Drive left, look right; best pies in NZ; wine tasting & Monkey Wizard & the Savvy Blonde
Tues. Nov. 8, 2011
We managed to leave Picton w/o getting lost! Ian & Paula were great hosts at the Gables, excellent brekki & we left w/our special muffins (more later on this subject). We drove the winding narrow Queen Charlotte Coastal Hwy. on the left side of the road which is always a treat & doubly so w/ this type of road. Stopping frequently for photo ops we made an important stop at the Pelorus Bridge Cafe near Havelock. We bought a wild rabbit, chicken & Camembert, wild boar & apple & cinnamon pies-per Ian supposedly the best in NZ. We'll report our findings tomorrow. We stopped in Nelson at 2 for lunch at Fords. Had grilled tarakihi fish w/spring vegetable risotto & local Nelson seared fresh scallops. We washed them down, as any civilized people would do with a '11 Ned Pinot Gris & '10 Anchorage Reisling both from the Nelson area. Just south we stopped to taste wine at Rimu Vineyards & visited with the vineyard manager & his cooper, Jurgen. After tasting 8 wines we meandered over to Neudorf Vineyards. Rosie, the owner's daughter poured for us & told us about design school in Welly & let us close down their tasting room for the day. After passing fields of dairy cattle & sheep & taking some pics we came upon the soon to be famous Monkey Wizard Brewery where Tracy got to try a beer named especially for her-Savvy Blonde. Back in the car again & not feeling any pain, the sun shining & everything was right with the world we headed for Marahau & our lodging the Ocean View Chalets. Of course we had an economy studio-hey save those coins for food & buying wine. We were told to use lots of bug spray as the sand flies are supposed to be more persistent than a woman trying to get you to do honey do lists around the house. Pesky! We wandered down to the Park Cafe & had some more fresh scallops & Green lipped mussels for dinner. Tracy had a knock down drag out fight with a large spider in the shower while I hid in the bedroom. She eventually won & now it's time to rest up for our adventures in Abel Tasman Nat. Park tomorrow.
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