Our great walk

As previously mentioned, the meals at Larcomb are exceptional. Manesh, the Fijian cook (who wouldn’t agree to a photograph), creates healthy lunches for us. Drew was so taken with his lunch, he photographed it – roasted chicken sliced on a bed of greens, with whole cranberries and a tangy vinaigrette, sandwiched between two pieces of fresh pumpernickel.  Our parents shouldn’t worry that we are going hungry.

Outside champagne and springs, our trip to Hanmer included a couple of longer hikes. After the champagne (or bubbles as the Kiwis love to call them…there were no Bubbles sightings however), we hit the Dog Stream Waterfall and Spur track circuit. Just over two and half-hours long, these hikes delivered a lot of cardio (especially for me), a lot of familiar forest (pines, spruce, fir, silver birch), and a visit to a pretty 41m waterfall. Total elevation: 840m.

The next morning, with a sore head and tight jeans for Kirk, Drew made the executive decision to tackle Mt. Isobel; total elevation: 1340m. I think I would have preferred the drive back to Christchurch but I’m glad I took my toughen up pills because the feeling of having tackled it was rewarding.

See the thing is, I’ve hiked a lot. But in the last couple of years, I’ve gotten soft sitting at a computer desk. So, I whined and complained the whole way up – the sun was too hot (I didn’t have a hat), my jeans were too tight (who wears their tight jeans hiking – there is a hilarious photo to show in private), and my head hurt (wha, wha, wha). I don’t know how Drew put up with my four requests to stop. About three-quarters of the way up, after another rest, a jolly, spry, petite Scotsman came barreling down the hill. He shakes Drew’s hand, and tells me I’ve only got an hour to go! He tells me he is 54 years old; how could I let him put me to shame? I toughened up and barreled forward. At the ridge, the winds became violent (I made Drew hold my hand because I thought the wind would knock me over) and the going tough, but we hit the summit, took some pics, and dined on salty sausages!

The highlight of my 30^th birthday celebrations in Hanmer Springs (home to natural sulphur hot springs and the Amuri range ski fields; two hours north of Christchurch), was champagne and orange juice first thing in the morning. We drove out to the site of Champagne Flats a small piece of land just south of a 100-year old single-lane ferry bridge, and popped the corked! Onlookers thought we were bizarre. But who cares when you are in New Ziwi!

Just as quickly as Drew bought our car, he also arranged our first working gig with a vineyard just outside of Christchurch. Larcomb vineyard is owned by the hardworking and uber-busy Barnes family; Warren, the dad is a hotel general manager, and Michelle, his wife is also a part-time travel agent in addition to owning the vineyard and its gourmet restaurant. In exchange for some hard work, we get a cozy little yellow bunkhouse, and three meals. Now, this is definitely in our New Ziwi budget.

As mentioned, we get three meals a day. These aren’t just any meals. The restaurant’s Fijian chef Manesh, prepares out-of-this-world sandwiches (picture to follow), and Michelle prepares some very healthy and creative dinners. I was worried I’d be eating a lot of processed foods but this family is all about fresh veg and meat. Drew is worried our other working gigs won’t feed us as well.

Our gig with Larcomb will last approximately two weeks – we are about half  way through. We get every other day off (but we are actually working more than this because there is a lot of work to be done). So far, we’ve done a lot of lifting and tucking of pinot gris (one of their priciest and best-sellers) and Riesling, and over the next couple of days, we’ll be thinning out the pinot noir.

Can you spot the grape cowboy in the photos below?

We were so taken with the Kaikoura coastline, we decided to camp the night out on the beach, a little spot called Paia. Kaikoura is a region famous for its crayfish (which is the derivative of the region’s name in Maori) and for its sea life. Whale, dolphin and seal sightings are frequent occurrences (and thus, a major driver of its tourist industry). We didn’t dine on crayfish however as it can go for as high as $70 in restaurants. We did however get suckered into a restaurant meal. We’ve learned that eating out is definitely not in our New Ziwi budget. It will be campfire meals for as long as possible. (The Kiwis do however cater to the up-market tourist industry and anyone wanting to really try some interesting and creative food wouldn’t be disappointed here).

These photos were taken at our campsite…we were so excited about the thought of falling asleep to the pounding surf we didn’t take into consideration the constant humming of the trailers and rigs running the coast highway. The stars were however absolutely amazing.

On our ride south on State Highway one, we hugged the scenic Kaikoura Coast. This is one of the South’s more magnificent drives as the high country mountain ranges on one side are contrasted with views of the South Pacific Ocean on the other.

We were pretty ecstatic to see the South Pacific – it was the first time for both of us. So we parked the Camry (read further for the ‘chosen’ name) and jumped out into the sand. Drew tried to convince me to wade into the ocean but the pounding surf looked too strong; our comprise was to dip our toes in. I had the unfortunate luck of soaking my entire left leg (wet jeans aren’t that comfortable).

We took this coastal route straight into Christchurch – our destination for the next two weeks but not before stopping for one night on the beach.

Here are some beautiful shots from the ferry – only a mere $290 NZ to cross one way with a car! – as we passed through the Cook Strait and Marlborough Sounds. It was Drew’s first time driving a car onto a ferry and he slept for most of the ride (we woke up at 5:30 a.m. in Wellington to catch the ferry).