High Country and the Marlborough Sounds
Relaxing and enjoying the geography and history of two distinct, contrasting South Island landscapes in the company of a happy group, was a unique experience on Pukekohe Travel’s seventh annual tour to Marlborough.
With quotes like “Have the cabins been alligatored?” and “People whose stupidity removes them from the human gene pool,” how could the group go wrong?
This was a holiday with a distinct New Zealand flavour. By experiencing first-hand and listening to tales from our drivers / guides Geoff and Trevor, the 165 km drive up the Awatere Valley through Molesworth Station and surrounding High Country Stations to Hanmer, this was a special journey.
Grapes are on the increase up the Awatere and sampling Tohu and Wild South brands gave a touch of reality to seeing them on the supermarket shelves.
By enjoying a one night home stay with locals, the group gained a real understanding of how home life is and was in this unique part of New Zealand as our hosts were more than happy to share their experiences.
The 180,476 hectare Molesworth Station, where the silence is deafening, has a climate of extremes. Drought and snow, loss of vegetation through over-grazing, sheep and rabbits have all made life a real test of character for those who made this their way of life.
Now under the control of DOC and Landcorp, Molesworth is a fine example of how with careful planning and management and changing from sheep to cattle, these stations survive, Hanmer, where a welcome swim in the hot pools was ideal relaxation before a superb dinner at a local restaurant, was a fitting overnight stay.
St James, Tarndale and Rainbow Stations are huge expanses of golden, tundra-like landscape, usually with the incongruous national grid pylons running through this. Travelling through them, with morning tea at Lake Tennyson was another enjoyable day’s drive.
We even walked across a swing bridge high above a river on the way to Picton before a few days on Marlborough Sounds.
The 16 berth ‘Affinity’ skippered by Captain Brian Appleby was our home and the 300 km voyage cruising the sounds was ideal. We stopped off at picturesque bays, walked some of the Queen Charlotte Track and to the summit lookout on Motuara Island, an impressive bird sanctuary where Little Blue Penguins, robins, bellbirds and tuis are everywhere.
Bird sounds abound.
Ships Cove, the start of the Queen Charlotte Track and a refuge where Captain Cook made home on five occasions, was another stop off with a short walk to a waterfall as an add-on.
Cruising around Cape Jackson where the ill-fated Russian passenger liner Mikhail Lermontov sank in 1986 was a bumpy experience, but once the boat was anchored in a bay near Bolwer, the evening meal and the group’s humour prevailed.
Leonie and Trevor Wilson led the next day’s fishing as the group caught enough blue cod for the evening meal and threw back the small ones and small sharks.
The food on board was excellent thanks to our Czech cook Ivana, the friendly on-board atmosphere made these days special and seeing the vastness, beauty and uniqueness of the region by boat was a holiday to remember.
We cruised through the swirling waters of French Pass, enjoyed a coffee and cake on D’ Urville Island, were enthralled by our on-board local mussel farmer who enlightened us with the fine points of mussel farming and sampled wine tasting at Bayview Estate Wines near Kenepuru.
Sadly it was then our the traditional seafood dinner at the Mussel Pot Restaurant in Havelock.
Think Marlborough, think wine, and seeing the countryside from
a vehicle, boat and the air, leaves no doubt that wine is now a huge part of the local economy.
Locals say the climate, soil and rock give the grapes a special flavour and many leading brands, especially Sav Blanc are from the region.
The coup de grace was my flight over the Marlborough Sounds with a clear view of the hectares of vineyards, Cloudy Bay, French Pass and D’Urville Island.
Bookings are already being taken for next year’s trip in late February.