The tail end of the trip

We’re reaching the tail end of the trip. With little more than a week remaining, and very little riding left to do, I should think there won’t be too many more tales to tell!

We’ve spent the last couple of days in and around Blenheim with more time than ever in Olive the tent, partly due to dodging the persistent showers, and partly due to the absolute need to catch up with lost sleep. The quiet pitch by the river in the Blenheim Top 10 campsite was perfect (NZ$40 per night).

In a remarkable 9+ weeks these past couple of days have been the only consecutive dreary ones in the entire trip, ironic since Blenheim prides itself as “the city where the sun always shines”! 

Wine tasting and more

Not wanting to dampen our spirits further by the rain and lack of sunshine, we opted for a guided wine tasting tour with Hop n Grape (NZ$260), which for good measure included a brewery, and a chocolate factory.  It was a win win for all on board.  Marlborough has more than just wine! And a small world story on the day – turns out one of the other guests on the tour used to swim and play sport with Dave’s cousin Ruth in Liphook!

Catching the mail boat

This morning we packed up early, thankfully during a dry spell, and got picked up from the campsite by the postie! We joined her on the Pelorus Mail Boat delivering mail and packages to the locals that live in the beautiful bays of Pelorus Sound, the most remote Sound in the Marlborough Region. (Cost was NZ$200).

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It was a damp, but short 28km ride this evening to Picton where we’ll spend another day pitched up at the Top 10 campsite (NZ$44) before setting sail back to Wellington on Sunday morning.

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