Wairapa and Gravity Defiance

Today we took a journey to the wine-loving land of Wairapa. After an early wake-up, we were greeted by a nice coach bus, which brought us through the narrow and winding mountain roads to Wairapa for a day of wine tasting.



The first destination was Te Kairanga where we were debriefed on how to taste wine and given a good collection of wines to try. After a little while there, we headed out and into Martinborough to get some lunch in our stomachs.

Katie, Chris, and I ate at a nice place called Saluté. While we were worried about timing since we only had 30 minutes to order, get our food, and eat it, we decided to order anyways, and what a great decision. The steak sandwich I got was absolutely incredible. Tender steak topped with aioli and garlic bread crusts, stacked on a salad with spinach, green beans, and peppers. It was so good I was sorry I had to eat it so quickly. Besides the lasagna at Scopa, it’s the best food I’ve had here so far.



But then since we were running late we had to get to the bus. I lost my eyepiece on my camera as well. Not the end of the world.

After we got on the bus we headed out to the next vineyard Evan Estates, where we were actually given a quick tour. Katie and I snagged a couple grapes and were convinced they should sell vineyard grapes in the supermarket. We then headed down to the main office area where we were able to try a few more kinds of wine – Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, and Pinot Noir.



Then it was into some other small town for another quick break. I got an ice cream. It wasn’t very good, but I didn’t expect much from a frozen supermarket cone.

Then it was back onto the bus to head home. I started reading some more of The Life of Pi, then passed out.

Once we got home, I uploaded photos and edited them. Then I made myself some nachos for dinner, was still starving, so ate two sandwiches. Then we decided to go down to the free show in Civic Square, Gravity and Other Myths which turned out to be a great idea. Very impressive aerial stuff, including a finale with lots of fire and a guy spinning around about 15 feet in the air on a burning rope. See the pictures below.




Now it’s 11, and I have to be up at 6:30 to photograph the triathlon championships on the waterfront. I’ll probably head to bed pretty soon. I hope you enjoyed the pictures and the story of my day.