Sunday started with a quick flight from Blenheim up to Wellington in the North Island. We then picked up our car which we would have for the next 10 days. Our first stop was to be Martinborough and after a hilly drive we were there and checked into our hotel.

We dumped our bags and headed to the local boutique Brewery for some beer tasting and a spot of lunch. Martinborough is a smaller wine region and the majority of cellar doors are within easy walking distance, so that's what we did! We had planned to go to one particular winery that had live music on and so via one other winery we arrived. After a 10 wine tasting we settled down with our fav wine from the tasting and enjoyed the surprisingly good singer and his acoustic guitar. There was a mix of locals and outsiders and was a very pleasant afternoon indeed!

For dinner we decided to keep it simple and make the most of some of our wine purchases and our lovely balcony. One Thai takeaway later we were fed and watered.

Monday we started our day with Breakfast at a local cafe that comes as part of the hotel deal and then headed out for a drive. This involved us heading south to a place called cape palliser which is known for a picturesque lighthouse and a seal colony. The drive down was through farmland and then a lovely costal road and we got to experience our first New Zealand traffic jam, caused by sheep! It was a bit bizarre being told to drive through 300 sheep coming the opposite way but they seemed not to be bothered and moved as you got near them!

After the 251 stairs up then down to the lighthouse and a stop at the seals we were on our way back. A stop for lunch at Lake Ferry, where they claimed their fish and chips were world famous, not Ashvale world famous I bet.

Back in Martinborough we headed out on foot for another two wine tastings, the first was a bit meh but the second was great. We think it was nine tastings and somehow we ended up only paying $10 for that and a bottle of wine!! We then headed back to our balcony to enjoy the last of the sun while enjoying another previous wine purchase and then heading out for a meal at another local winery!

Tuesday was another day spent on foot visiting some more wineries. This time we visited 6 over a 10km lovely stroll around the countryside. The sun shone all day so we were a little fatigued by the end and decided that heading back to our balcony for a little dinner platter was the best idea!