Sauvignon Blanc et al

We visited a gorgeous vineyard called Wither Hills for a wine tasting and lunch. 

Our lunch there was one of our best meals yet. Mussel chowder was a big hit .  I would show a picture but we were too busy eating. 

Then a visit to a little chocolate factory !  Ugh. We are stuffed. The food has been so good on this trip. We no longer have any clothing that fits.  

Back on the ship now. Lying out in the deck and getting ready to sail for Wellington - our next stop. 

Our day in Picton - Marlborough country

Well - you have seen the photos of the sheep as well as the shearing of the sheep. We visited a large working sheep farm this morning which was operated by a lovely couple - Paul and Muff. They have 4,000+ sheep and the most amazing sheep dogs - which do all the work. 

I wish I could upload the video so you could see the herding in action. Here's a photo of the herding:

That little dog can gather dozens of sheep from all over the hills, put them into a group and bring them down to the pen. It was so much fun to watch. 

The shearing was adorable - here's the result 

 It only takes a minute to shear a sheep and they don't seem to mind it at all. 

It was a wonderful morning. 

Sheep Shearing

Amazing!!!

Baaaaa

Our morning with Marlborough sheep!

The Giants House - Akaroa

Read all about the amazing place:

http://www.thegiantshouse.co.nz/default.asp?page=about

What a thrill to see this place:

Akaroa

We made port this morning at Akaroa - a little town with a big French influence.

We set off on a scenic drive on the Summit Road - over the mountaintop. Unfortunately Akaroa was shrouded in fog.  But still beautiful and New Zealand -like. 

Next stop was for a coffee and little art gallery at Little River.  Good, clean bathrooms at Little River - good to know. 

The great treat of the morning was at The Garden at French Farm. (Note new jacket for me.)

Beautiful ten acres privately owned gardens.  A picture is worth a thousand words:

Our guide Mary, with the silver fern - the national symbol of NZ:

Chicks:

Dunedin in the rain

We docked at our first stop coming up the eastern coast of the South Island - Dunedin - settled in 1848 as a Scottish settlement. It's the fifth largest city in NZ ... About 125,000 and lots of sheep, of course. 

We visited the Larnach Castle which is the only castle in NZ. No pictures because it was pouring out.  However, it was a very interesting place where we had an excellent tour. 

For lunch we headed to Speight's Ale House for a decent plate of fish n' chips and excellent beer. Speight's is also a large brewery that started in 1887. We had a tour of the brewery and bought a souvenir for Steve. 

Marvin and Noelle at beer tasting:

Marc looking at beer vat:

The absolute highlight of the day was after lunch when we headed to Natural  Wonders which is a 600 acre wildlife preserve. It is the only place on earth where there are yellow eyed penguins. They are shy little creatures but we did see one with its baby chick.  Couldn't get a good picture. 

We donned rain gear and boarded 8-wheeled Argo vehicles.  

And drive through the muddy, rutty roads:

Our big prize was a colony of seal families with a ton of newborn babies.  The videos are better than the still photos and I will email you some videos. But here are some pics:

Baby seal:

Momma, daddy and baby:

Momma close up:

And three sheep in a row - which is called a Baa baa queue

Now we are on the bus, heading back to the ship. Looking forward to a hot shower and cocktails. 

More tomorrow!