Travels WithJohn and Janice

Travel blog

Every trip we've shared since 2011—filter by where we went, when we traveled, or what we explored.

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Lambert Estate Winery in the Barossa Valley, South AustraliaAustralia
7 min read2015

Dateline February 13, 2015, Lambert Estate, the Barossa Valley

From New Zealand to Australia. We left Queenstown on an evening flight, with an overnight at the Auckland airport, then on through Melbourne to Adelaide, landing about 11 a.m. We picked up the rental car and pointed it at the Barossa Valley to visit Jim and Pam Lambert at Lambert Estate. We had met Jim and Pam about eight years before through a small online wine company we ran with partners, specializing in boutique wines from around the world, and visiting their winery had been one of the highlights of our last Australia trip in 2009. A great change this time around was meeting their son Kirk and his new wife Vanessa, who is from Peru. The two met in the University of Adelaide's wine science program and are now the winemakers at Lambert Estate. Over two evenings at the property we worked through about thirteen bottles between the four of us and the Lamberts and their friends Kingsley and Kathy, including the flagship Silent Partner Cabernet Sauvignon and the Family Tree Shiraz, which once beat Penfolds Grange nine-to-ten in a Milwaukee blind tasting. We chased kangaroos through the vineyard, dined at the Wanera Wine Bar in Angaston, played pokies (Bunny cleaned up), and slept gratefully in the Lambert Estate Retreat. A wonderful welcome to Australia.

#australia#south-australia#barossa-valley
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John and Pete suited up in flight hats at the Knights of the Sky exhibition, Omaka Aviation Heritage CentreNew Zealand
3 min read2015

Dateline February 1, 2015, To the South Island, the Marlborough Valley, and the Knights of the Sky

We left Wellington early to catch the ferry south, North Island to South Island, a three-hour crossing. Interesting detail: the cars are parked on recessed railroad tracks (with the trains evidently elsewhere that morning). Rainy weather, so the views were less than postcard-perfect, but the ride was enjoyable. On the other side we drove to the Vintners Retreat in the Marlborough Valley, home of some of the best Sauvignon Blanc in the world. We had a few hours of tasting time and used them well. Four wineries: Huia, Glissan, Nautilus Estates, and Wairau River Wines, all in or near Blenheim. We left every one with at least one bottle, and finished the afternoon with ten bottles between us, a mix of Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot. Dinner cooked at the cottage, an old golf movie, an early night. In the morning, on to the Omaka Aviation Heritage Centre, where Sir Peter Jackson's WWI aircraft collection and Weta Workshop dioramas make up the 'Knights of the Sky' exhibition. Pete is an airplane nut, with sixty-five model planes that he flies at home, and he called it the best WWI aircraft display he had ever seen. From there, on to Terrace Downs.

#new-zealand#south-island#marlborough
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