VictoriaApril 11
The Okārito Wharf Shed surrounded by rising waters — where we were 2 weeks ago
We managed to leave the South Island just before a major storm hit, dumping copious amounts of rain and clocking in 50 mph winds. Okārito completely flooded, where we had stayed four nights. And that road we drove several times between Fox Glacier and the town of Franz Joseph — completely under water. Boy were we lucky on our timing!
Waiheke saw its fair share of wind today, rendering a trip to the beach the least desirable option.
Lucky for us, we had a reservation for lunch at Casita Miro and another for dinner at Mudbrick Vineyard and Restaurant so our day was pretty much covered by eating.
We normally don’t eat lunch at 11 a.m. However, we needed enough time after lunch to digest before dinner. This was pretty much our only plan for the day.
Casita Miro is a lovely tapas style restaurant adorned with mosaic tiles and colorful Spanish decor. It sits atop a hill overlooking their vineyard with views of the sea in the distance.
We arrived to 35 mph winds and compromised views of the sea.
We were blown inside by the gusts to an empty restaurant, apart from one other table of guests.
Our set lunch menu included delicious bites of goat cheese croquettes, focaccia with house made olive oil, patatas bravas and pan fried kingfish.
Afterwards, we drove around to explore more of the island and popped into a few galleries we found on the art map. We bought a piece of ceramic made in the shape of a Māori waka (canoe) that we now have to carefully protect for the next six weeks. This is not the first time we’ve had to babysit fragile pieces of art while traveling. It usually ends well, but sometimes it does not. Fingers crossed.
We decided to skip making this purchase as we drove by. We won’t be taking this home.
Our original reservation at Mudbrick was for a set dinner menu. Still digesting lunch seven hours later, we bailed on the fancy, white tablecloth experience and headed next door to their more casual bistro instead.
We shared a few light dishes then headed home on the dark, curvy roads to pack up for our departure tomorrow on the morning ferry to Auckland.
