Martinborough is a tiny town in the South Wairarapa outside of Wellington. Small in size but big on wine, especially Pinot Noir.
We stayed in Bliss cottage, steps away from town square:
Autumn is my favorite season and this place did not disappoint:
Why drive to wineries when you can bike there?
Our designated rider:
One morning we drove out to Cape Palliser, about an hour outside of town.
It's no wonder New Zealand, called Aotearoa in Maori, is "the land of the long white cloud"
Our destination- Cape Palliser Lighthouse:
The 251 steps to the top:
It was windy up there:
But worth it:
What goes up must come down:
And what trip to a lighthouse is complete without some seaside seals:
Other highlights include lunch at Bar Salute in Greytown and a stop at Schoc Chocolates. Gourmet. Handmade. Delicious. And most importantly -free samples.
Also lots of meals at Café Medici. Man that place was good. We got a local girl to babysit one night so we could hit the town, this really just meant eating dinner outside of home and later then 5:30pm. Woot woot.
I actually got another accidental night out as the first evening we were there I went to pick up dinner from the local pub for us and stumbled upon the first quiz night of the season. I stayed to eat dinner at the bar and to win it all. Just kidding I won nothing, but it was fun. Spontaneity is pretty much lost after having a kid so I appreciate such moments when they present themselves.
Wine, seals, and bike rides. Martinborough was definitely a great place to spend a low key, relaxing weekend.
The views are fantastic and the experiences sound even better, but as a grandpa to the little girl named Hazel, I was most impressed by the look on her face as her dad was preparing to get her on the cycle. My caption would read "I know he's my daddy, but can I trust him?"
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