New Zealand

New Zealand is quite possibly the most beautiful country I’ve ever seen. Everyone you meet is like your next door neighbour. The food and wine are amazing and the exchange rate can’t be beat at the moment. It was one of the best vacations we’ve taken in a long time. I can’t wait to go back!

We started in Wellington, the country’s capitol which is at the southern tip of the North Island. It’s built around a large, beautiful harbor and is home to only 390K people. It’s dotted with beautiful sculptures and various types of artwork and is an exceptionally welcoming city. The waterfront is lined with a great running trail, shops, museums and cafes. They call it, “Windy Wellington” for a reason but the catch phrase, “You can’t beat Wellington on a great day” couldn’t be more accurate. It’s a beautiful city! It reminds me a lot of Burlington, VT!

We had dinner on the first night at the famous Logan Brown’s with our friends Lisa and John. Dinner was wonderful and the wine was even better. Friday morning Joanne (Jo) and Peter’s wedding festivities began with a lovely brunch. Followed by shopping and then an afternoon of merriment at a local pub. If you haven’t played scrabble with a bottle of bubbly, I highly recommend it! :) We had such a fun day with new friends and fellow Sydneysiders!

Saturday David and I took the cable car up to The Lookout and enjoyed a wonderful stroll through the gardens along the sculpture path. We came across a sundial where you stand on today’s date with your back toward the sun and hold your hands up in the air. Your shadow then tells the time! The Rose garden was beautiful even without any buds and the rest of the sculptures were really interesting. After our great walk we went back to the room to get ready for the wedding.

Jo and Peter had a wonderfully “them” wedding. The location was beautiful – on the water over looking the harbor. There were only about 40 people there – most of us were in our 30-40’s. The food and wine were hand selected and quite good. The ceremony was short, sweet and informal. She was stunning in a plunging long black dress and he wore a suit. They greeted us as we arrived, took some pictures and had the ceremony shortly there after. The dancing was great fun and the company was even better! It was wonderful to see how happy they were – we were so glad to be there to celebrate with them :)

We left the next day to fly down to the Marlborough wine region. We flew Air New Zealand the entire trip and I have to say I’m very impressed! On the big flights to and from NZ their security briefing starred the famed Rugby All Blacks and was hysterical! The service was great all around – I highly recommend them. Our interisland flights were very small – only one row of seats on each side. There was no security in the small airports which made us laugh considering what we’re used to in the US. Although the flights were bumpy (as they normally are due to all the wind) they were quick and pleasant.

Marlborough is in a river valley between two mountain ranges. The valley is very flat and the vineyards are close enough together that you can bike easily between them. We stayed at a cute B&B in Renwick (Olde Mill House) with the added service of airport transfers and on-site bike hire. We enjoyed the outdoor hot tub daily as well as the BBQ to make dinner each night. I’m now a big fan of the bike riding/wine tasting combo! It’s the only way to go :)

We visited an impressive 10 vineyards in the 2 days we were in town. Most of the tastings went quickly – the stand outs were Fromm, Huia, Clos Henri and Cloudy Bay. Marlborough is known around the world for Sauvignon Blanc but is also developing a following for Pinot Noir. Many of the vineyards are built close to the river which means the soils are quite rocky. This type of soil yields crisp, fresh grapes with mineral qualities which lends itself to wonderful Sauvy. It’s pretty acidic but not as in-your-face as the Sauvy from other parts of the world. My favorite was from Cloudy Bay. David’s was from Huia.

The other side of the valley is made up of mostly clay soil which is perfect for growing Pinot Noir. We were able to schedule a private tour of Fromm on David’s birthday. Rachel, one of the owners showed us around and shared their techniques for organics and biodynamics. We had a ball and really enjoyed their wines. They were kind enough to give David a birthday bottle signed by the wine maker!

We flew from Marlborough to Christchurch and then hopped in a car to drive to Hanmer Springs. We got a shock when David tried to start the car and realized it was a MANUAL transmission! Thankfully he knows how to drive stick, but doing it for the first time on the LEFT side of the road is a bit scary! He was a champ and it all came back to him quickly. I’m glad he was driving and not me!

The drive to Hanmer Springs was absolutely beautiful. The pictures can barely do it justice! I’ve never seen so many sheep! It was tough to pull over to the side of the road so I had to take pics while David was driving – thank goodness for quick shutter speeds :)

Hanmer Springs is an adorable little village nestled in the mountains built around a thermal spring. There are a few restaurants and shops, with the main centrepiece being the spa and thermal pools. We stayed at the Settlers Motel which totally deserves a better name because it was awesome! The room was great with nice amenities. We were able to enjoy a private thermal pool and steam that afternoon which was a great birthday treat for David (and me too!).

That night we had dinner at Saints, a local pub where they serve your dinner on a hot lava rock! The meat comes out raw on the stone and cooks right there in front of you. The lamb and rib eye were delicious! To top it off I gave David his first outback hat – he said it was the best birthday ever :)

We had massages the next day before hitting the road to get back to the airport. I was sad to go – I would have liked to have more time in Hanmer to do some hiking.

The entire trip was wonderful - relaxing, fun and full of new experiences. To be honest, there was a part of me that wasn’t too excited about going to New Zealand before we left but now that I’ve been, planning another visit is high on my list!

~LAA :)