Rowan turns the big four oh which is a great excuse to get away. I organised a few days away.

Sunday morning we head off onto the Pigroot. We turn inland at Kyeburn to go an attempt that 4wd track we tried to do in Camele a while ago. It was an easy track and we didn’t even need to put her in 4wd. The scenery was incredible. Not a surprise but some of the area was filmed in LOTR for Rohan. Poolburn Dam was bigger than I thought it would be and there were a lot of bach/cribs along the water. I planned to picnic at the dam but Rowan and I were not hungry so we carried on.

When we nearly hit Alexandra we stopped at Chatto Creek Tavern. A place we have gone past several times and it always appears to be busy so we thought we should try it. The food was really good and I can see why it is a popular place. Great outside area perfect for families and it’s right on the Otago Rail Trail.

We took a quick dunk into Lake Dunstan before continuing on to our Airbnb. It is right next to Lake Hayes.

Tonight we are having a fancy degustation meal at Amisfield Winery. There are 21 different things to eat and I think there were 16 wines. I was going to go dry and be the designated driver until I discovered we are 750m away so we walked. It is the most I have ever spent on one meal but it was more than a meal it was a full experience.

It was close to four hours we were there. Our Sommelier Remmy gave us wine from the $300 more expensive list. I think he just enjoyed our enthusiasm and he took quite a shine to the birthday boy. They were very discreet when wishing Rowan a happy birthday which he was very happy about. He has trauma from being sung birthdays at restaurants as a kid haha.

Every item was incredibly done, some I loved some I could easily leave. The details in every dish you could tell that there was hours upon hours put into each dish. Some people have found the experience quite macabre, we didn’t but I can see how it could be confronting if you never think about what animal gives you your food. There was a huge king crab which we assumed would be from Alaska but was surprised it is off NZ in the deep water.

Ivan the venison steak man was impressed that we knew that the knives he uses to serve his meal are Peter Lorimer knives. He said in the 2 years he has been there we are the first to know and notice. We told him that we have had Peter make us a knife handle before. Ivan was lots of fun I wanted to stay outside and keep chatting to him.

Happy birthday Rowan!

Off to the lake for a morning swim and we warmed up in the hot tub. Feeling a bit hungry and I was feeling a bit hungover we headed to Arrowtown to get a Ferg. There is a Fergburger there and they have a small menu to choose from. I felt much better after food.

I booked a wine tour with Joe who combines the Maori culture and history into his tours. It was just the three of us and we had a great time. Three different wineries, first one was Mora, second Mt Rosa, third was Monte Cristo. I really didn’t need more wine but hair of the dog and all that. At each winery we got a bottle to take with us. Each one was something that tasted like you couldn’t get it from a supermarket.

To book a tour with Joe in Wānaka or Queenstown find him on Google “Wanahaka”

After that we headed into Frankton to a studio that does saunas and ice baths as well as these Float tanks. You shower first then hop into these cocoon pod pools. They are not very deep, they have 500kg of epsom salts dissolved into them. It’s like a sensory depravation tank. It was an hour and I absolutely loved it, the time went so fast and my brain was so quiet. Rowan did not enjoy it but he also said it went fast so he must have chilled out a little. He always wanted to try it and is glad he has. I would go once a week, haha.

The wine mixed with a warm bath for an hour with not any fresh air probably wasn’t the smartest move. Oh well done it now, we grabbed some supplies from the supermarket and went back to the airbnb. I went to sleep, I drank a load of water and I just needed to sleep off that float tank and all that wine.

Tonight we are having a one thousand percent difference in cost with our dinner. Our two noodle bowls cost the grand sum of $2.

The birthday fun continues with a scavenger hunt. Today I planned a full day of hunting. The first clue lead us to Arrowtown where Rowan had to find me 10 leaves. Explore the Chinese settlement and have a delicious breakfast at Kahwah.

I had to skip ahead a few clues as it took longer than I expected. I had planned lots of side quests to fill in time but didn’t really plan for needing more time. Not to worry, we can fill those ones in later. I wanted to do skydiving but weight restrictions I wasn’t sure if Rowan would be light enough. Instead I thought why not a 4wd buggy thing. I have never been on one and Rowan hasn’t either. We are on the same mountain as the gondola but further around towards the Shotover River. Rowan was the driver I was the co driver. Sam the instructor/guide stayed at the very front. We had a driving Miss Daisy in the front, and English guy with his son in the middle and us at the end. In order to have a bit of we just hung back a bit and let them all get ahead of us so we could then take it a bit faster.

At the end Sam took us all three at a time for a quick spin. Man it’s like chalk and cheese he could make that thing fly. He was so quick. It was a neat experience

Next clue on the list was lunch and of course I had to get Rowan’s favourite Fergburger.

After Fergburger we went to Patagonia Ice cream shop. Great ice cream! 10/10.

Next on the list is an hour and a half deep tissue massage at Pirom. It was in the same room and man they did a good job at getting in there.

At this point I gave Rowan the option of continuing the hunt or to go back to the Airbnb and relax for the rest of the night. He chose to go back to the Airbnb.

TBC…