Martinborough and More

Traveling from Napier to Wellington made for a long day of driving, but the countryside continues to amaze. Stopped at the Pūkaha National Wildlife Centre, almost 1,000 hectares of forest maintained as a sanctuary for native birds, many of them rare and endangered. Here we viewed our only kiwi (the bird kind), and saw where they’re hatched for later release into the wild. Lunch and wine tasting at Poppies in Martinborough featured some lovely Pinot Noirs, then it was on to dinner at the Pravda Cafe in Wellington, after traversing miles of peaceful pastures, many populated by sheep like the ones we saw in the sanctuary parking lot.