It was an early rise to catch the Interisland Ferry to the South Island. I was really looking forward to the south; anyone who has visited New Zealand will tell you that it is the place to be. Arriving at Marlborough Sounds you can see why. The Sounds are a maze of sandy mountains, green hills and white beaches that all plunge into the crystal clear waters of the Cook Strait. It is a natural advertising board that shouts ‘Welcome to the South Island. It is beautiful and you are going to love it!’

Picton is the gateway to the south and I spent two nights there for one reason and one reason only; the Marlborough Wine Region. Now I don’t admit to knowing a lot about wine but what I do know is that my favourite is New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc so I had restrained from doing any wine tours in Australia so I could save myself for Marlborough. I went on a half day tour visiting 4 wineries and sampling a handful of different wines in each and I have to say I came away knowing little more than when I started. Dessert wine = very sweet, single vineyard wine = very good, people who drink wine = very pompous. “It tastes far oakier that the previous but it does have a more striking aroma and it has a greater texture than the other Gewurztraminers I have tasted today”. Who are you kidding mate? They all taste the same. A New Zealand Sav Blanc with a hint of gooseberry and I’m sorted, if you haven’t got that I’ll have a pint!

For the rest of my time in Picton I relaxed in the hostel. I stayed at the Sequoia Lodge which had free breakfast, free evening chocolate pudding and ice cream and free Wi-Fi. It even had Skysports so I managed to watch Everton v Sunderland (2-0 Cahill and Donavan) live at 9:00am, it was a great place to stay.