Return to Marlborough

 That top eastern section of the South Island tends to sit in a bit of a rain shadow, which is probably why it's such a premium wine growing region. But this time I wasn't heading to visit my friends in Renwick, but exploring more of the Marlborough Sounds.

This year I had again purchased a DOC campsite pass, so I booked a site at Momorangi Bay campsite on Queen Charlotte Sound. And again, because of the time of year, I procured a beachfront site, with all amenities nearby. Serviced campsites in NZ almost always have a camp kitchen with sinks, cookers and refrigerators to store your food. Back in the day the kitchens were usually fully stocked with cooking utensils too, but that's no longer the case due to pilfering. Places like Top 10 motor camps often will hire them out for an extra fee.

Momorangi is a high spec DOC campsite, with modern facilities and even powered sites, for which you pay an extra $3 per night as it isn't included in the pass. If you stay at the more expensive DOC campsites it doesn't take long to recoup the value in the pass. You can only stay for 7 nights at any individual campground within a 30 day period (you can stay longer, but you have to pay, not use the pass), which seems perfectly reasonable since the pass is meant for people travelling around, not for long term residents. By the end of this trip I had paid off the price of a yearly ticket in 14 nights.

I stayed at Momorangi Bay for 3 nights. The beachfront real estate was pretty popular, so I had friendly neighbours to chat to. Most were retired folks with all the toys, travelling around with bikes and kayaks, and usually self contained motorhomes. I spent some time resting and just enjoying the view, but one morning there was no wind so I took the packraft for a paddle. Another couple with kayaks had got caught out in a headwind the previous day, something I didn't wish to encounter in my packraft.

I paddled east around the point and in to the next bay, where a few nice yachts were berthed. Then I paddled across to the other side of the Sound, because the northern side didn't have houses on it and was just native bush overhanging the water. There were lots of big jellyfish floating around, which were pretty cool.

I stopped in at Davies Bay Campsite, which is on the Queen Charlotte Track. I'd not walked this final section of the track, since I finished at Mistletoe Bay. That was the trip where I'd encountered that nasty headwind trying to get in to Endeavour Inlet. I never want to have to repeat that again...

Davies Bay

As I began my return paddle a few ripples began to appear, but no real wind, so the crossing back to the campsite was no problem. But overall it wasn't anywhere near as nice as Kenepuru Sound.

After my couple of days at Momorangi, I began the long drive up to French Pass. It's long and windy, with the occasional view down to picturesque bays. I stopped at Elaine Bay, because it had a bike trail nearby, and the campsite looked like it might be a bit more sheltered than the one up at French Pass. As it turned out I made the right decision....

I set up camp where some flax sheltered me from wind coming up the bay, but it wasn't great for views. Posh looking camper vans parked up in the best spots for that. Down at the jetty a chap was fishing, but mostly he was feeding scraps to the resident rays.

I woke to a spectacular sunrise, which I had all to myself.

I didn't end up taking the bike for a spin, but I did drive up to French Pass for the day. More winding roads, sidling along ridges that have been cleared of all trees and are eroded by sheep. Not pretty countryside, but the coastline is spectacular.

At French Pass I went down to the lookout where you can watch the tidal surge between the mainland and D'urville Island. It's massive, and sounds like a proper whitewater rapid. Of course it's super dangerous too...

The little village at French Pass is nothing special, but it has a lovely jetty with a number of resident stingrays.

The DOC campsite is at the northern end of the beach, and has a few  big pines for shade. But a sign on the toilet block tells you there is no water. Apparently some campers let their children leave the taps on and run the tanks dry. Some people....

After another sunrise, not quite as spectacular, I headed back down the windy road, and headed to Blenheim, to buy a new mattress for sleeping in the car. My dodgy Warehouse airbed had sprung a leak, and rather than fix it I decided to upgrade to a proper foam mattress that I could custom fit to the space in the car. I then drove up to Picton to stay with my friend Julie and do the necessary mattress modifications.

After catching up with Julie and her daughter, I continued south, to Marfels Beach. Again a beachfront site, and pleasant sunny days. The nights were cold, but sleeping in the car I was snug and warm.

From Marfels I headed down the coast to Kaikoura, detouring to a few beaches and inland a little to wander through a small patch of podocarp forest.

In Kaikoura I went whale watching. There's a 2km deep trench in the bay known as the Kaikoura Canyon that attracts Sperm Whales for feeding all year round. The cruise was interesting and informative, but we only saw one whale....luckily I'd only paid half price on BookMe!

Then I drove back to Wanaka.

It was time for the ski season...