Easy Like Sunday Morning

Yeah, I know it’s a breakup song. Don’t read anything into that.

Random New Zealand trivia: the signs that warn you about speed bumps look like bowler hats.

Today is indeed Sunday. We spent Friday roaming the wineries of Marlborough. New Zealand makes some very good wine, especially Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir. Oh, and some bubbly.

We didn’t think we’d be able to get any of these wines back home. It turns out that there’s a group called Wine Collective that ships all over the world, including to PA, and that if you buy a certain number of bottles, there is no shipping fee. We have a list of things to order when we get home. I didn’t take any more pictures - I was too busy enjoying the wine.

On Saturday we had reservations for an afternoon kayak trip in Kiakoura, ninety minutes from Blenheim. The kayak company Emailed us on Friday to ask if we would change to the 8:30 AM trip because they anticipated strong winds in the afternoon. We had a terrible experience in Dubrovnik with sea kayaks in strong wind (and lousy equipment and a jerk for a guide) so we were happy to avoid that. We got up at 5:00 AM, ate breakfast, and headed south. We did get to see a gorgeous sunrise.

Kiakoura Kayaks was great. The gear was in good shape, the guides were smart and engaging, and it was by far the most thorough safety briefing we’ve ever had including warnings about earthquakes and tsunamis. You can’t beat the scenery. 

We were in the last of the three groups to launch, and the first group found dolphins. Our guide gave us the choice between paddling toward the dolphins knowing they might not be there for long or going to see the fur seals in the other direction.We were all Team Dolphin. The sea was calm, the water was beautifully clear and we figured dolphins would be a bonus. And they were. These are dusky dolphins - they’re smaller and more active than the dolphins we’ve seen in Florida or California or New Jersey. They look like miniature orcas. And they are very playful. They did backflips! You’ll have to trust me on this because we didn’t get video of the antics. Here’s a brief clip of the dorsal fins.

We also saw a giant petrel and a little blue penguin and we did indeed see fur seals on the way back.

There was also a sign in the parking area that told us it was a dark skies reserve. Hmm.

We dried off and changed (well, I was the one who had to dry off because I fell into the water while exiting the kayak. Good thing I have no dignity left anyway) and found some lunch at a brewpub. By then we were able to check into our AirBnb and we had the whole afternoon open. TripAdvisor suggested the Mt. Fyffe Distillery, which it turns out is one woman in her shed enthusiastically making very good gin. 

The still is named Bruce.

We walked into the town center for dinner and then waited until dark (which is well after 9:00 PM) to go back to the dark skies preserve. It was windy and chilly and we’d been up since 5:00 AM so we didn’t stay very long - and even so we saw Orion (upside down and in a different part of the sky than at home) and the Milky Way and way more stars than we can ever see at home. 

This morning we have time to relax a little before we pack up, check out of this apartment, and queue up for the whale watching trip! Then on to Hanmer Springs for a much-needed hot soak.