Blenheim

It rained overnight and this morning, so we didn’t hang around the lakes for long. After checking out the other DOC camps in the area, including finding the start of the Buller River (which flows all the way to the West Coast) we headed off towards Blenheim down the Wairau Valley. Charlie had hoped to be able to spend a fair bit of the day fishing but – yes, you guessed it – the river was dirty and so the plans were once again shelved.
Instead we traveled on, passing hundreds of hectares of vineyards, till we found ourselves at Renwick on the outskirts of Blenheim, where there are literally dozens of wineries. We only chose two to visit today: Nautilus Estate and No. 1 Family Estate. This is Daniel le Brun’s winery, the famous Frenchman who was the first to make champagne-style wines in New Zealand. Daniel sold his shares in his previous winery in the mid-1990s, and although you can still buy wines with his name on the label, he has nothing to do with them! We tasted four of his current bubblies, and all were delicious; we are having a case shipped home and have kept a couple of bottles to enjoy on our birthdays.
Then on to tonight’s stop: another DOC campsite at Onamalutu, about 12km from Blenheim. We are parked in an enormous grassy domain, surrounded by trees and hills, and there are only four other vehicles here. Perfect!Read more