Greymouth to Picton

Another rainy day as we made our way north along the west coast to Greymouth, the western terminus of the TransAlpine train route from Christchurch.  Like many of the towns along the west coast, Greymouth has its roots in the gold rush of the 1860’s and found later growth as a coal mining town.  It is also the home of Monteith’s 1868 Brewery, but it was too early in the morning for a tasting tour so after re-provisioning our stock of food and wine we continued on our way.

One of the must-sees of the South Island near Punakaiki is Paparoa National Park, home of the Pancake Rocks and Blowholes.  These coastal rocks are remarkable pieces of natural sculpture, a testament to the awesome power of the wave action of the Tasman Sea.  Formed 30 million years ago from fragments of skeletons and shells, the limestone has taken a beating from the sea.  The layered sculpted rock formations of limestone and mudstone resemble giant stacks of pancakes.  Over time caverns have also formed and become blowholes as the waves surge to shore and explode into huge plumes of spray.  The roar of the crashing waves can be heard from the start of the flax-lined walkway out on Highway 6. 

Closeup of a Pancake Rock

Pancake Rocks before the waves crashed in...

 

...and after!

 

Just down the highway we saw our first penguin crossing sign followed by 5Km of penguin protection fencing.  There has been an increasing number of penguin fatalities in the area at dawn and midnight when the penguins are active on land.  The plastic fencing is to discourage them from crossing the road.

 

North of Charleston we bade farewell to the west coast and turned eastward on Highway 6 to make our way across the northernmost peaks of the Southern Alps.  There was not much happening on this long stretch of highway until we came upon New Zealand’s Longest Swingbridge spanning the Buller River near Newton Flat. We stopped for the night in Murchison at the newly-opened Murchison Motorhome Park.  The sun had peaked out and spring was in the air.  The dogwoods and Japanese cherry trees were blooming! We had the whole place to ourselves and enjoyed the TV and fireplace in the community kitchen.  We hoped to catch up on world news but the world beyond New Zealand does not seem to be of much interest to the Kiwis.  The mudslinging and dirty politics surrounding their own upcoming Prime Minister elections has taken center stage along with news reports concerning the controversial rebuilding plans for Christchurch and the standings of the rugby teams.  The standard bearers for rugby are the All Blacks whose uniform is black with a silver fern on the chest.  Black attire is worn by all the New Zealand sports teams – the national cricket team is the Black Caps and the basketball team is the Tall Blacks.

at Murchison Motorhome Park

 

We woke to the mooing sounds of the nearby cows.  The sun was out and a fine day lay ahead.  We hit the road and set our GPS to Blenheim, an east coast town in the Marlborough region.  Driving east towards Howard Junction we came upon another slip – a chunk of the westbound lane had gone over the cliff!  The highway twisted along the Upper and Lower Buller River Gorge but was wider than we expected. While not as much of a nail biter as some other roads we had traveled, it still required our undivided attention as it was replete with switchbacks and one-lane bridges.  Soon we came to the town of St. Arnaud, the gateway to Nelson Lakes National Park.  We stopped to have a look at Lake Rotoiti and wandered through the visitor center.  No time to dawdle – the Marlborough region was calling out to us…

Leaving Murchison

 

There are 152 wineries in the Marlborough region producing 92% of New Zealand’s Sauvignon Blanc wine.  In 2013, that was 19.6 million cases of wine!  How many wineries could we visit during our last days on the South Island?

Winery #1.  On the outskirts of Blenheim is the Brancott Estate Heritage Center where the vines for Marlborough’s original Sauvignon Blanc were first planted in 1973.  At that time, vintner Frank Yukich declared, “Wine from here will become world famous.”  And he was right!  Sarah was in charge of the tasting room and she poured generous tastes of Sauvignon Blanc and Sauvignon Gris, Pinot Noir and Late Sauvignon Blanc, a dessert wine.  From our window seat, the view of the vineyard-carpeted Wairau and Awatere Plains sweeping towards the mountains was spectacular.  The wines were all delightful especially when sampled with the delicious lunch offerings (lamb rump and an oak-planked salmon with celeriac).  Bought a bottle.

Brancott Estate Vineyards

Sheep earning their keep trimming grass between vines at
Brancott Estate

 

With so many other wineries to choose from, we opted to get professional assistance and booked a wine tour with Kerry from Bubbly Grape Wine Tours – We’ll Drive You to Drink.  She would pick us up at noon the following day so for now we wisely contented ourselves with a quiet night at Blenheim Top 10 Holiday Park.

 

With Kerry from Bubbly Grape

Winery #2.  Kerry’s first winery choice for us was Cloudy Bay.  Established in 1985 by an Aussie, it is now partially owned by Louis Vuitton.  Here we met up with Brooks and Rachel from South Dakota, newlyweds Sam and Kathy from London, and Jules and Nicole from Australia.  They were part of the Kerry’s all-day wine tour and, while she took them off to Brancott Estate for lunch, we enjoyed a tasting with Paula.  Cloudy Bay produces 400,000 cases of wine a year and 90% of them are exported.  Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom are the top three importers.  The Sauvignon Blanc here was exceptional.  Bought a bottle.

At Cloudy Bay

 

Winery #3.  Across Jacksons Road, the family-owned Allan Scott Winery produces a mere 80,000 cases.  Josh Scott, one of the founder’s sons, went off and started Moa Beer.  His motto ‘Finally, something drinkable from Marlborough.’

Allan Scott WInery

Winery #4.  At Wairau River on Rapaura Road, Lynette was pouring an interesting dry Reisling.  Bought a bottle.

Winery #5.  Nicky greeted us at the van with two glasses of Sauvignon Blanc!  We really liked Nicky and Forrest Winery.  Forrest is owned by two doctors – one a practicing GP, the other a molecular neuro-biologist who enjoys experimenting with different varietals to capture the best that the land and the vines have to offer.  Fed crackers to the winery’s resident golden retriever.  Bought a bottle.

Nicky at Forrest Winery

Winery #6.  Seresin Estates is another great Sauvignon Blanc producing winery.  It is owned by cinematographer Michael Seresin (Harry Potter). To find his winery, you follow the signs bearing his hand print.  The whole tour group was back together here.  In addition to great wines, this place also produced a selection of flavored olive oils – lemon, lime and orange.

Winery #7. Framingham Winery.  By then, everyone in the tour group needed a nap.  That's a lot of wineries to visit in 5 hours.  Bought a bottle.

Kerry herded us all back on the van and drove us back to our original pickup stations.  We refueled the campervan and headed north on Highway 1 for the short drive to Collins Reserve near Picton.  We spent our first night of freedom (as in free, no charge) camping here.  It is our last night on the South Island.  Our next wine tastings will have to wait until we get to Hawke’s Bay on the North Island.