Fiordland National Park is one of the most dramatic and beautiful parts of New Zealand. We did a lot of research deciding whether we wanted to visit the popular Milford or the more remote Doubtful Sound. In the end we opted for Milford both because it really did appear to be the more beautiful option and also because we didn't want to miss out on one of the must-see destinations in New Zealand.
Milford Sound is the most well-known of
all the sounds (which are
technically fiords as they are created by glaciers not rivers) largely
due to the fact that it’s the only one accessible by road. But there is a
reason it is world famous. The scenery is almost unreal! It is honestly
a photographer's dream (just as Timmy) with it shear rock cliffs that
vertically rise 1,200 m (3,900 ft) out of the dark waters, the mountain
peaks that scrape the sky and waterfalls that cascade down into the
water below. As you look down the fiord, standing at 1,692 meters high,
Mitre Peak is an iconic sight and New Zealand’s most photographed
mountain. It is approximately 16km (14 nautical miles) in length from
the head of Milford to the Tasman sea, which means you can comfortably
travel the length on one of the many cruise options.
The next decision we had to make was: do we do a day or a night cruise? While the latter is more expensive, I think spending an evening in a World Heritage Area underneath the stars, in what feels like the middle of nowhere, and getting to see the fiord late at night/ early in the morning, is very special and something that not too many people get to experience. So the choice was easy. We booked a Coach + Cruise + Fly tour with Real Journeys. A good way to see the Sound from all the different vantage points (save the 4-day Milford Trak). The tour was 2 days/1 night, departing Queenstown at 08:30 and rerunning at 11:40 the following day.
Coach
The best way to enjoy the Milford Road is by taking a glass-roofed coach as you are able to relax and simply enjoy the breathtaking views without worrying about the often tricky driving conditions. The journey to Milford Sound is just as stunning as the destination itself. For those of you who know my extreme love of tours, you understand how much I loooove a good tour guide. Well, the comfort and beauty are kind of a given on any coach you take to Milford. What made the Real Jorneys experience so memorable was our coach driver Craig (pronounced Cray-geh, Timmy enjoys joking that we Americans butcher the "proper pronunciation"). The trip took about 7 hours and I am not kidding when I say he Craig not stop talking the whole time. He provided us with hilarious yet informative commentary about the region, its history and the natural surroundings. It really made the time fly by and kept us awake and alert so we could enjoy the scenery.
Next we took and overnight cruise on the Milford Wanderer. Shortly after we were settled aboard we had the opportunity to go ashore for a guided walk at Sandfly Point (like the name?) – the ending point of the world-famous Milford Track. We were lucky and ended up in Craig's group! I made sure to stay up front right next to him the whole time. Shocker I know! We learned a lot about the indigenous trees and birds of the region as well as the flora and fauna that were introduced by settlers. Don't try to ask me about any of it now though. I love taking in the information, but I'm not always the best at maintaining it. After a delicious dinner we took a bottle of wine up to the deck with our new-made friends and enjoyed the incredible dark night sky speckled with an endless array of stars. The next morning, we woke up early as the boat set off to the Tasman Sea just as the sun was rising. Timmy was in seventh heaven. He literally did not leave the deck once during the entire two-hour trip to/from sea. Don't get me wrong it was absolutely gorgeous and I too wanted to be outside, but it was freezing cold and I could only take so long before I had to go inside to warm up. Timmy said this was some of the best stills he has ever shot and thinks he easily took over 1,000 pictures. He'll be busy sorting through all our images from this trip for the next few months!
Flight
After the first two legs of this trip, it was hard to imagine how it could get any more spectacular. And while the views were beyond amazing, I have very mixed feelings about the "quick" 45-minute flight between Milford Sound and Queenstown. The reason is I had such bad motion sickness! Within the first 10 minutes of the flight, the plane hit some turbulence, I grabbed for the vomit bag just in case and spent the rest of the flight counting the seconds until those 45 minutes were over. When we got back on the ground, the pilot informed us that the conditions were far worse than he expected and that the remaining flights of the day would be called off. On the ride back to town, I was relieved to hear that everyone felt quite ill; I thought it was just me! Timmy and I had to lie in a park for a good hour before we were able to move again. Now all this being said, looking back at the experience as a whole, I would 100% recommend you do it. Riding in small 6-person plane, through the valleys of the Southern Alps, over the Milford Sound, is a once in lifetime opportunity. I would just HIGHLY recommend taking Dramamine.
The South Island road trip begins!
I can't go too in depth on every place we visited or I will be here for days, so below are the highlights.
Our first stop was only 30-minutes away and could be an easy day-trip from Queenstown. As we had already spent three nights in Queenstown before Milford, we decided to spend the night in this cute little mining town. Arrowtown sprang up in the 1860s following the discovery of gold in the Arrow River. Today much of the town retains its original gold rush buildings turned into storefronts along two main roads. We stayed in the adorable Arrowtown Lodge and B&B. I highty recommend this place. The people who run it are so nice and able to provide you with a plethora of information on the town and surrounding area. We ate dinner at The Postmasters Residence. This was also one of out favorite meals of the entire trip.
Wanaka is the laid back, small town version of Queenstown. We saw very little of it as we just drove through, but we had a great lunch at Kai Whakapai Cafe and Bar.
Franz Josef
Timmy chose skydiving. My birthday choice was to hike on one of New Zealand's famous glaciers. (Not hiking the Perito Moreno Glacier is one of big regrets of my time in Argentina). We debated between Fox and Franz Josef Glaciers and decided on the latter. (Are you starting to see the trend here? Timmy really likes to do his research to make sure we always pick the best option, life's too short not to!) A company that does tours on both glaciers told us that "the best" frequently changes, but given the past few years’ winter conditions we made currently made the right choice. We originally booked our heli-hike quite a bit in advance with Franz Josef Glacier Guides. After figuring out our exact course and schedule for the trip, we realized that it would be better if we bumped the hike up a day. Luckily all reservations are fully refundable up to 24-hours in advance. Unluckily, they were booked the day we wanted to go.
We ended up going with The Helicopter Line. While on the hike I asked our guide the difference between the companies and he told me something really interesting, all companies use the same guides, as they are the only ones certified to lead the tours on the ice. The only difference is the company that takes you up on the helicopter. In the end I think we picked the best option, as our company was not only cheaper but also had a longer scenic flight above the glacier!The heli-hike was great! We had great guides who have worked on glaciers all over the world and provided us with interesting information. The two-hour hike was not difficult in a strenuous way, but rather difficult in balance and agility kind of way. As this is one of the rainiest places in the world (they measure their rainfall in meters here!) tours are canceled 50% of the time due to weather. I recommend going in the morning, as weather is typically best then.
Greymouth
In order to break up the drive we spent the night in Greymouth, home of New Zealand's famous Monteith’s Brewing Company. Unfortunately we were too late for the brewery tour, but that didn't stop us from doing our own tasting. They have a really interesting looking menu that supposedly goes until 7pm but we arrived just after 6pm and they had stopped serving from their main kitchen. We were able to order pizza and a charcuterie board off their smaller tapas menu. It's a fun place to hang out, and though it was quite empty while we were there, I imagine it has a great vibe when full.
Pancake Rocks
The next morning as our drive to Abel Tasman continued, we stopped in Punakaiki to visit its famous Pancake Rocks. Through a layering-weathering process the limestone has formed into what looks like piles of thick pancakes - thus the name. When we started the walk we were not impressed, but as we continued on the short loop it was actually quite beautiful! The cons to the place are the heaps of tourists trying to snap photos on their iPads and GoPros, (always obnoxious), the sand flies (yup they're here too so stay covered) and the the Pancake Rocks Cafe. DO NOT eat there. It was very expensive and disgusting. Food is available a little north so I suggest eating there if you're hungry.
Nelson
Finally we made it to the north of the South Island! And back to the warmer weather that we experienced on the North Island. Our first stop was Nelson, known for its local arts and crafts, good coffee, delicious seafood restaurants, fine wines and craft beers. In fact, the Nelson region lays claim as the craft-brewing capital of New Zealand. This is because of the fields of world-class hops that have been grown in the region since the 1840s. It was really awesome driving though endless rows of bright-green hanging hops. I have never seen that before! We picked up a copy of the Nelson Craft Beer Trail map and spent our afternoon visiting a few places.
The Free House
The Free House was one of the first pubs in New Zealand to be untied to a single brewery. Most pubs in New Zealand are still “tied houses” where the only drinks available to customers are from one brewery or brewing company. The Free House boasts ten beer taps, plus three real ale hand pumps serving an ever-changing menu of craft beers. The bar is located in a small converted wooden church and there is a nice back yard where we sat in the sun enjoying our drinks.
Golden Bear Brewing
Located 30 minutes north at the historic Mapua Wharf, Golden Bear Brewing is a great place to savor craft brewed beers and enjoy fresh Mexican food. We had one beer and some decent nachos.
We were going to have a second beer, but decided to wait until we got to our hotel. Thank goodness we did, as on our way out of town there was a road block! The police officer asked Timmy to breath into what he called a preliminary test. Immediately the machine flashed "Alcohol". As we pulled over, both of our hearts stopped as we envisioned spending the rest of our holiday behind bars. Timmy then was asked to then breath into an actual breathalyzer. This time the machine read "Passed". Very bizarre that neither machine actually gave a BAC level. As he had only had 3 beers in
the time span of a few hours, Timmy wasn't too worried, but it was still quite a scary and sobering experience!
Kimi Ora Eco Lodge
For my real birthday, Timmy booked us at the most lovely Eco Resort. Kimi Ora means "seek health" in the Maori language and that's the philosophy that drives this hotel. If we had more time we could have stayed here for a few more days to just relax.
The next day was my birthday! We had planned to go on a hike or kayak through Abel Tasman, but when we woke up we discovered it was pouring rain. At breakfast, the owner of the resort suggested driving out to Golden Bay. We stopped for lunch at Mussel Inn, a cute pub that serves wholesome Kiwi fare and tasty craft beers. Timmy finally got to eat green mussels and I had a delicious steak pie and salad. We split a piece of carrot cake for desert. It was my birthday after all! We came back to the hotel, got massages and hung out in the hot tub and indoor pool for the rest of the afternoon. That night Timmy cooked me a delicious steak pasta dinner. That is actually the first dish Timmy ever cooked for me in Buenos Aires :). Quite a perfect birthday!
Abel Tasman
Abel Tasman is the country's most visited National Park drawing visitors from around the world with its ridiculously beautiful coastlines. There are plenty of ways to explore, the most popular being hiking and kayaking. We opted for a half-day kayak tour with a nice hike in the afternoon. We contemplated renting our own kayaks as it would be a cheaper option, but in the end we decided to book through Abel Tasman Kayaks. I am so glad we did! I think it would have been a difficult experience getting the kayak in/out of the water and figuring out the path on our own. The tour induced a guided kayak adventure from Marahau to Watering Cove, a great lunch and then a water taxi ride back to the start of the park a few hours later. We spent the time walking along Anchorage Beach to the beautiful Pitt Head loop and down to Te Pukatea Bay, a hidden gem in the Abel Tasman.
Marlborough Wine Region
We wisely planned to spend our last few days in New Zealand sipping on sauvignon blanc in the Marlborough Wine Region. Make sure to have a copy of the Marlborough Wine Trail on hand as you explore the area.
Day 1: We rented bikes from our hotel and took off. In total we biked 32 km (21 miles)! Definitely worked off all the wine and food calories. An awesome thing about Marlborough is for the most part all tastings are free (even if you don't buy a bottle). This is really the way wine tasting should be!
Giesen
We decided it made the most sense to go to the furthest winery first and then work our way back home. The first stop was 16.3 km (10 miles) away! It took us over an hour to get there. Needless to say we were quite hot when we arrived. We downed two glasses of water each before even thinking about wine. Giesen has delicious wines and a nice patio that served incredible lunch. Our favorites were the wild yeast and select reserve sauv blancs.
Nautilus Estate Wines
Our next stop was right next door. Natulis is a family run winery. Not only did they have great wines, but they also had very friendly and knowledgeable staff that created a great tasting experience.
Cloudy Bay
Cloudy Bay is New Zealand's most famous winery as it is the most distributed worldwide. I will say that it is a gorgeous property! But I was a little disappointed in the tasting. First there was a fee (not super high but still all others are free!) and second it wasn't my favorites of all the wines. They were good but just not special.
Moa Brewery Company
As most wineries close around 4pm we were only able to visit three. Not ready to end our day we decided to check out the Brewery next door to Cloudy Bay. Moa beers and ciders are brewed using traditional techniques with a focus on local ingredients, including internationally renowned New Zealand hops. Most of the beers are rounded off through the use of winemaking techniques, such as bottle conditioning where a small amount of active yeast and priming sugar is added to the brew just before bottling (like Champagne). After a few beers (plus the 3 wineries) we were sufficiently tipsy. Needless to say it was a wobbly ride back to our hotel! That night we stayed in and ordered pizza.
Day 2: We had time to kill before our 4 pm flight so we decided to check out a few more wineries by car.
Allan Scott Family Wine Makers
Family run winery. Their son actually opened Moa Brewery. Since then, he has come back to help the family craft beer with wine ingredients. We tried a few that were delicious!
Fromm Winery
Milford Sound is the most well-known of
all the sounds (which are
technically fiords as they are created by glaciers not rivers) largely
due to the fact that it’s the only one accessible by road. But there is a
reason it is world famous. The scenery is almost unreal! It is honestly
a photographer's dream (just as Timmy) with it shear rock cliffs that
vertically rise 1,200 m (3,900 ft) out of the dark waters, the mountain
peaks that scrape the sky and waterfalls that cascade down into the
water below. As you look down the fiord, standing at 1,692 meters high,
Mitre Peak is an iconic sight and New Zealand’s most photographed
mountain. It is approximately 16km (14 nautical miles) in length from
the head of Milford to the Tasman sea, which means you can comfortably
travel the length on one of the many cruise options.
The next decision we had to make was: do we do a day or a night cruise? While the latter is more expensive, I think spending an evening in a World Heritage Area underneath the stars, in what feels like the middle of nowhere, and getting to see the fiord late at night/ early in the morning, is very special and something that not too many people get to experience. So the choice was easy. We booked a Coach + Cruise + Fly tour with Real Journeys. A good way to see the Sound from all the different vantage points (save the 4-day Milford Trak). The tour was 2 days/1 night, departing Queenstown at 08:30 and rerunning at 11:40 the following day.Coach
The best way to enjoy the Milford Road is by taking a glass-roofed coach as you are able to relax and simply enjoy the breathtaking views without worrying about the often tricky driving conditions. The journey to Milford Sound is just as stunning as the destination itself. For those of you who know my extreme love of tours, you understand how much I loooove a good tour guide. Well, the comfort and beauty are kind of a given on any coach you take to Milford. What made the Real Jorneys experience so memorable was our coach driver Craig (pronounced Cray-geh, Timmy enjoys joking that we Americans butcher the "proper pronunciation"). The trip took about 7 hours and I am not kidding when I say he Craig not stop talking the whole time. He provided us with hilarious yet informative commentary about the region, its history and the natural surroundings. It really made the time fly by and kept us awake and alert so we could enjoy the scenery.
Cruise
Next we took and overnight cruise on the Milford Wanderer. Shortly after we were settled aboard we had the opportunity to go ashore for a guided walk at Sandfly Point (like the name?) – the ending point of the world-famous Milford Track. We were lucky and ended up in Craig's group! I made sure to stay up front right next to him the whole time. Shocker I know! We learned a lot about the indigenous trees and birds of the region as well as the flora and fauna that were introduced by settlers. Don't try to ask me about any of it now though. I love taking in the information, but I'm not always the best at maintaining it. After a delicious dinner we took a bottle of wine up to the deck with our new-made friends and enjoyed the incredible dark night sky speckled with an endless array of stars. The next morning, we woke up early as the boat set off to the Tasman Sea just as the sun was rising. Timmy was in seventh heaven. He literally did not leave the deck once during the entire two-hour trip to/from sea. Don't get me wrong it was absolutely gorgeous and I too wanted to be outside, but it was freezing cold and I could only take so long before I had to go inside to warm up. Timmy said this was some of the best stills he has ever shot and thinks he easily took over 1,000 pictures. He'll be busy sorting through all our images from this trip for the next few months!Flight
After the first two legs of this trip, it was hard to imagine how it could get any more spectacular. And while the views were beyond amazing, I have very mixed feelings about the "quick" 45-minute flight between Milford Sound and Queenstown. The reason is I had such bad motion sickness! Within the first 10 minutes of the flight, the plane hit some turbulence, I grabbed for the vomit bag just in case and spent the rest of the flight counting the seconds until those 45 minutes were over. When we got back on the ground, the pilot informed us that the conditions were far worse than he expected and that the remaining flights of the day would be called off. On the ride back to town, I was relieved to hear that everyone felt quite ill; I thought it was just me! Timmy and I had to lie in a park for a good hour before we were able to move again. Now all this being said, looking back at the experience as a whole, I would 100% recommend you do it. Riding in small 6-person plane, through the valleys of the Southern Alps, over the Milford Sound, is a once in lifetime opportunity. I would just HIGHLY recommend taking Dramamine.
The South Island road trip begins!
I can't go too in depth on every place we visited or I will be here for days, so below are the highlights.
Stats: 1,102 km (685 miles) in 7 days/nights
Arrowtown
Arrowtown
Wanaka is the laid back, small town version of Queenstown. We saw very little of it as we just drove through, but we had a great lunch at Kai Whakapai Cafe and Bar.
Franz Josef
We ended up going with The Helicopter Line. While on the hike I asked our guide the difference between the companies and he told me something really interesting, all companies use the same guides, as they are the only ones certified to lead the tours on the ice. The only difference is the company that takes you up on the helicopter. In the end I think we picked the best option, as our company was not only cheaper but also had a longer scenic flight above the glacier!The heli-hike was great! We had great guides who have worked on glaciers all over the world and provided us with interesting information. The two-hour hike was not difficult in a strenuous way, but rather difficult in balance and agility kind of way. As this is one of the rainiest places in the world (they measure their rainfall in meters here!) tours are canceled 50% of the time due to weather. I recommend going in the morning, as weather is typically best then.
In order to break up the drive we spent the night in Greymouth, home of New Zealand's famous Monteith’s Brewing Company. Unfortunately we were too late for the brewery tour, but that didn't stop us from doing our own tasting. They have a really interesting looking menu that supposedly goes until 7pm but we arrived just after 6pm and they had stopped serving from their main kitchen. We were able to order pizza and a charcuterie board off their smaller tapas menu. It's a fun place to hang out, and though it was quite empty while we were there, I imagine it has a great vibe when full.
Pancake Rocks
The next morning as our drive to Abel Tasman continued, we stopped in Punakaiki to visit its famous Pancake Rocks. Through a layering-weathering process the limestone has formed into what looks like piles of thick pancakes - thus the name. When we started the walk we were not impressed, but as we continued on the short loop it was actually quite beautiful! The cons to the place are the heaps of tourists trying to snap photos on their iPads and GoPros, (always obnoxious), the sand flies (yup they're here too so stay covered) and the the Pancake Rocks Cafe. DO NOT eat there. It was very expensive and disgusting. Food is available a little north so I suggest eating there if you're hungry.
Finally we made it to the north of the South Island! And back to the warmer weather that we experienced on the North Island. Our first stop was Nelson, known for its local arts and crafts, good coffee, delicious seafood restaurants, fine wines and craft beers. In fact, the Nelson region lays claim as the craft-brewing capital of New Zealand. This is because of the fields of world-class hops that have been grown in the region since the 1840s. It was really awesome driving though endless rows of bright-green hanging hops. I have never seen that before! We picked up a copy of the Nelson Craft Beer Trail map and spent our afternoon visiting a few places.
The Free House
The Free House was one of the first pubs in New Zealand to be untied to a single brewery. Most pubs in New Zealand are still “tied houses” where the only drinks available to customers are from one brewery or brewing company. The Free House boasts ten beer taps, plus three real ale hand pumps serving an ever-changing menu of craft beers. The bar is located in a small converted wooden church and there is a nice back yard where we sat in the sun enjoying our drinks.
Golden Bear Brewing
Located 30 minutes north at the historic Mapua Wharf, Golden Bear Brewing is a great place to savor craft brewed beers and enjoy fresh Mexican food. We had one beer and some decent nachos.
We were going to have a second beer, but decided to wait until we got to our hotel. Thank goodness we did, as on our way out of town there was a road block! The police officer asked Timmy to breath into what he called a preliminary test. Immediately the machine flashed "Alcohol". As we pulled over, both of our hearts stopped as we envisioned spending the rest of our holiday behind bars. Timmy then was asked to then breath into an actual breathalyzer. This time the machine read "Passed". Very bizarre that neither machine actually gave a BAC level. As he had only had 3 beers in
the time span of a few hours, Timmy wasn't too worried, but it was still quite a scary and sobering experience!
Kimi Ora Eco Lodge
For my real birthday, Timmy booked us at the most lovely Eco Resort. Kimi Ora means "seek health" in the Maori language and that's the philosophy that drives this hotel. If we had more time we could have stayed here for a few more days to just relax.The next day was my birthday! We had planned to go on a hike or kayak through Abel Tasman, but when we woke up we discovered it was pouring rain. At breakfast, the owner of the resort suggested driving out to Golden Bay. We stopped for lunch at Mussel Inn, a cute pub that serves wholesome Kiwi fare and tasty craft beers. Timmy finally got to eat green mussels and I had a delicious steak pie and salad. We split a piece of carrot cake for desert. It was my birthday after all! We came back to the hotel, got massages and hung out in the hot tub and indoor pool for the rest of the afternoon. That night Timmy cooked me a delicious steak pasta dinner. That is actually the first dish Timmy ever cooked for me in Buenos Aires :). Quite a perfect birthday!
Abel Tasman
Marlborough Wine Region
We wisely planned to spend our last few days in New Zealand sipping on sauvignon blanc in the Marlborough Wine Region. Make sure to have a copy of the Marlborough Wine Trail on hand as you explore the area.
We decided it made the most sense to go to the furthest winery first and then work our way back home. The first stop was 16.3 km (10 miles) away! It took us over an hour to get there. Needless to say we were quite hot when we arrived. We downed two glasses of water each before even thinking about wine. Giesen has delicious wines and a nice patio that served incredible lunch. Our favorites were the wild yeast and select reserve sauv blancs.
Nautilus Estate Wines
Our next stop was right next door. Natulis is a family run winery. Not only did they have great wines, but they also had very friendly and knowledgeable staff that created a great tasting experience.
Cloudy Bay Cloudy Bay is New Zealand's most famous winery as it is the most distributed worldwide. I will say that it is a gorgeous property! But I was a little disappointed in the tasting. First there was a fee (not super high but still all others are free!) and second it wasn't my favorites of all the wines. They were good but just not special.
Moa Brewery Company
As most wineries close around 4pm we were only able to visit three. Not ready to end our day we decided to check out the Brewery next door to Cloudy Bay. Moa beers and ciders are brewed using traditional techniques with a focus on local ingredients, including internationally renowned New Zealand hops. Most of the beers are rounded off through the use of winemaking techniques, such as bottle conditioning where a small amount of active yeast and priming sugar is added to the brew just before bottling (like Champagne). After a few beers (plus the 3 wineries) we were sufficiently tipsy. Needless to say it was a wobbly ride back to our hotel! That night we stayed in and ordered pizza.
Day 2: We had time to kill before our 4 pm flight so we decided to check out a few more wineries by car.
Allan Scott Family Wine Makers
Fromm Winery
Owned by a 4th generation Swiss winemaker, Fromm Winery has built an international reputation by producing an array of outstanding wines that reflect both European style and kiwi ingenuity. We actually enjoyed the red wines more than the white wines here.
Brancott Estate
This is a must visit! I recommend booking a table for lunch as it fills up. Note the winery is up a large hill so this should probably be done on a car day and not on a bike day. The uber-modern cellar door and restaurant is actually quite ugly, but it is the view that makes this place incredible! It is basically a glass box that overlooks the original sauvignon blanc vineyards of the estate, some of the largest in the region. We were able to place our order and then do the tasting so we could pick the wines we wanted to sip on during our meal.
After lunch we headed to the Blenheim airport. As we were packing up we still had a half bottle of wine left over. We decided rather than downing it in the parking lot, we would check into our flight and then drink it before we passed security. Well, the Blenheim airport is so small that there isn't actually a security checkpoint. We checked-in at a kiosk, self-checked our bags and walked right up to our gate bottle in hand! I was happy to not have to chug a nice bottle of wine.
And there you have it my friends. This concludes the end of our 20 jam-packed days in New Zealand. Up Next: Bali
Brancott Estate
This is a must visit! I recommend booking a table for lunch as it fills up. Note the winery is up a large hill so this should probably be done on a car day and not on a bike day. The uber-modern cellar door and restaurant is actually quite ugly, but it is the view that makes this place incredible! It is basically a glass box that overlooks the original sauvignon blanc vineyards of the estate, some of the largest in the region. We were able to place our order and then do the tasting so we could pick the wines we wanted to sip on during our meal.After lunch we headed to the Blenheim airport. As we were packing up we still had a half bottle of wine left over. We decided rather than downing it in the parking lot, we would check into our flight and then drink it before we passed security. Well, the Blenheim airport is so small that there isn't actually a security checkpoint. We checked-in at a kiosk, self-checked our bags and walked right up to our gate bottle in hand! I was happy to not have to chug a nice bottle of wine.
And there you have it my friends. This concludes the end of our 20 jam-packed days in New Zealand. Up Next: Bali
