The weather forecast for the day was mixed with some rain expected so after completing a few work and admin items we convened a full meeting of the management committee to discuss potential action. After an often heated debate, there was a unanimous decision to visit Lake Dunstan, some vineyards and possibly have lunch at Mount Difficulty.
Having driven down the western shore of Lake Dunstan, we found ourselves back in Cromwell where we stayed in the camper van and then drove through to one of the major wine areas, Bannockburn situated in the hills overlooking Cromwell. Great disappointment! As we approached the Mount Difficulty vineyard, it was clear from the car park that they were very busy and our assumption that being a Monday, they would be quiet was entirely misconceived. The restaurant was heaving and there was even a wine tour stopping for lunch so nothing available until 14:30. The LLW was not amused but luckily Ray spotted a small, very unpretentious cafe in Bannockburn village which turned out to be very good so as they say in W1A "its all good then".
On to one of our favourite Central Otago vineyards that of Wooing Tree just outside Cromwell. The lady who served us was born in Worthing and later lived in Ashington. The aforementioned wine tour had followed us here so Wooing Tree was also very busy.
Also on the agenda was a visit to the fruit growers. The area around Cromwell is (along with the Bay of Plenty, which is well named in agricultural terms) probably the stone fruit growing capital of NZ. As always the LLW was determined to ensure her 5 a day and we, of course, had to stop at Jackson's which seems to operate as a kind of cooperative for fruit growers. They operate from a very large shed at the side of the Cromwell/Wanaka road and fruit sorting machines are prominent, mainly manned by gap year students as far as I could see. The Jacksons bought lovely apricots, grown in Newcastle from Jackson's. How cool is that?
Also on the agenda was a visit to the fruit growers. The area around Cromwell is (along with the Bay of Plenty, which is well named in agricultural terms) probably the stone fruit growing capital of NZ. As always the LLW was determined to ensure her 5 a day and we, of course, had to stop at Jackson's which seems to operate as a kind of cooperative for fruit growers. They operate from a very large shed at the side of the Cromwell/Wanaka road and fruit sorting machines are prominent, mainly manned by gap year students as far as I could see. The Jacksons bought lovely apricots, grown in Newcastle from Jackson's. How cool is that?
Back to Wanaka and a cup of tea back at the apartment allowed us to watch the end of an extraordinary test match between New Zealand and Bangladesh in Wellington. Having scored 595 for 8 declared in the first innings, Bangladesh managed to lose by 7 wickets!
By now the wind was really fierce and as we walked back into the town it was clear that this was perfect weather for experienced kite and wind surfers. A few provisions secured and we fought our way back into the headwind to Edgewater. Apart from the wind, which is very hard to ignore, the weather had been much better than forecast.
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