Tired drivers die.

The above is yet another installation of the excellent and informative New Zealand signposts.

Yesterday was the big 10 hour drive from Picton to Queenstown. Katie and I got a bit of a late start because we neglected to collect her jeans from our host's drying line the night before. Once the jeans were safely in the trunk to continue drying (they had gotten a bit dew-struck overnight) we hit the road, leaving our beautiful B&B with its amazing view and ease of access to port...*sigh*. I miss that place.

We picked up breakfast at a bakery in Blenheim that resembled a 7-11 but only carried baked goods and beverages. Katie snagged a doughnut and a bacon-and-egg savory (her words) and I picked up a doughnut and an apple-cinnamon muffin (for later). Once I inhaled my doughnut, we were back on the road in no time.

The drive down was fairly easy, and picturesque. The 1 on the South Island's east coast runs along the water similarly to the PCH in California for a couple hours before turning further inland. We enjoyed the water on one side, the mountains on the other, and weaving through tunnels, over hills, and around the curves. We stopped in a small, three-block town to use the restroom and stretch our legs before continuing on to Pegasus Bay Winery for lunch in Waipara. I had the steak (or fillet, as they call it here, pronounced fih-LET) and Katie had the gnocchi with a wine pairing. The food was good, but our entreés were delayed, so we had to rush the end of our meal. Our hotel reception desk was to close at 8:30, and we didn't know if we'd make it in time.

Wise words from Pegasus Bay.

Much of the rest of the driving, including our pit stop for gas, felt like we were racing the clock. Fortunately, Katie had downloaded Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere audio play, and we started that to take our minds off the time. As the road opened up, we picked up speed through the mountains, making up time as we listened to an all-star cast enact a fascinating tale. The beauty of our landscape somehow made the story more compelling, though the story takes place in a city and we were driving countryside. We arrived in Queenstown with a half-hour to spare, having spent 9.5 hours on the road. and another 2.5 resting, eating, and filling the car.

We dropped off our bags at our nice (but fruit fly breeding ground) hotel room, caught the tail end of The Bachelor NZ (what is Arthur doing?!), and walked over to town to figure out what to eat. After waffling on several places, we settled on Pier 19. I am so glad we did. The food was delectable and the service was perfect. We selected a bottle of brut rosé to drink, and then shared a crab tian and a bruschetta before diving into a monkfish risotto (mine) and a pork belly (Katie). The food came out with excellent timing, which was a nice contrast to our lunch, and our server was very excited that we were on our honeymoon. It was a nice end to a long day of driving.

Dinner at Pier 19.

After dinner, we picked up a bottle of Canterbury creme liqueur for tim tam slamming (look up tim tam slam with Hank Green on YouTube) and retreated to our hotel. We finished the night watching soccer, which was perfect for me after a full day's drive. I wanted to gear up for today's trip to Wanaka, which I will write about after we go to the onsen!