Other outings and back to Marlbourough

Because we are staying so far from civilization, even going out for a meal is a process. The closest town is 30 minutes away, while the closest with a significant number of restaurants is 45 minutes away. So, we have to plan, but we have managed to eat some very good meals (other than the ones we cook ourselves) since we arrived.

First, we did a lunch at Black Estate Winery in the Waipara region, whose restaurant was recently named one of the best in New Zealand. The four-course meal including wine pairings was excellent, and the view of the vines was fantastic despite the rain we had that day.

The following week, we drove up to Kaikoura, a town we visited on our first visit to New Zealand, and had dinner at a nice restaurant called Zephyr that we really liked on our first visit. Of course, given that Kaikoura is the nearest town of any significant size, we combined our dinner with errands: a trip to the dump (there is no home pickup of trash or recycling on Conway Flat) and grocery shopping. We also took some time to walk out and see the seals that populate the rocks of the Kaikoura penninsula.

Our next outing was a return to the Marlbourough wine region, which is about a two-and-a-half hour drive from Conway Flat. Our loyal readers may recall we previously visited Marlbourough and did a bike tour around the area that included a number of wine tastings. This time, we drove, which allowed us to try some wineries that are a little further out. 

Our first stop was Clos Henri, which is owned by a French family named Bourgeoisie (seriously) that makes wine in the Sancerre region of France. The family came to the Marlborough region because the primary grapes here, Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir, are the same as there. The tasting room at Clos Henri is in an old chapel. It was adorable.

Once inside, the room looks like a tasting room, not a chapel, but I found it amusing that where the altar would have been, there is now a display of wine. The tasting of both French and local wines was fantastic and, of course, we had to bring some back with us.

Next, we did a tasting at Cloudy Bay, which had a beautiful location, but we were not impressed with the wine.

That evening, we stayed at a lovely B&B, and had a fantastic dinner at a local Brazilian restaurant, owned by a Branzilian immigrant and his Kiwi wife. The food was great, and Saulo was a fantastic host who kept giving us different wines to taste (who were we to say no?).

The next morning we returned to the Omaka Aviation Heritage Museum. The first time we were there, we visited the WWI part of the museum, which was so great that we wanted to visit the WWII section. Although smaller than the WWI section, it was equally well done, presenting a combination of the history of the air war with a special focus on the involvement of Kiwi pilots, along with specific restored planes.

After the museum, and before heading home, we had lunch at Wither Hills winery along with their wine tasting, which we also enjoyed very much (and bought more wine).

Of course, on our way home we stopped at the supermarket in Kaikoura because we won't be near another market for almost a week. Shopping lists are very important here!

Hasta pronto,

Jeff and Shana