean to the north, calm and sparkling in the morning sunshine.

We climbed and climbed up the tracks, enjoying the bumpy terrain and watching the dog expertly standing on the back of the quad in front despite the bumps until eventually we reached the skywire, 350m above the valley floor. After checking out the fantastic views from the hut at the skywire, it was time for our ride.

We got strapped and padlocked into the wide 4-seat basket hanging from the wire which spanned the valley, before being winched out a few feet from the platform. The skywire was set up a bit like a cable car with the wires hanging down into the valley. The car could be clamped or unclamped from the cable to allow it to slide freely or be towed uphill. To begin the ride, Dazza released the clamp and we slid at great speed down the cable towards the middle of the valley, a good few hundred feet above the lush rainforest below us.

According to the inbuilt speedometer we reached 83.5 km/h before we slowed in the middle of the valley and the clamp was applied, before the cable pulled us up towards the far side of the valley. From here, the clamp was released and we got the same rush, in reverse. The view from hundreds of feet up in the air was great, not only of the bush below us but the valleys to our left and right.

As it was a quiet day, once we had been towed back to the starting platform, Dazza asked if we'd like another run for free and we of course accepted, before zooming back and forth over the valley again.

After our high wire thrill, it was time to get back on the quad and head back down the valley. Instead of taking us the same route back as we'd paid for, our guide decided to take us the longer route back at no extra charge. We were more than happy with that, and really enjoyed the ride down the windy, bumpy tracks through the bush to the valley floor.

Once back in the valley, Dazza took us round the muddy quad tracks laid out on the valley floor, splashing through innumerable puddles, crossing streams and winding around bends, scaring the sheep as we went.

We had a blast on the quads but eventually it was time to make our way back to the van and get back on the road.

After changing our trousers which were soaked thanks to a few large puddles we hadn't lifted our feet enough for on the quad, we got back on the road and made our way back along the coast to Nelson. We drove through the town centre to have a quick look then continued west, stopping for a pizza from Dominos for lunch, which was better than any Dominos we had had at home.

The rest of the afternoon was spent driving, as we made our way towards the west coast. The road took us along some great routes which, although very similar in scenery, were very scenic. The flat, grassy valley floors filled with grazing livestock and steep, cloudy rainforest hills we had experienced so far continued, but as we got nearer the west coast we followed the path of the Buller River. The river wound its way through the steep valley, over gravel beds, getting wider as we neared the coast, with tributaries often joining it from valleys off to the side.

Eventually the valley walls ahead of us dropped away and we could tell we were near the coast. Emerging onto a coastal plain we soon found our way to the town of Westport and nearby Carters Beach, the site of our holiday park for that night.

Since it was such a wet and miserable evening we spent our time reading in the van and only ventured out to make some pasta for dinner, having bought some supplies in Murchison, a small town halfway between Nelson and Westport on our way earlier that day.

The next morning it was still rather grey and wet but we got ourselves packed up and began our journey down the South Island's west coast. The scenery was once again fantastic despite the grim weather. The road wound its way along the coast with the usual steep slopes of lush rainforest on one side, but this time with the angry grey Pacific Ocean pounding away on our right.

Our first stop was at Tauranga Bay where we watched the huge waves churning against each other as they washed in and out against the dark sandy shore and the rocks ringing the beach, often crashing against the sharp limestone boulders sending spray flying.

From here we carried on to Punakaiki where we walked out on a clifftop path to see the pancake rocks, limestone formations with a distinctive layered look which formed impressive sea cliffs and stacks dotted with blowholes which the pounding waves would gush through into plumes of foam.

We also walked down the Truman Track to another beach pounded by incredibly powerful waves. The grey weather gave the ocean a very menacing character which only added to the impressive displays of power.

Continuing south, we passed through the town of Greymouth and carried on to Shantytown, where we spent a good part of the afteroon. Shantytown is a mock-up 19th century gold rush town, complete with a working steam train which you can take into the bush.

We spent quite a few hours wandering around the town with its shops, a hospital, school, church, masonic hall, stables and a numer of other buildings, all built in 19th century pioneer style, looking like something from a western film. The shops and businesses were filled with information and period memorabilia, as well as being staffed by people in period dress.

We rode the steam train up into the bush and got out at the full size sawmill which was built in the bush, before trying our hand at panning for gold and watching a demonstration of a sluice being used to find gold.

After a fun and interesting day despite the weather, we made the last part of journey another 30km down the coast to Hokitika, where we found a nice holiday park just at the entrance to town.

Feeling like a treat after the miserable weather, we went into town and after getting some more food supplies at the supermarket, went for dinner in a local pub/restaurant called Stumpeys after a recommendation from the lady at the holiday park. We were both starving, after only having a quick ham sandwich for lunch at the pancake rocks, so opted for a garlic bread between us to start, followed by lamb shanks each. The garlic bread turned out to be a full loaf with a pot of amazing garlic butter, and we each got a massive plate with 2 full lamb shanks. The food was really good and very welcome after a day in the cold and wet.

After our meal we made our way back to the holiday park but stopped off at the glow worm dell just across the road, where we walked just a short distance from the road into a valley with a steep cliff all around, completely covered with hundreds of glow worms doing their thing. It was quite an awesome sight for something just a minutes walk from the road and we enjoyed it for a while before going back across the road and keeping warm whilst reading in the van.