We are so sophisticated

The don't need gardners to mow the grass at this winery
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We crossed over into the South Island and were greeted with no people and even fewer roads.   Someone told me that there were only 500,000 on the whole South Island (I may be a little off but you get the picture).  There are so few roads that getting from Point A to Point B is sometimes maddening.  At one point on our way to Nelson we drove due south for at least 45 mins so we could drive due north the same distance just a few minutes later.  There are also a huge amount of one-way bridges, the longest is almost a 1/2 mile.   Considering that we are driving on the major national highways, Haven and I have been laughing thinking of I-95 with a one way bridge in the middle of it.

A few of the vines
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Anyway, we made it to Nelson and stopped to have a go at the world-famous Sauvigion Blancs of Marlbourgh.  We signed up for a wine tour and we picked up by a lovely English man turned Kiwi who definitely knew a lot about wine.  On the tour we were joined by several adults (read: not backpackers) and we felt like adults again ourselves (at least until we had a bottle of wine under our belts).

We saw 4 wineries, had some fancy meat, cheese, and fruit platter that was supposed to constitute lunch, drank a lot of wine, bought a few bottles to enjoy at a later date, and in general had a great time.  I was even impressed with a few of the Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays that the region produced.   The last placed even made a lot of great olive oil.

Our nicest room yet. A free upgrade to a double (Yes this is the entire room).
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And a special note to Maryann- I would like you to know that every winery we saw used screw top bottles for at least a good chunk of there wine.  Seems it is all the rage =)