We arrived in Blenheim about an hour and a half after leaving our flying visit to Nelson. We found a couple of hostels but we were surprised to hear they were they were full because of hockey players! We really didn't think that people would be staying an hour's drive away from the tournament! After checking out a few places we were a bit stuck for what we should do, but we had driven through a small town about 10 minutes away called Renwick. We decided to drive back to Renwick and see if the backpacker's hostel had availability there. When we got to the only hostel in the town it had a sign outside saying shut for September! We couldn't believe it we were running out of cheap options! We drove around the town for a bit and saw a sign saying B+B so we decided to check it out. Ady and Darren went in and spoke to the owners who told us the cost which was double what we usually pay but they managed to the price right down to a reasonable price which was affordable to us. The house was really really nice with a big log fire and cosy feel to it. We had a massive king size bed with en suite and a bath! What a luxury it was from some of the hostels we've been in! We even got breakfast and free internet and bike rental! The next day we got up early to go on a wine tasting tour on bikes! In Renwick there are 25 wineries in a 5km radius which is a lot of wine tasting to be done. The B+B owners sat us down with a map of the wineries and told us which ones were recommended to go to but said we would probably only get chance to see 5 or 6! We set off on our bikes and stopped at the first winery which looked really nice called Mahi Wines! We were all a bit unsure about what to do or how much it would be etc but the lady who worked there soon put us at ease. She told us it was free with no obligation to buy the wines and that you get to try about 6 different wines! She showed us how to properly wine taste with smelling the wine and how to swill it around the glass and spit it out although she did say you don't have to spit it out (which we didn't what a waste that would of been he he!).

We got shown around the cellar and the rest of the winery as there were no other customers and it was very nice. After we left we then had to ride about 15 minutes to the next winery called Seresin Estate. Here we got to try 5 different wines and then got to try there olive oils with bread which was really good and helped soak up a little of the alcohol! We then went to another 2 also very nice wineries and had out packed lunch outside the third one. We then got to an area where there were a few country shops including another wine tasting store and a liquor tasting shop. First of all we went to try some wine, but as the lady was being very serious telling us about the flavours of the wine and that the grapes were grown on Dog Point Road, Darren got a fit of the giggles which then set us all off! It was so hard trying to contain ourselves especially as she was so serious and were so merry! I think she gave up on us so we made our way to the liquor shop were the lady was great and ended up giving us lots of shots of liquor that were very nice including a chocolate mint, butterscotch and G+T! She was even telling us we must down it in one to get the full flavours! So we were a little worse for wear by the time we got out of there, but after another bit of a bike ride we felt ok again and carried on to the next one! By the time we got there it was close so we decided to just do one more which was Cloudy Bay Wines which you may have heard of. The women here was a lot more serious than all the others and not much fun, but we still had a giggle especially when we heard Darren spouting off lots of wine talk to the women like it's got great depth to the flavour! It was only when we got out he admitted he was reading it all from the wine list!

We hadn't realized how far we had cycled until we got to a main road and realize we had cycled to Blenheim. It ended up taking about 30 minutes to cycle back to Renwick and by the time we got back we had practically sobered up! We went to the local English pub the Cork and the Keg were we had a good English dinner and I got a mulled wine which I spilt all over myself so maybe I wasn't as sober as I had thought! I wish we had winery areas like this at home you can spend a whole day having fun and getting drunk for absolutely nothing!

The next day we headed over to Picton where the ferry port is to catch the ferry to the North Island.