Vynfield Winery, Martinborough, Wairapa

Dan and I have definitely made a point of trying to sample some of the local wines while traveling around New Zealand.  The Vynfield Winery was in Martinborough, a cute little town in the Wairapa area.  We were motivated to go there because they advertised gourmet platters, so we bribed the children with some afternoon snacks.  Ben, unfortunately, chose that time to have a complete and total melt down.  But I will admit that the blue cheese was so divine that I'll probably try to forget the meltdown and only remember the platter, the wine and the beautiful gardens around the winery.

Castle Point

I would love to send every one postcards, every day all day long... but funny how that's not going to happen.  So here's my digital postcard from Castle Point, which is on the east cost about an hour and a half north of Wellington.  We had a pleasant trip to the beach- I walked up the lighthouse, the boys played in the sand and Dan got to read his book for a little while.  We're all looking forward to some more beach adventures.

Te Papa

We had a fabulous day in Wellington this morning at the Te Papa Museum.  The boys loved all the various discovery centers and it was fun to view the museum through a child's perspective.  When we exited the museum we were also treated to some fabulous sunshine, which was great after a sleepless night in the tent with howling winds and downpours.

South Island Photos Collage

Here's a collage of some of the photos from our south island part of our trip.

Ferry Ride

Yesterday we took the Interislander ferry from Picton to Wellington.  We had a bit of a panic when we realized the night before that I had booked the ferry ticket the wrong direction.  Dan was convinced there wasn't going to be any room on the boat.  I was convinced we'd have to pay for a whole new ticket, since I'd done the super saver fare back in August.  Thankfully there was no issue whatsoever to change the ticket to the right route.  Yes, I agree with you Vanda that perhaps my subconscious was telling me that I didn't really want to leave the south island.  The boys really enjoyed the ferry ride, the ice cream, the playground on the bottom layer and the television showing the Disney channel in the family section.

South Island Travels

We are about to leave the South Island, so I thought it would be good to chart where we've gone in the first 2 1/2 weeks of our trip.  We started in Wanaka and spent the night in Arrowtown, Te Anau (Manipouri actually), Curio Bay in the Catlins, Dunedin, Mt Cook, Geraldine, Christchurch, Hanmer Springs, Blenheim, Pt Ligar/Marlborough Sounds and Picton.

The road out of Pt Ligar

We were sad to leave Port Ligar, a stunning place at the very, very end of the road in the Marlborough Sounds.  The drive out there takes 2 hours once you turn off the highway, so it really does feel like the end of the world.  Dan and I both had an opportunity to hike around the farm property and the views from the top of Chricton Hill out looking over the various bays and the ocean were breath taking.  But, we've got a ferry to catch and more adventures to be had, so it was our time to go.  Our departure actually got delayed by an extra day because of the heavy rains on the dirt road where there had been a land slide.  Dan had been closely monitoring the road to see if we'd be able to make it out, and thought we'd give it a go, even though Tim, the head of the farm didn't think we'd make it through.  Poor Norie, she was rather stuck in the mud by the time we'd exhausted our attempts.  In the end we had to call for help and got a tow out by the farm pick up truck (one of those classic vehicles that has no windshields or doors).

Norie stuck in the mud

And here's Dan at the top of the farm road with a big grin and some seriously muddy wheels.

Norie at the top of Port Ligar

And because the drive out there was so amazing, here are a few photos of the drive back.  Not a lot of traffic on the road, but we did have a few close encounters with some live stock.