Escape to another world on the Marlborough coast

By MONIQUE DEVEREUX

There is something about train travel that is so much more relaxing than other modes of transport. Maybe it's the rhythmic clickety-clak or the lack of seatbelts, but a train journey - in this case from Christchurch to Marlborough - is the ideal way to start relaxing for a weekend getaway.

When the TranzCoastal made a special stop for us at Kekerengu - halfway between Kaikoura and Blenheim - it was difficult to say where the four hours had gone.

In the past, all that sat here on the edge of the Pacific was a rundown petrol station with a gift store and red phone box. These days you will find The Store - a gourmet restaurant with a Mediterranean feel.

We were treated to half a crayfish each with a melon salsa and buttery potatoes as we sat by the open fire and watched a southerly arrive, whipping the waves into a frenzy.

Since Richard and Sue McFarlane developed the Europa station site into their dream restaurant eight years ago the transformation has been continuing.

For a hot summer's day or evening dining there is now a mammoth deck and a patch of grass and garden big enough to house a marquee for special functions.

And bure-type accommodation on the land to the north of The Store is in the pipeline.

We could have stayed all day - undoubtedly some travellers do - but there was much more to see in this undiscovered part of the country that, at first glance, seems to be little more than a road along the coast.

I hate to give this secret away, but there is a crayfish factory further up SH1 at Ward where you can buy live offerings for less than half the price of a meal from one of the infamous cooked crayfish caravans parked closer to Kaikoura.

Burkhart Fisheries is a family business with an export focus. But if you have ordered crayfish at Grand Harbour in Auckland's Viaduct Harbour or the Harbourside in the ferry building, you have eaten Burkhart's crays.

If you have ever wondered if the monsters in Grand Harbour's tanks are somehow magnified, I can tell you they are not. The restaurant specifically orders Burkhart's biggest crays - the F grade - which weigh more than 3.6 kg.

This part of Marlborough is not the place for an adventure weekend - even the most strenuous activities involve sitting down for hours.

We took a Back Country Safaris tour into the depths of the Molesworth Station, New Zealand's biggest state-owned farm.

The road is open to the public for only a few weeks a year and will take you as far away from the sea as you can get in the South Island. From Blenheim it takes three hours to reach Molesworth Station - a journey that includes an education on the rich history of the area and running commentary on the high-country stations.

Back Country Safaris offers a range of tours in the region, including high-country station accommodation and farm stays. Ours was a bit rushed due to the vast area we covered in a short time.

But it was hard not to be awed by the diverse landscape up the Awatere Valley and guide Geoff Swift's endless tales of characters - some long dead, some still farming - who made this remote location their home. Like the man who died in a pot of boiling tallow or the farmer who fixed a loud hailer to the wings of his plane so he could yell at poachers as he swooped over them.

But not everyone who lives here is born and bred in the region.

Anyone who fondly remembers JC's restaurant in Rothesay Bay will be glad to know that some chefs never stop cooking, they just move kitchen. John Cundall is still cooking up a storm, but these days he does it at home in Kekerengu.

He and wife Helen ditched the Newmarket apartment lifestyle and headed to the country to set up their dream - luxury accommodation that offers the best of the region's cuisine and locations.

Just five minutes' walk from The Store, the Cundalls have transformed a traditional homestead into a three-bedroom guest house. When they say they will do their best to look after you, they mean it.

Helen's genuine warmth and expert hospitality skills combined with John's culinary talents and dry wit make for a relaxing way to spend the evening. We enjoyed a meal of yet more crayfish and local venison along with the Koura Bay wines that cannot be found in just any bottle store.

Over the course of the evening the conversation covered all those things new acquaintances should avoid - rugby, religion and politics - but we all survived. Even after the traditional Mehrtens vs Spencer debate no one was seriously injured.

The homestead, Kulnine (named for the nine hills that surround it), has a formal lounge and a more casual television lounge for guests to use. Both look out to the garden and the sheep that inhabit the paddock next door.

The sheep are there purely for aesthetic purposes, although a ram will be borrowed soon to boost the population. The resulting lambs will be hand-reared so they become used to contact with guests.

Outside is a grass tennis court and a heated and covered swimming pool, although its front blinds can be rolled up to make the most of the sunshine.

Helen says the 40 minutes travel from either Blenheim or Kaikoura makes Kulnine a good base for most of the regions's activities - wine trails in one direction, whale-watching in the other. And those 40 minutes - barely the time it takes to cross Auckland after work - are spent driving along the Pacific, which she describes as "an absurdly beautiful journey".

Only the most stressed person could leave without their batteries having been recharged.

* Monique Devereux was hosted by Destination Marlborough.

How to get there

Kekerengu is halfway between Blenheim and Kaikoura on SH1. Air New Zealand offers direct flights from Auckland to Blenheim while Origin Pacific flies via Wellington. The TranzCoastal train leaves Christchurch every morning on route to Picton, stopping at Kaikoura and Blenheim.

What it costs

The three bedrooms at Kulnine Homestead range in price from $250 to $375 a night, including breakfast. Dinner options include John Cundall's fare or a two-minute walk to The Store.

Geoff Swift's Back Country Safari tours cost from $95 for a day trip to Kaikoura to $695 for a three-day Molesworth Station experience.

What else to do

Garden tours, wine trails and eco-tours. Check the Destination Marlborough website for more ideas.