We’re starting to make our way back south. It’s a five-hour drive from Kaikoura to Oamaru. On our way, Karine planned two stops in local wineries so we can stock up for apéro until we fly to Christchurch. We’ve learned we can fly with a case of wine as carry-on (as long as the case's dimensions fall within Air New Zealand's guidelines), but we like travelling unencumbered. In any case, we had two wine tasting experiences that could not be more dissimilar. First, we stopped at the Black Estate. They have a truly excellent restaurant and make biodynamic wines (two big keywords in our world). Karine even had the chance to try their rosé, even though it’s not officially on the tasting list. It’s a good thing too as Karine ended up buying it.
A further 2 hours’ drive from the previous winery, we stopped at the CharRee winery. A couple of charming dairy delivery people holds it. For some reason, they’ve operated a milk delivery business for 40 years, then decided to get into wine, and have been doing both for the past 10 years. When we got there, we expected, as with other wineries we’ve visited, to be led to a building dedicated to tasting and selling wine. Not in this family business! We were welcomed into the owners' house, where the wife had us at her dining table to taste the wine. It allowed us to get great details on how the wine was made. For example, one of the wine that was offered to us came from a bad seasons where they were afraid that the fruit would not ripen in time due to weather so they decided to cut half of the fruit so the vines could dedicate more of their energy ripening the remaining half just for the weather to change and the grappes to ripen a bit too fast. It did offset some of our discomfort at being in the owners’ house, but not by much. Still, we left with a sparkling wine (that, the owner recounted testing the grape mix using a SodaStream) and a white wine.
At the end of our five-hour drive, we got to Oamaru. As Kaikoura is known for whales, the main attraction here is penguins. Pretty much the only thing to do in the small town is to come and see a colony of blue penguins make their way back to their nests at sundown. We tried what we were told was the best restaurant in town, but got quite disappointing fish and chips. I’ve got the feeling that the New Zealand gastronomy we’ve come to expect from larger cities has not reached towns like Oamaru.
In any case, watching penguins return to their nests is a worthwhile experience. We’ve probably all seen penguins walking on TV, but it’s not the same in real life. It’s one where you had to be there.
Now, for parents of young children, I need to give a warning. Watching penguins, like watching glow worms or going to the theatre, it is a quiet experience. It’s stated upfront when you visit the place. If you know your kid is unlikely to be able to be quiet for 2 hours in a row, then do not come or do not bring your child. If, despite your preparation, your child grows bored, hungry, or impatient, please don’t wait 30 minutes just in case he/she calm down. We’re trying to observe the birds without scaring the crap out of them. While your child’s cries may not scare you, they will scare the birds. I understand you’ve paid money for this experience, but see it as a risk you took and know you’re still supporting the penguins even if you leave.
We couldn’t take pictures of the penguins retuning and since most of our day was spent driving there are fewer pictures.
