Enjoying what we have

As you can see above the summery weather has been bringing with it some interesting sights. Here's Fraser on the sun lounger with Emma on the swing seat next to him. Fraser follows Em pretty much all over the place and he seems to thrive on human company. Especially when they provide him with food and treats! Fraser turns 7 this year so in dog terms he's now middle aged but he seems to act like a teenager most f the time. In fact we often refer to him as 'Dufus' because of the daft things he does...

 

We are blessed here in Marlborough to have some cracking scenery and spots to go and visit. Quite a few of these are only accessible via dirt (Unsealed) roads which f course means the use of an off-road style of bike to get there. The picture above shows the picnic table at a spot called the 'Enchanted viewpoint' en-route to the summit of Mount Patriarch which I went to earlier today. It's a lovely little spot and I just sat there with my cup of coffee for a few minutes taking in the view before continuing to the summit itself.

Here's some of the view from the viewpoint, you can see Wairau valley in the background. This runs roughly East-West from Cloudy Bay and many of the famous vineyards run in this valley.

Here's the view from the summit along with my trusty Suzuki Dr650 which got me there. For those in the know the Dr can still be bought brand new here in New Zealand although not for much longer as at the end of this year all new bikes sold in NZ must be fitted with ABS. Many are hoping that Suzuki update the bike but retain is simple charm (And corresponding low price too) as it remains entirely fit for the purpose of good value adventure without the excess that characterises many of the modern day Adventure machines.

Here's the view of the valley from the summit. I suspect that the photo doesn't do it justice as it's a huge expanse of vista and must cover 40+Km at least. Today was ideal weather for it too and when I was up there was virtually no wind and a temperature of at least 20+ degrees celcius, no mean feat as this is over 1600m  elevation.

All in all this was a cracking way to spend a large chunk of Waitangi weekend and served as a reminder of the beauty that surrounds here in Marlborough. I'm looking forward to my Leave next month when I can spend some more time here.