January 29, 2014
It was getting late, but I had two more places on my list to visit. The first one was the Mahurangi River Winery. Of course, it would be closed by now so there’d be no wine tasting, but it still seemed worth going in hopes of seeing its building and setting.
As we approached the small road that led up a hill to the winery, I was relieved to see it didn’t have a gate or a chain across it. Driving up their hill we were treated to beautiful views of the surrounding countryside. We parked and walked to the winery building, as lovely as I’d heard, and were able to make our way onto their back deck to really to experience their view. Wowza! With all the hills, golden grass, and rows of grape vines, this looked like a movie version of an Italian evening. While we wouldn’t get to taste the wine, the golden light made for some nice photos!
Below is a gallery with a few photos. Click to enlarge any photo.
Satisfied we’d experienced the best of this winery, we headed to our final destination, the town called Warkworth, considered the gateway to this region. The town itself is small and suburban, the most famous feature being its location on the beautiful Mahurangi River. This river meanders all the way to the Mahurangi Harbour and can be traveled by boats at high tide.
We parked and found a path leading down to the river, where surrounding hillsides thickly lined with trees reflected in the still, brown-black water. I’d seen photos of Warkworth, but nothing that approached this postcard-worthy view, which was stunningly pretty. (Note to anyone trying to promote Warkworth: you should really feature this river on the photo brochure!)
We made our way along the waterside boardwalk to a little pier. Docked there was a small historic steam boat used for river tours and an old ship, interesting to see. The evening light had turned golden, and ducks floated serenely by, making for a magical scene. Above us we could see a restaurant overlooking the scene, and I envied them their view.
As it so happened, we were both hungry; so we ended up checking out the restaurant after making our way back up to the street level. It turned out to be a Thai place, and it had seating right next to a window overlooking the river below. I ordered a glass of wine from one of the wineries we didn’t have time for today, Hyperion Vineyard, followed by some really good green chicken curry. It was a perfect end to a wonderful day!
After dinner we headed back to Auckland, and in spite of running out of time to visit the famous Brick Bay Winery and Sculpture Trail, I felt good about what we’d managed to accomplish in a single day. Hopefully we’d come back for another visit, but I’d seen enough to come to the conclusion that the Matakana region may be one of New Zealand’s most underrated areas, a place most tourists don’t get to. Granted, there’s a lot to see in this beautiful country, but for anyone who can add a day or two to their itinerary, this is so worth doing. Matakana, who knew? –Cyndi
