Day 18 | Marlborough Wineries, Beech trees & Pancake Rocks

To get to the South Island, we need to take a 7:30am, 92 km, three hour journey between Wellington and Picton. According to the web site, it's "one of New Zealand's most iconic tourist experiences, and one of the most spectacular cruises in the world." I managed to only take two photos, here's one of them.

Next up, the Marlborough region of wineries. This region seems much more evolved with the wine tasting, matching up food and cheese to the wine... yum!

Winery #1 - Cloudy Bay tapas and wine pairings, gaspacho, spicy nuts, some kind of meat square.
Winery #2 - Allan Scott
Winery #3 - Wairau for lunch. I had the lamb and mint burger with beets on the side paired with a nice reserve Pinot Noir to cut through all the fattiness of the wine. I've taken to asking how and why wine gets paired to food. Lunch was served in the courtyard next to the grapevines. (I wouldn't wish this lifestyle on anyone - thumbs down to lunch with wine in courtyards.)

Then a short hour hike next to lake Nelson hike (Lake Roroiti) and honeydew hike. Insects that live in a beech tree and their anal tube secretes a liquid that is honey tasting. The walk was known for the three different kinds of beech trees you can see. According to the Internet, these insects are very simple in body structure and look like a little flattened sac with no wings or legs. They are just mouthparts with a very long anal tube, which is the one part of the insect that you can see protruding as a thin waxy stem from the bark of the tree. The tube often has a small drop of sweet sugary honeydew on the end (and, yes, you can eat it). I tried some, it was sweeeet!


In the discovery area, we stopped to listen to the bird sounds. They have an owl that sounds like its saying "more pork". The morepork owl.

Walk in Cape Foulwind, to see another "fur seal" colony. We only saw a few seals. I think I'm now officially spoiled from seal colonies thanks to Kangaroo Island. Cape Foulwind is next to Westport, once known as Worseport. That line in the Rough Guide provided Mandy and I with hours of entertainment.

No, not a kiwi:( It's a weka. Another flightless bird endemic to New Zealand.


On the road, I like to read through the guide book about the history of the area. This area had a Gold Rush in the early 1900s, which is now defunct. Logging and tree conservation are the hot topics now.

Then a beautiful drive along the coast at sunset. We reached the Pancake Rocks at dusk. I should have brought my tripod, but still managed to get a few good pics. Interesting rock formations created through erosion from the tide. The 'pancake'-layering of the limestone is created by immense pressure on alternating hard and soft layers of marine creatures and plant sediments. (Thanks Wikipedia.)

Then another hour drive to Hotitika to find our motel for the night. Overall, a very well rounded day!