Grape Expectations

Our journey to Martinborough turned out to be more interesting than expected. Driving along State Highway 1 we had spotted signs for a medieval market in a town called Levin. On a Saturday morning, and on the spur of the moment,  we decided to drop in and see what this market was all about. It was surprisingly large, lots of stalls, jousting competitions and all located on an agricultural showground. To describe this as surreal would be an understatement...we left having bought some smoked garlic seasoning and a jar of Marg's homemade marmalade concluding you probably had to be 'local' to fully appreciate it. I was mistaken for a local though...as I was asked if I'd registered to vote!

Our next surprise was the Akatawara Hill Rd. I'd seen some of the 'World's Most Dangerous Roads' programmes. This was a contender. 30 km of single track road, steep with extremely tight bends and offering no reassurance to those of a nervous disposition..as at the highest point,  up in the mountains, ...a rusted burnt out camper van. Presumably someone didn't make it!

View looking back from the summit of the Akatawara Hill Rd

This is not 'Ned'

Eventually we reached relatively level ground and, with calmer nerves, made our way to Martinborough.

For a small village Martinborough has a lot to offer...but only if you like wine. It is regarded as the finest pinot noir producing wine region in New Zealand and the 20 or so wineries are within 2 miles of the village centre. I chatted to one of the wine makers whilst tasting three different vintages of pinot noir and learnt he had spent 7 years living in Shropshire. Needless to say I added a couple of bottles to my collection. It occurred to me that if our camper van 'Ned' had one fault it was that the makers hadn't thought to install a wine rack!

One of the reasons why 'Ned' needs a wine rack

Unfortunately our arrival in Martinborough coincided with a couple of days of rainy weather but on our second day we set off to explore the surrounding area. We drove to Cape Palliser the most southerly tip of the North Island and climbed the 250 steps up to the lighthouse. 

The heavy cloud made for a brooding landscape. Driving back on another gravel road Mrs B spotted a fur seal on a rock, and then another and another. (spot the seal is now Mrs B's favourite game). I pulled up and walked back along the foreshore to find dozens of fur seals and was able to get within 3 metres of one. Some were sleeping in grassy hollows whilst others lay amongst the rocks. It would have been very easy to have spent hours watching the seals but a sudden shower of rain sent me scurrying back to the camper van. 

The rest of the day was spent meandering through small towns including Greytown. Although the rain continued unabated we found a small open air museum called Cobblestones.  It had a collection of various old colonial buildings and right next door was a chocolate shop...with umpteen varieties of chocolate and free tastings. I dragged Mrs B. out after parting with $11.50 for a bar of dark chocolate with sweet basil.

An old colonial church at Cobblestones

And so our time on the North Island was almost over..but before setting sail for the South Island we had a couple of days to explore New Zealand's capital city...