New Zealand: A Caravan Experience
Written By: SUSANNE LOMATCH
PAGE 8....
Marlborough – Picton, Havelock, Blenheim, Nelson
Day 12-13
Driving from the ferry in the off-season, we figured we’d have no problem finding a
caravan park nearby in Picton with open accommodation. No can do, all were full – so
our advice to travelers is to make reservations at any time of the year for this particular
area. The next closest caravan park was over 20mi away, Smith’s Farm. We didn’t want
to drive all the way to Blenheim, preferring to enjoy some of the scenery of the
Marlborough Sounds first.
More inclement weather the next day prevented us from undertaking a popular sea-kayak
trip in the sounds, so we opted to drive to the closest town, Havelock. On the way, we
took a short hike and a shot of the foggy sounds. Havelock is known for its Scottish
immigrant heritage, and we enjoyed lunch at a local pub, where we were treated with
local NZ green giant mussels (farmed close by) and seafood chowder.
With the weather uncooperative, we drove south toward Blenheim to experience some of
the Marlborough wine country. The drive weaved along gorgeous farm and range
country, extending upward along the rocky hills and mountains on either side. We came
out toward flat wine country just as the sun was beating away the clouds. Blenheim and
Marlborough are flat and sprawling along the Pacific coast and inland. Known for being
the largest wine producing region in NZ, home to such large producer labels as Cloudy
Bay and Kim Crawford, and where there actually exists massive stainless fermenters
right on the cloudy bay to produce all that exported Sauvignon Blanc wine. Not to be too
hackneyed, we headed for the uncommon, first asking around what might be considered
uncommonly great. The answers we got registered only three – Saint Claire, Hunter’s,
and The Wine Cellar, for its rotating display of exceptional boutique
wineries/winemakers.
We indeed confirmed Saint Claire as one of the greats, with most exceptional reserve and
single vineyard Sauvignon Blanc, Gewürtztramer, Pinot Gris and Chardonnay. We
couldn’t pass on any, and may even claim that the finest Sauvignon Blanc is produced
here. Just down the road is Hunter’s, a winery owned and run by a veteran winemaker,
Jane Hunter. The exclusive here was undoubtedly the Mirumiru Reserve Sparkling Wine
made from a Pinot Noir/Chardonnay blend, predominantly Pinot Noir (63%).
Champagne-style (bottle fermented sparkling wine) is rather sparsely found in NZ, and
we probably stumbled upon one of the finer producers. Care went into this – apples,
minerals and flowers, with a soda bread finish. Very dry and very clean. At the Wine
Cellar we discovered a newer winemaker, Bouldevines. We had to have both the Pinot
Gris (concentrated pear, crystal clean with a mineral bite) and Gewürztraminer (pure
flavors of ginger with hints of honey, lovely floral nose). Oh how the aromatics excel in
NZ! Why didn’t we know?
On a rash decision we turned our caravan northwest, with the revised intent to include the
Abel Tasman peninsula in our journey, before resuming our scheduled waypoints along
the SI west coast. Little did we know, but our journey would become a veritable zigzag
across the island later on, before we would even get to the wild west coast. It was already
late in the afternoon, and we knew we wouldn’t make the long drive, so we stopped at
Nelson for the night, checking into Tahuna Beach Camp. A little gourmet food shopping
and we found ourselves busily preparing a meal of pan sautéed local Groper (related to
Bass) and smoked "chili" mussels in fresh garlic and olive oil, with fresh pasta and pesto
(all separate and layered). A delightful meal with that ’06 Te Kairanga Martinborough
Chardonnay.
Exercise was on our minds in the morning – guilt for not having been to the gym in a few
weeks but relying on mostly rather pedestrian touring activities. The park offered a self-guided
exercise path with callisthenic contraptions at regular intervals, a gamely
amusement while viewing the local landscape. Nelson is located on the Tasman Bay,
adjacent a large agricultural area, producing fruit (kiwi) and wine grapes.