mrsjono

What to do with leftover bread? We quickly learned that most families would give them to the ducks and swans at the nearest park. No food is wasted and you get a little fun watching the birds chase (after you) and fight. It has become a weekend pastime and one of the simple pleasures of life here.


Henley Lake near Masterton


Ready?


Help!


Looks like the trick is to stay still and they'll not chase after you?


Aha they can't get me when they're in the water


Aggressive swan

Having worked in the vineyards and lived in a wine producing country for awhile, we still don't know much about wine. When our friends told us Murdoch James was offering free wine tasting tour this weekend, we jumped on the opportunity and turned up at the cellar door. A staff packed a few bottles into a basket and brought us around the vineyard. He poured different types of wine into our glasses and described the layers of flavours as we swirled it around and sipped.



I think Pinot Gris was more palatable for me due to its light, fruity and sweeter taste. We got to visit the production and barrel rooms which gave us a more complete picture of the place where we once worked. After the wine tasting, we went back to town and noticed there was a crowd at the square. Many of them had water bombs in plastic bags or buckets. 🤔Looks like it's gonna be fun.


Kids waiting eagerly for the barrel race to start


Stronger together


Here comes the first team


Bumped into Pia, our grape picking Thai friend doesn't like to have her photo taken so I had to sneak up on her lol


Teams dress up and roll barrels as quickly as they can


while water bombs fly all over the show


Strike!


Thinking who should I aim?


Barrel on wheels - kinda cheating


Wear helmet quite clever leh


Another round of birthday celebration after the race 

Pick your own strawberries with friends at Otaki! Fresh strawberries from the orchard are totally different from what you get at the market. These are big, sweet and juicy; we just can't stop eating them and must have eaten half a bucket 🙊 despite several no eating signs around lol. Best strawberries I've ever had~ 👍👍









1 bucket = 2.685kg x $6.50/kg = $17.4525 for 3 big punnets

On MB's last day in Wellington, RS gave them a ride to town after they returned their car at the Interislander ferry terminal and I met them for dinner at KK Malaysian Restaurant. She had planned an advanced birthday surprise for me and hid a small cake in our car before I arrived. I didn't suspect a thing when she said she needed to get something from the car and the three of them disappeared after finishing their food. As they sang me a birthday song, I realised I've not celebrated my birthday with friends for a long time. MB helped to parallel parked our car outside the train station and we sent them off to take their overnight bus back up to Auckland. A rainbow appeared when we waved each other goodbye, a beautiful ending to the fun times we had together in New Zealand.


As you take the long arduous journey back up north, I hope you leave with fond memories of your short time spent in the Wairarapa and Wellington region. We had an awesome time with you and your family (yum cha in Auckland was particularly memorable) laughing so hard reminded me of our uni days with the rest of our friends. Happy to see you relaxed and enjoying the simple things in life - taking in the beauty of the surroundings, feeding animals, chatting with locals, buying groceries in local supermarkets, etc. Thank you for lugging my stuff over and driving all the way down to Masterton to visit me! Throw out those old bread pls there’s plenty of nice food in Auckland. Safe flight home, see you soon back home or hopefully in the South Island!

We didn't have anything planned today and ended up at the nearest park to feed the ducks and see the deers. When driving past Clareville we saw an event happening at the showgrounds and decided to check it out. It was the A&P (agricultural and pastoral) show; a country show combining farming and entertainment that takes place every year in different regions across New Zealand.




姐妹情深


Want eat my expired bread mah?


This deer is not looking at me but its antlers seem to be able to detect movement as it will dodge every time I try to touch its antlers.


There were lots of animals to see and cool rides to try. Good fun, worth the small entrance fee.


Calf juding


Dancing to country music



The only food truck I would patronise for the $3 hot chips


Wood chopping competition was pretty intense


Old school fun fair




Can I pet you?


Sheep shearing and demonstration of how wool is made


These horses with feathering (long hair on the legs) look majestic eh?



In the equestrian competition, we were impressed with the junior participants dressed smartly and able to ride horses with confidence at such a young age.


At the end of the show, the farm machinery went round waving their "arms" in the air which I thought was quite funny.