So I rented a bike and went wine tasting in the Marlborough region, which is near the top of the South Island.  I asked the bike proprietor to take a picture of me and he consented so long as he got some free advertising for his services.  I would say he achieved his objective-

I think I was lucky he included me in the photo...

It was a nice biking and winery tour- I guess I visited 7 or so wineries, with some free and some charging.   Perhaps the best and most famous was Cloudy Bay where they had this attractive outdoor seat-

I wish I just stayed there for the day...

Well, the vineyards were pretty, but similar to vineyards in Mendoza or Cali, I guess.  

I was a bit wobbly by the end of the biking, but all I had to do was drive an hour to Picton on the left side of the road through the mountains to get to the ferry to the North Island.  I then took the night ferry to Wellington- 2.5 hours and got there at 1030 pm- and spent the next day touring the city.