A stunning July day - wintery but sunny and blue sky.
Our last weekend day together for a few months and what a smashing day it was. I didnt know where we were going but was assured it should be spectacular. About 25 mins drive from Blenheim we turned off the main highway (5mins south of Seddon) and followed the country road towards the coast line and turned off into the Yealands vineyard onto a gravel road - on a previous trip I had wondered aloud where theroad went and today I was being shown. Ended up at Lookout Point - giggling as we got outof the car becausethere was music playing from a loud speaker. Evidently the grape vines grow better with music. Wonderful views in both directions along thecoast line and back towards the mountains. Noone else there apart from a couple of guys doing para gliding - but its not - the one with the small chute - anyway looked fun. We decided this was where people had been jumping off when we were at Marfells beach back in February. Lots and lots of photos taken before continuing down the gravel road back into the vineyard . So MR explained that this was the Yealands Winery and we were on a self guided tour. Yealands has won a lot of awards for sustainability and growing grapes and looking after the land in a eco friendly way. We stopped lots and spent time at the Twin Lakes - lots of chickens wandering around. Lovely spot to take a picnic lunch and stay a while. Then continued on and ended up at the cellar door - amazing looking building but too late in the day to go in but will go back.
Most people would start at the cellar door and collect the map and end up at Lookout Point. No one else on the road - its free and any vehicle can do it although tis a typical NZ gravel road. We spent about 2 hours however could be done in half the time or longer can be taken. Great for kids or for something a bit more romantic. Next time we will buy a bottle and picnic at Twin Lakes. One of those quintessentally NZ Sunday afternoon delightful drives.