Waiheke

It was a lovely sunny morning, and we set out in search of breakfast. We didn’t have to search very far, as our studio is just off the top of the main Ocean View Road in Waiheke, and it was but five minutes’ walk to Wai Kitchen, for avocado on toast, eggs benedict etc.

After breakfast we did a quick shop at Four Square for future breakfasts, then set out in our car. We’d rented a RAV4 with the specific purpose of visiting one of the vineyards we’d not been to on any of our previous visits to Waiheke: Man O War vineyard, in Man O War Bay. There are two ways to get to this: over miles of unmade road (hence the SUV) or by sea.

We arrived around midday, to find the place was pretty full. There were a lot of boats moored offshore, and RIBs and similar tied to the beach. Clearly, arriving by sea is a popular option. 

We went to the tasting room first and I tried all the wines on offer (Nicola stuck to the whites). We were particularly taken with the riesling, and I also liked the syrah, so we got some of those to take back with us. How would we manage that? I hear you ask…well, this time, even though we’re only away for five nights, we’d brought a suitcase! So we’ll be able to pack some wine in to take home.

We stopped for lunch there as well. The lunch offering is more pub than fine dining, but they have extensive grounds with picnic tables, and a wide selection of pizzas, breads, olives, etc. I opted for fish and chips and then wished I hadn’t, as they clearly weren’t produced on the premises. You live, you learn. Nicola had a caprese salad which looked way yummier.

Vehicular visitors are enjoined not to drive back the way they came, but to continue on Cowes Bay Road to get back on the surfaced road network. Given the narrowness of the road in some places, this is a good idea. We stopped off along the way at Little Oneroa beach, almost home, for a swim in the bay there. The water is like bathwater compared to our usual Scorching Bay.

In the evening we went out to Fenice, Oneroa’s favourite Italian restaurant.

Hanmer Springs

We planned a short break to the South Island, to take in the Black Clash cricket match and visit Christchurch for the first time. We haven’t visited before as, shortly after we arrived in New Zealand, they had a couple of great big earthquakes which basically wrecked the place. Eight years on, and they’re still wrangling about some of the buildings, but we decided that this would be a good opportunity to finally visit.

Another place we’ve been meaning to visit is Hanmer Springs. As the name implies, they have hot springs there. We booked ourselves into the aptly-named Hanmer Springs Retreat. We set out early from Wellington airport, then picked up a hire car and drove up into the mountains. It’s about a 90 minute drive. We grabbed some lunch in a pub in town before checking ourselves in, then went and found the pools where the springs are. They have a number of pools of different temperatures, some with bubbly jets, some still, and some sulphurous. We tried most of them, then, feeling refreshed and relaxed, headed back to our hotel before going out for pizza in the evening.

The next day we drove back to Christchurch, stopping along the way at Waipara Hills and Greystone wineries to taste some of the local produce, and purchase a couple of bottles. Waipara Hills is a well-known international brand, whereas Greystone is a bit more local, and the woman doing the tastings was able to give us some personal service and chat about the wines. She is a winemaker in her own right, although not for Greystone – she rents a plot and makes organic, biodynamic wines under her own label.

We stopped in Amberley at a café for lunch before completing our journey at the Bealey Plaza motel in Christchurch.

Waiheke Island

We made a day trip to Waiheke when we were in Auckland for Christmas 2015, and decided this time to have a longer stay, and hire a car rather than rely on the somewhat infrequent bus service around the island. We caught the ferry over, and called our car hire company, Waiheke Island Motors. Which turned out to be a guy calling himself Julian, although I suspect he was probably Juliano, as he looked and talked South American.

Julian directed us to a rather old Nissan Maxima which was, frankly, in a bit of a state. None of the big car hire companies operate on Waiheke, as it’s too small, and there are just a couple of local operators with a fleet of ageing vehicles. This particular one had the seat adjustment bar broken off completely, so I couldn’t move it back at all, and spent the weekend driving around like an idiot with my knees up by my elbows.

Nevertheless, we set off and found our accommodation in Onetangi easily enough. We had time for a quick check-in before setting out for the evening’s dinner, at The Shed at Te Motu, a vineyard that we’d noticed passing on the way in. It was about five minutes’ drive away. They were doing a set four-course dinner with wine matches, and it was all very tasty and well presented. The wine waiter was a Californian chap called Brian, and he was very knowledgeable about the wines he was serving, which included a 1999 Te Motu – a blend of cabernet, merlot and cabernet franc. Not one that is normally available to the public, so I made the most of it.

The next day we set out early for the beach and a morning swim, before heading to breakfast at Charlie Farley’s, one of two cafés on the waterfront. We weren’t in a massive hurry as most vineyards don’t open until about 11am, so after a leisurely start we drove round to Passage Rock vineyard, which is nestled above a little bay on the south of the island. Unfortunately there’s no access to the sea as it’s all cliffs round that side of the island. We tasted several wines and chatted with the winemaker, an English woman who’d lived and worked in France before moving to New Zealand. We discussed England and cheese, especially the unavailability of certain varieties. The wines were very good, as they are the most awarded winery on the island – in retrospect, it may have been a mistake to start there!   

We hung around at Passage Rock taking photos, as the next winery on our itinerary didn’t open until 12. It wasn’t a long drive to Poderi Crisci, which, as you might guess from the name, is an Italian-influenced vineyard, growing some varietals which aren’t available anywhere else in New Zealand – such as Arneis, which has a smell like burnt matches or gunpowder, and is supposedly very good with fruit. We didn’t have any fruit. An acquired taste, no doubt, and probably needs to be served in the right setting to get people to properly appreciate it. The tasting room, La Locanda, is separate from the Italian restaurant, which was soon filling up to bursting, as it was a sunny Sunday lunchtime. We left them to it, and drove to Casito Miro, another European-inspired vineyard that we’d visited last time we were on Waiheke. They were full too, but managed to get us a table after a 10-minute wait. We had a lunch of tapas there, but, given the crowds, decided not to try their wines again. I seem to recall from last time that their tasting is a bit desultory as well, with no real opportunity to discuss the wines with the maker, so I didn’t feel we were missing out.

After a hard morning’s tasting we decided to head back to Onetunga for a relaxing afternoon.

We still haven’t been to all the wineries on Waiheke, so next year we’re planning to do two Shakespeares and spend more time on the island in between.

Paihia

Before we left Whangarei, we went to look at the AH Reed Park and Whangarei Falls. AH Reed Park is an area of natural bushland with kauri trees, with a walkway which takes you through the forest at a reasonable height, so you can look down into the forest as well as looking up above. The falls are just outside town and feature a pleasant walk from the top level of the river down to the bottom, with plenty of opportunities for picturesqueness in between.

Driving north from Whangarei, we stopped along the way at Matapouri, to take a quick walk along the way to Whale Bay, one of New Zealand’s best beaches, and not accessible by car – you have to park and then walk quite a way to reach it. We planned to walk along the headland track but the tide was in, and you can only get round there when it’s out, so instead we went over the ridgeway track instead.   

We arrived in Paihia in the middle of the afternoon, on a sunny day when the temperature hit 30°. Hot for New Zealand! We immediately found our accommodation, the Swiss Chalet lodge, and then headed in to town to get our bearings and also to stock up on breakfast supplies from the local Countdown. On our first evening out, we dined al fresco on the pier at Alongside Bar.

Unfortunately, the weather was on the turn and a system full of rain was headed for Northland for the next few days. The next day, Nicola did her best to hit the beach, but the sun soon disappeared and the day turned grey. We decided to go to Russell and try a couple of wineries over there. The first, Paroa Bay Winery, was fairly new. We spoke to the owner about winemaking (he’d formerly been a brewer at Kingfisher in India) and tried all his wines, finally taking a bottle of sauvignon blanc because it tastes nothing like a “normal” savvy b, but has a far fruitier flavour, driven by melon and pineapple. The setting there is really nice, and we were able to stroll amongst the vines.

We stopped in at Russell for some lunch, and then went to the other vineyard in the area – Omata Estate. Once again, a great location, but I was somewhat underwhelmed by the wines, and the winemaker himself seemed less than convinced by them – he told us he only makes sauvignon blanc because he has to, not because he wants to. I felt that the wines all tasted somewhat insipid and similar, and that his heart wasn’t really in it. His spiel seemed largely aimed at tourists and as there were several groups tasting at the same time, I didn’t really get an opportunity to talk about the wines. Probably just as well, and we left empty-handed.

The next day was a complete washout, with heavy rain most of the day.

Our final day the rain eased somewhat, and we drove out to try some more vineyards around Kerikeri. Two of these were closed – presumably because of the weather – although there seemed to be plenty of people around willing to give them a go anyway. We bumped into some people more than once at the various vineyards we did go to. The first we visited, Fat Pig, was the best, and we chatted to Tereza, the Czech Republican wife of the winemaker, who told us about their vineyards and the set-up around Kerikeri. Many of the wines they sold were from other vineyards which did not have a cellar door, and they all used the same winemaking equipment form Marsden Vineyard, which unfortunately was one of the vineyards not open today. The next two vineyards we visited were busier (one had a restaurant, and they seemed to be directing most of their attention in that direction), and again, with several other groups in at the same time I didn’t really get a chance to talk to the winemakers.

We stopped at a Palm Bistro on the way and listened to Luna Chix playing whilst we had our burgers for lunch. Then, as it was still raining, we headed back to Paihia.

Tonight is our last night before flying from Kerikeri back to Wellington, where the rain will have probably have caught us up.

The Way To Whangarei

We set out for a leisurely drive up to Whangarei, stopping first at the Smashed Pipi and Pipi Gallery in Mangawhai, where we had a coffee, before visiting the rural wineries in the area. There are four wineries in the area and we managed to take in three of them, whilst noting that there were some plots for sale on Pigeonberry Lane, so there might well be more there by the time we get around to coming back!

The first stop was at Te Whai, where we were served by Nicola, who, we found out, is just completing the EIT Grapegrowing and Winemaking course that I am embarking on, so we were able to discuss a bit of science over the wine tasting. We tried two styles of chardonnay, one unoaked and one given the 100% oak, malolactic fermentation treatment to give a rich, creamy, almost toffee- flavoured wine. Then a pinot gris, a pale merlot rosé, and syrah in two ages – the most recent (2014) and an older 2012. As we have to either drink or carry back what we buy on the plane, we didn’t buy any wine here, although they are all good.

Next door is a boutique winery – just 2 acres – of the Estuary Vineyard. This is run by Donato, a recent arrival from the Amalfi Coast in Italy, who has a very virtuous, hands-off approach to winemaking, with minimal spraying; whilst maintaining the highest quality, trimming his vines so they don’t produce too many bunches, thus concentrating the grappa (as he calls them). We tried his two chardonnays, one unoaked and one oaked (although not to the extent of Te Whai’s), and also his vioigner, a subtle, fruity white. Again, we liked them all, and were moved to buy one bottle of the unoaked chardonnay for immediate consumption.

A bit further down the road is Millars, and we chatted with the owner, Ross Millar, about his grapes and production. He’s been on the hill for over 10 years, along with near neighbour Lochiel, and sees the more recent arrivals above as a good thing as they start to bring a critical mass to the area, and attract people to visit. We tried his wines – a pinot gris and viognier, a subtle gewürztraminer that wasn’t too in-your-face, as some can be, with the Turkish delight, a syrah rosé that was almost a red, with characteristic pepper and tannins, and finally his syrah. Again, all showed the essential characteristics of their grapes.

We skipped the last vineyard and headed straight to Waipu for some lunch at the Waipu café and Deli, who were fast selling out of tarts and tortillas. We sat there and finished our crossword, then drove up the remaining kms to Whangarei, our final destination for the day. We checked into the motel and walked into town, to the Town Basin, where the main “touristy” bit is, and bought a t-shirt. We checked out the clock museum, one of Whangarei’s star attractions, and booked a table for dinner at the Love Mussel.

Waiheke Island

Day 2 in Auckland promised to be as hot and sunny as day 1. Our plan was to go to Waiheke Island.

We went for breakfast at Imperial Lane, just around the corner from the hotel They do a really tasty honey-cured bacon there - in the words of the man from Dilmah, "Do try it!" Then after a quick Skype with the rellies back in Blighty, we headed out to the ferry terminal to book some tickets.

Both the wine tours were fully booked, so we got ourselves vineyard hopper tickets which allow you to hop on and hop off the vineyard bus at your own pace. We started off in the main town, Oneroa, and had a quick refreshment before setting out to the first vineyard, Mudbrick.

I'd originally planned to get some lunch there but they were packed out and we hadn't booked. I'd also planned to do their wine tasting quickly then head five minutes up the road to Jurassic Ridge. That didn't happen either. Due to the the throng of people tasting wine, it took us nearly an hour to get through them, whilst also chatting to Rob, the cellar door manager, about his and our histories and adventures in the wine business, as well as the wines we were tasting. Most of the wine is not made with locally-grown grapes but sourced from Gisborne, Otago and Hawkes Bay. They do make a Syrah and Chardonnay from their own grapes, but as we have to carry whatever we buy back on the plane, I decided not to buy any.

We took the next bus back into Oneroa for a spot of lunch at Fenice, before going out to the end of the route to Casita Miro, a Spanish-themed vineyard out in Onetangi Bay. The tasting experience there is somewhat different: they provide five wines, each with a tapa on top, and explain them all in one go at the beginning. As I wasn't driving I was able to drink these rather than spit them, and the tapas were tasty, too. The final tapa in the tasting was a walnut marinated in the fortified wine we were drinking - a port-style drink - which we were quite taken with, so bought ourselves a small supply to take with us from the vineyard shop.

All this mucking about meant that, as we were walking down the hill to the bus stop, we saw some people we recognised from the tour earlier in the day coming up the hill. ANd no, the driver hadn't waited. It was an hour until the next bus arrived, so we made our way along the road with the help of a friendly local, and took a "normal" bus back to Matiatia Wharf to catch the ferry back to  Auckland. As we got off the bus the driver wished us a good trip "back to New Zealand", which got a chuckle.

Arriving back at 6:30, we went straight to Wynyard Quarter, Auckland's new entertainment area in converted industrial space, for dinner at Marvel's this seemed to be popular with the young folk, but we weren't the only people over 30 there. We enjoyed some seafood and a pav before heading back in the late evening sunshine.

Tomorrow, we head north.

Science!

She blinded me with science

(She blinded me! With science!)

I'm up in Hawkes Bay at the Eastern Institute of Technology, for a four-day residential course of practical microbiology. "Why?", I hear you ask! Because I am coming towards the end of my first semester course in Microbiology, as part of my diploma in Grape Growing and Winemaking, which I started at the beginning of this year. This first course, being Microbiology, is all about the science of microbes, and so far we've covered such topics as using a microscope and staining a bacterial sample, preparing a number of agar plates in petri dishes to identify and quantify bacterial samples, and identify an unidentified bacterium from a culture. This is proper science stuff! Even if some people call it stamp-collecting. Some people have a similar opinion of physics.

The purpose of the residential course is to familiarise us with the tools of the microbiological trade. Microbiology is a hands-on science, and it is essential that practitioners are able to do the practical aspects. We've been preparing and staining samples to look at under the microscope, measuring bacteria and yeasts, and also measuring growth rates and concentrations of micro-organisms. We've also given presentations on various microbes that we've studied, and taken a practical test which will contribute to our final course mark. We are also taking work away to write up into a formal report on some of the experiments we've done during the week.

I can do science, me.

Stonehenge Aotearoa

The forecast for Saturday was rainy, so we first headed in to the i-site in Martinborough to check which vineyards would be open. We decided to head out in a direction we’d not been before, to the South along the Lake Ferry Road, where there are three wineries: Murdoch James, Hamden Estate and Hudson. Despite saying they were open, however, only Murdoch James actually was, so we spent a bit of time in there chatting to the manager. He told us about the different vineyards caused by the fault line that runs through the estate, which means that the rocks on one side are very different to those on the other side, and also different to most of the other vineyards in the Martinborough region. This leads to some much drier wines, in particular the Riesling. After tasting, we walked away with a couple of bottles of Trafalgar, a Sauvignon Blanc/Riesling blend intended as an aperitif wine. I’m sure it’ll come in handy in the summer.

We then headed north and dropped in to Alana Estate – a vineyard with a unique sales proposition: they do not sell to supermarkets or wine merchants, only direct to the public in New Zealand, either at the cellar door or by email, subscription, and even newspaper advertising. After chatting to the cellar door manager, we left with a special deal (available to everyone, everywhere) of cleanskin Pinot Noir.

As the weather was showing signs of improving, we then headed to Stonehenge Aotearoa. This is a modern, concrete rendering of Stonehenge, built 10 years ago to the same specification as the one in Salisbury, but calibrated for its location and without being collapsed all over the place. It was built to combine modern scientific knowledge with that of the original builders of Stonehenge, and also incorporates Egyptian, Babylonian, Polynesian and Maori star lore. In addition to the 24 standing stones and lintels, there are a number of other features:

The Sun gate: on the Spring equinox, and standing at the centre of the henge, the sun rises in the centre of these stone pillars.

The Heel stones: these mark the position on the horizon of sunrise and sunset at the summer and winter solstices, and at the vernal and autumnal  equinoxes.

The Obelisk: this has a sighting hole that allows the viewer to locate the Southern celestial pole. Unlike the North celestal pole, which is marked by the Pole Star, there is no Southern equivalent – it is a patch of empty (to the naked eye) space.

The Analemma: this marks the precise time of noon, the current date at noon, and also the solstices and equinoxes.

The Seven Sisters: representing the Pleiades, or Matariki in Maori culture.

Tirohana Vineyard

Sunday, my birthday, was cold and rainy. Nevertheless we decided to execute a long-held plan to drive over the Rimutakas and go to Martinborough for lunch at the Tirohana Estate vineyard. We made the drive over in the rain, and went straight to the i-site to see which vineyards were open and pick up a map, as I mysteriously lose all the maps of Martinborough that I pick up each time we visit. We decided to go to three vineyards for tastings and to purchase some wine, including one of my favourites, Schubert, where I picked up some of their 2010 pinot noir; as well as Ata Rangi and Te Kairanga. Then, as it was still early, we went back into the town centre to Café Medici for a coffee, before heading out to lunch at Tirohana Estate vineyard.

Tirohana Estate (on a nicer day)

I’d booked Tirohana as we’d visited it before and noted that it had an indoor dining room. Whilst many of the vineyards provide al fresco dining in the summer, it was a bit chilly to be sitting outside in July! But with a log fire in the dining room, we were toasty, and enjoyed a good lunch with one of their chardonnays as accompaniment. After we’d had pudding, the waiter brought out a pancake and candle with a “Happy Birthday” message in icing, and also gave me a voucher for a free main course next time we visited (terms and conditions apply, natch), which I think we’ll use in the summer.

After lunch we tried to beat the weather on the way home, as snow was forecast down to 300m, a description which includes the Rimutaka road, and has been known to be closed in heavy weather. Fortunately it didn’t start snowing until we were almost at the top of the pass, and it wasn’t cold enough to freeze and settle, so we took it nice and slow until we reached the other side and the motorway.

After a full-on dining experience over the last two days, we stayed at home on Sunday night and I cooked some of our bounty from Moore Wilson – my famous (in our house, anyway)  steak stack. We also polished off some Schubert 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot which had been burning a hole in my wine cupboard. 

Hot Water Beach

One of Coromandel’s attractions is Hot Water Beach, where you go out at low tide, dig yourself a hole in the sand, and sit in the water which is heated by geothermal activity just at this one point on the coast. We’d checked the tide times, and equipped ourselves with a couple of shovels from the bach. Low tide wasn’t until midday, so we drove up the coast to a local Kiwi reserve we’d spotted the previous day, and took a walk around the loop track into the forest. The Department of Conservation gave the walk as one hour, but we covered it in less than half that, even stopping along the way to admire the trees and wildlife. We concluded that the DOC estimated times at the pace of the slowest, and that they’d found some guy with a Zimmer frame to time the walk. This was information that would come in handy later on in the week.

We had time on our hands, so drove around the long way to Whitianga and stopped there for a coffee before heading back to Hot Water Beach in time for low tide. There were upwards of 100 people doing the same thing – and this on a Monday, when we thought it would be less crowded than at the weekend – so we tried to find a suitable space to dig. Unfortunately, the dictum goes that if you find a spot where no-one else is digging, this is usually because it’s too hot there, so everyone crowds into one small area. Fortunately we found a hole that was about to be vacated by some Danes and were thus able to take freehold possession of a “pre-loved” hole in the sand. Some areas in it were quite hot, but with a bit of judicious swirling around we managed to get an even temperature. We undertook a bit of remedial digging to re-establish the walls, and sat down.

Then you just sit in your hole of hot water. After a while, this does become a bit tedious, so we didn’t stay very long. We washed off the sand in the sea, got changed and headed down the road to get some lunch.

The Purangi Winery had been recommended to us by Hayden the day before, as they not only sell wine but also create a range of liqueurs and spirits, and have a wood-fired pizza oven. We went to the tasting room and tried the wines – indifferent Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir, and then spirits, which included feijoa, boysenberry and plum liqueurs, gin, slivovicza and arraq, “Old China” ginger wine, and feijoa cider. Sadly I had to take only tiny sips of these as I had the car keys. 

Our host told us all about the history of feijoa and kiwi fruit in New Zealand, as well as giving random information on all the subjects under the sun, and showed us his weta (dead), Maori adzes and gizzard stones from moa that he’d collected. He was a bit of a character and talked nineteen to the dozen, and was very enthusiastic about all his products. We bought some feijoa liqueur to take with us, and went next door to order our pizza. We sat down in the sunshine, where we watched a life-and-death struggle between a cicada and the spider into whose web it had flown. Every time the spider came near the cicada kicked and struggled, and the spider was unable to inject its venom, and backed away. Eventually the spider got past the kicking and from then on it was only going to end one way. We debated whether to set the cicada free, but decided that nature must take its course. We wondered whether the spider would take his kill home proudly to Mrs. Spider, who would then say “and how d’you expect me to cook that?”

The pizzas arrived, and were delicious.

Wairarapa

We had decided to let someone else take the strain this Christmas, and booked ourselves into a hotel in Masterton, in the Wairarapa region. Wairarapa is just over the Rimutaka mountains, which lie between Wellington and most of the rest of the country.

We arrived around mid-afternoon on Christmas Eve, and after unloading our stuff in the hotel, drove into Masterton for a look around. Most places had already closed early for Christams Eve, so we didn’t spend much time there, just long enough to walk up and down the main street.

On Christmas day we had a big breakfast, then drove out to Mount Holdsworth for a walk up the mountains in the sunshine. As we were equipped with nothing but a water bottle we decided to take the easy walks rather than the longer ones, but even so spent a couple of hours on the mountains in the woods and by the river.

Afterwards we returned and made use of the spa pool in the hotel, bore having Christmas dinner in the evening – turkey, ham and salad, with nary a Brussels sprout in sight.

On Boxing Day we drove out to Lake Wairarapa, with the intention of walking around there. Unfortunately it isn’t really geared up for walking around, and is almost surrounded by private farmland. There was one bit where we were able to get down to the lake to have a look around, where we were followed around by a black chicken, clearly a resident of the area as it didn’t seem to be at all shy.

We then drove into Martinborough to visit a couple of vineyards, stopping off first at the i-site to check which ones were open. We visited the Schubert vineyard and acquired some of their Pinot Noir, then went on to the Haythornthwaite vineyard where we sampled their rosé and various styles of gewürtztraminer. Having made our purchases, we headed back into central Martinborough for a spot of lunch. Unfortunately the café that had been recommended to us at Haythornthwaite was closed on Boxing Day, so we went to the Martinborough café instead and had salad and antipasti. It was a baking hot day –   temperatures always get much higher in Wairarapa than in Wellington in Summer – so we were grateful to find a table in the shade in the courtyard.

Lake Wairarapa

Chocolate & Wine

After breakfast at café Ujazi, where Nicola again ran into a colleague from Wellington, we popped into the i-site to find out about gannet tours. The world’s largest mainland gannet colony is found at the picturesquely-named Cape Kidnappers. This is only accessible via authorised guided tours – there is no access for ordinary vehicles. Unfortunately, around the end of March the gannets start to depart for Australia, so we decided that discretion was the better part of valour and we would save this particular adventure for another time…even though the leaflet tells us that it’s “more fun than you ever imagined!”

Instead, (and after checking that it was open) we drove out to the chocolate factory at Silky Oak Chocolates. This has a museum of chocolate, which we dutifully toured, and watched some cringeworthy Cadbury’s TV adverts from the 50s and 60s. We then headed to the shop and bought a selection of chocolates, and went to the café for a cup of extreme chocolate with chilli. This turned out to be more like chocolate sauce than hot chocolate, and was topped with whipped cream and chillis.

Extreme chocolate with chilli

We sat outside as it was a lovely sunny morning, and were watched by some extremely podgy-looking sparrows. Wonder what their diet consists of?

Next on the agenda was to visit some of the Hawke’s Bay wineries to be found in the area. The intention was to get some lunch at one of these, but we were thwarted in this ambition, as it appears to be an incredibly popular pastime to go to a vineyard for lunch on Easter Sunday – who knew? Both the vineyards we tried were fully booked. So we tasted the wines at Te Awanga and Elephant Hill, and bought some wine.

The elephant at Elephant Hill vineyard

We drove to nearby Havelock North, a small town south of Napier, and found ourselves a pub to have a quick lunch in – fish and chips and pasta, nothing too exciting. Afterwards we explored Havelock North on foot, but with very little open, this didn’t take us long.

In the early evening we went to explore the wetlands and estuary area just outside Napier. It was largely deserted, with just the occasional oystercatcher and heron to be seen. We walked around and took some pictures, then came home.

Over The Hills And Far Away

On Saturday, we hired an SUV and took the parents out to Martinborough, a town to the east of Wellington over the Rimutaka mountain range. Martinborough is based around a wine economy, and there are a number of vineyards within walking distance of the town centre, although we decided to drive so as not to wear ourselves out too much. It was a lovely warm sunny day, and possibly a little too hot for extended walking.

With no particular plan in mind, we first visited the tourist information centre, who provided us with a map of the vineyards which also indicated which ones were open to the public, and which had catering facilities.

First stop was the oldest vineyard in the region, and the one that bagged naming rights: the Martinborough Vineyard. We tasted several of their wines, and I bought a couple of bottles of their pinot gris. Most of the vineyards produce a range of varietals, but the standout wines are the pinot noirs.

After that we headed round the corner to Margrain, where we tasted their sparkling wine as well as the pinots, chardonnay and rieslings. They make two very different reislings, and I picked up some of the sweeter variety for drinking with Thai food. I also got a bottle of their botrytis sauvignon blanc, which has an unusual herby flavour to it.

It was getting on to one o'clock, so next place we headed to was Vynfields, which is an organic vineyard. Despite this, we decided it was worth going to! They have a slightly different approach to marketing, and provide you with a tasting tray of wines for $15/20 (depending on how much wine you want to drink), rather than the $5 tasting fees that the other vineyards charge (which is refunded if you buy any wine). We also had lunch there – a shared platter of antipasto and cheeses with bread. Together with the wine, it made for a very enjoyable, lazy lunch out in the sunshine.

At this point I handed over driving duties to Nicola, as she had been abstaining from the tastings. We headed back into the town centre to pick up postcards from tourist information, then drove back over the mountains to Wellington.

This was our first visit to Martinborough, but I’m sure it won’t be our last – there are plenty more vineyards for us to try, and we intend to work our way around them systematically (or haphazardly, which seems more likely). Then we’ll go back to the beginning and start again.

For those of you who are interested, Martinborough Vineyards wines are available from Majestic and Victoria wine; whilst Margrain wines are available in Oddbins. Go check them out, and enjoy!