NZ Day 7: Martinborough wineries

Our day in Martinborough was somewhat planned out. Where we were going was still to be figured out, but we knew we'd be getting there by bike! Because the roads are pretty flat and don't seem to get much traffic, the thing to do seems to be renting bikes and biking from vineyard to vineyard. So that's what we planned to do!

First, though, we powered up with breakky at a local cafe.

Then it was off to collect our bikes! Toby said he wouldn't have minded if we took the bike with one pedal in front and the bench for riders, but I'd already booked three normal bikes.  Holly and I decided that next time we could definitely get into the idea of being biked around to tastings.

Then we were off!

Our first stop was the farthest out of town, about a 20 minute ride, to Olivo, an olive grove that made infused olive oils. We had a great tasting there, getting to try about 10 different oils. There were some interesting flavors like vanilla olive oil and fennel olive oil. We also checked out one of the groves, which was really pretty.

Then we got down to business and went to check out some vineyards.

The group favorite was Poppies, which was a beautiful winery. It's run by a lady named Poppy, who makes the wines. Her husband is a retired chef and runs a small kitchen. It seems to be the most popular place in Martinborough because it was bustling while we were there. The tables overlooking the vineyard didn't hurt the ambiance either!

Poppy gave us a tasting and was so much fun and had so much passion about her wines! We bought a bottle to take with us. =)

We had a couple other stops, and then we decided to call it a day, as we still had to drive to Wellington that day. But I could easily have spent another couple days there!

This is how much we loved Martinborough:

Posted with Blogsy

NZ Day 6: Wine trail to Martinborough

Boxing Day was one of our longest driving days. We'd planned it that way since we weren't sure how many things would be open since Boxing Day is a holiday here (instead of Christmas Eve).

We left Napier mid-morning, heading for the wine trail down to Martinborough.

The drive was just as beautiful as all the others.

We stopped for lunch in Masterton, since we weren't sure how many places would be open in what we were assuming was the pretty small 'burb of Martinborough. Every small town we went through reinforced this fear, since they were all practically deserted. Luckily, though, Masterton was more or less booming (booming as much as a town with three stop lights can be), and we found a lunch cafe for a mid-drive meal.

Toby hanging out in the cafe, enjoying some wifi!

Then we were in Martinborough, and it was just the cutest little town! The town center is a shady, green park, and the streets radiate out from it in the shape of a Union Jack flag.

Screen grab of the Martinborough map we used for navigating

One adorable thing about New Zealand is that every time we've checked into a hotel, they've asked us what kind of milk we wanted. The first time this really threw me off, and I asked "milk?" The lady looked at me like I was crazy and said "for your coffee and tea!" So far we've survived without milk and tea, but now we know how to answer that question!

Out hotel in Martinborough came stocked with milk, so we skipped the milk question at check-in. It also happened to be a completely charming place that we didn't want to ever leave!

View of our hotel from the town square

Our hotel room looking into the courtyard

But it was just mid-afternoon, and we couldn't stand to waste any time in Martinborough. So Holly and I left T at the hotel and went for a walk. Of course, like everywhere else, most places were closed. But we did find one winery for a fun tasting!

The less-than-busy main street of Martinborough

Wine country!

Our wine pirate

Holly with a wine purchase for the evening

The rest of the day we spent hanging out at our hotel, enjoying the courtyard and fun room.

How we looked anytime we found wifi

More winery fun was to come!

Posted with Blogsy

NZ Day 5: Napier for Christmas

Our main event for Christmas Day was driving to the east side of the island to Napier.

Before we left Taupo, though, we swung by Huka Falls. It's a powerful body of water right outside town that powers multiple hydroelectric plants. The water also happens to be extraordinarily blue, so it was both powerful and beautiful.

 

We learned that every minute enough water flows down the falls to fill 5 Olympic swimming pools. And we also learned that the water is too powerful for salmon and eels to go upstream to breed, so that means Lake Taupo is eel free - thank goodness!

Then we got our jolly selves on the way to Napier.

 

The drive to Napier was really beautiful: we climbed up into the mountains for the first bit and then had a long, windy descent down to the sea.

We listened to Christmas music on the drive and shot some GoPro video, so it went by fast. And before we knew it, we'd arrived in Napier!

Napier is a really cool little town. It's called the Art Deco Capital because after the town was almost completely destroyed by an earthquake in 1931, most of the buildings were rebuilt in the art deco style. So the main part of the town is really cute, with lots of interesting fountains and buildings that make you feel like you've gone back in time.

Looking toward Main Street

Columns overlooking the ocean

The cutest public restroom you've ever seen!

Since it was Christmas and we knew pretty much everything would be closed (which it was except for literally one gelato store!), we'd stocked up on our Christmas food in Taupo. So for our Christmas lunch and dinner, we had a nice cheese, cracker, and wine spread in our room facing the shore. A pretty good second choice if you're not with your family for the day!

Sadly, Opposum World was also closed for the holiday.

We spent the majority of Christmas afternoon laying on the warm pebble beach reading, napping, and listening to the waves. After our constant travel of the past few days, it was a welcome lazy afternoon.

The beach was different from a typical sandy beach, or any other beaches we've seen here for that matter. There was no sand, only big gray pebbles for the entire beach. It was kind of painful to walk on, but sitting down on the warm rocks felt great with the strong breeze!

Toby closed out the day with a Christmas swim! It wasn't very warm in the water or on the beach by that time, so I think he described the dip as "bracing."

Even though we all agreed it didn't feel very Christmas-y, we had a lovely day in Napier! I've decided that I want to go back. =)

 

 

Posted with Blogsy