Bannockburn

There's lots to see at Bannockburn, a gold mining district not far from Cromwell in Central Otago.

There seem to be a lot of vineyards in this area, but the only one we could not pass by on this trip was Mt Difficulty. Their Pinot Noir has always been a favourite of ours, and here was a chance to taste some more of their repertoire.

Roaring Meg is one of Mt Difficulty's labels. They use wine from grapes grown outside of the Bannockburn region for this label.

Mt Difficulty's cellar door was incredibly busy. If there was any disappointment at all to mention, it would be this. There were people everywhere, both tasting and arriving at the restaurant. Usually wine tasting is a very relaxed event with lots of opportunity to chat with whoever is serving. Maybe it was just me, but I did feel a bit rushed. And cramped. Nevertheless, their wines did not disappoint.

The Sauvignon Blanc was our least favourite—or we would have snapped up this bargain!

When we first arrived at Mt Difficulty, we noticed these cliffs and chunks of land that just seemed to be pushed up out of the ground. We wondered what had caused this. The lovely lady who served us our wine tastings advised that the land was this way due to mining. Sluicing has worn away the soil. She told us that Bannockburn has a very low rainfall—hence it's reputation as a little desert—or the rain would have since had a detrimental effect on these remnants. We discovered we could travel along the road a little way and see this place a little closer at the "Bannockburn Sluicings".

There is a self-guided track and you could spend a couple of hours exploring here. We didn't go far.

In some places, the ground had these pretty schist-like sparkly rocks/stones in piles. The growth on the ground is a wild rosemary which smelt delicious to walk on!

Then there was this beautiful Californian Poppy in a few places. They thrive in poor sandy and stony soils and love the hot and dry. Perfect conditions here for them.

Recycling what looks like old sluicing pipes. Here they're used as barriers along the entrance way.

The Clyde

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Waipara Wines

Waipara Valley is an area in North Canterbury well known for its wines. We visited four of the local wineries while we were in the area.

Terrace Edge was the first.

The wine I enjoyed most from this place was Albarino—a white wine (that I'd never heard of before) produced from a Spanish grape variety.

Georges Road was the next on Dave's list.

They're not open to the public yet, so not easy to find. Dave rang first and was given directions. There were no signs at the gate—the picture above was part way into their property.

Their Rosé was great, and the Riesling was absolutely fabulous. We enjoyed their Syrah as well.

And met this cutie!

Pegasus Bay was a magnificent place.

Lots of trees—beautiful grounds.

Once again, the Riesling won the day.

Lastly, we stopped in at Waipara Hills on the way home.

Another magnificent place, and a range of lovely wines.

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Kaikoura to Waipara

Travelling south from Kaikoura, there are still a lot of roadworks where the roads were affected by the earthquake. Mostly slips. At this one we had to sit for some time as we waited to be allowed through. You can see the black mesh/material up high to the right where they are trying to secure the cliff face and stop more crumbling away. In the distance at the front of the line, just by the tunnel, was a man in a cherry picker (scissor lift?).

This man was doing something to the cliff face. It looked like he might have been pounding some sort of anchors into the rock. If you know, please make a comment below and enlighten us all!

Here's a closer pic.

While we waited, we were entertained by this seal playing and sunning itself in the water.

Finally, we got to drive through the tunnel.

Helicopters were flying in various supplies to the workers at the top of the cliff.

Further along the road, more signs of slips.

Another one-way section—stop-go—traffic was allowed through the right tunnel only.

We stayed the next few nights at Torlesse Winery in Waipara. What a fabulous place, (an NZMCA Park Over Property), with wonderful hosts—Kym and Maggie Rayner. We enjoyed tasting their wines while we were there, but even more enjoyable was having the pleasure of Maggie's company in our rig on the night before we left. We had a great chat over a bottle of their Albarino, a delicious white wine from a Spanish grape. They have two brands here: Torlesse and Omihi Road.

Another bonus: the night we arrived, another van pulled up and out stepped an old work colleague I'd not seen for over ten years! Kim and Selwyn were on their way to Christchurch where their sons were competing with remote-controlled race cars.

I regret not taking more photos here at Torlesse. I was obviously too relaxed and just enjoying the place! :) We will definitely be back.

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