A Traveler's Photo Journal

Our last full day in Auckland we spent on Waiheke Island.   We knew nothing about the island except that it had relatively new, boutique vineyards, and that we should have lunch at Casita Miro.  The latter we knew only because we had given a ride to a young French hitch hiker on our first day in New Zealand.   She had worked on Waiheke and when asked for her recommendations, she said we must have lunch at Casita Miro.

We hopped on the 0800 am Fuller Ferry, a short 40 minute ride to the island.  A taxi took us the 5 minutes up to Island Scoot, where we had already reserved two scooters.

Armed with a vineyard map and a hankering for some new wines, we headed out.

We had not heard of any of the vineyards on Waiheke, not surprising, since the oldest was planted around 1981.  25% of the vines on Waiheke are Syrah, 16% Chardonnay and 15% Merlot.   Kennedy Point’s 2007 Syrah won best Syrah in the world in 2009.  None of that made a difference as we took our scooters to the road looking for something new.

Our first stop was Mudbrick Vineyard, on a small road just south of where we picked up the scooters.   I just liked the look of the vines and the driveway.  It was purchased in 1992, when they planted their first vines.  They have done a wonderful job and we thoroughly enjoyed the wines.  I bought two bottles to bring back to the states.  The tasting room woman said they bottle only 7,000 cases per year total.  They do not export, but will ship to the states.  They have a lovely view, with a restaurant, lodgings and a garden you are welcome to enjoy with your tasting.

Homepage

I bought a bottle of their sparkling wine and a Onetangi Valley Syrah/Petit Verdot blend.

We continued on our scooters with no particular destination in mind.  Winding around the roads is easy, there are only a few.

Our next stop was Tantalus Estate.  Again, we stopped in just because we liked the looks of the place as we drove by.

From the Tantalus Vineyard website:

We left the Marlborough area, Blenheim, and headed south on SH1. The hills were dry and it looked a lot like parts of California. We had what turned out to be an overly aggressive driving agenda for the next few days, but we did complete it. I would have preferred more down time, and an extra day or two in places, but we did not have that flexibility.

So our first day was driving from Blenheim to Christchurch. On the map, and with GPS, it should have taken about 5 ½ hours. But due to the major earthquakes in 2010 and 2011, there was quite a bit of road damage that was still being repaired and it took longer than expected. We had many stops with flaggers and one way traffic.

SH1 starts out inland, then hugs the coast south towards Kaikoura. We spotted dolphins and at one construction spot had the chance to jump out of the car and photograph sea lions and their babies playing in the waters just between the highway and the shore.

Christchurch is still recovering from the earthquake from nine years ago. We walked the downtown area where the city is rebuilding. The cathedral, the one old building still standing, has not been repaired yet due to disagreements within the community. Many of the older buildings came down and were a total loss.

There is a lot of construction downtown Christchurch with a new convention center and more. They still have the trolley and green spaces and parks, but many buildings have trusses and many have not been rebuilt. The college looked mostly undamaged. We toured the Christchurch botanical gardens and the museum.

The museum had a special exhibition, Dogs In Antarctica, Tales From The Pack which I wanted to see. Unfortunately, most of the stories of exploration dogs do not have a happy ending, and we walked out feeling emotionally drained and disappointed with humanity.

After only one evening and one morning to tour Christchurch, we set off again on SH1 southbound towards Dunedin. The roads were in better shape and we made better time on this portion. We stopped in Oamaru for some shopping and snacks, and then continued on to Moeraki, a popular tourist stop.

The Moeraki boulders are on the tourist map, and it was a nice walk down to the beach to view them and a pleasant walk on the beach.

In Oamaru we had met some local guys, Frank and Peter, and they suggested that if we liked fresh fish we must have dinner at Fleurs Place. It is just across the bay at the end of a small winding road. We found it and had the freshest fish yet, thoroughly enjoying the meal and the view.

Coming into Dunedin, our destination was Larnach Castle. We were staying in the guest house, Camp Estate. We drove through town and around the Otago Peninsula, following a winding road with spectacular views. The castle is near the top of the peninsula, overlooking both the town of Dunedin to the west and the coastline to the east.

We pulled into Camp Estate just before sundown. Checking in, the receptionist said there was a sheep trail along the ridge behind the estate, and if we hurried we would see the castle before the fog rolled in and obscured the view. We dropped our bags and literally sprinted out the back and up the hill. We were glad we did as the view was beautiful and the sheep were curious and talkative. We caught a quick glimpse of the top of the castle for about 30 seconds before the fog rolled in.

The following day we toured the castle and its gardens, and downtown Dunedin. The views from the castle were beautiful and the gardens were lovely. The tile fireplaces in the castle rooms made me envious, and the piano in the music room was marked with a sign reading “Pianists we invite you to play this piano”.  That is unusual, and if my friend Augie had been there, he would have stayed to play all day.  I would have liked to stay longer in this area. The scenery reminded me of Oregon, much greener than the drive between Blenheim and Christchurch.

The Dunedin Railway Station (1873 – 1906)

Continuing our fast paced road trip, after lunch in downtown Dunedin we drove southwest on SH1 until we intersected SH8. We saw more farming areas, to include sheep and elk. The elk were behind a high fence, so they must have been farm raised for meat.

We ran into rain and high winds, but we carried on, sometimes crossing over one lane bridges. We were told that the area east of Queenstown was known for its Pinot Noir. We only had time to stop at one tasting room before the 5 o’clock hour hit and most closed. When we finally entered Queenstown we had the rain, high winds, rush hour traffic and temps in the 50s. It did not inspire much outdoor walking or touring activities.

Three days of driving from Marlborough to Queenstown was overly ambitious. It would have been better to cover less ground and spend more time exploring. But you live and learn, and I learned that I would like to return to the Dunedin area. One of the other guests at Camp Estate raved about a wildlife tour they had enjoyed, seeing a pod of killer whales, albatross and penguins. We will have to return for that.

We spent one night in Queenstown, and then returned our trusty diesel rental vehicle (which got very good gas mileage) and flew on Air New Zealand back to Auckland. Speaking with the very friendly and talkative local people, many ask how long we were staying. Two weeks is quite short, and many locals said you would need two months to do both islands justice.

Luckily, we had three nights stay in Auckland to decompress from the long drives and relax a bit.  It rained the first 24 hours of our Auckland stay, the first rain they’d had since Christmas, we were told.

In Auckland we did the typical tourist sights to include the Maritime Museum (which we liked), the Sky Tower (which we could have missed) and the water front.

We found a stellar restaurant, Harbourside Ocean Bar and Grill, located in the old ferry building on the waterfront. I had some of the best fish chowder that I have ever had and we tried several new to us Sauvignon Blancs, Triplebank was one, and a wonderful Pinot Noir from Nelson, Falcon Ridge.

For our final full day in the Auckland area, we took a ferry out to Waiheke Island.

Arriving into Picton on the ferry:

After arriving into Picton on the ferry, we had about 48 hours in Marlborough, relaxing at the stellar Marlborough Lodge, to include my birthday.  We came here for the Sauvignon Blanc, which we drink a lot of in Florida, here called “Sav”.  The valley was flatter and wider than expected, with many vineyards we had not heard of.

The Marlborough Lodge:

The Marlborough Lodge could not have been a better place to base our wine tasting from, and to celebrate a birthday.   The accommodations and service were impeccable.

We did a half day bicycle wine tour, tasting at three vineyards:  Framingham, Bladen, and Nautilus.

The topography is flat, so it was an easy bike ride.  It was clear and hot the day we rode.  Our guide, Hugo, was a very informative young local guy, raised on a vineyard just yards from where we started our bike tour, and whose family sells grapes to Whitehaven.

Back at the lodge for my birthday, we celebrated with champagne and Damian’s artfully crafted chocolate birthday cake.  (I requested a small chocolate cake for my birthday while making the reservation, and this is what Damian the chef came up with).

The morning of our departure, we stopped at two more vineyards;  Whitehaven (a favorite) and Cloudy Bay.  Our “go to” Sauvignon Blanc (SB) in Florida is Whitehaven.  The tasting room attendants were quite pleased to hear how often we purchase their SB, and told us “Florida is the biggest market we have.”

Cloudy Bay Vineyards:

After two days of exploring the Marlborough wine region, we headed south on SH 1 towards Christchurch.

We are in New Zealand, landing in Auckland 24 hours behind schedule due to United Airline’s lack of customer service. The plan was to land in Auckland and have a day to rest and adjust, then pick up the rental car and make a leisurely drive south. The plans changed, and upon arrival in Auckland, we headed straight to the rental car counter and loaded up.

We took SH 1 southbound towards Hamilton. Our goal was Napier, where our hotel reservation and dinner at Craggy Range Vineyard was already scheduled. The lack of sleep and jet lag made the drive a bit of a challenge and also made me less likely to stop for photos, which I regret.

It’s a scenic drive through mostly farmland. We saw a lot of dairy cows and sheep, and crops such as corn, apple orchards and peaches.  Parts of the drive could have easily passed for Oregon and/or California.  The drive took 6 ½ hours total. We were mostly on SH 1, a few side roads, then hooked up with SH 5 just south of Taupo. This stretch of highway is called the “Thermal Explorers Highway”.

South of Taupo we were at a higher elevation, (next fuel sign said 140 km) and we saw many logging trucks. Evidence of geothermal activity included the thermal pipelines running from the plants to the settlements, as well as consistent 6 foot diameter concrete vents in the pastureland.

We stopped at a few scenic lookouts. It was cool and windy along Highway 5, but as we descended into Hawkes Bay, we felt the temperature increase and started passing vineyards.

Pulling into Ormlie Lodge at 530 pm gave us one hour to shower and change out of our travel clothes. Looking slightly more presentable we arrived at Craggy Range Restaurant for our first dinner in New Zealand.

The setting, food and wine were excellent. We sampled the Craggy Range Rose, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Our food was quite tasty. We had squeaky cheese, cured salmon and flounder.

Having been traveling nonstop since San Francisco, we were not in the mindset to linger. What we needed was a good nights sleep.  Luckily, Ormlie Lodge provided just that.

The actual “Craggy Range” taken from the tasting room front door after sunset:

The following day we returned to Craggy Range Vineyards for a truly stellar tasting experience. We were entertained and educated by Master Sommelier Matt who made the experience one of my all time favorites. We walked the grounds of the vineyard as the annual business meeting guests arrived, and bumped into the owners as we photographed the chicken statues installed the day before.

Another tasting at Te Mata and it was time for lunch. We had a wonderful lunch under the vines out back at The Black Barn Bistro, just outside of the cute little town of Hastings.

After lunch we toured Napier, the Art Deco capital of New Zealand.

The next day we drove south out of Napier along Highway 50. At first we were cruising among the vineyards, but then as our altitude increased, we were back in sheep country. Highway 50 would be a great road for motorcycles, and we saw several groups of bikes enjoying the twisting roads, crossing several single lane bridges.

Driving through one of the small towns, we saw this road sign.  I have no idea what it means.  Maybe, elderly folks riding skate boards?

The drive from Napier to Martinborough, our next overnight, was only about 3 ½ hours.

In Martinborough we had a lovely lunch at Moy Hill (I would recommend it) and relaxed for the remainder of the day.

The fig salad and pan roasted Warehou at Moy Hall:

Our B & B in Martinborough, Aylstone:

The main street in Martinborough:

Our fourth day on the North Island was driving from Martinborough to Wellington to catch the ferry to the South Island.

Here we really found a great motorcycle road, SH 2 from Featherston towards Wellington, also called the Rimutaka Hill Road. The numerous caution signs would only serve to draw more motorcycles.

The sign at the top of the pass:

We arrived at the ferry dock with time to spare, so we wandered the waterfront with it’s many restaurants and museum.

We boarded the ferry and took the approximately four hour cruise to the South Island.

Wellington from the ferry:

Our first impressions of New Zealand have all been positive. The people are very friendly, the roads are good, and the small towns are all clean and well kept.

Unfortunately, our express tour of the North Island was exactly that, an express tour. We can only say that we really saw the Hawkes Bay area and Martinborough. Luckily we have three nights in Auckland before our return to the states.