Mystery Getaway

 We were a little bit disappointed when we found out on Friday that we were headed to Dunedin rather than a warming spa retreat in Hanmer Springs, but as it turned out it was a very relaxing break, and it was great to catch up with family in between sightseeing, rather than go somewhere where we didn't know any-one.

We took the togs out of the bag, and were all packed up on Sunday night as we had the early flight out at 6.30am. Of course we were wide awake well before the alarm went off, so we went on down to the airport early as we had to get all the info posted to our phone app for Air New Zealand. We arrived in Dunedin just after 10am, and got our rental car which was part of the deal and headed off to Kaka Point. 

Jill had their cute little pellet fire going, and had made vege soup in broth that she had made using beef bones herself. I thought she looked very fetching in this top.

Then it was down to the beach for a walk in the sunshine. It was low tide, and a group of people were down by the rocks gathering something - maybe seaweed or muscles. I love a good rock pool investigation, and this large, well padded starfish took my eye.

Then we drove back to Dunedin - nippy Corolla hybrid, to our hotel. I was rushing around trying to find out where we would be able to see the Aurora, but Jill sent us an app which registered 0 for all the time we were there just about. It went up to 2 at one stage which was "can not be seen with the naked eye, may be visible through a sophisticated camera" We went to a turkish restaurant that night.

Next morning, Tuesday 14th May, we went for a walk down the main street of Dunedin. This was after an absolutely splendid breakfast at the hotel. Every morning it was a highlight.  A couple of streets are now pedestrian friendly, and there is an attempt to reflect the stories of Dunedin.

Like Duncan on the canoe shaped seesaw, or a beautiful bird life mural:

We popped into the mall for a coffee and saw these very elegant sculptures of the albatross above us.

Then it was onto the Art Gallery, which is always worth a visit. They were just redoing the upstairs exhibit, so we were content with the Otago Artists exhibition.

This one really caught my eye. The baby in the first painting is the mother in the second, and the mother in the third painting is the artist whose child is named after the baby and mother in the previous two.

This was huge, and a lovely depiction of the Dunedin Harbour.

We drove down to the esplanade and had a small lunch at Starfish. There were a few brave surfies out there - full wetsuits from head to toe. It looked gorgeous.

Duncan has been making good use of the gym. I thought a might join him, but then I thought better of it. So we had time to watch most of the news before we met Alex and Ella at the Speights Ale House.

Alex chose Bangers and Mash

I thought I was getting a small meal - but no room left for dessert.

Wednesday:

We headed off to Winton which is just north of Invercargill, going down by Mataura, and back via Gore - just a bit over 2 hours each way. Norman (Duncan's cousin) and Glenys are about the same age as us, so we had lots in common. They sold their farm some years ago - but farmers do find it hard to downsize, so they still have quite a bit of land.

The lounge was lovely and warm, and through the gap in the poplars you could just see a snow capped mountain range.

They have created a small lake down here - but big enough for a rowing boat, and plenty of birdlife. We had a lovely lunch and a chat - but they were on duty to pick up their grandson, so we left about 2.30. That night we just went to the hotel bar and grill for a meal.

Time to pack up, and we decided to investigate the retirement villages in Mosgiel, just so this would help us make up our minds when we finally do sell - whether we buy a normal house, or a unit, or stay in Gisborne or move south. The jury is still out on this verdict. We went to three - one where you own the building, not just the right to occupy, which is very new and probably out of our price range. The second one seems very large and very crowded. The third one was very nice and had views of the hills, was near the golf course, but the dementia wing was a separate facility. It seems almost mandatory to have a dementia wing these days!!

We were very early out to the Koru club at the airport, but the flights back were good - even though it was  just after 8pm.

A wonderful Break away.

On the wine tour

 Thursday 28th September 2023

The Woolshed (which I keep calling the Sheepshed) is providing very suitable accommodation, and we are able to walk down to join our wine tour with our very wine savvy guide Patrick. He is a middle-aged man - and I suspect he might own the company. We are joined by two other couples and head off for coffee (and tea) while Patrick asks us about our wine preferences and knowledge. There's even a bit of a quiz!!

John, Susanna and Lennon

Our first Winery is Derwent Wines. They had a helpful sheet. provided nibbles and water, so top marks to this winery. However, with the prices ranging from $40 to $99, none of these wines really stood out as a star - we had been hoping for great things from the Pinot Noir, as it is a cold climate grape growing.

The thing I find most different about the landscape is all the rolling hills, not like most of NZ

Looks good for grapegrowing

The estuary of the Derwent River gives a stunning view. In fact I'm surprised that Tasmania hold together with how far the estuaries of many rivers comes inland.

Jackie worked at NAB as a financial adviser, John freely admits he doesn't remember much these days. "But what did you do?" I asked. Oh, a bit  of this and a bit of that. Engineering - adds Jackie. Susanna is working at a pet shop while she completes her vet nurse qualifications and Lennon shyly admits to "Admin" which on further questioning we think is "Working in a call centre" We admit to optometrist and teacher, rather than 29year grapegrowers at this stage.

The next winery is Stefano Lubiana. They are biodynamic, and we have 11 wines to sample. Very pleased to see one is a 2019 Pinot Noir, as it is nice to sample an aged wine. The rather posh, up-her-self lady poured us a splash, and  Duncan and I looked at each other. "This is not a 2019 wine" we declared. "Oh yes, We had to change that last week, no, its 2022 and we've just bottled it." NOT a wine we really wanted to try.

And no, we could not afford any of the wines from Stefano Lubiana, but very elegant surrounds and obviously very prestigious.

We head to Richmond for a late lunch, close to the Derwent River. People say that Tasmania is a bit like NZ, but for me, the rolling hills and the stone cottages reminded me more of England.

After lunch we headed out to our chocolate and wine combination tasting at Every Man and his Dog.

Patrick, our guide, and "The Dog"

The first chocolate was citrus flavours, served with a Sauvignon Blanc, the second one was pineapple and lychee flavours, served with a pinot gris. The Rose was with strawberry and rosewater flavours, but the star of the show was the Pinot Noir with the rich summer berries compote inside. The square of chocolate in front was to stop us eating the flavoured chocolates while she poured the wines. Very Wise.

They now source their chocolate ethically, and she gave us an interesting short talk on the chocolate process - this is a ceramic example of the cacao pod which they are not allowed to import into Australia.

Our last vineyard was the oldest one in Tasmania.

The owner had been a business magnate of some kind, and was  now happy to spend his time chatting to a small eclectic group of people with a glass of wine or two. Susanna is now drinking quite freely - and becoming a little clumsy. Lennon, who has been so shy all day, is now venturing opinions on which wines he likes best. Barry, the owner, looked like he had settled in for a session. So it was quite late when we trundled back into Hobart.

We went to the "OLDEST PUB" for a light dinner.

There was a nearly full glass of wine on the table which fooled the wait staff into thinking we had been served. They had run out of all my choices, so I opted for a garlic bun and a glass of chardonnay - which I swear was watered down. Hospitality in Hobart is struggling a bit. Shame they couldn't have learned to cook since 1807.

But the clear sky and moon rising by the gas works was an unexpected delight on our walk home.

Actually we drank a bit more than one.

 

Grandies on the loose

 After a bit of a tidy-up, and some fond farewells Duncan and I took an uber to the Central Bus Station. As our plane didn't leave until much later in the day so we decided to store our suitcases in the luggage storage area, and head out on the town. We had a few "techno" issues with the locker, caused by me letting the door bang shut before the suitcase was in there, but nothing that reading the instructions couldn't solve.

We walked down to the dockside area, and down by the Yarra River. (I just have to trust Duncan when it comes to directions.)

Skyscrapers, right down to the water's edge.
Really, Melbourne, it looks very pretty, but is it safe??

Cow up a tree is based on real life after flooding. It is made of Bronze, painted. It has been likened to the paper mache
Cows which were used to disguise airfields during the second world war. (It didn't work).

Above:
Marvel Stadium is for AFL football and entertainment.

It was getting very cold now, due to a very strong wind, so we decided to get the circular tram which should leave every 15 minutes for a tour of the city. After 25 minutes it never came, so we hopped on any old train and headed for Central station. had a nice lunch at a cafe nearby, and took the airport bus with plenty of time to spare.

Watched them building these skyscrapers while we waited.
I wished I had a wooly hat.

Quick flight to Hobart, and we grab a sky bus to our hotel, where we have a lovely room and dinner at the restaurant.

Market Day

 Next day we set off to the Victoria Markets with the kids while Jackie and Simon dealt with a shower head which had broken. 

Not sure what the nubbly things in front were.

Melbourne has quite an ethnically diverse population, so quite a colourful range of people doing there daily shopping. One lady tagged along with us for a bit. Maybe this was because the kids had persuaded us to buy 6 for $6 - donuts! Maybe she thought there would be a spare??? The big surprise for me was 1doz eggs - $4!!!!! Claudia wanted to buy many things, but we finally settled on a large butterfly clip which meant a bit of hairdressing when we returned home later that day.

Girls will be girls!

Simon and Jackie caught up with us at the market and then we hopped on the free tram and headed to the mall next to the Shot Tower. This is where they would drop a small amount of molten lead from a great height into water, and the droplet because near spherical and could be used in a musket.

It is housed in a spectacular glass dome.

There was also a clock which had a whole lot of doves appear and coo on the hour. I had given Claudia my old camera and she took a few pictures which I hope she has written pithy captions to.

Showing her Mum her shots.

Finally we ended up in the food hall, but Theo had still not bought anything. Time for Jackie and me to take over! Linen shirt, shorts and a tshirt were purchased.

Back home to have a rest before heading out to the popular Restaurant area, Lygon Street. In the past it has been mainly Greek and Italian, but lots of other nationalities starting up now. But we chose Italian.

Decisions, decisions..

Then it was off to have a Gelato to finish off with.

Theo's  new shorts and shirt. The singlet shirt is underneath, the puffer jacket and the size 13 Air Jordans  were previous buys.

Shop till you drop.

 With the time difference it was before lunch when we arrived, so once we settled in it was off to go shopping. Simon and Jackie arrived a couple of days before us and caught up with her brother Zane and partner Amelia, and went to an animation art gallery which was interactive.

I was in the girls team, while  Duncan and Teddy were in the Boys team. I don't need to tell you who were the best shoppers.

The Smiggles shop FOR ONE ITEM ONLY.  A small book and pen.

The hat was bought at the markets on the previous day and if you squeezed its hands the ears went up.

Kind passerby took this shot.

Cotton On. Jeans, T Shirt and boots.

I was very pleased with these purchases as the total came through at NZ$42-75. But I guess we had to hunt through things as the sizes, colours and styles were a real mish mash.

A real mod chick now!

The next shop was pretty pricey in comparison - the Lindt Chocolate shop where we picked up a dozen!

The Boys team, on the other hand was only able to pick up a pair of shoes for Grandad!

Teddy bought the cap at the market on the previous day.
But no purchases today.

Jackie and Simon had walked in, while the kids and us got an uber, and we had planned to do the same on the way home, but as we exited the mall we saw a taxi-van, and all piled in. It gave Duncan and I a bit of a time to rest, while Simon whipped up a delicious chicken Caesar Salad for tea.

Nutcracker 2023

 After Duncan had refereed a game of golf, we set off on Saturday 23rd September to the Nutcrackers in Auckland. We had packed the car up on the friday.

We wont be able to get them all in the car next year!

We had to stay the night in Opotiki, but at least it was a start to our trip, and we managed to get the Nuts up to the Cracker, Whynut? out at Bethels beach by about 2.30 in the afternoon.  Sue and John were greatly relieved that they had 3 of the 4 WOOFERS (Workers On Organic Farms) from the previous year. We are  anticipating that the nuts won't be quite as good as last year 
We then headed back to the Heartland, where you can park your car for $8 a day, so long as you stay a night at each end of your trip, and had dinner in the restaurant. We wanted to be away by 6.30am in the morning. The airport was reasonably chaotic.

Jam-packed plane to Melbourne, and we got the bus from the airport to the city centre, then an uber to the Air BnB that Simon had organised. It was once a pretty,  traditional inner city apartment, but I suspect the owner is just waiting for  a good offer  for some inner city development.

The view from our window indicating what the neighbouring buildings are like.

Our doorway is on the left.

There is an upstairs lounge, as well as two bedrooms and the kids were very kind to give up their beds and sleep on a folding out couch.

Melbourne seems to be a city of skyscrapers.

On the way in from the airport we saw a lot of construction. Or this may be an art work?