Blenheim and A Few Wines

Blenheim Wine Tasting.  Was I there?....

One weekend we went to Blenheim and tried a few wines.
The planned roady from Auckland to the South Island was changed to a flight to Christchurch and driving from there to Blenheim for a wedding.

Sight-seeing Christchurch for a day was on the original plan, however the earthquake struck the city 3 days before our planned trip, so obviously we revised that idea. 

In fact, we had to check that our bride and groom were OK and still intending to hold the wedding as they live in Christchurch.  The day before our flight we managed to track them down and they confirmed they were OK and the wedding was going ahead.

The flight down is a breeze and very quick.  We hired a vehicle for the four hour drive from Chrischurch to Blenheim.  There are numerous rental companies to choose from.  Ours picked us up from the airport and delivered us to the car - which was five minutes away.  After a bit of paperwork and credit card swiping we were off. 

Our driver decided that the last thing Christchurch needed was a car load of nosey parkers looking at the damage caused by the quake, so he headed straight for the main drag to Blenheim, which was easy as pie. 

There is basically one road north, which is largely along the rugged, but beautiful, coastline. 

We spotted a few seals and, on the way home, bought crayfish at a road side stall.  Kaikoura was our lunch stop and then on to Blenheim.

The hills into Blenhiem have numerous vinyards.  It was late in the day but we managed to find one vineyard still open for tastings, and purchases, before we headed off to find our accomodation - a very roomy abode with everything a traveller staying a few days could want. 

The next day it was off to more wineries in the morning, with lunch, before heading home to dress for the upcoming nuptials. 

Montana Brancott Winery....Yes I Was!

The wedding was lovely, the weather was awesome and Blenheim, we decided on our drive back to Christchurch, is quite a nice place if taking your time about life is something you'd like to do.

A weekend isn't long enough to see the surrounding sights, so we plan to come back to Blenhiem for a few more wines and a bit more sight seeing.