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Today was an easier driving day, only 290 kilometres through rolling farmland. Compared to driving in the mountains, it was a piece of cake.
Queenstown is located in an area called Central Otago. This area also just happens to be the best area in the country for growing pinot noir grapes.
One of the Central Otago wineries that I had read about is called Peregrine Wines.
Located a half hour from Queenstown, on the highway we were travelling, so it was a easy decision to stop in.
The winery was stunning. Surrounded by vineyards, with foothills directly behind, it was breathtaking.
Thirty years ago, the property was a sheep ranch. The old building was a sheep shearing barn.
The tasting room was down a ramp on the left side of the building, in the basement, along with a glass wall overlooking the barrel room. The upper terrace is used for functions.
We tasted three vintages of pinot noir, a 2014 that was just released, a 2012 (that was fabulous), and a 2010. Personally, I liked the fruit in the 2012 vintage.
Once we reached the east coast, our next stop was the Moeraki Boulders.
These rock formations are naturally occurring spherical deposits that form over millions of years. The shoreline is loose gravel and sand, and erosion of the shoreline has revealed these rocks. They can be as large a 2 metres in diameter, and could weigh several tons each.
There are approximately 50 of these boulders in one stretch of shoreline, most still intact.
Even the ones that have broken apart were interesting.
One of the shots I wanted to try was a long exposure with a 10 stop neutral density filter. But I grabbed a polarizing filter instead, so I could not get an exposure long enough to turn the ocean into silk. Realizing that I had nothing to lose, I set up the camera for a 10 shot multiple exposure, and the results were not too far off the mark.
We stopped in the village of Moeraki to check out a seafood restaurant that Chris had heard about.
Located right on the wharf, Fleurs Place was a terrific place for lunch. The seafood was all local, and very fresh. Highly recommended.
Our final stop was in Oamaru. One of the attractions there is a colony of Blue Penguins. There are organized viewings of the penguins returning to their burrows at dusk. Photography is not allowed (because of the noise and the possibility of someone using a flash), so my big DSLR gear was out of the question. But Chris was resourceful, and managed a couple of shots, with his Olympus mirrorless camera.
Photo courtesy of Chris.
Tomorrow is a travel day to Christchurch. Stay tuned.
Please open this in a web browser (click on the heading above), and leave a comment. I'd love to hear rom you.
Today was an easier driving day, only 290 kilometres through rolling farmland. Compared to driving in the mountains, it was a piece of cake.
Queenstown is located in an area called Central Otago. This area also just happens to be the best area in the country for growing pinot noir grapes.
One of the Central Otago wineries that I had read about is called Peregrine Wines.
Located a half hour from Queenstown, on the highway we were travelling, so it was a easy decision to stop in.
The winery was stunning. Surrounded by vineyards, with foothills directly behind, it was breathtaking.
Thirty years ago, the property was a sheep ranch. The old building was a sheep shearing barn.
The tasting room was down a ramp on the left side of the building, in the basement, along with a glass wall overlooking the barrel room. The upper terrace is used for functions.
We tasted three vintages of pinot noir, a 2014 that was just released, a 2012 (that was fabulous), and a 2010. Personally, I liked the fruit in the 2012 vintage.
Once we reached the east coast, our next stop was the Moeraki Boulders.
There are approximately 50 of these boulders in one stretch of shoreline, most still intact.
Even the ones that have broken apart were interesting.
One of the shots I wanted to try was a long exposure with a 10 stop neutral density filter. But I grabbed a polarizing filter instead, so I could not get an exposure long enough to turn the ocean into silk. Realizing that I had nothing to lose, I set up the camera for a 10 shot multiple exposure, and the results were not too far off the mark.
We stopped in the village of Moeraki to check out a seafood restaurant that Chris had heard about.
Our final stop was in Oamaru. One of the attractions there is a colony of Blue Penguins. There are organized viewings of the penguins returning to their burrows at dusk. Photography is not allowed (because of the noise and the possibility of someone using a flash), so my big DSLR gear was out of the question. But Chris was resourceful, and managed a couple of shots, with his Olympus mirrorless camera.
Photo courtesy of Chris.
Tomorrow is a travel day to Christchurch. Stay tuned.
Please open this in a web browser (click on the heading above), and leave a comment. I'd love to hear rom you.
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Thanks for reading...
Mark
