Marlborough Wineries and Golden Bay Walks
Date: March 12, 2019 – March 13, 2019
Location: Richmond, New Zealand
After dropping Mark off at the Christchurch airport Brian and I drove north.
We stopped at the Point Kean Viewpoint.
Route 1 goes along the ocean. From the car, I could see many seals laying on the rocks.
The north-east corner of the South Island of New Zealand is the Marlborough wine region. About 77% of all New Zealand wine is produced in Marlborough. Most of the wine is Sauvignon Blanc, followed by Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. We stopped in Blenheim to visit a couple of wineries.
The first winery we went to was Wither Hills.
They had a very nice building and we were able to go to the top to see the view. There were grape vines everywhere.
Out front they had one row of every grape variety. It was interesting to see the vines of different grape varietals side by side.
On our Celebrity Solstice cruise back in February, we went to a seafood and wine pairing featuring Villa Maria wine. Since we were so close to the Villa Maria winery we stopped by to see it.
We then stopped at Giesen for a wine tasting and really enjoyed their wine. The winery is owned by three brothers who came from Germany.
After leaving Blenheim we made a stop at the Cullen Point Lookout. This is looking towards the Pelorus Sound.
In the other direction you could see Havelock. Havelock is a small coastal town with a population of around 480.
We then made our way to our Airbnb in Richmond, New Zealand.
March 13, 2019
We drove north to the Rawhiti Cave.
It had rained the day before and the trail was very muddy and steep.
The hike was worth it, though, as the Rawhiti Cave was amazing. There were tons of stalactites.
The cave was way bigger than I expected. The cave entrance is about 130 feet wide and 66 feet tall.
Grove Scenic Reserve
After the Rawhiti Cave we went to the Grove Scenic Reserve.
This is looking out towards Golden Bay.
Wainui Falls
Before ending the day, we did the Wainui Falls trail. The trail starts by walking along the river.
The trail has some wooden walkways and a swing bridge.
This is Wainui Falls.
The walk to Wainui Falls is short. Brian and I found that we could usually do a hike in half the time that was listed on the New Zealand Department of Conservation website or that was posted on the signs at the start of the trail.
