A Tennessee Girl in Oz: 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!