We were up
quite early so ads to get the tent up but we were able to raise it on the grass
in front of the motel rather than the church fields. So by 1015 the tent was
very dry (almost) but certainly dry enough to pack up again and stow in the
boot of the car.
We had a
coffee nearby in Blenheim then to kill a little time we walked around a Toyota
car dealership looking at the various models and then drove the thirty minutes
or so to Picton. We arrived at the ferry port just after 1215 and so were early
in the queue and then we were loaded around 1315 for a 1400 departure. Our previous
experience on the Interislander has been poor in the past but this time we had
a better ship and it had the equivalent of club class which provided free
booze, which we ignored, and also free lunch which we did not know about either
having just eaten our lunch rolls in the car whist waiting for loading so will
need to check the website more carefully next time to see what is included.
By 1715 we
were off the ferry and driving to a place in the hills called Martinborough
where we were due to stay at the old fashioned Martinborough Hotel which turned
out to be quite nice really. The room was large and with a large balcony where
we sat and enjoyed a glass of wine and then went down to bar and we sampled a
pint of prawns and a plate of BBQ spare ribs which we shared as neither of us
was really hungry. We then walked around this little town which seems to rely
on the vineyards for its main business.
Coming back
to the drive from Wellington it was great as we climbed and climbed with very
winding roads with several thousand feet drops and only protected by a light
wooden fence, Umm not good to make a mistake here but it was a great journey.
We have a
long day tomorrow so bed was early.
