Wineries, Sleeper Cars, and Fancy Feasts- July 23rd

The morning began with a lecture from Colin Meurk, discussing ecosystem restoration theory and principles.  He really put into perspective how much more goes into restoration than just planting a few natives and pulling a few weeds.  One statistic that really stood out was that over 50% of New Zealand’s flora is still exotic.  After the lecture it was off to Waipara Valley where we met with Sue McGaw at a local winery, Pegasus Bay.  Here, she walked us through the native flora walkway that volunteers from Lincoln University in cooperation with the winery planted, in their efforts to bring back native flora and fauna to the wineries in the area as part of the Greening Waipara Project.  

Sue showing us the map she drew to discover where certain
flora and fauna could be found within a 5km and 10km radius.

After meeting with Sue, it was off to the Waipara Sleepers where we would spend the night.  Here, we unloaded all of the luggage and got settled into our sleeper cars and huts.  

One of the sleeper cars, housing four people.

After getting situated in our rooms we took a short trip down the road to local fifth-generation sheep farmer, Daryl Harris.  He is not only a commodity trader in sheep, but he owns a winery as well.  Daryl expressed how there is a need for pesticide use to be reduced in the winery business and thus why he supports the native plantings in the area. We then got to see his sheep herding dog Sis, a Huntaway breed, round up all the sheep in the nearby paddock and bring them right over to where we were standing.  It was definitely a memorable experience having sheep sprinting through the grass straight towards everyone.  

Sis loves her owner Daryl.

Sis herding up all the sheep.

Next stop of the day was to Mountford Estate, another local winery.  Here we took a short, yet very steep, hike up the vineyard hill and got a stunning view looking over the winery and countryside.  

Looking out over the winery and the countryside from the top of the hill.

After safely making our way back down the hill it was time for tea at the Waipara Springs café, where a few of us also did a little wine tasting and gift purchasing as well.  After tea time it was onto the next winery, Torlesse.  This was a shorter visit, looking at their own native plant pathway, with a very unique recycled broken glass pathway.  Finally, it was back to Daryl’s house for a remarkably decadent dinner prepared for us by his wife, Merreé.  Everyone was blown away by the inside décor, their vineyard’s wine, and the exquisite dinner prepared for us.  The dinner included pumpkin soup, roasted lamb, stuffed peppers, and chocolate cake, as well as a plethora of other delicious sides.  We all left the dinner stuffed to the brim and in great spirits.  The rest of the night was spent relaxing in our sleeper cars and huts.  It was a very memorable day and definitely one of the most eventful days yet on the trip.  

-Sarah H.