Scurry round South Island

South Island was absolutely stunning- people told me that the scenery would step up a gear and I didn't really get it at first, but as we sailed into the Tory Channel approaching Picton I was stopped in my tracks and absolutely glued to the crazy dramatic hillsides, cloaked in native bush and rolling down to the sea. I could see what captured the imagination to film Lord of the Rings there!!

After a lovely sailing which I spent up on deck just being by the sea and feeling the wind and working through all my feelings and thoughts, we arrived in Picton and were met by lovely cheery Norrie and driven back to the gorgeous little house that he and his wife Alison share. It's up on the hillside overlooking the Tory Channel and when we arrived there was a yacht race going on. They are up high with a big glass front and a lovely big deck with almost panoramic views of the breathtaking Marlborough Sounds. We settled in to our mezzanine loft in the garage, beds like clouds! We enjoyed a lovely veggie chilli that Alison had ready for us and chatted over a glass of wine as the the light faded the gorgeous views outside. We slept so well that night it was lovely.

The next morning we woke to a lovely breakfast and spent the morning catching up on washing, playing with Alison's grandson Victor (3) and looking at maps for our day's adventure. We headed off in a borrowed Toyota Corrolla (old school- wing mirrors out on bonnet!) and met some friends of Kim's for lunch in Blenheim. A wierd little town with little to recommend it and now clear idea of what it's about, but interesting to pass through there. Bit of a commercial hub really.

We then drove round and did a mini wine tasting tour in the gorgeous baking sun. The corrolla did us proud and i tasted with my mouth and not my tummy given the responsibility of driving yadda yadda- still fun tho and Kim got her no money's worth. She found herself freaking out drunk in a bead shop later in the day. Testament to wine thoroughly tasted. We went to Seresin- who do organic wines, Hunters- big and famous and snooty, and Grove Mill- very nice wines indeed and patient friendly lady.

That evening I cooked a fish curry (mushroom for kim) and kim made her legendary plum and cinammon cake, and we enjoyed a bottle of Seresin Sauv Blanc- all very civilised and delightful.\

The next day we set off down to Kaikoura about 12 after a lie in ( the heat and the wine!). It was about a 2 and a half hour drive which was incredibly scenic and windy (rubbish for the driver as couldn't goggle at the views without driving off a cliff!). The last bit was down the coast which was gorgeous. We stopped about half an hour out to look at a seal colony but having very full bladders and very empty tummies we couldn't linger long. On the outskirts of Kaikoura we stopped at a fish and chip shop and ate our weights in greasy fried foods while drinking fizzy anf reading trashy mags. We felt much better after this and made the last 10 minute push to Top Spot- the hostel that Kim's friend Charlie is managing.

Top Spot was really cool - a nice chilled out hostel, and Lou and Charlie have a sweet manager's flat. The first night Charlie rigges us up with a room which was great. We settled in and hung around a bit having dinner and drinks and doing an hour of intensive crafts! Then we headed down to a neat little pub in town called the Strawberry Tree. There was a chilled out band and we chatted to some interesting folks. We sang happy birthday to an absent random soldier and chatted to some Maori dudes who were working on road signals. They got a bit overfriendly in the end so we buggered off to another pub for a swift cider and then trotted 2 minutes up the hill back to our hostel and passed out.

The next day Kim and I wandered down into town and sat on the beach awestruck. The bays on both sides of the peninsula and the massive mountains which form the backdrop on the land side were cloaked in an ethereal mist and the surf was high. The power of the sea and the size and texture of the mountains were just so intense we sat for a couple of hours, intermittently beach combing for driftwood and greenstone (jade/pounamu). We wandered back to the hostel and cooked some veggies and feta with cous cous for lunch. In the afternoon we wandered around the shops a bit and chilled out some more by the sea. We spotted what we were convinced were penguins but turned out to be very penguin-like diving seabirds- still v cool. We had some dinner (beer battered sea perch caught fresh that day by some backpackers on a fishing trip- divine) and were mooching around waiting for Lou to get back from work when I saw out the window a madly coloured sky. The sun was setting behind some seriously dramatic clouds. Charlie suggested we drive up to the lookout at the tip of the peninsula which we did. I think it must be up there in the top 5 sunsets I have ever experienced. We couldn't stop gawping at the amazing 360 view. Beautiful bays on each side, the pacific out behind us and a stunning mountain range and undulating peninsula in front.

I've had a few moments on this trip where I have remembered putting up a screensaver picture of an idyllic beach location, when I was planning my trip. I've found myself realising that now I'm in the picture and it's an awesome feeling. I'm so lucky to be able to do this.

After squeezing every bit of enjoyment out of the sunset we went home to chill out and had a few beers with some of the backpackers, mainly a really interesting cornish dude in his 40s called George.

The next day we drove round to the seal colony on the peninsula and took a little cliff walk, you could really see the shelf of rock which surrounds the peninsula, and then drops away to over 1000m- this meeting of currents and depths is the reason why there is so much wildlife in Kaikoura sea- Orca, Dolphins, Sperm Whales passing through, tons of seals, crayfish, paua, albatross. We had been supposed to go on a fishing trip in the hope of seeing some cool sealife but Kim's friend Sian was coming up to meet her and we didn't want to bugger off after she'd driven up from Christchurch. That afternoon I went into a gallery on the main street full of jewellery by local artists and bought some gorgeous bone carvings. I got chatting with the lady and she was interested to see some of my jewellery so I went back and started madly crafting. When Lou got back from work we took a barbecue up to the look out and had venisojn steaks and home made feta burgers, and pasta and cous cous. We watched the sun go down ( not so dramatic as not a cloud in the sky but still really lovely) and were joined by a couple of surfer girls from the cafe Lou works at. Good times.

The next day, our last in Kaikoura, I went down to the gallery and the lady loved my paua shell stuff but thought it would compete with one of the owner's work and she'd get in trouble so couldn't buy lots, but she very sweetly bought a piece for herself because she liked it so much, that was really cool. We wandered the beach in the morning and then Sian came in the afternoon and we drove out to the seal colony again and then mooched around town. We went our seperate ways about 4. Sian and Kim off down to Christchurch and myself off back to Picton in the love machine. It was a lovely evening and the drive was pretty chilled. I was pretty sad to leave Kim and starting to feel a bit angsty about the next phase of my journey but the drive sorted me out.

I got back to Norrie and Alison's and told them all about what I'd been up to, then had the most heavenly bath. I'd not bathed since leaving Oxford in Jan and it was a lovely bath with candlelight and essential oils- just what I needed! I then slept for 12 hours! First lie in in a while really. The next morning I helped out with clearing some bush tracks on their land, which are all named after their grandchildren. After lunch they drove me to Governor's Bay- an incredibly idyllic beach. It's a gentle golden curve of sand, with a steep hill of native bush behind it and a view out over the Marlborough Sounds- probably in the top 5 beaches I've ever been to!

At 6pm my ferry sailed back over to Wellington. I passed the journey making necklaces, really inspired by the gorgeous south island, and treated myself to some chips and gravy! I'm sorry I didn't allocate more time to the south island really as it's so amazing, but a definite draw to come back before my visa is up if at all possible. Michelle and Nick have invited me to housesit in dec/jan and I know Ben's relatives would love to see him, maybe we can work something out. If not then another time but I know it's really worth coming back to.