Back in Blenheim

Here we are, back in Blenheim again.  Before we left, our  Sunday morning started with a cooked breakfast, must admit that we haven't had one of these for a while.  Bacon, egg, tomato and a little black pudding, cooked by Robin, certainly was a great start to the day.

Nothing beats a Sunday Breakfast

It was a beautiful morning and promised to go on to be a rather hot day as we said goodbye to Kaikoura and set up along SH1.  The Seaward Kaikoura Range was looking crisp and clear in the morning sunshine, I must admit I rather like the South Island mountains.

Mountain range in the distance

Driving along the now repaired coastal highway, we reflected on how it was during our last trip to the South island when the road was still being repaired after the 2016 Kaikoura Earthquake.  This tore through fault lines, demolishing houses, ripping up roads and railway lines and causing massive landslides.  Kaikoura was cut off and isolated.  1700 engineers and workers toiled for over a year before Kaikoura was finally reconnected.  Two years later on  our South Island trip in 2018 we remember how the road on the hill side was lined with long lines of containers to keep further rock fall at bay, so work was still ongoing then.  There was not a container in sight this time as we drove along. 

Blenheim is a prime wine growing area and 30km out from the town the first few vineyards started popping up beside the road, nothing major, just a few paddocks here and there.  The closer go to Blenheim, the more we saw.  Just across the road from where we were staying there were rows of grapevines everywhere.

Just across the road from our CAP

On this return trip to Blenheim we decided to stay somewhere different, and booked in at Reta Tuckerman’s CAP (charges apply parking).  We had heard of this place, but had never stayed here before.  We parked up in a nice grassy area, very reasonable at $5 a night per van, and very close to town.  Power sites ($15) are along the fence line, but we decided we didn't need power in such glorious weather, so parked on the other side.  It was not too crowded so there was plenty of room.

Our site at Blenheim

Gemma wasn’t the only cat in camp, there were two others.  A white cat with black markings was nicely behaved on his harness and lead.  And the van next to us had a “catio”, I had only ever seen this before on an American blog, so went to check it out.  The older tabby cat enjoying the fresh air in safely has only recently been caravanning and hated the harness and lead.  So the owners decided that the catio was a great idea for their cat, and made one themselves which hooks on to the side of their motorhome.  The cat is free to hop in and out of the motorhome through the window, and really enjoys his room with a view, I was told.

Puss in the catio

Last time we were in Blenheim, goodness me, that was back in mid December, we discovered Burleigh Gourmet Pies.  Gourmet means expensive, Robin always says.  So we popped back to stock up on frozen pies, two creamy chicken and leek, and two steak and bacon.  They will be handy for future meals.  Plus two fresh pork belly pies for lunch, one of their top sellers.

Getting a pie fix

After two very hot days in Blenheim it was time to move on again, this time back to Koromiko just out of Picton for our ferry trip on Thursday, all going well.  Both ferry companies are having problems, so we have our fingers and toes crossed our sailing goes ahead as planned.