Can I have another sip?

Slowly but surely, it really pays off to have a small network - I've been in contact with another Couchsurfer in Wellington via WhatsApp over the past few weeks. Last night, he invited me to go on a small road trip around the area north of Wellington (there's not much to drive through south of Wellington).
I can't say no to that, especially because I don't have a car myself.
The four of us (the Couchsurfer and his girlfriend, another Couchsurfer, and myself) set off early in the morning - in search of some 'Lord of the Rings' film locations.

The first stop was at an unspectacular quarry on the edge of a highway, Helm's Deep. That didn't really impress us
, but we were just getting started.
After about an hour of driving, we stopped at Kaitoke Regional Park - also known as Rivendell, home of Elrond.
The three female occupants of the car were at least small Tolkien fans, so we had fun there. But even apart from the fantasy significance, the short walk through the woods was impressive. Everything looked at least like a film set from 'Lord of the Rings'.
However, my favorite was the Swing Bridge. Unfortunately, a poor Husky had to be carried across the bridge by its owner, the poor guy didn't have much fun.

After that, we took a curve, a narrow road up a hill. Even on the way there, we had spectacular views of the mountains. Once we reached the top, the wind was quite strong, but it provided a welcome cooling - the sun was shining with full force, a strong invitation to UV radiation.
The path then led us to Martinborough, a tiny little town that stands out mainly for one thing - wine tasting. In the immediate vicinity of this town, there are nearly 100 tasting houses, it's crazy. You walk down one street and immediately stumble into the next wine tasting.

What I didn't know at the time was that boredom would begin as soon as we entered the town.
As someone who abstains from any alcohol consumption and was therefore chosen as the driver for the return trip, I was completely out of place on a wine tasting tour.
And my companions didn't miss the opportunity to spend a solid 5 hours tasting wines!

Five hours!

First of all - what does a wine tasting look like? Simple: you're handed a glass, then wine is poured and the host tells you the special features of the wine. Then you taste the wine in tiny sips and discuss with your companion how dry/heavy/sweet/bitter/... the wine is. And then the next wine is poured. For 5-10$, you get to taste between four and six different wines, mostly white wines.
I don't know how they can make such a science out of it - it's just wine, but the others had so much fun.
I mean, I would also have fun watching my companions get increasingly drunk. But that's the only fun thing left for the sober person.

The weather was great, it was very warm, and the landscape was charming, with numerous vineyards in the background. But after the third vineyard, I was just bored.
So I just drove the others from one house to the next and read there. There are worse ways to spend your time, but also better ones, I have to admit.
Actually, we wanted to go to another natural wonder, but we didn't have enough time anymore (because the others absolutely had to try olive oil, complain, complain).

But the worst thing was really the return trip: suddenly I had to drive along the previously charming mountain road. And I think the lanes have become narrower and the slope steeper. It was more fun on the way there.
I struggled up at 40 km/h and somehow down again in third gear. After that, we continued at maximum speed on the State Highway and my nerves were shot.
The return trip took almost two hours and afterwards, I was as exhausted as if I had climbed Tongariro. So I graciously declined the after-work beer (apparently they hadn't had enough alcohol yet) and made my way home.

That's when I finally had time for my host - I really hit the jackpot once again. My host is such a friendly person, so considerate and understanding - it just clicked. And the garlic red soup was so damn delicious!
In the evening, he even drove me to Mt Victoria for the sunset. The wind made the whole thing uncomfortably cold, so we quickly drove back.
Somehow I managed to write this blog post, even though I'm pretty exhausted. But tomorrow we'll have a relaxed morning (it's Sunday after all) and then set off for some cool stuff!