Bay of plenty to do

PATRICK CREWDSON/Dominion Post

SPORTING CHANCE: The red Beamer is the courtesy car for couples enjoying the "weekend of romance" package at the Waikawa Bay Sports Resort.

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When you're used to driving the automotive equivalent of cask wine, getting behind the wheel of a BMW roadster is like switching to a medal-winning pinot noir.

The Z3 convertible sneers at 50kmh zones. It elicits green-eyed glares from other motorists. It has a glamorising power that makes even a journalist in scruffy jeans and $10 sunglasses look like he belongs at a wine tasting.

The red Beamer is the courtesy car for couples enjoying the "weekend of romance" package at the Waikawa Bay Sports Resort. Five minutes from Picton, the resort consists of four fully equipped townhouses fringing a pool and tennis court, as well as two apartments in the owners' recently constructed home several hundred metres back across a tame river.

We crossed Cook Strait in Kaitaki Plus, the Interislander's luxury lounge. A $40 upgrade buys adults access to comfortable couches, surprisingly good coffee, local wines and beers, snacks, and free Internet access (which worked nearly all the way across).

After collecting the car, our top priority was lunch, which on a trip like this is something you do, not something you have. There are 40 wineries with restaurants or cellar doors nearby so we felt spoilt for choice.

On a recommendation from our hosts, the Yarrells, we zipped over to Allan Scott to lunch on oyster and bacon pie in the outdoor courtyard. It was an excellent start, though we surpassed it the next day at Hunter's, basking in the warmth from the indoor fire as we washed down an exquisite lamb rack with a glass of The Chase, a smooth merlot-pinot noir-cabernet sauvignon blend.

Many wineries offer free tastings, which we cheerily exploited before collecting bottles at Hunter's, Spy Valley (near the distinctive golf balls of the Waihopai spy base), and the generically named The Wine Room.

Wine tasting is best when interspersed with napping, which we did back in our well-appointed rooms in the main house's Pukeko Apartment. Named for the birds roaming the lawn, it is an elegant, modern one-bedroom suite with a king-size bed, spacious lounge and kitchen, ensuite bathroom, and remarkably plush carpet.

The trip wasn't entirely about gorging on food and wine – we played tennis till we thwacked all the balls into the river, and competed to see who could lose first at pool. At night, the Yarrells lit the fire in their private home theatre and screened a DVD for us on the projector. We felt more like house guests than customers.

We would have jumped in the pool and the spa, but they were closed for the winter – a term applicable to much of Marlborough. It was perfectly pleasant (and warmer than a Wellington winter), but we did feel a little like we were there after hours.

Location is Waikawa Bay's real strength.

It's a 25-minute flight or three- hour ferry ride from Wellington, a half-hour drive from several dozen wineries, and is the gateway to the Marlborough Sounds.

What: Sports Resort
Where: 27-29 Beach Rd, Waikawa Bay, Phone 0800 08 4000, sportsresort.co.nz
Basics: Plush, modern suites and self- contained townhouses near Picton.
Cost: Romance package tariff is $600 for a couple: two nights, breakfast, BMW convertible, movie in private theatre, boat trip, Townhouses $100-$200. Tennis court, pool, spa and bicycles available

* Patrick Crewdson stayed courtesy of Waikawa Bay Sports Resort and travelled courtesy of Interislander.

- © Fairfax NZ News