Monday, February 17

Today we’re in New Zealand wine country! We camped overnight in a sheep pasture owned by a lovely kiwi family with two young boys. No RV hookups, but we’re don’t necessarily need any. We filled up with plenty of water before we arrived and we have our own toilet in our rig.

The Kindar Farm is walking distance from both the village of Renwick and a company called Wine Tours by Bike, a local shop that rents bicycles for winery tours in the area. When I found out we were passing through this area, I said to Andi what a shame it was that we didn’t have a babysitter — I would love to partake in a tour of the local wineries. Lucky enough, that’s completely acceptable in New Zealand. There are several family-friendly wineries in this area that have toys, outdoor games and playground areas. YES! The vibe reminded me of breweries in the USA = fun for adults and kids alike.

After taking a week off of school to travel here & get acclimated to life in New Zealand, it was time to start our studies again. So, first thing Monday morning Andi walked into town to use the high speed internet at a cafe while Tory, Aden and I stayed back at the RV to do school. It was slow going as the kids were out of the habit, but we got it done nonetheless. When Andi returned a few hours later, the four of us walked down the road to the Wine Tours by Bike shop to start our afternoon adventure.

It was the perfect warm summer day to bike to wineries in the area. The owners of Wine Tours by Bike were super friendly and hooked us up with tag-along bikes, helmets and a map of recommended family-friendly wineries to check out. After a quick test-drive to make sure we were comfortable with the bikes, we set off on the cycling trail.

I immediately had one of those “pinch me” travel moments. Is this real life?! Here we were, biking along a beautiful path with vineyards surrounding us, lush green trees, and fragrant flowers on a gorgeous day — could life be any sweeter? The first winery we visited was called Forrest. It was slamming inside when we arrived. The lady at the counter suggested Andi and I split a flight since it was only 11:00am (“you’ve got a lot of day left ahead of you,” she said). I also requested Andi order a cheese board as a) we were starting to drink at 11:00am and b) it were responsible for biking our kids around town. We needed sustenance.

We brought our wine flight and cheese board to a picnic table in the vineyard. The kids played a game of bags in a grassy area nearby while Andi and I sipped wine and ate cheese, pate, jam preserves and crackers. Tory was super interested in learning about wine (I think because she sees us drinking it often), so we took time to explain to her how the wine are made from grapes to barrel to glass. She sniffed and swirled the glasses of Sauvignon Blanc, Reisling and Pinot Noir with us and gave her opinion of fruity smells she detected. We loved the large, open feel of this vineyard. It had a beautiful outdoor courtyard with lounge seating and picnic tables within the vineyard.

Next on our bike tour was a winery called Giesen. This vineyard did wine tastings inside at the front bar. Andi and I found it a bit stressful to keep an eye on Aden there, so we didn’t enjoy this location as much as the first.

We continued biking to a third winery called White Haven which shared a space with The Vines Village Restaurant. Wow- this place was awesome! We happened to stop here the previous evening right before the restaurant closed, so we were glad to visit again during the daytime and really enjoy the big, open outdoor area. Before sampling wines from White Haven, we ordered lunch from The Vine Village restaurant counter. Andi and I split a slice of a savory roasted veggie pastry with salad and the kids split a hot snack tray which included a ham & cheese panini, popcorn, chips, craisins and fruit snacks.

Afterward, the kids played on the playground while Andi and I walked around a small lake on the property. There were several outdoor games like chess and bocce ball, and outdoor wagons to ride down a hill.

We visited White Haven vineyard next & Andi and I really liked the wines at this location. We bought a bottle of their Sauvignon Blanc to take home with us.

Next on our tour was Framingham Winery. We loved the feeling of this winery the minute we stepped onto the property. They had great music playing and a gorgeous rose garden. We experienced the best service at Framingham, too. Paula, our host, warmly welcomed us in with tasting glasses, a pitcher of water, and popsicles (or frozen icy pops, as she called them) for the kids. We asked to sit outside in the courtyard so the kids could play, and she gladly obliged. Paula brought various wines out to us to taste and gave the best explanation we’d received all day about how the wines were made. We really liked this place and ended up buying a bottle of Framingham’s Pinot Noir to take home with us.

It was already 4:00pm and the kids were getting hot and tired, so we decided to cycle back to the Wine Tour by Bike shop. We ran into Lucy, our RV farm stay host, at the bike shop and she invited us over for a swim at her house. We gladly took her up on the offer because it was hot outside!

We spent the next two hours swimming in Lucy’s outdoor pool. Tory and Aden had a blast.

Back at the RV, Andi whipped together leftover steak with salad and fresh, local plums for dinner. I was exhausted after bicycling all day so I went to bed early. Surprisingly, after biking and swimming all day, Tory and Aden were wide awake. And, so was Andi. He was up coughing due to allergies most the night.

Tomorrow, we’re leaving Marlborough County and driving to the northern most part of New Zealand’s South Island. Cable Bay, here we come!