We went off on a mini road trip up north into wine country. I'm not sure I can call Matakana wine country when it seems most of NZ is wine country... But as I couldn't squeeze Hawkes Bay into my trip (which is renowned for delicious NZ wine), I was determined to get some tasting in. Clearly very determined when even after Luke says he is saving Matakana for his birthday trip next month, somehow we still ended up there, sipping wine at, accidentally, the exact place he's being taken in a few weeks time... Oops.
Anyway, our first stop was Puhoi, a tiny tiny 'historical village' as the sign describes it, on a river with the best bridge for pooh sticks I ever saw... Sadly we didn't play, because I mean... There's just so much to do. There's the HUGE square foot library, and the general store looked a laugh... Ok so this was the smallest village I've ever seen but it was adorable. I wanted to wrap it up and out it in my pocket.
We then went for a lovely scenic drive inland up a dirt track where there were miles of bright green hills and forests before returning back to the coast for wiiinneeee.
Sadly the wine was a little disappointing, though. The woman who owned the place was a little prickly but she warmed up a little. Sadly the wine did not. They were all made from Italian grapes and should have been delicious but they were all just a little bitter for us. Subjective of course but not for me. The grape juice though was yum. They should be pushing that stuff rather than the wine if you ask me... That and the rafia, a spiced white wine drunk a lot during the Regency period we were told, and which was strangely delicious.
Our last stop before heading back to Auckland was Snells Beach. It didn't have the pristine sands I've become accustomed to, even if the water was stilly crazily clear and warm, but the shells and seaweed were strangely a relief somehow. I suppose they sort of gave the beach texture, literally and figuratively.
For my final evening Em and I took a stroll down Auckland's viaduct on theatre in the CBD. It was nicely quiet on a Wednesday night but in summer and on the weekends I can imagine it's packed. It's got an awesome 'industrial' feel, with the boats, the pier, the warehouse-like buildings now housing trendy restaurants and bars, and the huge chimneys, some decorated, some not, and one used to screen outdoor cinema in the nice weather.
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