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So journal no. 3,214 if we are going on Grant's counting skills then. It was off up to the top of the South Island from Kaikoura and along the way there were a few things that caught our (well, mainly my) attention... these being vinyards. There are about a million in the Marlborough region and driving past we saw a few that produced wines that I even recognised the names of... Montana, Cloudy Bay (remember stacking the latter in Sainsburys... ah fond memories). It therefore seemed rude not to head into one of these vinyards, have a look around and obv try a small sample of the good stuff. We chose to go to Montana a) because I recognised the name and b) it is the largest vinyard in the region and they run tours to look round the distillery etc. It was pretty interesting to see how they make the different wines and we learnt lots of good facts, the favourite being... well first let's see if you know the answer before I tell you... 'Do you know why a standard wine bottle is always 750ml?' Well we debated for a while and suggested it had something to do with the amount you can get out of the barrels they are distilled in etc, but no, the answer is actually that in the 'olden days' when men would make and blow the glass bottles, 750ml was the average lung capacity of a glass blower! There is no reason now for them to still be this size but for tradition sake they still are - interesting eh, anyone get it right?
So after a good old look around the distillery we got what we came for and had a good old wine tasting. Some of these were really nice and even Grant perked up when he tried the dessert wine and found it very agreeable (to me it was literally like drinking honey - eugh). They obviously make you try some of the more expensive varieties so after we had finished I was straight over to the bargain bin to get my 2 for the price of 1 bottles - lovely.
Nelson was our next stop up the coast and we were looking forward to meeting up with my T-Wells buddies Vic and Bry again. Now as me and Grant hadn't really spoken to anyone else apart from eachother for like 3 weeks we were pretty excited to see some different faces. When they arrived we had already been in the pub about 4 hours and spent 5 days budget so it was back to the van for some cheapness. After copious amounts of duty free spirits we were off out again to hit the town. Nelson is a really nice little place, it is a city but in NZ that doesnt mean it's big, I'd say it is maybe the size of T-Wells, if not a bit smaller. It is said to be one of NZ's most livable cities though and has some pretty good nightlife, as we found out. After a few more bevs we (although more likely Grant) decided a game of pool was in order so we partnered up and staggered to the table. Now, I'm not saying we were completely useless but I think it was probably the longest game in history, with us (well, more specifically us birds) taking a shot then getting distracted and having a bit of a boogie, then downing a drink, then having fun with the pool que, then jumping all over eachother, then realising Grant had a face like thunder... eek. Ah well, all good clean fun, rounded off by a spot of dancin in another club and me arranging Bry's assets on the dancefloor before her top fell down - excellent.
Next day it was hangover hell and off up to Abel Tasman National park for some serious R n R. Bry found a wicked place for us to stay called Old Macdonalds Farm and it literally does what it says on the tin. It is a proper farm in the middle of nowhere with cows, sheep, pigs and like a million llamas (they are such wierd creatures) - I was in heaven. We headed to the local beach and chilled, drunk tea and ate cake (again I confirm this is not a Saga tour). The weather was glorious and energised by the tea and cake we decided to have a long jump and triple jump competition... obv Grant was victorious every time... it's only a game Grantster, warming up really wasn't that necessary! It was back to the farm after that for a good old look at the animals and a stroll in the beautiful afternoon sun (we are 26, we are 26...) It was so lovely though as the autumn colous were so vivid and Bry took it on herself to find the most amazing leaf she could - awww so special, think she did it though, check out the pics!
That night as we snuggled up in the campervan under our duvet with the heater on full blast we did feel slightly bad for Vic and Bry who decided to brave it in a tent outside. Ah well at least they looked hot in their tights, trousers, hats, boots, gloves scarves, t-shirts, jumpers and socks - wicked weekend birds... x
So, that was the last of the South Island, hope the North is as action packed...
Linz x
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