WWOOFing at Glenmara

ok, now onto the good stuff.

So, on the 9th of December, i rode the interislander fairy from wellington to picton (beautiful views of the marlborough sounds), and was picked up at the terminal by Frances Dalton, one of the owners of Glenmara, a small vineyard outside Blenheim.

So here's the story.

Glenmara = Glen (gaelic for valley) and Mara (maori for farm). Rob is Scottish and came over to NZ in his 20s, and has worked in the fire service, first in Hamilton (where he met Frances) before moving down here in the 1990s. Frances is Maori and English and is from the northern tip of the north island. She also worked in the fire service for a number of years before retiring to work on the vineyard. Rob has three children from his first marriage- Alison, Nicola, and Stefan, and Frances has two- George and Jos. All are grown up and living in places throughout NZ and Australia. Also in the house is Barbara, Frances' mom.

For pets there is Milly the cat, Molly the pyrenean mountain dog, and Mandy the great dane. All are sweet sweet animals with very distinct and hilarious personalities. Molly mostly hangs out down by the guest cottage and barks at stuff, which Mandy follows Frances and I around in the vineyard and is terrified of all other animals, particularly small dogs. Milly is a bit of talker and a bit of a diva, but also likes to be held like a baby and stretch herself over Frances' shoulders like a mink shawl while she works outside.

Glenmara consists of a vineyard, which has 43 rows of plants, including sauvignon blanc and pinot noir. There is a olive grove infront of the house, which produce up to 1 ton of oil per harvest. There is also a small vege garden which provides onions, potatoes, corn, radish, leeks, beans, chard, and other goodies for home consumption.

Frances is so so so sweet, with a stunningly beautiful smile. She is also one hell of a cook- while there i ate salmon, wonton soup and stirfry, veges from the garden, amazing lamb roasts, pasta dishes with homemade sauces, and the most ridiculous array of cookies and cakes- rhubarb pie, cherry pie, pavlova, truffles, the works. One night she said "ah, we're just going to do pizza..." which in my household translates into "ok, who's going to get the pizza out of the freezer?" or squabbling over who should go pick it up at Rosalies in town... well this is not so at the Hayward - Dalton home. Everything was homemade, right down to the olive oil and maranara sauce made from garden tomatoes. the toppings included fresh baby onions from the garden and olives from the grove. so so so good. i could write a whole entry just about the food... but i wont. kind of boring for those who werent experiencing the immense cornucopia. oh, and i also die to hear frances say the word "birds." i can't even describe it- somewhere between "berd" and "boids"... positively hilariously awesome.

Rob is also very sweet, an older man who is a scottish cross between Mr. C and uncle john (my parents might be the only people who get that reference...). He brews his own beer in the garage, and i got to have some of his award winning, delicious porter. he works during the day and tends the vege garden in the afternoons. he is a big fan of frances' cooking, and is always requestion a "chocy cake" which frances made one of my last days there... and which i ate my last morning there. he and Barbara have a hilarious relationship, they just kind of squabble and squak at one another affectionately, with rob giving her a bit of a hard time, which she always tolerates with a smile and dismissal. He has a great great sense of humor.

Barbara is an incredible artist, and her paintings of the area can be found all over the house. she is very quiet and sticks mainly to tending the garden and reading a ridiculous number of books per week. But she definitly has a sharp sense of humor which comes out especially around Rob.

My work there consisted of bud-stripping in the vineyard, weeding in the vege garden and out around the cottage, tying up small vines, and cleaning the cottage for the arrival of a scottish couple who live there a few months out of the year. I also had a day off, saturday, during which all four of us went out to pick cherries, go wine-tasting at mt. riley winery, and eat fish and chips at the club intown. that afternoon i went out to whites bay, a popular beach nearby, and read in the sand. Earlier in the week i went hiking with Frances in the hills above Blenheim, during which we talked about her hobby as a cake decorator- i saw a photo later of one of her cakes (shaped like luggage and a handbag for her son's travel themed wedding) and was totally blown away. talent talent...

Another experience i enjoyed there was learning to drive a stick shift. i stalled about 15 times, i think, and never went out of first gear, except for a terrifying few seconds in 2nd. i also got in the wrong door and found myself sitting on the passenger side looking for the steering wheel (they drive on the left hand side of the road here...)

So after this experience NZ has gained points for me BIG time. i already knew it was beautiful, but now i know a little more and i love it all. i would not mind living here at all... fresh pick-your-own produce, great wine, nice weather, hiking all over the place, and fantastic people. after meeting some more kiwis, i've learned a bit about them in general. at first, they don't provide that sacharrin (sp) sweetness that americans do, that "oh HIIIIII! so GOOOD to MEEET YOOUUUU!", but their smiles and comments are truly genuine. when they invite you to their house, they mean it. it is a refreshing sort of kindness that i could really get used it.

so, i left them all this morning, and can't wait to visit again in a few weeks. now i'm staying in nelson (sunshine capital of NZ) for two days before heading to abel tasman. and i'm back to eating travellers food (ie crying into my can of beans).

cheers!