Outwardly I’m delighted that the rainwater is replenishing the water tanks but inwardly I’m gutted that the days of it being warmer outside than inside are over. I am resigned to the curtain closing, fire lighting, casserole cooking routines making a return.

Thankfully even when the view out the window is grim.  I can turn on my electronic photograph frame and watch the sunshine scroll through bringing happy memories of fun times and warmer days.  These photographs were taken a few weeks ago on a trip to one of New Zealand’s sunniest spots, Hawkes Bay.  We were visiting Cape Kidnappers, a place of natural beauty with a colony of Gannets and incredible coastline that shows how the earth evolves when nature plays it’s geological high jinks.

I’ll save more on that for a future post but for now here’s a glimpse of the glorious day of late summer at the coast. I’ll leave you to enjoy whilst I go wrestle with the bassets for a warm spot in front of the fire.

Since we’ve been enjoying the mildest winter since we made New Zealand our home it was an enormous treat and luxurious indulgence but when your airports are due to expire it is best to not to quibble too much and just enjoy a new shade of blue.  Riding the ferry from Denarau on Fiji’s largest Island of Viti Levu to our destination for the week on Tokoriki Island there was nothing to do but sit back and enjoy the view and adjust to Island time. Thoughts of appointment schedules, to-do lists and winter woolies soon melted away as we turned our attention to our beachside future.  

Nowadays olives are one of world’s most cultivated temperate fruit with an explosion of production in the last ten years as olive oil has become the messiah of cooking and healthy eating.  Dominating the oil aisles of supermarkets and upmarket food stores, olive oil is as much liquid gold today as it was when traded in ancient Mediterranean.    When you look contemporary olive production, there is nothing romantic about their industrialisation, globalisation and commodification, especially the production of olive oil. I shall save the gory details for my next gastronomic course essay for there is more fun to be had in recalling a glimpse into the world of olive oil grown just over the hill in the Wairarapa where we spent a pleasant weekend at the inaugural Martinborough Olive Oil Festival.

I’m going to skim over the lunch experience of the festival since the extramural oil tasting, oil pressing and olive harvesting more than made up for what was a disappointing gastronomic experience. Let’s just say that the olive oils shone out from a meal that was otherwise lack lustre and just goes to prove that even the finest ingredients can’t make up for a culinary and hospitality shortcomings.

Like wines, to fully appreciate the range of olive oils you have to taste a few.  Guided by Margaret Edwards, one of New Zealands most authoritative olive oil tasters, I learned about the fruity, bitter and pungent qualities of olive oil and how a good slurp of air in and out as you taste gives a deeply complex sensory experience.   If you close your eyes it helps to conjure up those flavour associations – a touch of banana, vanilla or tomato stalks – as the chemical compounds generate the organoleptic  properties of the olive oil.  With a background in food science the names of all the phenols were rattled off by Margaret making the session feel a little like a chemistry lesson but an essential part of getting to grips with the unique and delicate flavours that make up an oil.

Admittedly after two hours of slurping oil my gastric juices were ready for a rest and a wander around the night market was the perfect antidote.  Glowing in Martinborough’s Town Square food and craft stalls plied their wares by candlelight made all the more magical when nursing a cup of warming mulled wine.  The cafes and bars of Martinborough provided refuge for festival goers from the icy cold brought in by a southerly.

We didn’t let a little cold stop our tour of olive oil pressing and harvesting to wrap up our whistle stop tour of Martinborough’s olive oil empire.  Started only around 20 years ago, the region is producing award winning oils and even prompted a new New Zealand best selling book by Jared Gulian who tells his city slicker tales of olive farming as Moon Over Martinborough.  As a long time reader of his blog it has been wonderful to see his ambition to be a published author come true.

I may be a romantic but there is something special about eating food when you know where it comes from and who produced it.  Talking to Helen of Olivo oil about her experiments with infused oils and growing olives was encouraging and inspiring.  Made all the more amusing as her beagle Sophie scavenging for left over soup infused with olive oil handed out to visitors to the Olivo tasting room.

To top it off Helen shared with us her recipe for chocolate mousse that was a small triumph at the lunch and I’m looking forward to making it as a special treat at home.  In the meantime, I’m tasting olive oil in a completely new light.  But more importantly I’m lucky enough to have made some delicious orange infused olive oil muffins and topped off his lordship’s signature risotto with just a splash of porcini infused olive oil.

Although much of Martinborough’s olive harvest was over  it was fascinating to see the tree shaker harvester being demonstrated and learning how the olives are washed, dried, mashed, and spun to extract the extra virgin olive oil.  Most surprising was to meet someone who grows olives on our side of the hill delivering their olives for pressing.  Needless to say we jotted down his recommendations for varieties to grow as it turns out my dreams of being an olive farmer might be more real than my day dreaming might otherwise have me think.

Amongst the drizzle lies the pioneer heartland of New Zealand

Wanaka, New Zealand

Even in the wind and rain there is a deep bleak beauty in New Zealand’s lakes.

Lake Hawea, Near Wanaka.

The stress of the last few weeks has completely lifted though now we’re away in Wanaka for a few days.  With house sitters keeping the bassets under control it’s just wonderful to breath in the fresh air and marvel at one of the world’s finest landscapes.  For the first time ever I’m not lugging several kilos of camera gear either.  Instead I have my learner plates on an Olympus Pen E-PM1 camera bought last year during our trip to Europe for MT.  It has almost as many whistles and bells as my DSLR Camera but weighs less than some of my full size lenses do.

It may have been a marathon 7 hour effort to get to Wanaka after our flights were cancelled and Air NZ delivered us by bus rather than by plane but seeing this view brings life into perspective and you can’t help but celebrate the simplicity of nature at its best.

We were pleased to reach Paekakariki before the crowds although there were a few families doing the kiwi equivalent of the towels on the loungers around the pool.  People were carefully selecting their territories for family picnic and unloading trailers of gazebos, sun umbrellas and gas barbeques.  Not to mention paddle pools, goal posts and cricket wickets for that most important and highly competitive family sports entertainment.

In the absence of our own families, we like our Christmas Day a little more laid back.  Time to lounge around and truly be on holiday.  With the temperatures heading to 28 degrees Celcius the bassets are done for and will spend their day searching for the coolest spot in the house.  Although as I write this a stinky black cloud is passing over head sprinkling a few raindrops and a rumble of thunder.

It was a rare thing of beauty to be able to see the South Island so clearly at the coast. The Pohutukawa (also known as the NZ Christmas tree) were blooming scarlet red bringing a touch of bling to the beach on this special day.  Otherwise it was business as usual.  Fortnum paddling and Mason running away from the waves as they gently rolled across his path.  Both bassets sniffing every grain of sand and seeking out nasty flotsam that they can roll in. Casual callings of Happy Christmas to fellow dog walkers.  Mason was also particularly determined to avoid the camera either out-running me or completely disengaging.  Although I did actually to sneek a closer view of him using one of my rather special Christmas presents.

Wherever you are, whatever the weather and whatever your plans for celebrating the holidays we hope you have a peaceful and relaxing time.  Not to mention some special Christmas wining and dining.

No doubt that we are well into autumn and winter is knocking at our door.  Temperatures are plummeting on a regular basis and jack frost came a tip toeing into the garden a couple of times this week.  It’s time to find that lost glove and dust off the hats and scarves for morning dog walking adventures need extra layers of comfort.  Wellington weather has it’s own style of meteorological violence.  It can drown you in rain, pummel you with biting wind and then just as you shrink away from it’s vicious strikes it will open up the clouds bring bright blue skies and sunshine to warm the cockles of you heart. But like all abusers Wellington weather is not to be trusted. It turns on you again and again.  And then the sun shines and in a blink all the bad times can be forgotten.

I’m determined not to be beaten up and down trodden by the inevitable ravages on winter this year. I shall just pull on another layer of thermals, throw another log on the first and cook up another batch of soul warming soup.  And perhaps a ginger cake. I plan to celebrate the shortest day this year with a massive garlic planting exercise.  Whether I fully make peace with winter I’m reserving judgement.  But it feels good to have something to aspire to.