Have Bike, Will Travel

A Relaxed Sunday Scene

Oxford Village

North Canterbury

February 2010. Ajr

A Day at the Market

A friend and I drove out to the little North Canterbury village of Oxford today. It sits about 45 minutes northwest of Christchurch and has become a favourite destination for many. Much of this was triggered by the arrival of well known New Zealand foodie, Jo Seagar, who shifted south from Auckland and set up a cafe, cooking school and kitchen shop about three years ago. Since then, the village has blossomed and numerous new businesses have opened. There's also the Oxford Farmers' Market, which is held every Sunday from 9am.

There weren't as many farmers' market stalls as I expected, but the quality of product on most was excellent and as locals and visitors alike, gathered to pick over the best, I was in photographic heaven. The German baker had a queue a mile long - especially for delicacies like his baked cherry quark cheesecake (which, may I add, makes for a tasty, indulgent breakfast); likewise the Dutch bakers, who delighted the crowds with custard-cream filled bee stings.....amazing flat cakes dusted in a shower of icing sugar, which do have an enormous Dutch name but appear to have somehow adopted this strange name, bee stings.

After the market, we wandered into the old town hall - an architectural treat in its own right (I'll feature some of the unique village buildings in another post), where the local women were staging the monthly craft market. It was like stepping back into the 1950s and as much as I yearned to take photographs, it somehow didn't seem appropriate. There's no getting away from the fact that it was a mixed bag - everything from skin-creepingly ugly crocheted toilet roll holders, to exquisite hand-knitted baby cklothes and soft toys selling for ridiculously cheap prices. There was even a good old-fashioned cake stall, run by a little grey-haired lady who took a very particular pride in her baked goods. I was tempted to ask her what she thought of all the fancy foreign baked goods at the next door Farmers' Market but I didn't - and now of course, I wish I had. Another time perhaps. www.oxfordnewzealand.co.nz

Winning Waipara Wines

Fantastic food and wine, passionate people and great landscapes are all the encouragement I need to head up to North Canterbury. Just 45 minutes north of Christchurch and you’re right in the heart of Waipara Wine Region - one of the fastest growing wine areas in New Zealand. There are over eighty vineyards in the region now covering over 1,500 hectares - all flourishing in a pretty valley of rolling green slopes and marching vines, backed by the gentle slope of the Teviotdale Hills.

On a recent jaunt north, we stopped for lunch and wine tasting at The Mud House Winery & Cafe. This gigantic winery, just off the main highway, sprang to life several years ago when a wealthy American decided to create the largest winery in the region. It’s under new ownership now and has recently been remodeled to create a much more pleasing interior and garden dining area – just the place to while away a hot, sunny afternoon before returning to the city.

The Mud House has a diverse selection of award-winning wines, bottled as Mud House and Waipara Hills, using grapes from their three regional vineyards in Marlborough, Waipara and Central Otago. The Waipara Hills vineyard covers 550 hectares and spreads out from the enormous winery complex like a rumpled green tablecloth.

To my mind, no wine tasting is complete without food and at The Mud House you can indulge in everything from thick, delicious seafood chowder to salads and generous platters filled with a selection of meats, cheeses, pickles, dips, crackers and fresh breads. One of their menu highlights though are the Wild Pies. They’ve taken the meat from wild Canterbury venison, boar, mountain thar and wild goats and created flavour-filled stews incorporating their wines and topped with golden pastry; and there’s a Kaikoura monkfish version for seafood lovers.

Wine appreciation tours at The Mud House run daily from 11am to 3pm. They include an inspection of the winery, wine tasting and a walk through the vines. This in turn includes an introduction to the Greening Waipara project, which aims to build biodiversity back into the wine experience throughout the region. The project ultimately aims to re-plant native trees particular to the region and to encourage environmentally-friendly practices to reduce reliance on herbicides and pesticides. Wetlands, swales, shelter belts, stream and pond edges and vineyard borders are all receiving ‘an ecological makeover.’

If you want to explore the wider Waipara Wine Region, you’ll find a good itinerary here and you can also pick up the excellent North Canterbury Food & Wine Trail brochure at information centres. www.mudhousewineryandcafe.co.nz

Down By The River

These picture-perfect shots, believe it or not, are of the Kaiapoi River, just north of Christchurch. Who knew Kaiapoi could look so pretty? Originally called the Cam River, it is a tributary of the much bigger and much more famous Waimakariri River. In the old days it was used to ferry goods in and out of the region. Today it's still a popular spot for leisure fisherman, who are usually hoping to catch a fat trout. On the day I visited for these photographs, there were a number of whitebaiters huddled along the river banks, basking in the sun as they waited for the tiny delicacies to swim into their nets.

Two Trips, Two Signs

I know our whitebait can be expensive but this is ridiculous.

I wonder if they forgot to put the fullstop after the number eight?

I spotted this sign in a window in the little village of Waikari, in inland North Canterbury

And this one on the roadside near Jackson, on the road to Greymouth. It's all the funnier when you know that a 'punga' is a New Zealand native tree fern.

Clearly there are multi-talented individuals in this part of the world, creating the ultimate one-stop-shop.

Limestone Country

North Canterbury Landscapes. Dec. 2008. Ajr

I had a wee bit of an adventure today – exploring the limestone country inland from Waipara and Waikari. I’d gone up to Hawarden, one and a half hours north-west of Christchurch for an interview and I decided to come home ‘the back way.’ This took me through beautiful, undulating farmland and on a grey, drizzly day everything was veiled in a fine mist that made everything seem even more remote. I say ‘remote’ because the trip took me well off the beaten track and after more than 30 kilometres of lonely, rutted, winding gravel roads, with not a human in sight, I began to wonder if I would ever see civilisation again. That’s always the danger of ‘back roads’ of course; but I was rewarded with some lovely atmospheric shots and the discovery of some fantastic limestone outcrops that I will return to another time – in fine weather perhaps.

Meat on a Stick

Spit Roast, Claremont Country Estate. May 2008. Ajr

You've gotta love those big country appetites!

Meat for kings.

Tender spit roasted prime Angus beef.

En Masse!

Photographed at yesterday's equestrian fund raiser.

At Claremont Country Estate.

www.claremont-estate.com

Opera at Claremont

Claremont Country estate. May 2008. Ajr

It was a perfect North Canterbury day to laze about under gigantic trees at Claremont Country Estate listening to Dame Malvina Major singing from some of her favourite operas. Factor in unbelievable quantities of tender barbecued meats, espresso, Waipara Valley wines, delectable sweet treats and a gigantic auction and you have the perfect fundraiser. All this in aid of local rider, Annabel Wigley, shortlisted for the New Zealand Olympic equestrian team. www.claremont-estate.com

Dinosaur Days

Limestone outcrops and fossils, Claremont Country Estate.

If you stay at Claremont Country Estate in the heart of North Canterbury’s limestone country (see previous post below), you’re in for a big surprise – a free 4WD journey of discovery that will take your breath away. The riverbeds of Claremont Estate are riddled with secrets – hidden pre-historic treasures and more ancient fossils than you can poke a stick at. This is where you can stroke a 60 million-year-old fossilised dinosaur bone on a river bank! There have been amazing discoveries here. In 1872 Alexander McKay discovered the fossilised remains of a Plesiosaur (now in Canterbury Museum); and in 2004, a one-metre Mosasaur skull was discovered. Over the years, more than 134 vertebrate remains have been removed from the property for study. I was most intrigued by the huge spherical boulders – ‘God’s Marbles’ – that are found along the banks of the Waipara River. These 65 million-year-old limestone spheres, 1-2 metres in diameter, have evolved around fragments of dinosaur bones and over a period of about 4 million years, have grown like pearls to the size they are today. Over 230 of them have been removed from Claremont and shipped to museums around the world. This tour was one of the most exciting things I’ve done – totally breathtaking and all very “Jurassic Park.” I half expected to walk around a limestone outcrop and come face to face with Sam Neill and a flock of Pterodactyls. With my imagination already in overdrive, perhaps it’s lucky I didn’t. www.claremont-estate.com

North Canterbury Comforts

Yesterday I had the pleasure of spending the day at Claremont Country Estate, in Waipara Gorge, one hour north of Christchurch. There, amid spectacular scenery, Richard and Rosie Goord have created a gorgeous intimate lodge in one of Canterbury’s notable country homesteads. Claremont, built in 1866 from hand cut limestone blocks quarried on the property, is listed with NZ Historic Places Trust (Cat.2). The Goords enlisted Christchurch architect, Stewart Ross to renovate and extend the property and today guests can sink into its sublime comforts, safe in the knowledge that their every whim will be catered to. Not surprisingly, highly regarded American hospitality critic, Andrew Harper named it his Grand Award Winner for New Zealand, 2008. With its wide, wisteria-clad verandahs, its big rooms and the hospitality of its hosts, it has a wonderful ‘homely’ feel to it – relaxed, friendly, easy; but best of all, the total silence (but for the bids) and the tranquillity. Life in the country - that’s the thing! I was very taken by the fact that, while I was there a blue heron landed on the chimney. Surely that must be a sign of good luck? http://www.claremont-estate.com/