Tasmanian Devils!

 Do you know what these are?  Trout fishing lures called

Tasmanian Devils. I'm told the trout can't resist them so

have equipped myself with a few... Watch out trout, here I come!

I'm all organised and legal!  I'm planning to try my hand at trout

fishing in any suitable river but in particular the Clarence River

when I get that far and Lake Tennyson.

Baked or smoked trout for dinner... Yum.

Off Through The Molesworth...

 

 This is where I am going today... In the distance... On the right is
Mt Altimarloch, at the back Mt Alexander and the big one on the
left is Mt Tapuae-o-Uenuku, the tallest mountain in
New Zealand outside of the Southern Alps...
And they lead into the Molesworth...

Im leaving the lovely little town of Seddon behind...

I have some Yealands wines in my cellar!

And I'm heading to the hills and beyond...

The Awatere Valley...

Over the new Awatere Bridge that runs beside the old now historical

double decker road and rail bridge...

Through all the vineyards that now stretch up the valley...

And 100km to my first stop at a DoC camp  on the north

boundary of the Molesworth Station... Watch this space

for more exciting photos of my journey.

Yealands Family Wines... An Absolute Must To Visit...

I spent a couple of days with friends in Seddon and a must do was

to visit Yealands... I went twice!

10,000 acres of various vines planted using GPS alignment are

truely a sight to behold.

Music is played over most of the vineyard to the vines and

to the chicken that roam around... The eggs of these hens

are twice the size.

Established in 08.08.08 in the Awatere Valley in Marlborough Peter

Yealands and his wife Violet bought land since 2001, sculpted and

re-contoured the land and transformed the rugged pastoral countryside

into a sustainable vineyard... 

 

Everything at this 'Seaview' vineyard is sustainable and is the first

winery in the world to be certified as 'carboNZero' Miniature 'Baby Doll'

sheep and 'Kunekune" pigs tend the vine rows reducing the need for

tractor moving and herbicides.

As I explored the vineyard I saw and tried three different coloured grapes...

Tiny grapes, dense bunches and so sweet juice that ran down my hands.

No wonder the wine is so good.

Driving in, a magnificent sight as the 'Cellar Door' came into view...

A stunning award winning building... Where I indulged in some

tastings and watched an audio visual and interactive displays

exploring the sustainability story.

The is the 'white road' that is open for the public to drive

along... Enjoying the vines, stopping for a picnic in the

many wetlands areas that have been developed to create a safe

and natural habitat for a diverse range of wildlife including the

elusive Royal Spoonbill... If you are so lucky to see one... And

listening to the classical music.

The road continues out through the vines to the coast...

Yealands stretches from the foothills of the Kaikoura Ranges

to undulating downs overlooking the Cook Strait... Seaview

is the single largest privately owned vineyard in New Zealand.

The vineyard ends at these cliffs... Looking along the coast to

Marfells Beach and Cape Campbell Lighthouse in the distance.

Looking north the the far end of the South Island...

And if you look carefully... Wellington in the clouds across Cook Strait.

Yealands Vineyard... Read more here... And do visit...

Ward Beach... Walking To The Seal Colony....

The next day after meeting and chatting with some of

my neighbours.. I set off for a walk to find the seals...

The wind had changed to a howling northerly...

which flattened the sea and waves a lot... But it's a

spectacular part of the coast...

Thick kelp... Lots of it ripped off from the roots by the

viscious tides...

Amazing rocks...

The tide was out but on the turn, so I walked carefully as I

had no idea how quickly it would advance up the stones.

The line of rocks in the far distance are my goal...

The whole stretch of beach I walked along was all stones and 

rocks, huge driftwood logs and kelp...

And an unbelievable amount of seaweed piled up here.

Another big expanse of stones...

Nearly there... I'm blown inside out...

I found one lonely seal... Who must have heard or smelt me

on the wind and sat up to keep a sharp eye on me.

Looked like a big male daddy to me... Very territorial...

Tangled kelp...

Foaming waves...

And I'm homeward bound again...

Tramping through the stones...

Wonderful barren hills, home to a lot of rabbits...

And back to my bus...

Next Place... Ward Beach

 Ward Beach, another place in all the years of driving

up and down the east coast of the South Island,

that I've never been to...

 It's just a few km's south of Marfells Beach and

8km from turning off SH1. Already some autumn colours...

 The hills are all lime... The Ward Lime Works are

out here...

 A gravel road through the valley and hills and...

 I couldn't believe my eyes... Such a beautiful place.

 The family who own all the land and the farm around

here have made a level parking place available

for freedom parking. I'm parked between the hill

and the beach... The only vehicle there... But

not for long.

 The view from my door...

 The spectacular Pacific Ocean.

 I went for a walk. It was a howling southerly

and that combined with the tail end of Cyclone Pam

plus a high tide made the beach particularly spectacular.

 Masses of seaweed...

 Huge waves like mountains... These photos

don't do them justice, hard to capture them...

 Lots of frothy foam...

 And lots of noisy rattling stones as the sea sucks 

out again.

 And leaves a steep bank of stones...

 Big piles of thick seaweed and kelp...

 I walked along the stone bank...

 To the little river mouth to see if it was open or

blocked up with stones...

 But the waves were thundering in and out..

I could watch them for hours...

 
Which I did from my bus.