This morning I couldn't get out of my dingy backpacker room quickly enough. Finding a nice cafe on the high street, I lingered over breakfast (mainly because they forgot my order), but with only a short flat ride ahead there was no need to hurry.

I was a little concerned to see if my knee was going to be an impediment on the bike, but it proved only a minor discomfort. There was a gentle climb out of Picton then it was pretty much downhill all the way to Blenheim, following the railroad through a deep valley which eventually opened out to more apple orchards and acres and acres of vineyards. 

Blenheim is to white wines as Havelock is to green lipped mussels. When you see plantings like this, and the industrial scale wineries that process the harvest, it's no great surprise that there is a world glut of wines, and has been for several vintages now.

The picking has just started for this years vintage, and the backpacker lodges and cheaper accommodation is fully occupied by seasonal workers, so I had little choice but to book in to a motel. I'm going to take a lay day here to see if my knee (which seemed more painful after dismounting today) recovers before committing to the Molesworth road.

Click here for a Doarama visualisation of the route.