We spent a couple of nights in Whanganui (pronounced Far-nga-nui ) and Paraparaumu to break up the drive between Waitomo and Martinborough. These days comprised of nice walks, new coffee spots, black sand beaches and a top tier sunset, but fundamentally less to write home about so we’ve skimmed over it. See it, say it, sorted.
I know we keep saying this, but the drive to Martinborough was the wildest yet. Miles of winding narrow roads with big boi elevation and sheer drops. Fun to drive but no time to glance away from the road at the scenery (that’s Grace’s job).
In 1879 John Martin, a wealthy local runholder, purchased land and founded a new town, modestly naming it after himself, Martinborough (nice and creative). As we drove in, all we could see in every direction was flat land which made quite a change from the mountain roads. The town centre’s road system has been purpose built in the shape of the union jack (aged well…). The land used to be a Maori village but was overtaken by settlers. With around 2000 residents, Martinborough’s central square feels bizarre…like you’re in a bit of a time warp. There’s one of everything: one shop, one bar, one hairdressers, one butchers although – shock – a few trendy coffee shops. Each had the exact stereotypes for owners that you’d imagine.
The area is dubbed one of New Zealand’s best wine regions, famous for its pinot noir. The Marlborough of the North Island if you will? The mission brief was clear: armed with a tandem bike and two pairs of crocs, drink as much wine in as many wineries as possible in one afternoon. There are around 18 vineyards, all within a short cycle of each other – would make for an absolutely disastrous pub crawl. We opted for a combination of wine tastings and flights, notable stops included Poppies, Moy Hall and Colombo.
There seemed to be a correlation between volume of fermented grape juice consumed and confidence on the tandem bike. The following text is an original iPhone notes page extract (Mitchell, G. et al 2024):
Poppies Winery (First Winery)
- Rose ’23: The only wine they sell & distribute to restaurants.
- Savignon Semillion: Latter adds to the sharp former. 70% sav, 30% sem, 100% peng.
- Chardonnay: Barrelled in oak, aged in oak. 20% new oak barrels, then aged in older (neutral) oak barrels. Grace’s fave.
- Pinot Gris: Sweet treat, more sugars.
- Late Harvest Riesling: Really sweet and citrusy. Maybe my fave, but a one and done jobby, a v sweet boi.
Moy Hall (Last Winery)
- Sauvignon Blanc: Bitter, bit sharp? G not a fan. ‘Tastes fuzzy’
- Young Vine Rose: ‘Yeah, better than last one’ Didn’t touch the sides, Az not a fan ‘i’m not a rose man tbh’
- Riversdale Pinot Noir: Neither of us can explain why, but not the nicest. Tastes earthy, is that a wine trait?
- Terrace Pinot Noir: Don’t know, don’t really care. Honestly could have been the same wine as previous and wouldn’t have known, both drunk.
After a questionable dip in what Az called a “beautiful” spot under a motorway bridge (we were the only ones around), we had to skrrt our way back down a 70mph road with no bike lane in our wet swimming stuff. Cheap thrills – cut me and I bleed red, white and rosè.
Welsh Rare-bits 
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