Blenheim and Havelock Mussel Festival

The ferry crossing was uneventful, but speedy. The closer we got to Picton, the better the weather looked. Very promising.

We dropped our bags off at Margaret's in Blenheim, and during a welcoming cup of coffee she showed us what to see in the area. It just so happened that today, Saturday, was the first annual Mussel Festival in nearby Havelock so off we went.

The paper said they were expecting 2000 - 5000 people and when we got there, it certainly looked like the first 2000 had arrived before us. Havelock isn't that big, but it's on the ocean and those people who couldn't get on-street parking were directed to the marina, a good walk away.

The first kiosk we went to in search of mussels were sold out. Looking at the huge crowd, we could believe it. But then I spied someone eating a plateful and he directed us to another kiosk. It was only $3 for a plate of 5 and your choice of sauces. These are huge mussels by the way. Each one is a good 4" long. We walked on and saw other people eating huge tupperware containers of mussels. This time we were directed to a different area and while we stood in line, decided we'd just split a container but in the end, since they were only $4, we each had one. There were about 15-20 mussels in a herbed wine sauce in each. What a feast!

You could buy wine ( this is a very civilized country!) so we had a glass of Sauvignon Blanc with our mussels while we sat on the grass.

Entertainment was pretty good, with an escape artist getting himself loose from a straightjacket, a pretty decent band singing popular songs, some men and women doing latin dancing, and an old WWII plane flying overhead leaving colourful contrails. Lots of arts and crafts too and we picked up some small gifts.

Havelock, Picton, Blenheim and another point make a rectangle and since we had already driven 3 legs of it, we decided to take the scenic route back. It was breathtakingly beautful.

The "straight" road (tongue firmly in cheek) from Havelock to Picton isn't that far, maybe 35 Km. It took an hour. The sign that made me laugh out loud on this drive was a speed sign. It said 100 kph. I looked over and saw Hans was doing a brisk 40, and let me assure you that this was dangerously fast. There was one section where he had no sooner turned the wheel to the left than he had to whip it to the right and back to the left and right again, I think 6 times in succession. I'm going to need hemmorhoid cream when I get back.

The road runs along the ocean and the views are stunning. And far, far below us. We could see little white dots of sailboats in the distance. There aren't many places to stop and take pictures, but we did find a couple of spots. Even so, photos don't do this kind of scenery justice.

Comments

Anonymous said…
this sounds like a place we could visit...hope you took lots of pictures of the area. i'm losing track...are you on the north island or the south now.

i told another couple we know about your blog. she is from new zealand and hopefully will enjoy your travels like i am.

charlie
Haloranch said…
You can give our blog to anyone!

We're on the south island now since Saturday morning. It's spectacularly beautiful here. The weather has also been great.

We head for Greymouth tomorrow - where they had a cyclone and/or tornado a couple of weeks ago. However, everything is calm and gentle now.

Our hosts check an earthquake site daily as there are many little rumblings around New Zealand, but 98% of them are fortunately unfelt!

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