South Island

Rosie (the great map reader) would have laughed, but tonight, because I read the map upsidedown, I ended up at an excellent fish and chip shop with a decent pub next door. Even better, the fish and chip shop actually delivered the fish and chips to the pub on a plate. It was a great and informal pleasure, created by my inability to read a map properly. Sorry, Rosie, but it has to be admitted that my incompetence does sometimes yield bonuses.

The day started early in Wellington on the 0830 ferry to Picton. The Cook Strait can be very rough but today it was moderate with only one stretch of huge swell as we emerged into the strait from Wellington Harbour. The last hour of the three hour journey is stunning, as the ship winds it way up the Charlotte Sound, with hills and rugged bays on either side, before docking at Picton, the port of entry for South Island.

Picton is nothing much to write home about, but the jourrney to Nelson crosses the Marlborough wine district. Row after row of vines flank the road with wineries dotted at intervals. It may not surprise anyone to know that I stopped for three tastings. the wine on offer is predominately sauvignon blanc, chardonnay and pinot noir. At St Clair, it was on offer in industrial quantities from the winery's massive 500 hectares, with little (in my opinion) worth drinking. Then came Herzog, where they surprisingly charge 10 NZ$ for a tasting so, in the words of tabloid journalism, I made my excuses and left. When I asked down the road at George Michel's winery (Michel is French and uses cork not the ubiquitous screwtop) whether charging for a tasting is usual the area, I was told that Herzog is almost the only winery that does. Michel's wines were much better than St Clair's and I bought a (rather expensive) Pinot Noir and a Rose, also made of Pinot Noir. Finally I visited Nautilus, where I'd been told to ask to taste their Four Barrels Pinot Noir. Unfortunately it was wasn't available for tasting, but I had some of their two or three barrels Pinot which nice enough.

Nelson was founded in 1842 and sports a hideous cathedral on top of the hill at the head of the city. Yes, it's a city because when the settlement was founded, Bishop Selwyn, whose diocese included New Zealand and Melanesia, persuaded the powers that be to grant them a cathedral which rendered Nelson formally a city. There are a few handsome buildings, surrounded by loads of small clapboard houses with tin roofs, giving the city considerable charm.

Tomorrow, Air New Zealand willing, I meet Tom and Barbara and it's off to the bach in the Abel Tasman park.