Feb. 1, 2007: to Blenheim
It was rainy this morning. Actually, this whole trip we've been blessed with good weather. While we were going around Abel Tasman we had beautiful, sunny days, which was what we needed for being on the water. I certainly am not complaining about the rain we've had while driving. :)
Today we're in Blenheim. It's pretty much just a stopover point for us. Tomorrow we're traveling a short distance to a city called Picton, where we'll travel to the North Island via the Interislander Ferry. There doesn't seem to be much to do here in Blenheim, but this region is well known for its vineyards and wine production.
After checking in, we just took it easy for a bit and watched some TV. It's so funny to me to be able to watch all these programs in English! We watched some American Idol - which I never watched in the States, but it was kind of fun here. We also chatted with another guy staying at the Top 10 for a while. One of the fun things about this trip has been meeting all these people along the way. He gave us some suggestions for things to do/see in the area.
One thing he suggested was to go to this little chocolate factory in the area, so we decided to check it out. It wasn't very big, but we got to see the workers making the chocolates, and we got some free samples. My favorite was this kind of berry toffee - toffee made using some berry juice, and berries crushed into the coating. I thought it was excellent, but it was a bit rich. I wasn't too crazy about the chocolate-coated ginger, though. Would've liked to buy some chocolates to take home, but they'd probably be gone before I got home home, and I wanted to save my money for other venues. :)
One thing we wanted to try was a short walk to some lagoons. Unfortunately, this walk wasn't very well-known, so we went through a lot of run-around to get there. It was a nice little walk.
This walk was completely unlike any of the others we've done. There were no trees at all - just stubble and short grasses, and wheat eventually.
At the end of the walk (it's a loop track, so I guess it would actually be the middle) you come to the lagoons themselves. In one of the lagoons is the remains of a WWII ship - the S.S. Waverly, which was stranded there in a flood. I think it was just a supply ship, and it wasn't that big. It was kind of interesting, but it was also obvious that not many people hiked this way. The area apparently has a lot of diverse wildlife, though. We saw some beautiful birds, although I forget what kind they were. They were not common, that's for sure. Possibly some herons? There were lots, whatever they were! :)
1 comment:
Mari sings that silly song all the time. Just thought you'd get a kick out of that. ;)
Post a Comment