January 2013
One of the markers of a New Zealand summer evening is the firing up of the grill for a barbecue dinner, and you know you’ve been accepted into community when you get invited to one. Our new friends Lara and Paul invited us to dinner at her parents’ bed and breakfast inn nearby in Kerikeri, The Georgian Lodge.
We were greeted by barefoot Lara and Paul (see Kiwi Tip of the Day) and had a glass of wine at their beautiful new home before we and the dogs headed over for dinner with Lara’s parents Jeff and Linda.
The Georgian Lodge is in the beautiuful countryside above the Kerikeri river. It’s a charming inn with wide expanses of grassy lawn, climbing roses, beautiful gardens, and a coi pond that makes the perfect backdrop for a wedding. Champion horses graze in the corrals nearby.
It was the quintessential beautiful Kiwi summer evening. After a tour of the grounds, we sat down to a fantastic grilled dinner with chicken, steak and side dishes and excellent (of course) local wine with lots of talking and laughing while all the dogs played on the grass. For dessert, we had this amazing cheesecake. We had a great time, and this sort of evening is what New Zealand is all about. –Cyndi
