Carneys on Tour: Rest and Recuperation

After yesterday’s exertions in the name of oenological enlightenment, today was a day for less strenuous pursuits. So without any defined plan we headed for the Farmer’s Market that is held every Sunday in town. We were slightly intrigued as the previous day had been Waitangi Day and in these parts that coincided with a local party day called Blues, Booze and BBQs. On our travels we had passed the site at lunchtime and it would be fair to say that the place was really cooking, the best cameo was a couple of guys heading for the site pushing their settee with their provisions on top. I’d loved to have seen them this morning.

Flowers at the Market

The Farmer’s Market was a real social occasion, families out for a few hours, lots of stalls with some very fine produce and speciality items like fruit flavoured olive oils and interesting pies. We acquired a couple of Lamb and Mint pies to have for supper and having just eaten them can testify to their quality and flavour. This is a land full of the finest ingredients and they take their food very seriously.

Clara entertains the Market

We then went for a short drive in search of potential painting locations, there were in fact great locations on every turn in the road, but we found ourselves almost inevitably drawn back to the wineries that are the main feature of the local valley. A couple of spitting stops in the name of location searching and then a short stop with the watercolours to attempt to capture a feel of the buildings at Highfield Estates and Sheila had the very fine notion that we should stop off for lunch at one of the wineries, a short discussion had the car heading for Wither Hills, where we were well catered for.