It turned out to be a wet morning so we set off not sure where to go but in the direction of Blenheim. Despite the wet weather Queen Charlotte sound looked beautiful and by the time we got to Picton the rain had stopped. We stopped at a lookout to look down at the harbour where the ferry leaves to cross over to North Island. The morning ferry was just leaving and there was also a large cruise ship moored in the harbour. We carried on towards Blenheim and stopped there to pick up some pies from the bakery for lunch. Blenheim is a small pretty town but we decided to press on to Kaikura. It was a beautiful drive with the sea at one side and the seaward Kaikura ranges to our left, a stunning set of hills that seemed to go on forever. There were plenty of vineyards at the seaward side of the road. At one point we followed signs towards the sea to a campsite but decided that it wasn't too special so we carried on with our original plan to head for Kaikura. It seemed that we had 3 camp sites to choose from, one just on the edge of town and two just south of the town. I was in my usual " I want a site by the sea mode" so we had a look at the first one out of town before going on to the other one to see if it waa any better. I was rather disappointed as this one promised "camping at its best at the water's edge" which was somewhat misleading as one had to cross state highway 1 and the railway line to get to the beach from the site. N had had enough by this time and would have been happy to stay there but I put my foot down and we went back to the other one at Peketa beach which was right by the sea. It was a beautiful evening and we settled in, had a look at the beach and cooked supper in the camp kitchen.
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