Boxing Day in Blenheim

Thursday 26 December

Boxing Day - had a bit of a lie-in but we all had to get sorted and leave by 11ish. Louis had a final swim in the Bay while Ciarán cooked breakfast.

Ellen & Ciaran packed quicker than us (funny that) and we said our goodbyes as they headed off to the West Coast. Our exit was somewhat trickier involving lots of reversing and radio guidance - but we made it, leaving on the dot of 11am!

The drive to Blenheim retraced much of the route from the Sounds that we took almost a week previously. Still pretty damp and lots of low cloud. Stopped in Havelock for a cheeky leftovers lunch in Banjo down at the marina.

As we neared Blenheim we were overwhelmed with the sheer numbers of vineyards along the route - so many names we knew and some smaller boutique places. Suddenly spotted Goldschmidt Vineyards and pulled in to find our space behind the first rows of vines. Still cloudy but the views across the vines were epic!

The shed where we parked up was an homage to a bygone era with retro lino, 70s bathroom fittings and the most incredible electric cooker!

Louis was soon on a call to Nick to check all the details and wish the rellies Merry Christmas because it still was in California.

We popped into Blenheim itself for a quick stock up at Paknsave then settled in for the night and felt grateful for such a cool spot to call home for the next week or two.