19 February 2011

Dave and I were excited to have new wheels, so we decided to drive down to Kerikeri to see what their farmers market was like and then head over to the Broadwood A + P Show, (Agriculture and Produce). It was a beautiful day and we wanted to get out and explore. It took an hour or so to get to Kerikeri, but the drive was absolutely beautiful with huge rolling farms and giant rock formations at one point. We stopped a couple times near Mangonui and Coopers Beach to look out at the beautiful shoreline and beaches.

Kerikeri is a somewhat posh town, that has a nice market but we found out that it is held on Sundays. Oops, we were a day early. So we found a place where we could each get something to eat for around $15 per person. It was a little Thai/ Kiwi place, Dave ordered fish and chips and I had the buffet, which I chose salad, spring rolls, rice and pork + potato curry, all the food was delicious. We were full and happy and since it was 1pm, we got back on the road toward Broadwood, this time with Dave driving. The car is really nice, but has a touchy clutch so it was a bit funny with Dave behind the wheel. I felt like we were in Driver’s Ed together, both laughing hysterically.

We got to the A + P Show and it was definitely an experience. We saw huge pieces of wood carved by men with chainsaws, sheep shearing and wood chopping competitions. INSANE. In the sheep shearing competition, the men grab sheep, throw them around and using electric shavers, cut off all their hair super fast. In the wood chopping competition, there was one man in particular who was SO GOOD! This man took maybe 16 swings with his axe at this giant log and the thing was split in half. He was so good actually, that they made him start a full minute behind the rest of the competitors. Nuts!

Since we got to the show late, we were unable to buy any Hangi because it sold out in an hour. Hangi is a Maori tradition where a variety of meat, and vegetables are cooked in the ground. It smelt delicious, but I’m sure there will be another time I can try it. We did manage to drink a couple Stein Lagers and have an ice cream. Super yum! (People out here don’t say yummy, they say yum. Weird, I know.)
After the show, we went to Bry and Meg’s place to hang out for a bit and see the puppies. The pups were so beautiful and humongous!!! Meg came to greet us and all the puppies were running around her feet, it was pretty adorable. We went for a little walk down to eat from the pear and fig trees. Delicious. After Dave and Bry measured some Magna Carpa trees for milling, we headed home; both of us were pooped.
We didn’t arrive home until 9pm at least, and while Dave watered the garden and made a delicious salad, (greens, avocado, cherry tomato and garlic), I threw together a quick curry of zucchini, kumara, onion, garlic, ginger, and lentils with brown rice. We passed out so fast, the only thing motivating me to brush my teeth was the fact that I didn’t want the curry staining them. Lame, yes.