Whales and Wines

Talk about a contrast. The west coast of NZ is green and lush while the east coast has suffered a three month drought which gives it the appearance of southern Spain. We drive - no traffic at all - from Franz Joseph glacier on the west coast to Kaikoura, the home of whale watching on the Pacific. It has a peninsular and a bay with mountains soaring 8,500 feet above the seashore - very similar to Mijas and Marbella. Only the beaches - shingly and black sand - betray the volcanic origins of much of NZ.
Time to chill out for a few days and forget the driving - NZ is much larger than it looks on the map and we have already driven 2,000 kilometres. Colin finds the local squash club which is very friendly and enjoys four games. Good standard but Ealing's finest holds his own, if you see what we mean. Sadly there are tennis courts aplenty but no players so we take a four hour walk around the Peninsular - no kidding - and overface ourselves. It was advertised as two hours in the Lonely Planet guide book - they must have been runners.
The temperature was 30 degrees plus - bliss after the fjords which were distinctly glacial. Glad to settle down with a Steinlager in front of the Aussie Open - what was Murray doing losing to Verdasco? Feeling grumpy, as far as we could see.
Arose early to catch the calm seas to whale watch from a catamaran. The daughter of a sea captain managed to survive the two and a half hour voyage without resource to her sick bag. Sadly the grandson of a sea captain could not withstand the swell as we waited 45 minutes for a sperm whale to resurface and joined the other 50 per cent of passengers needing his. The sperm whale, clearly well known to the crew, was named Teiki and saved them from an 80 per cent refund given when no whales are seen.
We were able to celebrate the wedding of James and Terri in Wales with mutual friends Kate and Hamish with a toast of local pink bubbly. We wished them health and happiness.
Visited the local art deco 1930s cinema to see the movie Australia (don't bother). However the experience was enlivened by the 1930s technology which meant that every time a reel ended there was an unintentional interval and an immediate rush to the candy bar! Brought back memories of a byegone era.
Onto Havelock, home of green lipped mussels and a scenic drive from Picton where the ferry from Wellington docks. Yet again the owner of our motel is British as are so many of the bar and restaurant staff everywhere we go. Some have got out in time - we notice the pound continues to dive faster than a pearl fisher while the price of petrol in NZ has risen 15 per cent while we have been here - although not the price of diesel - curious.
Onto Blenheim, the capital of the Marlborough wine region and to another English owned B & B. We are situated opposite the Oyster Bay winery. Curious that the product is so much cheaper in Tesco than it is here. However very friendly hosts at most of the wineries and we visit Isabel, Cloudy Bay, Seresin (owned by Michael S, the cinemaphotographer on Midnight Express and other big movies). The latter winery is organic. We bought some delicious Reisling dessert wine from Cloudy Bay which is so special they refuse to export it. They are very generous with the tastings and we have had to pace ourselves carefully - if you believe that you'll believe anything as we are unused to the spitoon!
Blenheim is the sunshine capital of NZ with over 2,500 hours annually. Trust us to disprove this statistic as we enter Peter Jackson's vintage aircraft museum to view planes from WWI. The Red Baron's uniform was on display (Baron Von Richtofen, that is). As we entered the museum it was 22 degrees celcius. As we exited an hour later the temperature had dropped to 10 degrees, no kidding, a present from the Antarctic. we gathered. Incidentally this is the Peter Jackson who directed Lord of the Rings.
Off to catch the train to Christchurch where Linda will be reunited with her fleece thanks to the detective powers of our Auckland friend Dee. When you next hear from us we'll be in Kuala Lumpur catching up with Alex and Craig's wedding plans.
NZ has exceeded all our expectations. The whole place is clean and utterly beautiful. The natives are very friendly and justifiably proud of their country. No wonder so many emigrate to the land of the long white cloud.