Our Japanese bullet train takes a hit!

Before driving into Fiordland... we encountered a flat. Out in the middle of meadows we walked to the nearest farm, where the owner - a sheep and cattle man - helped put a spare donut on the van. We shifted the itinerary and went north to Invercargill to find a good used tire. It was a blessing in disguise because it forced us to shower and wash our clothes :) We also stock up on some rain gear and did some OP-shopping (thrift shops). 

Our goal was to reach Monowai lake the following day, and we did! Sandflys were horrific but it's so beautiful you get over it or have a glass of boxed wine and forget about them. We met a german traveler around 21, Johaness, who turned us on to the boxed wine. We had doubts at first considering the goon in Australia and the reputation of Franzia back home, but it's really not bad in New Zealand. Or maybe it just tasted better in the moment. Here's where we were at:

Mirror Lakes

The Lost Gypsy Gallery

 The Lost Gypsy gallery was an awesome stop in Papatowai. There's also a coffee hut. The mad scientist behind the operation tinkers and plays with all sorts of magical junk. Winding people up seems to be his niche, most things jiggled, vibrated, lit up after pushing a button. Clare and I were  happily startled a few times... above all, the man had a wonderful sense of humor. We thought the amount of rain the south island was getting was unusal, apparently not... The artist made piece reflecting the unpredictability of the N.Z. weather (see below) Please go see if you can.

"predictable N.Z. weather depress here" (the little t.v. show's rain clouds)

Otago Peninsula & the Catlins

Sandfly Beach

Albatross Center

Otago Peninsula campout: Portobello

The Catlins

Purakaunui

Purakaunui Falls

Moeraki Boulders

We arrived on the evening on the 15th of Feb. to Treehugger Organics to spend a week working on their farm. As soon as we arrived, Nate, the would-be host, told us he had unfortunately no room for us. It was a little bit of a downer at first but we realized how little time we had left for this trip in ratio to all the things we wanted to do and see. So, it turned out to be positive news, and he invited us to stay for dinner and we camped out in the van on his property. The wwoofer's there were very nice and Clare chatted up with one in particular about sites to see on the South and North Island... Moeraki boulders, The Caitlins, Fiordland, Milford Sounds, Queenstown, Central Otago, the western coast of the South Island, Abel Tasman, Nelson... (that's just the south island).

Moeraki Boulder close up

Another hair stick to add to the collection

We ate at Fleur's Place. A must do!

Thai crab cakes

Clare's hot pot of fresh fish

Akaroa, a wee bit french

We had another WWoofing job set up in Timaru on the evening 15th of February. On the drive south we stopped in Christchurch to pick up our car registration that had come in the mail there. It happened to be Valentine's day and spent the evening with Solveig and Shippy (sorry if I'm spelling it wrong). We watched chick flicks -- Sliding Doors with Gwyneth Paltrow and Chocolat with Juliette Binoche -- and drank pink wine. The next morning Clare and I drove to the Akaroa, a coastal provincial town southwest of Christchurch. It was a SLEEPY little town but we found a gorgeous place (below) to take a hike. We lucked out because it was low tide and were able to trek around the beaches. As we climbed further onto the giant rock, the scenery changed to meadow then lush forest. We saw a bird perched in the trees that looked like a peacock had an affair with a pigeon. We didn't know what to make of it.







We cruised out of Akaroa and stopped at a general store in Dunsandel. By the way we had almost just run out of gas but luckily a couple to road bikers steered us to a petrol/diesel station. We were in high spirits and I had read about this store and it's famous apple cider back at Gill and Graham's place. We shared the Camla cider, which was hands down our favorite. (We had been tasting quite a few ciders lately.) And a tasty frittata. Clare was stoked because it was gluten & dairy free so she wrote down the ingredients to recreate later: corn, red bell pepper (capsicum in NZ), sweet potato (kumara in NZ), potato, parsley.

The Dunsandel Store

Camla cider made from Kingston Black and Sweet Alford apples

Picton and Johanneshof

Over the weekend, Graham and Gill said to feel free and explore. We did the morning chores and then I headed to the local library for a skype interview with Pratt. I came back to the house and picked up Clare. There was the big annual Marlborough Wine Festival going on that day but we decided to do our own wine-tasting festival. We managed about 5 or 6 and split the tastings everywhere we went. We started at Cloudy Bay, the most bougie of the spots and we weren't impressed with their wines, except maybe for their bubbles. We also tasted at Fromm, a tiny German style winery. We bought a bottle of the off-dry Riesling because it was not so sour and we liked the packaging; it came in a skinny teal bottle.

We had a good time at Te Whare Ra and Nautilus but I think my favorite was Seresin. A biodynamic vineyard and winery. If you ever visit Bonny Doon Winery in Santa Cruz, they have a good explanation of biodynamics. It's a sustainable method of agriculture based on the interrelations of soil, plants, animals and the astronomical calendar. One practices involves burying a cow horn filled with compost in the winter and retrieving it in spring.

After the tasting room associate explained the details of wines and the philospohy of Seresin, I went over to the olive oil tasting area. They had four delicious kinds, lemon, orange, lime and regular. I couldn't decide so Clare helped me pick. The lemon won and I've been putting it on everything lately... I even cook scramble eggs with it, it's amazing.



Seresin vines

Later that evening we went out to town and everyone from the earlier wine festival that wanted to keep the party rolling was out and about. There was music trickling out of Cornerstone pub so we went in and had a cider. We serendipitously met our neighbors, Carolyn and Matt, there and because we hitch-hiked into town and we got a ride home with them. They were great and had two kids that we met the following day, Summer and Wade.

Sunday was a little bit of a slow start. We went to the local farmer's market, Clare bought some goat cheese and I got a dose of caffeine. Afterward we drove up to Picton for a hike. It's a beautiful harbor village. This is where one would take the ferry to the North Island. We found a market and had a picnic of smoked salmon with the goat cheese... yum. On the way back home, we stopped at Johanneshof winery. Another German style winery but so quaint and remote from the commercialism of the Marlborough region. The winemaker poured for us and we chatted with him for over an hour, about turquoise, wine, long hair and places to visit. We bought a bottle for Ruth to thank her (we were going through Christchurch again on our way to the Catlins) and one for ourselves.

Picton

Johanneshof vines

That night we walked over to Carolyn and Matt's to return the torch they lent us the previous evening. Their kids, Summer and Wade roped us into the grand trampoline and we were invited to stay for dinner: burgers! The kiwi burger tradition is close to my heart. It can involve a number of accoutrements, but the classic is beetroot and a fried egg.

Summer borrowing Clare's camera

Wade and Clare on the trampoline!