NZ - Blenheim

Well, well, well. The world is full of co-incidences!! We drove 3 hours to Blenheim, and were feeling quite tired after the drive. Still, as this was wine country we had to have a tipple. We ummed and ahhed on where to go, and in the end Ev just picked a vineyard at random from the Lonely Planet. We chose Cloudy Bay. We then sat in the car for a few minutes deciding whether or not to go in, and of course there was only one answer (we are now wondering why there was any debate ;)

Ev headed for the bathroom, and Marc made a beeline straight for the tastings. Then Marc heard a voice calling his name. It took a while to register that it was someone talking to him, and he turned round to see who it was, and it was none other than Sprockett & Heather – Marc’s uni friends who are also travelling!!

We both knew that each other was travelling, and we had originally talked about meeting in Sydney but that didn’t work out. It just so happened that they had just arrived from the North Island, and this was also one of their first vineyards. When we arrived, they were just paying for a bottle and ready to leave. If Marc hadn’t pulled off some of those over-taking manoeuvres to get past the camper vans we would have missed them!! It just all came together at the right time.

It was really good to see some friendly faces again, to catch up and swap travelling stories, and get some hints and tips for the rest of NZ. The weather took a turn for the worse as well, so it was perfect for sitting in a pub, having a natter over a pint.

As we were in the area, we all felt obliged to pop to another couple of vineyards, and we went to Saint Clair and Fromm, both of which were pretty good. Saint Clare had a café so we sat down and had a bite to eat. Then we headed to the Top 10 caravan park, where luckily, there was a spare cabin for us, and a spare slot for their campervan. Then as the heavens opened up we headed to the pub, and ended up at a pizzeria for dinner. Great evening… unfortunately we were so enjoying the company we didn't take any pictures :(

...Sprockett? Heather? Can you help us out with any?