Chocolate, Wine and Seafood

Picton > Blenheim > Kaikoura

Despite the struggle to get there, we were glad to wake up in Picton. If we hadn’t, we would have so far to travel that morning from Nelson knowing it wasn’t a straightaway road. Instead it was a winding road climbing up and down the Mt Richmond Forest Park.

Quaint Hostel

We weren't able to take in the hostel as much as the others. It was cute. We stayed in a separate unit behind the main building. Between us was a giant chess set. Looking around from my porch, other units looked similar with multi-coloured hammocks. It reminded me of Tasman Bay Backpackers, the hostel we stayed in Nelson, which turned out to be the sister hostel of this one. We had only arrived at midnight and were out by 9am. I'm glad we got a full 8 hours of sleep. Although we weren't going far today, we were going to do a lot...of drinking.

Picton Waterfront

Playing on the Ship Jungle Gym

Picton wasn’t much of a city. It’s real importance is being the ferry link between the South Island and North Island. It also lends a pathway to other surrounding National Parks. By this point in our trip, we were done with anything that resembled going through or on a mountain.

Orange Tree Outside the Chocolate Factory

Leaving Picton wasn’t a huge let down because only a few kilometers away is the Marlborough region famous for its Sauvignon Blanc. Before we indulged in the wines, we stopped at Makana Chocolate Factory. It was a small garage compared to our notions of a Willy Wonka sized factory. Nevertheless, the small building only needed a room of four chocolatiers to make their chocolate creations. When we entered we were greeted by the cashier who offered us a tasting of a slice of candied lemon with their famous chocolate covered toffee with macadamia sprinkles. With the first bite, I was in love. We gave in and bought a 250g $25 box, which we would need to finish before boarding our plane in the next three days! Now it was time to get our wine on.

Makana Truffles

Rolling Out Sheets of Toffee

Chocolate Covered Toffee with Macadamia Sprinkles

Allan Scott Winery, Marlborough NZ

Poor Dave, my driver couldn’t indulge as much, so I indulged for the both of us. We followed the wine trail stopping at Allan Scott winery first. We paid $5 and drank almost every white and red offering they had. My favourite part about the winery was our wine guide. She was so bubbly and made us so comfortable with her jokes. Even with a growing crowd, she remained composed and treated us all with warmth and a heavy hand. We bought a Gewurztraminer, a fragrant white perfect with spicy foods. This is a new favourite wine discovery since coming to Australia.

Allan Scott Vineyards

The Wine Tasting Bar

We stopped at another vineyard, but left right away. The place reeked of pretentiousness and their lunch prices hovered around $40 a plate!

Lavender Field in the Marlborough Region

We found ourselves at Wither Hills, a relatively new winery established in 1996. They had a nice lunch menu and the place looked regal, like somewhere you’d get married. We ordered their fish of the day and lamb croquette. The prices hovered around $25 pp, but it was worth it because we were given a free wine tasting while we waited for our meals. The wine wasn’t anything to write home about, but was a nice relaxant from yesterday’s adventures kayaking and driving hundreds of kilometers.

Wither Hills Vineyards

French Oak Barrels Filled with Wine

Lamb Croquette

Prosciutto Wrapped Snapper and Risotto

By our last glass, our waitress notified us that our meals were at our table. We sat down to one of the best meals of my life. No joke. Dave had snapper wrapped in prosciutto on a bed of zesty lemon risotto. My meal was the perfect foil to Dave’s. I ordered a lamb croquette with vegetables and pea puree. We went bite for bite. The earthy and rich taste of my meal complimented his light and tart fish and risotto.

Wither Hills Gardens

Full Bellies & Wine Haze

After lunch, we couldn’t sip another sip of wine. Only after two vineyards, we were ready to leave the Marlborough region. I slept off the wine on our way to Kaikoura.

Seal Colony

Kaikoura was only 150km away from the Marlborough region. The drive there also got us out of the mountainous region to drive along the still winding coastline.


We stopped once at Ohau, a famous seal colony point. We were there at the perfect time. During the New Zealand summer, seal pups have been born and breeding continued. We observed the curious seal pups waddling up and down the rocks as their mothers hunted around the water or sunbathed. The large males on the other hand looked like big turds laying on the rock hard to move unless another male stepped flipper on their rock. They would wake from their slumber and turn into aggressive beasts ready to knock the lesser male off the rock or shoo him away in submission.

Laying, Yawning, Sleeping All Day

Sometimes I Wish I Could Live the Life of a Seal

On the other side of the road was a 15 minute nature walk to a waterfall, famous for seal pups going upstream to the waterfall where they played and their mothers bred.

No Seal Pups, But Nice Waterfall

Unfortunately, there were no seals here. They were all too grown up for the waterfall playground and were out at the point.

We arrived in Kaikoura at 5pm. We checked into our hostel taking a tea break (because every hostel in NZ offers free tea and coffee). Dave played the communal guitar and I read up on what’s around the Kaikoura region. Their big claim to fame is sperm whale and seal watching and eating crayfish or rock lobsters. Kaikoura literally means 'meal of crayfish' - from the native Tamaki-te-rangi.

View from Kaikoura Peninsula

Can You See the Mountain?

All in a Row

That evening, we drove out to another seal point, only 1km from our hostel where we saw a disappointing single seal. This seal acted like a seal at Sea World posing for pictures and even came out of the water to lie on the grass!

Solo Seal

Kaikoura Seafood BBQ

Shared Seafood Platter

En route to the seal point, there is a famous Kaikoura Seafood BBQ trailer selling the famous Kaikoura crayfish. Prices hovered around $45 per crayfish. We opted for a plate of garlic prawns, garlic scallops and crayfish patties which came with 3 pieces of buttered toast, rice and salad for $26. I guess you get what you pay for because the prawns were the size of bait, the scallops were tiny and we could hardly taste the crayfish in the egg omelet. Worst of all was the undercooked rice tasting like soft pebbles. If anything was to turn us off, it was the rice.

Enjoying a Kaikoura Evening

We walked off the meal climbing up the terraces overlooking the seal point. The pathway wasn't concrete or wood this time. We were walking in someone’s pasture where cows roamed.

View Towards the Point

 Along each lookout, we took breathtaking pictures. We saw more seal points and sat on the hill at sunset. No one else was around and it seemed like we were in our own world with the seals below. On our way back, we hand fed some grass to the curious cows. I don’t think cows are all that cute, but this time of year, the cows are all loved up caressing each other and it was adorable.

Amazing Evening Sky

Must Be Spring

Cows Loving On Each Other

The View Below

The View From the Point

Kaikoura Coastline

Two Seals On a Rock at High Tide

Chillin' in the Hostel Nook

That night we spent time in the common area taking over the nook. I blogged, while Dave picked up a new hobby; reading! He’s read before on our travels, but only when he’s beaten his games. His Dad had pointed him to a famous travel writer Bill Bryson and he was really enjoying his commentary on hiking in America. After he couldn't stand reading anymore, he picked up the communal guitar again.

Travel Extras:

• Accommodation: Picton: Sequoia Lodge Backpackers ($80/night for private double room with bathroom ensuite)
• Pick up the Marlborough wine trail map at the Information Centre and have them circle the top 5 vineyards to visit
• Stop by Makana Confections, the chocolate factory before starting the wine trail
• Visit Allan Scott Winery, one of the first on the wine trail
• Have lunch at Wither Hills Winery and enjoy the outdoor bean bag chairs
• Visit the seal colony and waterfall at Ohau
• Try the rock lobsters or crayfish in Kaikoura
• Walk the nature walk up at Kaikoura Peninsula at sunset
• Accommodation Kaikoura: Albatross Backpacker Inn ($70/night for private double room)