After a relaxing breakfast, we took to the road. Today we were invited to explore a kiwi orchard and find out all about the little green fruits.
The kiwi plants look a little bit like vines and they are planted in neat little rows. Each plant is packed with fruit, which hangs down under it's own weight. The kiwi fruit are twice the size as the ones we seem to get at home and there is a special golden kiwi fruit which is enormous!
It is now the busy picking season and we were able to watch 'the pickers' in action. It certainly looked like hard work and special harnesses are worn, with baskets in the front, to place the kiwis in.
We saw the whole process from picking to packing and it was totally fascinating! The owner very generously supplied us with enough kiwis to last us for the next 6 months!
Next stop was an old building called the Stone House and was located near the first Christian mission in NZ. They certainly chose a beautiful spot, nestled between a small river inlet and a waterfall! The chickens seemed to like the area too, as they freely roamed around.
Off to the chocolate factory, where we got to sample some wonderful freshly made delights packed with macademia nuts! Truly scrummy ...
The kiwi plants look a little bit like vines and they are planted in neat little rows. Each plant is packed with fruit, which hangs down under it's own weight. The kiwi fruit are twice the size as the ones we seem to get at home and there is a special golden kiwi fruit which is enormous!
It is now the busy picking season and we were able to watch 'the pickers' in action. It certainly looked like hard work and special harnesses are worn, with baskets in the front, to place the kiwis in.
We saw the whole process from picking to packing and it was totally fascinating! The owner very generously supplied us with enough kiwis to last us for the next 6 months!
Next stop was an old building called the Stone House and was located near the first Christian mission in NZ. They certainly chose a beautiful spot, nestled between a small river inlet and a waterfall! The chickens seemed to like the area too, as they freely roamed around.
Off to the chocolate factory, where we got to sample some wonderful freshly made delights packed with macademia nuts! Truly scrummy ...
