Hi folks, we have arrived in the south island. A slight change in plans meant we crossed the cook straits a day early. The reason being that a cold front was forecasted to arrive on wednesday and this would lead to 4 meter swells and a very uncomfortable crossing--especially for me who is sick on a mill-pond. Anyway we left Haverlock North with some regrets as it is a superb place and seems to have everything one needs for a great lifestyle. It was a 3 hour drive down to Masterton where we would stay with Buck Anderson and his family. So to fill the day we called in at Dannevek on route and had a lovely round of golf on a very pretty course--total cost including club and trolley hire and 18 holes was £12.50 each! Buck's house is a lovely old 100 year farm house with 10 acres, just outside masterton. They were very kind and fed and watered us well. The next day we drove into Wellington which was a scenic 2 hour drive through the mountains. We had booked to stay the night in Wellington and were going to see the museum Te Papa. Unfortunately the winds were increasing and we went to see Buck at his work (headquarters of NZ rugby) and he checked the internet for the forecast and it was not good. So I decided that it would be better for my health to cross immediately. As it was there were very strong winds but we sat on the top deck and i thoroughly enjoyed the spectacular crossing. The tablets worked well and we arrived in Picton in good spirits and feeling well.
We had booked a motel in Blenheim which was a 40 min drive.
Today was a bit colder as another cold front had come in. We decided to do the" Wine tour by bike". This involved hiring 2 bikes and getting a map and then having a day tasting various fine wines in this area--Marlborough being one of the great wine areas. We had covered about 5 miles when we realised that our sore bums were not going to ease and things were just going to get worse! So we decided to return to base and continue the tour in the car! Anyway we have had some good exercise, much needed after all the drinking and eating that has gone on over the last 6 weeks. Talking about food the fish here is great. We had some lovely King fish tonight, washed down with a sauvignon blanc.
Off tomorrow hopefully fo some whale watching.
Hope to download some pictures soon--watch out for the latest entry for the NZ ladies cycling team!