Sunday, February 8, 2009
Today we say goodbye to Taupo and head towards Hawke’s Bay. About halfway to our destination, we realized we were almost out of gas and still had a ways to go to get to the next town. We ended up stopping at a bar to see if they could tell us if there was a gas station coming up. The fella that we talked with was complaining that he was located in the middle of the longest stretch in New Zealand without a gas station. Every day someone is stopping for gas. So he sold us 10 liters of gas for $40, which was about double the price, but what are you going to do when we are almost out of gas. He was a scary sort, not many teeth and quite the essence emerged from his person. Troy named him Daryl, wondering where Larry and the other Daryl were hiding. Mike thought Daryl was going to eat him.
Back on the road we headed toward Napier stopping at the I-Site first to pick up our Hawkes Bay wine festival tickets and then headed on to wine tasting. We stopped at Beach House Winery first, which was very good. We also had a snack there – chorizo and shrimp tapas. Next we went to Elephant Hill Estate. The person selling wine was from St Louis, and had spent some time in Napa. We thought their wine was pretty good and we bought a few bottles. The owners were real estate tycoons from Germany. You could tell they had a lot of money what with the enormous facility all covered in brushed copper. It is the only winery that any of us had ever been to that is right on the ocean.
Next, we headed to Sileni Estates where we had lunch (which was very expensive, but pretty good (although Rita’s food was too salty)). We also purchased oils, sauces and jams to take along. Following lunch, we headed out for a vertical tasting of Bridge Pa Louis Syrah’s 2004 – 2007, the 2007 being a barrel sample. Amazing stuff! We all disagreed on our favorite vintage, but everyone agreed on the quality. Syrah in Hawke’s Bay is very peppery. Although we really liked Bridge Pa, we didn’t end up buying any. We aren’t in our usual tasting mode. Too bad – it was real good.
Our last stop was Abbey Cellars. The wine was okay and you could tell it was the end of a long and hot day as the owner was very tired. After our wine tasting, we headed to our “cottage” (Olea Cottages) and got settled. Mike, Rita and Troy went to the grocery store as I stayed back so we could keep open all the doors and windows in the cottage. It was stifling hot inside as it was around 90 degrees outside. Once the sun started its decline, we sat outside and enjoyed the peace and quiet after a packed day of adventure. Our place is on a farm and has sheep, cows and some horses in the meadow next door. It is very peaceful and has a full kitchen including a dishwasher, outdoor grill, and a great patio for relaxing.
