Blenheim (the wine region !)

A short drive from Picton is Blenheim; not necessarily the prettiest of towns along the way, however it has one very big lure.....it is a major Wine Region !That's right what better way to spend a day than with a bike and a whole load of wineries, which give you free tastings. However our original plan of cycling round all the wineries was slightly thwarted by my arm being in a sling...cue a genius idea from me..

"why don't we see if they have a tandem? I mean, that'll be fun won't it Kip? What's the worst that could happen; you, me, a tandem and a lot of free wine....?"

So we got a map of the wine regions and had been told which ones to target by other travellers we had met along the way. We got to the bike shop early to get saddled up.

Ok, here goes nothing...after a few false starts and profanities at each other we were off and trying to navigate the main highway through Blenheim. The hardest bit was actually trying to cycle together, as when one person wanted to stop pedalling, you couldn't just stop, as this would invariably prompt a few choice words from the other person who came to an abrupt stop, mid pedal.

Needless to say after the first few wineries we managed to get into a good rhythm and it became second nature. The wineries were great and real mix of large manufacturing places with household names, to the smaller boutique type places that had a few acres of land and did everything themselves.

Throughout the day we managed to see 8 different wineries, trying 4 or 5 small glasses of their finest plonk in each. Lunch was just on the grass along the way out of one of the wineries.

All in all we managed to cycle round trip of 40Km, which was quite a shock, considering we thought it might be 15-20 tops! Kip did a great job at the helm, with me and my sling at the rear providing moral support. We didn't crash once, although there were a few uncertain moments when i turned round (not thinking) and in doing so shifted my weight, which through the bike way off path and meant Kip had to struggle to keep the thing upright and in control.

A great day out and a fantastic way to see the wineries and enjoy New Zealand's finest plonk.