Awoke to a morning shower, so we were in no hurry and waited out the rain. Eventually, we headed north out of town to Picton and after scaling the viewpoint near Bob’s Bay we drove north along the Waikawa Road as far as Whatamango Bay. The views were wonderful.
We made our way back into town and stopped at Picton Village Bakkerij for seeded ciabatta rolls and an almond/dark cherry pastry.
From Picton we started our drive along Queen Charlotte Drive. There were several pull-outs and even some places to have a snack on a park bench between Governors Bay and Barks Bay.
Shortly afterwards, we saw our first real road damage from the earthquake two weeks before.
At Linkwater, we took Kenepuru Road northeast for views of the Mahau Sound and Kenepuru Sound. We made it as far as Portage before we turned around. Unfortunately much of the view is blocked by large bushes and the pull-outs are few. We did get some nice shots of the farm fields and a flowering passionflower vine.
Back on Queen Charlotte Drive I spotted a pottery gallery sign and pulled off to explore. Valerie (of Valerie’s Gallery) was very nice and we picked up a few of her designs, all the while chatting about travel and politics. We even added a push-pin to her visitor map. :)
Our next stop was Cullen Point Lookout which offered nice views of Havelock and Mahau Sound.
From Havelock we took the highway back our room in Blenheim to enjoy a Moa Tripel in our room. For dinner we walked to the Scotch Bar. I ordered two appetizer portions of the pork and coriander dumplings with a chilli salsa and a (massive) plate of grilled asparagus with whipped cranky goat cheese. Eric opted for the ox cheek pappardelle with parmigiano reggiano, very filling and tasty. They had several wines available by the half-glass, glass and bottle. I ordered the Fromm La Strada Pinot Noir and Eric had a Two Rivers L’ile de Beauté Rosé, both were very drinkable and it made me want to visit Fromm the next day.
In search of New Zealand-themed gifts, we walked over the the Warehouse but, unfortunately, it was mostly cheap crap.