Hannah's 30th Birthday weekend

Gareth arranged a surprise weekend away for Hannah's 30th Birthday. The weekend started on Thursday with a series of envelopes, guiding Hannah from home, via Auckland airport, to meet him in Wellington. Friday (the big day itself) was spent browsing the boutiques and having a massage and pedicure (courtesy of Alice!). After Gareth had finished work, the envelopes then guided Hannah to Hertz, where a car was collected and whisked her away to Martinborough, the wine region north of Wellington.

Armed only with instructions to the 'General Store', Hannah found herself at a little wooden cottage on an olive grove, rather than the local corner shop. The old shop was relocated to Martinborough to become guest accommodation, and would be our home for the weekend.

We settled in front of the fire with a glass of bubbles and planned the weekend ahead.



Cosy log burning stove



A bit of bubbly!

We woke up to a beautiful sunny day and took in the peace and quiet over a cup of coffee on the deck.



Coffee on the deck



Olive grove



The General Store

We formulated our plan. Tandem. Wine. Cheese.



Tandem



Wine



Cheese



Vineyard sculptures

We wobbled around the vineyards, not knowing if it was the wine or poor technique that made our balance so bad! Thankfully, we soon got the hang of it and managed to survive a magpie attack too (magpies swoop low over your head during nesting season to defend their young if you cycle/walk nearby).

After a wonderful gourmet wine/food weekend, we headed back to windy Wellington, braving the gusty gales to jet back to Auckland.



Windy Wellington

Thank you to all for the cards and wonderful presents.