Our first stop upon arrival was an olive oil mill. The woman who gave us our tour explained how they grow the olives, how they harvest them, and how they turn those olives into oil. We had a tasting where we tried different kinds of olive oil. It was all very interesting, and Cas and I are taking home an herb dip from their store.
From that place, we went to a vineyard. When we arrived at the vineyard, we had a wine tasting. The first thing we tried was a Prosecco made with Riesling grapes. It was very interesting. I certainly thought anything made with Riesling grapes would be too sweet to consume, but it was kind of fantastic.
We tried a few other things, then left for the main city to have lunch. On the way, our driver pulled into a park where people let roosters go. It sounded bizarre, but evidently, people would take roosters to have at their homes. After the repeated frustration of the rooster crowing at five in the morning, the people who had initially adopted them (or their neighbors) would place the roosters in this one the public park. This kept happening, so as a result, this park was completely full of roosters. A lot of local people go to the park and feed them, so when the roosters see a vehicle come up, they assume food is on the way. This is why they approached our tour bus.
After parting ways with our rooster friends, Cas and I strayed from the group, opting to have some more traditional pub food than I think the rest of the group was interested in eating. We finished up in plenty of time to go down to the beach and have a walk around. Everything on the island was beautiful. If you were looking to the left, it was gorgeous; if you turned your head to the right, it was gorgeous. It's a little ridiculous how pretty everything in New Zealand seems to be. We walked around for a little while after we left the beach, having a stop for a cup of coffee before getting back on the bus for a little more sightseeing.
After that, it was back to the ferry. As it turns out, you can get some fine New Zealand wine right there on a ferry boat. We figured since we had started out at the vineyard, we may as well continue on the boat.
We have a farewell dinner with our tour group tonight, or as today's bus driver called it, our last supper. Most of the group will be going home tomorrow. Just Cas and me and another couple will be headed to Fiji. That happens very early hour tomorrow. Evidently, the flight isn't until something like nine am, but we must leave the hotel at something like six. Not exactly the best news, but we will make it work. We should be on a beach at around lunchtime.
It will be nice to retire my fleece jacket and long pants for the remainder of what is still in my mind summertime. Though, I do imagine when we return to July in Dallas, we will miss these cooler moments. No matter, we are two days away from our wedding. It's pretty exciting right now. We are almost there.
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