WildTomato September 2019

Nelson Tasman and Marlborough’s magazine /

ISSUE 158 / SEPTEMBER 2019 / $8.95

Dine Out in style - the best of our wine, cheese and dining experiences

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Kono Dine Out Awards New Nelson Wines Cheese Please Saving our Whitebait Home Brewing Brass Band Chia Sisters E-transport

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T HE SE LLERS ROOM Residential & Commercial Joinery

FOR SMART RESIDENTIAL &

Kitchen DESIGN / BUILD

We welcome Anna to our design team Studying at Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology allowed me to have an insight into what the design world is about. Gaining my Diploma in Interior Design whilst being the youngest in my class allowed me to see the views of different ages which has given me the experience to work alongside any generation.

My inspiration all started when I was in my younger teens working alongside my father who is a well-known designer in Nelson who has also done many kitchen projects with The Sellers Room.

Anna Krammer Director of Residential Design 027 547 7033

BE PART OF OUR DESIGN TEAM JOURNEY BY COMING INTO OUR SHOWROOM FOR INSPIRATION

BATHROOMS • LAUNDRIES • STAIRS • WARDROBES • COMMERCIAL • FURNITURE

Freephone 0800 469 537 • Phone 03 547 7144 msellers@thesellersroom.co.nz | 9 Echodale Place, Stoke | thesellersroom.co.nz

Orthodontic specialists Ana, Andrew, and Andrew have expertly delivered Smiles of Confidence to Nelson and Marlborough for over 20 years.

When it comes to getting the best advice on the right orthodontic treatment for you and your family that expertise really counts.

27 Waimea Road Nelson. 03 546 6981 nelsonortho.co.nz

ANDREW LUSH

ANA LOW

Expertise that’s backed by a friendly, committed team and world-leading technology, so you know you’re in good hands.

Getting the best advice and treatment doesn’t have to cost you more, but it will ensure you get a healthy, confident smile that’s just right for you.

4 Richardson Avenue Blenheim. 03 546 6981 marlboroughortho.co.nz

ANDREW MARRIOTT

Features Issue 158 / September 2019

Nelson Tasman and Marlborough’s magazine

28 Kono Dine Out Awards 2019 Our results are in and we can now tell you who has won the 2019 Dine Out Awards. Compiled by Lynda Papesch

36 Cheese please The Top of the South is a mecca for artisan cheeses. Sarah Nottage goes on her very own cheese trail

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42 Conserving our whitebait Dwindling numbers of this delicacy are causing a re-think about how the fishery should be managed.

Sophie Preece looks into the cause and effect

46 E-transport On your bike takes on a whole new meaning with the age of e-transport.

Alistair Hughes takes a look at the rising e-transport movement

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INTERVIEWS

20 The Interview Nelson’s entrepreneurial Chia Sisters have a growing reputation for innovation and creativity, especially in business.

Lynda Papesch finds out what inspires them

24 Event Showcase Ivy Lynden looks back at vintage in Nelson Tasman and forward to the official Nelson Wine Tasting 2019 this month

98 My Education Marlborough Medi Spa owner Wendy Dixon talks to Olivia Buys about her business and how studying at Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology gave her the confidence to tackle the industry on her own 4

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Debbie Cooper

Wendy Lindbom

021 0252 8294

Anne Hunter

027 630 2811

03 546 4706

Jacqui Miller

027 327 3619

TA L E N T E D I N D I V I D U A L S M A K E T H E B E S T T E A M S

debbiecooper.co.nz 5 Debbie Cooper Real Estate Ltd (Licensed under the REAA 2008)

Columns Issue 158 / September 2019

FASHION

53 Electrifying fashion Stylist Sonya Leusink Sladen and photographer Ishna Jacobs pair fashion with e-transport this month for stunning looks

60 Fashion Showcase Sonya Leusink Sladen explains how to spring clean your style

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LIFE

62 My Home A stunning home in Marlborough’s Dry Hills subdivision makes the most of the views, writes Brenda Webb

68 My Health Everything from weight gain to dementia seems to be linked to poor sleep. Cindy de Villiers explains why and what can be done about it

70 My Garden Grow your own Christmas tree, says Annabel Schuler

74 My Kitchen A tasty and colourful pickled onion and carrot salad from Madame Lu’s Kitchen

76 Dine Out Reviewer Hugo Sampson enjoys a night out at Nelson’s Cod & Lobster Brasserie

78 Wine Nelson Tasman winemaker Justin Papesch talks about the region’s newest wines, available for tasting later this month

79 Brews Reviewer Mark Preece checks out the home brewing movement

82 Adventure

92 Music Pete Rainey explains how Nelson City took on the big brass and won the national champs

Pulses and pedals were racing when Sophie Preece and family cycled from the Southern Alps to the Pacific Ocean

84 Sports

93 Film

Brenda Webb expands on the Whitehaven Pro Am Golf tournament which tees off in Marlborough this month

Reviewer Michael Bortnick sees an adorable East-West film that should top your must-see list

86 Motoring Kia has given new electric car buyers no excuse for range fear with its pure EV Niro, says reviewer Geoff Moffett REGULARS

ACTIVE

CULTURE

80 Travel

88 Art

Craig Sisterson journeys to impoverished Moldova and finds it wine-rich with some surprising attractions for thirsty travellers 6

John Cohen-Du Four catches up with aerial dancer Chloe Loftus ahead of her performance at next month’s Nelson Arts Festival

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Editor’s letter & contributors 10 Noticeboard 12 Snapped 89 In the Gallery 94 Events

Proud winners at this year’s Master Builders House of the Year awards.

This stunning home was the WINNER of Volume/Group Housing New Home up to $450,000. It also is a Gold Reserve Finalist and is off to the Nationals in November.

This home won GOLD in the Builder’s Own Home category.

Contact us Emma McCashin 021 682 787 emccashin@mikegreerhomes.co.nz Vanessa Clark 027 733 1409 vclark@mikegreerhomes.co.nz

03 544 7873 mikegreerhomes.co.nz

Showhome 5 Village Lane, Montebello, Nelson Open daily, 1pm - 4pm

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Editor's letter

Editor

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Manager

he votes are in for the 2019 Kono Dine Out Awards, run by WildTomato. This was my fourth year being involved with the awards and it was gratifying to see some of the previous winners and businesses still setting a great standard, along with some exciting newcomers.

For the first time we had a separate judging panel for Marlborough categories, and also introduced a new Tasman restaurant category. The results are featured on page 28. Thanks to all those who voted, all our judges and to our sponsor Kono.

When dining many of us enjoy a glass of wine (or beer), and September is when the first of the 2019 vintage new release wines become available. Wine Nelson is hosting its annual official tasting at The Boathouse towards the end of this month and you can read more about that in the following pages.

Cheese is often paired with wine and so this month’s issue also explores some of the artisan cheeses produced across the Top of the South.

Still on the subject of nosh and especially posh nosh, most of us enjoy a feed of whitebait but they have become increasingly threatened during the last few years due to vast overfishing and non-regulation. Don’t get me wrong; I’m a born-and- bred West Coaster and have done my share of netting the elusive tasty treats. I want to continue being able to do so and if that means restrictions on catch amounts and whitebait habitats then so be it. Whitebaiting in the wild should be a recreational fishing activity not a commercial one, and conservation measures are needed to ensure future generations also enjoy this.

Conservation leads me to my next topic which is our feature about e-transport. As increased options become available, pricing should sink to a more affordable level, and design/efficiency should improve too. I’m not just talking electric cars. Other options include electric scooters, bicycles, skateboards and even a uni-cycle. Read on …

Lastly a few important corrections. We hate mistakes creeping into our pages and take every care to avoid them, but occasionally they happen. So first up are apologies to New Vision Landscapes for getting its name wrong in a caption in our July issue landscaping feature. And apologies also to Kristin Nimmo at Olive Estate for spelling her name incorrectly in our August issue retirement living feature. Finally the Tim’s Garden Services Business Profile on page 79 last month contained an incorrect landline number. The correct number for the business is 03 539 1122.

LYNDA PAPESCH

Love local Thomas Cawthron Memorial Lecture

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elson Tasman is lucky to have the scientific Cawthron Institute and occasionally the public has a chance to be involved. One such opportunity is on 17th September when the Thomas Cawthron Memorial Lecture will take place at Annesbrook Community Church.

Visiting scientist and climate studies expert Professor Gideon Henderson will present this year’s

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Lynda Papesch 021 073 2786 lynda@wildtomato.co.nz Laura Loghry 027 378 0008 laura@wildtomato.co.nz

Design & art direction Hester Janssen design@wildtomato.co.nz

Contributors

Michael Bortnick, Chelsea Chang, Elora Chang, Cindy de Villiers, John Cohen-Du Four, Maureen Dewar, Lisa Duncan, Alistair Hughes, Steve Hussey, Bob Irvine, Ishna Jacobs, Sonya Leusink Sladen, Ivy Lynden, Aimee Macquet, Brent McGilvary, Geoff Moffett, Frank Nelson, Sarah Nottage, Justin Papesch, Mark Preece, Sophie Preece, Pete Rainey, Hugo Sampson, Annabel Schuler, Craig Sisterson, Jim Tannock, Laura Tucker, Karaena Vincent, Brenda Webb, Dominique White.

Advertising executives Chrissie Sanders 027 540 2237 chrissie@wildtomato.co.nz Kaleigh Armitage 027 233 4068 kaleigh@wildtomato.co.nz Jo Hender 021 264 7559 jo@wildtomato.co.nz

Lead ad designer Patrick Connor production@wildtomato.co.nz

Subscriptions $75 for 12 issues wildtomato.co.nz/subscribe

Publisher

Jack Martin WildTomato Media Ltd The Boiler Room, 204 Hardy St, Nelson 7010 PO Box 1901 Nelson 7040 info@wildtomato.co.nz wildtomato.co.nz

Find us on: WildTomato/ @wildtomatomagazine @_WildTomato Read online at issuu.com/wildtomato

lecture. Professor Henderson is from the Earth Sciences Department of Oxford University and is a Fellow of the Royal Society.

Professor Henderson will talk about research into the mitigation of climate change by removing greenhouse gases from the atmosphere, and about how to combat climate change.

This is a ticketed event. Visit the website eventbrite.co.nz/e/ cawthron-memorial-lecture-2019tickets-66831038435

WildTomato magazine is subject to copyright in its entirety and its contents may not be reproduced in any form, either wholly or in part, without written permission. The opinions expressed in WildTomato magazine are not necessarily those of WildTomato Media Ltd or its principals.

Cover photography by Steve Hussey and art direction by Hester Janssen. A big thank you to Tasteology@Kahurangi for the location, wine and assistance as well as Thorvald Cheese and Viavio for kindly supplying the cheese selection.

Contributor spotlight OLIVIA BUYS

My Education (page 98) After 15 years in the accounting profession, I decided to swap numbers for words. Writing has always been a passion, but I’d never given myself the opportunity to explore that area.

Studying creative writing at NMIT has given me a new lease on life, and I’m incredibly grateful that we have such high-quality tutors right here in Nelson. That’s one of the cool things about Nelson; it’s an extraordinary region, full of extraordinary people. I came here after my father passed, expecting to return overseas. Six years on, I am still proud to call Nelson home. As my dad used to say, “We live in paradise – why would you live anywhere else?”

J U S T I N PA P E S C H

Wine (page 78) A winemaker and wine consultant for 30 plus years, I’m a gypsy at heart and love travel, music, food, wine and beer. When I travel, I tend to hang out with the locals to embrace the heart and soul of each place and enjoy how they live; their wines and culinary specialties. I’ve widely sampled wines throughout New Zealand, Australia and Europe, always returning to the Top of the South and its amazing aromatics.

Making wine is a team effort that starts in the vineyard and I’m happy to do my fair share of snipping, pulling and tying down, as well as helping create the end results.

Selling your home?

Each week, over 859,000* people read Property Press.

With a wealth of listings, gloss colour & easy reading, it’s no wonder Property Press is New Zealand’s favourite property magazine.

Be where buyers are already looking.

Ask your real estate agent about Property Press.

Also available online at propertypress.co.nz

CRAIG SISTERSON

Travel (page 80) Growing up in Richmond, I fell in love with stories thanks to my parents, schoolteachers and local librarians. Nowadays I write features for magazines and newspapers in several countries, but things began with Santa-inspired mysteries at Richmond Primary School and sports reports at Waimea College. I wrote my first column for WildTomato while traversing Latin America in 2008, between stints as a commercial lawyer and legal editor, then contributed more than 100 articles over the next few years. Now a stayat-home dad and freelancer, it’s very good to be back with my hometown magazine!

*Statistics from Horizon Research’s February 2017 survey, 2066 respondents aged 18+, weighted to represent the New Zealand adult population. The survey has a maximum margin of error at a 95% confidence level of +2.2% overall.

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NOTICEBOARD

Vote for us

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ildTomato has entered in the MAGSHOP People’s Choice category of the Magazine Publishers Awards and we’d like your vote. As well as supporting your favourite magazine, there are some amazing voter prizes up for grabs.

To vote go to the website:

webstarmagazinemediaawards.awardsplatform.com Voters must initially register and authorise their account via email link. After that they may vote for ONE magazine EACH DAY until voting closes at 12pm on 4th September. Each vote counts so be in to win and help make us People’s Choice magazine of the year, to be announced at the 2019 Webstar Magazine Media Awards night on Thursday 5th September.

Ray White Supper Club event raises more than $57,000

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n an amazing inaugural event for Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC), Nelson’s Supper Club last month raised $57,685 in one night. “This will go a long way to help support families when their child is in a hospital away from home,” says Holly Sheehan, events officer for RMHC. “Whether you purchased a table, hosted a table in your restaurant, donated a prize, or spent money at the cocktail party, your support helped contribute to the success of the evening. Without you, Supper Club would not have been anywhere near as successful as it was.”

Last year 117 Nelson and Marlborough families used a Ronald McDonald House. The money raised from Nelson Supper Club goes towards supporting these 117 families and the other 4300 across the country that RMHC New Zealand supports every year.

Where do you read yours?

Lynn Christensen reads her WildTomato while holidaying in Europe in the old town of Nice in France.

Send your image to editor@wildtomato.co.nz ONLY JPG FILES ACCEPTED, MIN 1MB

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Hankies for hospice

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ash Mehrtens has had a fair amount of contact with the Nelson Hospice during the past few years and during this time has identified a need for more tissues; a seemingly small item that makes a big difference. Tash would love for staff to be able to take a box of tissues when visiting homes as some homes don’t have any so she’s started Hankies for Hospice.

Until the end of September new boxes of tissues can be dropped off at Haven Realty in Bridge St, Nelson; Haven Realty in McGlashen Ave, Richmond and Fresh Choice in Richmond Mall. Alternatively, a cash donation can be made via the hospice website using ‘hankie’ as reference. Or contact Tash on 027 316 4788.

• Hospice also needs children’s books, especially educational ones about mums or dads being sick.

Cawthron Marlborough Environment Awards Field Day

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wo birds with one field day … what a great way to start Conservation Week!

Join the field day and find out how two award winners are working together to bring back the bush and birds in the Picton area. We’re catching a boat to Kaipupu and numbers are limited so please make sure you book in.

Email bev.doole@icloud.com or phone 03 570 5233 by September 10.

Designers of Specialty Kitchens DSK (Designer Specialty Kitchens) formerly Dave Spence Kitchens has been providing bespoke high-quality kitchens, laundries and bathrooms to Nelson Tasman clients for the past 35 years. Our team of qualified experienced joiners and designers will work with you to design, manufacture and install your dream kitchen.

DSK offers a full service from design and manufacture to the installation of your dream kitchen Look before you buy, come into our showroom and check out our stylish fully functional working displays At DSK we use 3D design software to show you how your new kitchen will look DSK is proud to be locally owned and operated Call into our showroom and check out our range of cook and kitchenware from European manufacturer WMF

DSK (Designer Specialty Kitchens) 104 Tahunanui Drive, Nelson 0800 677 005 or call Andy on 021 223 8155 info@dsknelson.co.nz

dsknelson.co.nz 11

Snapped WildTomato goes out on the town…

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Arts Festival launch Pic’s Peanut Butter World, Nelson P H O T O G R A P H Y B Y B R E N T M C G I LVA R Y

1. Rachel Reese & Chan Collin

5. Trudi Wilson & Sally Shaw

2. Susie Foster & Susan Lea

6. Channa & Poorna Gunasekera & Lesley Bandy

3. Amie-Jo Trayes, Daz & Cher Hunter & Eliane Polack 4. Bruce McGegor, Kate Fulton & James Wheatley

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7. Caroline Peckhan & Liam Sloan 8. Charlie Unwin & Amanda Raine 9. Woodi Moore & Frigyes Meeama

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PAGE & BLACKMORE

PUKAPUKA TALKS

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Four days of stimulating conversation under one roof.

SNAPPED

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2 Tasman Mako pre-season game Trafalgar Park, Nelson P H O T O G R A P H Y B Y B R E N T M C G I LVA R Y

1. Murray Sturgeon, Les Edwards & Roger Gibbons 2. Kate Von Stieglitz & Emily Turner

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3. Kahu Marfell, Steph Drury & Mark Cochrane 4. Tony Lewis & Peter Bramley

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5. Paul & Debbie Liebezeit 6. Shannon McCrae & Sam Taylor 7. Charlie Symonds & Les Maxwell 8. Zealand Kyle & Chad Spencer

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SNAPPED

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Best of Today workplace wellbeing programme launch McCashin’s, Stoke PHOTOGRAPHY BY AIMEE MACQUET

1. Geoff & Louise Devine & Shannon Ellen

5. Michelle & Kate McCashin

2. Allana Jury & Nicky Roberts

7. Tony Downing & Emma Thompson

3. Sean Trengrove, Bev McCashin & Diana Trengrove 4. Todd McCashin & Geoff Callum

6. Anna Gibbins & Nikki Neate

8. Hayley Alford & Kent Gibbins 9. Rosie Bown & Carolyn Church

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9 T HE P ERFECT R ING G UARANTEE

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jenshansen.co.nz

SNAPPED

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1 Garden Marlborough programme launch Event HQ, Blenheim P H O T O G R A P H Y B Y B R E N T M C G I LVA R Y

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1. Caroline Stone, Samantha Young, Jane Tito & Jodie Griffiths

4. Nicki Stretch & Julia Brown

2. Rosemary Wiffin, John & Margaret Neylon

6. Craig Young & Dave Holquard

3. Phil Vink, Moira Tolan & Sue Monahan

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5. Janet Enright & Vicki Young

7. Pat Jones & Nic Holquard 8. Alice Taylor & Jo McCormick

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SNAPPED

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Ray White Supper Club The Nelson Club PHOTOGRAPHY BY KARAENA VINCENT

1. Peter & Kate Cronin, Jonno & Julianna Trolove

5. Sarze & Robert Kay

2. Kerri Orchard, Glenn Johnson & Kat Campbell

7. Wayne Howett & Mike Simpson

6. Julia & Ben Cooper

3. Trevor & Jo Campbell & Ronald McDonald

8. Caroline & David Younghusband

4. Scott & Raewyn Dodd

9. Daniel Reed & Sara Coleman

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NOW OPEN! 1C Main Street, Blenheim | Phone 021 902 770 Find out more on www.facebook.com/ Eleni-café-kafenio

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SNAPPED

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2 Marlborough Book Festival cruise Marlborough Sounds P H O T O G R A P H Y B Y J I M TA N N O C K

1. Lorraine Carryer & Mark Preece 2. Claudia Small, Pamela Clare & Helen Webber

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3. Laurence Fearnley, Pip Adam & Whiti Hereaka 4. Ginni McIntosh & Di Leighton

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5. Grahame Sydney & Kat Pickford 6. Miranda Chaytor & Anne Kennedy 7. Bek Coogan & Shayne Carter 8. Liz Nash & Helen Ainsworth

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SNAPPED

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Crombie Lockwood Blenheim office re-opening Rangitane House, Blenheim

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PHOTOGRAPHY BY LISA DUNCAN

1. Hans Nielsen, Jo Hender & Alice Parkinson

4. Laura Kidd (with baby Jack) & Shelley Lintott

2. Jenny & Colin Francis & Kathryn Brown

5. Steph Burdis & Sue Beaumont

3. Rebecca Brooke-Taylor, Rachele & Peter Bowater

7. Wayne Wiffen & Simon Bishell

6. Yvonne Collins & Lynda Papesch 8. Jamie Bowles & Anna Molloy

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SNAPPED

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2 Mid-winter Christmas Hospice fundraiser The Playhouse, Tasman

PHOTOGRAPHY BY KARAENA VINCENT

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1. Paula Muddle, Wayne Densem & Hudson Dodd

5. Maree Jeffreys-Bryant & Lorraine Densem

2. Bryce Wastney, Debbie Wastney & Brigitte Older

6. Fiona Wilson, Gill Ireland & Michelle Sowman

3. Nicky Francis, Raewyn Dodd & Reni Gargiulo

7. Dee Jones & Steve Neave

4. Nicky Reid & Shona Allan

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8. Jane Chapman & Lynley Wooton

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INTERVIEW

Sibling creativity with a broad view Nelson’s entrepreneurial Chia Sisters have a growing reputation for innovation and creativity, especially in business. Lynda Papesch finds out what inspires them.

P H O T O G R A P H Y B R E N T M C G I LVA R Y

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iblings, friends and business partners Chloe and Florence van Dyke share a strong moral, ethical and environmental stance that shines through in all they do. The founders of the successful Chia Sisters beverage business grew up in Nelson/Tasman and from a young age both took a lead from their entrepreneurial parents, Miranda and Ben. Today those early lessons are in full bloom, with the sisters combining their love of outdoor pursuits with business acumen and a desire to make the world a better place. Chloe, a neuroscientist with a diploma in herbal medicine, founded the company six years

“We had birthday parties where Mum would organise games to see who could put stickers on soaps fastest.”

C H L O E VA N DY K E G R EW U P I N A N ENTREPRENEU RIAL HOUSEHOLD

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ago with a chia-seed drink she developed as an alternative to sugary energy drinks. Florence, with a legal background, joined her in 2016 and in April this year made the Forbes Top 30 Under 30 Asia Arts list based on the success of the Chia Sisters.

That success, they believe, comes from having a similar vision and shared goals and staying focused on them. Those goals form the cornerstones of their lives and their business, based around core values of nutrition, innovation and sustainability.

Family life helped to form the foundations of who the sisters are today. A five-year age gap separates them, with Chloe the oldest, and they also have a younger brother Hugh, who is a lawyer.

Always close, they became good friends as they grew older, and picked up on their parents’ business creativity. Shortly after deciding Nelson was the place for them, Miranda and Ben moved to the city in 1985 with six-month-old Chloe and opened City Lights Café in Hardy Street.

Branching out

In the following years they bought and ran a charter vessel, African Queen, Miranda painted pottery and with Ben started the New Zealand (Maruia) Nature Company. By then Chloe was five and Florence had just been born.

“The business included selling possum-fur hats,” says Chloe, “and the idea was to help save the native forest by creating something out of the animals destroying it. I clearly remember tanned possum skins hanging in the garage at home, and later on having Florence – who was a baby – on the table while we worked.” The company evolved into a successful mail-order business and by the time Chloe was about six it moved from home to upstairs above Lambretta’s in what is now The Boiler Room collective workspace. That particular business became an inescapable part of family life, Chloe recalls. “We had birthday parties where Mum would organise games to see who could put stickers on soaps fastest.”

Both remember their first business ventures. “Mine was selling dried cabbage tree leaves to the neighbours as fire starters,” says

“Anyone is able to succeed if they have the right connections and support about them.”

F L O R E N C E VA N DY K E

Florence. “I dried, plaited and tied them into bundles of 20, and made $2. It seemed like a great profit.”

Chloe tested her skills with selling bird-callers at the Nelson Market. “They were part of the Nature Company’s product list but we used it to test our selling skills,” she adds.

Spare time was spent enjoying the outdoors, and that also played a major role in shaping them, and their eventual business foray.

Both sisters attended Nelson Central primary school and then Nelson College for Girls. “I enjoyed science and was fascinated by the brain and how it works,” Chloe recalls. She continued that interest at Otago University and into postgraduate research into Alzheimer’s disease. “I then became interested in the use of natural plants for health benefits.”

Florence followed her to Otago University, studying law, environmental studies and history. She spent one year of her studies at Uppsala University in Sweden and after her final year took up an internship with the United Nations working on the Khmer Rouge Trials in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. After that she went to law firm Bell Gully for two-and-a-half years.

Drinking to success

Photo: Supplied

By then Chloe had decided she wanted to live and work in Nelson. “There weren’t a lot of opportunities for neuroscientists here, so I looked at other options.”

Together with her father Ben, she came up with the idea of a nutritious plant-based health drink for fitness training. “Florence is a triathlete and Ben a world champion swimmer (first in the world in his age group).

“At the time I felt health drinks were marketed by what was not in them, instead of what they contained. What is important is what’s in your food and drink. That’s what makes you feel healthy, satisfied and full.

“We struggled to find nutritious fuel. Sports foods and drinks on the market were low in nutrition and high in artificial ingredients, sugar and caffeine.”

Chloe found that chia seeds were healthy for the skin, heart, brain and whole body so she experimented by mixing them with

Above: Clockwise - Bottled and ready to go; Florence, left, and Chloe wearing possum fur hats at an early age Opposite page: Florence, left, and Chloe van Dyke

Nelson blackcurrants. The first prototype was conceived, and the rest, as they say, is history.

CHIA, the drink, continues to be a success story, loved by athletes and the public alike, and winning multiple accolades and national food awards. It is now exported to Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia.

In the meantime Chloe, Florence, Ben and the Chia Sisters team continue developing other innovative nutrition-based products such as their AWAKA Sparkling Coconut Water and Bottled by the Sun beverages, and a just released world-first hemp protein smoothie.

Along the way they’ve set up their own solar-powered factory in Tahunanui, and worked hard on their vision and sustainability goals. That initial vision hasn’t wavered – if anything it has expanded, with both sisters paying forward the help and advice they’ve received over the years.

They proudly pay their staff above the Living Wage, 25% higher than the Minimum Wage, and work hard to be inspirational role models for the next generation. Both agree their inspiration started with their parents’ creativity and business determination.

“We have parents who were not afraid to try new things which inspired us,” reflects Florence. “They taught us to be successful, although not in the traditional sense.”

“I never felt pressured to be successful,” says Chloe.

“Growing up it was about doing what we were passionate about.

Now we want to inspire young people to give their dreams a go.”

Florence finds anyone prepared to “give it a go” an inspiration, whether they’re a 15-year-old youth or a 70-year-old.

“Anyone is able to succeed,” she says, “if they are passionate and have the right support around them.”

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“It’s about bringing your personal ethos into your business; about practices such as recycling and paying a living wage.”

C H L O E VA N DY K E

Traditionally those connections have been a ‘white boys’ club’ but that is now breaking down, and the Chia Sisters are helping to lead the charge.

“The current business model is not working,” says Florence.

“Huge growth in businesses in recent decades has come at the expense of the environment and people, but we think it is possible for business to be good for both the people and the planet.”

The way to achieve this, the sisters believe, is to change the way things are done and make sure every business decision takes into account the effect on the planet and the people; that every decision made has a positive impact.

“It’s about bringing your personal ethos into your business”, says Chloe. Chia Sisters became zero carbon and climate positive last month. “We reduce our emissions by creating renewable solar energy and using electric vehicles and offset by contributing to sustainable native forests in the Nelson region.” The company has also made their carbon footprint available online to help demystify the process.

And it’s about being proud of Nelson.

“We’re grateful to the Nelson region and the hundreds of people that have helped us get to where we are today,” says Florence. In hindsight, she says that Nelson proved the perfect placed to launch their business from.

“It’s a good size, we’re able to use local fruit, local sun and that helps the province too.”

Collaborate to succeed

The sisters believe one path to business success is working together and stopping the current isolation between various businesses. “The more collaboration the better,” says Florence.

Both collaborate widely, in many forms. They catch up informally with other young entrepreneurs, liaise with women in business, share ideas and even share freight costs.

As members of the Asia New Zealand Foundation, they’ve found it helpful gaining inroads into Asian markets, and are excited about the prospect of joint promotional events and working together with other companies to export into Asia.

“It’s about how we can collaborate to have a positive impact. Lots of people go to work and ask themselves if what they are doing has a positive impact,” says Chloe. “If the answer is no, then they need to think about how they can improve.”

For Florence, a key to success is building genuine business relationships. “Such relations can be hugely influential, but it can be difficult to do this from Nelson so we need to work harder on those connections than small businesses based in bigger cities might.”

Among the connections they’ve made is a group called SheEO, which is a global community of radically generous women supporting women-led ventures. Worldwide its goal is to reach one million activators, 10,000 women-led ventures and establish a $1 billion perpetual fund to support women for generations to come.

It’s a way for women to overcome investment hurdles,” explains Chloe. “Five hundred women in each country put $1000 into the fund, then select five women in business to be given an interest-free loan. Mentoring is also part of the process. The loan is paid back over five years and the next five women are chosen.”

Chia Sisters was chosen to be a loan recipient and they cannot speak highly enough about the scheme. “It’s awesome,” says Florence, adding that the business connections they made through SheEO have proven even more important than the loan.

Now they’re looking to expand and share those business connections, and their business, especially with other women and young would-be entrepreneurs.

“Sometime when you have a good idea, you need to just give it a go,” says Florence. She’s giving surfing a go this year, adding it to her list of trail running and mountain biking. And Chloe and her husband Marc, proud parents of an 20-month-old son, will be learning more about juggling the demands of family life and business. Truly inspirational!

Carbon neutral

Photo: Supplied

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Above: Clockwise - Florence, left, and Chloe at their solar-powered production factory; Chloe, left, and Florence selling bird callers at the Nelson Market 22

hia Sisters is also committing to becoming not only a carbon neutral company but a climate positive company.

“This means our company will be reducing carbon in the atmosphere. This will be done by both reducing our own carbon footprint (which we are going to make publicly available) and by planting trees, primarily natives in the Nelson region,” says Chloe.

“This goes hand-in-hand with our view that businesses need to prioritise having a positive impact on the environment in which they operate. We want to show other businesses what an easy process this is and would love to open up discussion with any Nelson businesses that are interested.”

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EVENT SHOWCASE

Tasting Nelson Tasman’s extraordinary bottled poetry Much hard work and dedication goes into wine production from grape to bottle, so we can enjoy the fruit of the vine. Ivy Lynden looks back at vintage in Nelson Tasman and forward to the official Nelson Wine Tasting 2019 on 24th September.

P H O T O G R A P H Y C H O C O L AT E D O G S T U D I O

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obert Louis Stevenson once said, “Wine is bottled poetry.”

Many of those who enjoy a glass would agree, composing their own poetic descriptives to tell others what they enjoy about specific wines.

In Nelson Tasman the annual official wine tasting that incorporates the first of the new season’s wine releases with more mature older vintages offers the opportunity to try numerous varieties and styles all at the one venue, and to discuss them with those who produce them.

Ahhhh! The aromas, the colours, the excited chatter of attendees and last, but by no means least, an enticing line-up of wines to taste. Yes the countdown is ticking to Wine Nelson’s 2019 official tasting and back at The Boathouse this year, it promises to be all that and more.

Bottling the 2019 wines is well underway and post-harvest observations about great fruit ripeness and balanced pH and acids are showing through, with wines exhibiting good balance, fruit concentration and varietal expression.

Nelson Tasman’s vineyards continue to expand, totalling 1170ha for the year ended June 2018, with the average size vineyard listed at 9.8ha. Much of the increased planting is in sauvignon blanc vines, although local companies are also trying some exciting new varieties.

Strictly for attendees aged 18 years and over, the official Nelson Wine Tasting 2019 is an industry event that brings together the public with wine company owners, growers, winemakers and viticulturists, specially to share and talk about 24

their latest wines. It is organised by Wine Nelson which is the marketing collective of wineries in the Nelson Tasman region.

More than 100 wines – 2019 and earlier vintages – from 21 wineries will be available for tasting, along with some incredible regional artisan gourmet treats.

Nelson Tasman produces a range of varieties exceptionally well across two quite distinct sub-wine regions, the plains and the hills, each of which has its own sub-climate and terroir. As a wine region, Nelson Tasman is home to some of New Zealand’s most inspired award-winning wines, producing outstanding pinot noir, chardonnay, sauvignon blanc and aromatics, as well as an impressive mix of emerging varieties. Think pinot gris, riesling, rose, gewürztraminer, pinot blanc, pinot meunier and viognier.

“This is the only event which sees virtually all of Nelson’s wine producers gathered under one roof in a stunning yet informal setting – a Nelson specialty. Always a fun occasion, both the trade and public are catered for with their own independently tailored sessions,” says Nelson Winegrowers Committee treasurer Paul Miles of Riwaka River Estate.

… the official Nelson Wine Tasting 2019 is an industry event that brings together wine company owners, growers, winemakers and viticulturists with the public …

The wines from 2019 are brilliant – the vintage was huge fun – no pressure, just great fruit.

J U DY F I N N , N E U D O R F V I N EYA R D S

“This is the perfect occasion to get to know how we put the Nelson lifestyle and sunshine in a bottle! Will the dolphins swim by to greet us again this year?”

Judy Finn of Neudorf Vineyards agrees. “The wines from 2019 are brilliant – the vintage was huge fun – no pressure, just great fruit.”

Several interesting facts bear that out.

Did you know:

• Nelson Tasman upped its harvest tonnage this year by 36 percent, making it the fourth largest wine producing region in New Zealand. The increase was one of the largest across the regions.

• Sauvignon blanc is also on the increase regionally, with a 20 percent jump. Regionally sauvignon blanc is an elegant, restrained expression of the variety, displaying lovely texture and minerality alongside crisp, vivacious tropical fruit with fresh herbal nuances.

• Regional stars are pinot noir and chardonnay although aromatics continue to climb the award and tonnage ladder as do some exciting emerging varieties.

• Several of the pioneers of New Zealand’s wine industry are still producing wine here, exporting all over the globe.

Above: Clockwise - Harvesting at Dunbar Estate; removing the nets at Himmelsfeld Vineyard; winemaker Trudy Sheild tasting a tank sample at Middle Earth Wines; winemaker Shayne Cox processing grapes at Richmond Plains Opposite page: Wine tasting at Seifried Estate Winery

How to Taste Wine:

Wine tasting may seem complicated, but anyone can do it by following four simple steps.

1. Look

Check out the colour, clarity and viscosity (wine legs). Read the information on the label (unless you are blind tasting).

Labels usually include the vintage, amount of alcohol by volume and the grape variety.

2. Smell

When you first start smelling wine, think big to small.

Are there fruits? Think of broad categories first, ie citrus, orchard or tropical fruits in whites or, when tasting reds, red fruits, blue fruits or black fruits. Getting too specific or looking for one particular note can lead to frustration.

Broadly, you can divide the nose of a wine into three primary categories: Primary aromas are grape-derivative and include fruits, herbs and floral notes.

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“... the only event which sees virtually all of Nelson’s wine producers gathered under one roof in a stunning yet informal setting - a Nelson specialty.”

PAU L M I L E S , R I WA K A R I V E R E S TAT E

Secondary aromas come from winemaking practices. The most common aromas are yeast-derivative and are most easy to spot in white wines: cheese rind, nut husk (almond, peanut) or stale beer.

Tertiary aromas come from ageing, usually in bottle, or possibly in oak. These aromas are mostly savoury: roasted nuts, baking spices, vanilla, autumn leaves, old tobacco, cured leather, cedar and even coconut.

3. Taste

Taste is how we use our tongues to observe the wine, but also, once you swallow the wine, the aromas may change because you’re receiving them retro-nasally.

Our tongues can detect salty, sour, sweet or bitter. All wines are going to have some sour, because grapes all inherently have some acid. This varies with climate and grape type.

Your tongue should also help perceive the wine’s texture; characteristics that relate to its mouth-feel. Textures include perceived grittiness, oiliness and tannins. The latter come to the fore often in red wines, having a sandpaper-like effect on the tongue.

Tasting the wine also helps decide its length or how long you can taste it in your mouth after you have swallowed it.

Wines usually have a beginning, a middle (mid-palate) and an end (finish).

4. Think

Lastly, think about the wine you just sampled. Did the wine taste balanced or out of balance (ie too acidic, too alcoholic, too tannic)?

Did you like the wine? Was this wine unique or unmemorable?

Were there any characteristics that shone through?

Of course you may simply decide to try a wine and like it or not, without going through a tasting analysis.

Ticketed event, limited to 150 people. Local trade can contact info@winenelson.co.nz for details about the trade tasting.

Above: Greenhough barrel tasting 26

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Dine Out Awards

PRESENTS THE 11th ANNUAL

2019

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JUDGING PANEL PA S T S U P R E M E AWA R D W I N N E R S :

NELSON: Chris Fortune, Michael McMeeken, Lynda Papesch, Geoff Simmons

BLENHEIM: Jane Hunter, Stephanie McIntyre, Sam Webb, Lynda Papesch

C O M P I L E D B Y LY N D A PA P E S C H | P H O T O G R A P H Y S T E V E H U S S E Y

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hat Nelson Tasman and Marlborough have such excellent fare and service is a testament to those who make the hospitality industry their trade. The Dine Out Awards recognise not just the restaurants, cafés, music, beverage and food outlets, but also the owners and staff. Well done to you all.

Thank you to our sponsor Kono, an indigenous food and drinks company that also calls the Top of the South, or Te Tauihu o te Ika a Māui, home. For hundreds of years, their ancestors

BEST RESTAURANT

2018:

2017: 2016: 2015: 2014 : 2013 : 2012 : 2011: 2010: 2009:

Al Fresco at Upper Trafalgar St (Best Music Venue) Arbour (Best Restaurant) Hopgood’s (Best Restaurant) Gramado’s (Best Restaurant) Miyazu (Best Restaurant) Bratwurst Grill (Best Street Cart) DeVille (Best Café) The Free House (Best Bar) Bouterey’s (Best Restaurant) Hopgood’s (Best Restaurant)

have been gardeners, fishermen, orchardists, artisans and providores. Today they craft award-winning and world-renowned products like Tohu and Aronui wines, Kono mussels, Annies fruit bars, Tutū cider and more.

Last, but by no means least, thank you to our judges; Jane Hunter from Hunters Wines, Chris Fortune from NMIT, Stonefly Lodge chef Michael McMeeken, Kono South Island sales manager Geoff Simmons, foodie Stephanie McIntyre of Outré, and Marlborough Tour Company executive chef Sam Webb.

Congratulations all from Kono and WildTomato.

SUPREME WINNER 2019

NELSON

Urban Oyster Bar & Eatery 278 Hardy St, Nelson 03 546 7861 | www.urbaneatery.co.nz

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he place to go” was the collective decision when naming Urban Oyster Bar & Eatery supreme winner and best Nelson restaurant this year. Owner/chef Matt Bouterey is highly regarded in the local food scene for his past and present restaurants and dedication to delivering creative dishes using local produce.

A Michelin-trained chef, Matt has worked with some of the greats including Anthony Demetre, Gary Rhodes and Marco Pierre White.

Urban Oyster Bar & Eatery specialises in shared plates, paired with a great selection of wines and craft beers. Aside from great craft beers from local breweries and a modest but outstanding wine list, staff also make a pretty mean cocktail.

The menu changes regularly depending on seasonal produce and what the team is

passionate about at the time. Oysters are a specialty as the name suggests.

Their goal is to make everyone feel like whanau (family) – whether it is a first visit or a 40th. They don’t do reservations but there’s always room, whether it’s for brunch, a light repast or dinner.

At Urban they believe that serving up good juju in a restaurant isn’t just in the food and drink, but in the attitude and atmosphere which will make Urban the perfect place to stop in and refuel.

Highly commended: Arden Bar & Kitchen, Hopgood’s Restaurant

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BEST RESTAURANT TASMAN

Jellyfish Restaurant & Bar Mapua Wharf, Aranui Road, Mapua 03 540 2028 | www.jellyfishmapua.co.nz

Photo Supplied

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pen every day for coffee, breakfast, lunch and dinner, Jellyfish Restaurant & Bar is located on picturesque Mapua Wharf.

Owners Debbie and Simon Lavery bought Jellyfish in May 2016 and since then have transformed the restaurant into a light-filled, inviting dining venue, serving great food and wine in a relaxed café atmosphere with fabulous estuary and sea views.

Dining indoors or out is a pleasure in what is one of the best restaurant locations in Nelson Tasman. Adding to the atmosphere are tempting seasonal menus, great service and a wide selection of local craft beer on tap.

Highly commended: Forsters Moutere Hills, The Smoking Barrel, Motueka

BEST RESTAURANT MARLBOROUGH

Arbour Restaurant 36 Godfrey Road, Fairhall, Blenheim 03 572 7989 | www.arbour.co.nz

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rbour is a modern and relaxed environment with innovative cuisine, an extensive wine list and warm, friendly service. Business partners Liz Buttimore and Bradley Hornby head the team at Arbour and love that its rural Marlborough setting means Arbour is surrounded by passionate people producing exceptional wine and food.

“We have access to world-class ingredients for our diners right on our doorstep,” says Bradley.

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A multi-award-winning restaurant, Arbour’s menus all showcase local producers and Marlborough stories.

“Marlborough food is something very special. We have products here that, when combined, create dishes that simply can’t be found anywhere else. This gives our restaurant a truly regional flavour,” says Liz. Highly commended: Wither Hills Restaurant, Harvest Restaurant

BEST CAFÉ NELSON TASMAN

Hardy St Eatery 136 Hardy St, Nelson 03 391 0077 | www.hardysteatery.co.nz

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reative, seasonal eats with damn good coffee and booze is on the menu six days a week at the Hardy St Eatery.

Owners James Rutherford and Louise Morten moved to Nelson last year from Wellington and set about creating an eatery with an atmosphere which customers can liken to dining at home.

James has had years of experience as a chef in New Zealand and internationally.

Open Monday to Saturday for breakfast and lunch, their food philosophy is creative, seasonal and approachable meals from a regularly changing menu, using fresh local ingredients whenever possible. They cater for gluten-free and other dietary requirements.

Highly commended: PC Eatery (Pic’s), DeVille Café & Bar

BEST CAFÉ MARLBOROUGH

Vines Village Cafe & Deli 193 Rapaura Rd, Blenheim RD3 03 572 7170 | www.vinesvillagecafe.co.nz

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he Vines Village Cafe & Deli is Marlborough’s award-winning favourite casual dining destination with a fresh and wholesome café specialising in nourishing breakfasts, fresh Supreme coffee, tasty lunches and afternoon drinks.

Owned by the Fulton family, it’s a short drive from central Blenheim, set amongst the expansive grounds and lakeside gardens of The Vines Village, surrounded by vineyards and Marlborough’s worldfamous cellar doors.

With a large kitchen garden, fruit trees and adjoining deli, The Vines Village Cafe aims to use food from sustainable, ethical sources and offers a broad range of food styles and organic beverages, green smoothies and fresh garden salads.

Highly commended: Karaka Cuisine, Haven, CBD

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BEST BAR/ PUB NELSON TASMAN

Rhythm & Brown 19 New St, Nelson 03 546 6319 | www.facebook.com/ rhythmandbrown.nz

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ated by Lonely Planet as “Nelson’s slinkiest late-night drinking den, where classy cocktails, fine wines and craft beer flow from behind the bar and sweet vinyl tunes drift from the speakers”. Rhythm & Brown also hosts regular Saturday-night micro-gigs.

Owner Scott Bradley, a multi-award-winning barman, opened Rhythm & Brown in December 2012. Tucked away in New Street,

BEST BAR/ PUB MARLBOROUGH

the bar provides a relaxing spot for a quiet drink, and a livelier atmosphere at weekends with live musicians and bands.

Selling only local beers and wines from the top of the South Island, they also serve up a range of tasty meals using fresh, locally-sourced ingredients.

Highly commended: Moutere Inn, Bamboo Tiger, Vic Brewbar

The Free House

BEST BEER VENUE

95 Collingwood St, Nelson 03 548 9391 | www.thefreehouse.co.nz

Grovetown Hotel 2470 SH1, Grovetown | 03 578 5525

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ans call it Marlborough’s best-kept secret but the news is spreading. The Grovetown Hotel’s reputation is for fresh, flavourful food, reasonably priced and of a consistently high quality, along with an interesting range of craft beer and wines.

Owner Damian Johnson and his wife Chinami Harada bought the historic Grovetown Hotel in 2011 and have worked hard to transform it into a cosy (TV-free) environment for families and people who appreciate good beer and wine and wholesome, fresh food. The menu is more Asian fusion than pub grub, and there’s no mainstream beer or big screen.

Highly commended: 5 Tapped, Scotch Bar

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iscover craft beer and real ale from breweries all over New Zealand at The Free House where there are more than a dozen beers on tap as well as locally crafted cider and wine.

Unaffiliated to any brewery, owner Elco Boswijk describes it as a portal for the multitude of craft beers being created all over New Zealand. All its beers are cask or keg dispensed. The beer menu is ever-changing, offering the opportunity to try new beers, and beer styles, whilst also providing the familiarity of a few favourites. About 99.9% of the beers served are New Zealand brewed.

Highly commended: Grovetown Hotel, Marlborough, Moa Brewing Company, Marlborough

BEST WINE EXPERIENCE

Cod & Lobster Brasserie

BEST COCKTAILS

Photo Rachael Brown Photography

300 Trafalgar St, Nelson 03 546 4300 | www.codandlobster.com

Tasteology@Kahurangi Estate 4 Sunrise Valley Rd, Upper Moutere 03 543 2983 | www.tasteology.co.nz

T

asteology@Kahurangi Estate offers an opportunity for locals and visitors to sample and purchase some of the best artisanal produce from the Nelson Tasman region of New Zealand in one spot.

Based at Kahurangi Estate Wines, Tasteology is the brainchild of Cameron Woods and Maria Gonzalez, (ex-Neudorf Vineyards cellar door). They both enjoy interacting with people and love the wine industry.

In addition to offering a full range of Kahurangi wines, Tasteology also has locally crafted beer and cider, and a menu designed to showcase the best of the region.

“We wanted to break down some of those insecurity barriers [about wine tasting]; anyone can come in and say we don’t know about wine, we just say taste it and see if you like it, if you don’t then let’s try something else.”

od & Lobster Brasserie was established by Nelson couple Nick and Kymberly Widley in 2015 and opens for lunch, dinner and meticulously mixed late-night cocktails.

The couple used their own passion for seafood, cocktails and quality dining as inspiration for Cod & Lobster Brasserie, creating a business that utilises fresh regional fare with a cosmopolitan twist, whilst also catering to a wide variety of people, including the cocktail crowd.

The Cod & Lobster cocktail bar boasts more than 140 gins and every cocktail is created with care and passion in an ongoing pursuit of excellence.

Highly commended: The Wine Station, Blenheim, Rimu Wine Bar, Mapua

Highly commended: Kismet, Bamboo Tiger, Arden Bar & Kitchen, all Nelson

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BEST COFFEE VENUE

Coffee 101 101 Bridge St, Nelson 022 372 1592 | www.facebook.com/ coffee101nelson

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ne of Nelson’s newest coffee venues, Coffee 101 is run by business partners Sam Aish and Andi Waddington. Their goal is serving customers the best coffee ever and they are very good at it. Coffee 101 serves Allpress coffee, smoothies and cabinet food which is supplied by local caterers.

In the grinder they have the Allpress A.R.T Espresso

Roast, alongside the Haus Decaf Blend. When serving a V60 brew they use a single origin blend.

Sam and Andi worked together at River Kitchen for four years, and both also worked individually in Wellington and Melbourne.

Highly commended: Jak’s Island Espresso & Catering, Nelson, Koffie Mobile Barista, Blenheim

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BEST MUSIC VENUE

Le Café 12-14 London Quay, Picton 03 573 5588 | www.lecafepicton.co.nz

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café, restaurant and music venue on Picton’s foreshore, Le Café is a popular place to go for live music, stimulating conversation and good food. Since 2000 Le Café Picton has been dedicated to offering real food, real beer and wines and real music events for real people, with a sea view to match!

A gathering point for travelling musicians for two decades now, it has absorbed musical identities, tales and sounds continuously. A highlight of the gig calendar is its ‘open-ear’ jazz festival.

Add to that more than 50 predominantly local wines, various beers and spirits and it’s a real recipe for success.

Highly commended: Rhythm & Brown, Nelson, The Plant, Blenheim

BEST STREET CART

Nikki’s Thai

Hardy St, Nelson, next to Kiwibank | 03 573 5588

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ikki Jantira is the driving force behind Nikki’s Thai Food Cart. From Pitsanulok, Thailand, she immigrated to New Zealand in 2000 and after working at the Sealord factory for a few years, bought her food cart in 2009.

Cooking is her passion and she enjoys working in her food cart outside Kiwibank during the week. Two firm favourites with her customers are chicken with her own

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special peanut sauce – made fresh every day - and Pad Thai.

Catering for inner-city office and retail workers, Nikki enjoys a bit of chit chat too and is often asked for travel advice about Thailand.

Highly Commended: Feast Merchants, Marlborough, Viva La Vaca, Nelson

Congratulations TO ALL THE 2019 DINE OUT AWARD WINNERS FROM KONO WINES

konowines.co.nz

Say Cheese

Cheese artisans taste success The bland block in supermarkets faces serious rivalry as European flair enriches our region, Sarah Nottage discovers.

PHOTOGRAPHY STEVE HUSSEY

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asting a quality handmade cheese is intense. Your senses ignite. In the moment you notice every detail, from the taste to the texture, and even your surroundings. The experience can be surprising – almost overwhelming. You struggle for words to describe it. The taste may not be what you expected, but it may be exactly what you were looking for.

The Top of the South is home to several thriving cheesemakers who craft their product by hand, using traditional methods.

Kervella Cheese, inspired by the principles of biodynamic farming and sustainability, have been creating divinely unique cheeses in a fromagerie located at their home in Takaka since 2007. Viavio, in Nelson, set up a few years ago with a desire to expand the varieties of quality, delicious Italian-style cheese and yoghurt in New Zealand.

Cranky Goat have been making a wide range of superb goat cheeses using milk sourced from their goat-farming neighbours at Linkwater, Marlborough Sounds, for some 14 years. Thorvald, nestled in the Neudorf Valley, create beautiful sheep-milk cheese and yoghurt as well as cows’-milk cheese under a different brand, Little River Estate.

Our local artisan cheesemakers either grew up in or have strong connections with Europe, and as such their driving force is derived strongly from their heritage. Simon Lamb, from Cranky Goat, immigrated here with his family when he was recruited by the New Zealand Defence Force from Herefordshire, in the English countryside.

“In Europe, the relationship with food is that it is life,” he says.

“In New Zealand, still a young, rurally based country, until quite recently the purpose of food has been predominantly for nourishment.

“If I look back at my childhood memories, they always involve eating good food. Then afterwards the table would be cleared and a big cheeseboard put out. It was a part of the conversation, like wine.

Wine and cheese are a total contradiction in terms because cheese coats the mouth with fat and then wine strips it, so it’s that conflict, that moment, which makes it complementary.”

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“To make good cheese you have to observe; you have to know how the ingredients interact.”

NICOLA CHIACCHIARI , CHEESEMAKER

Crossing the globe

Dynamic, entrepreneurial Italian couple Flavia Spena and Flavio Donati, of Viavio, were ready for a change in lifestyle when they moved to Nelson from Rome several years ago. They had developed a strong connection with New Zealand over the course of Flavio’s career as a professional rugby player, both in Italy and Marlborough.

Looking for opportunities to live here and with a passion for good food, Flavia, a former top executive with jewellery and resort giant Bulgari, explains that although they found some excellent artisanal cheeses in New Zealand, “the range was very limited compared with Italy, where there are over 1000 types of cheese.

After intensive market research, we brought two cheese experts over from Italy, who advised that good Italian cheese could be made in Nelson using Oaklands milk.”

Nicola Chiacchiari, their cheesemaker, began his craft at his family’s factory in Italy at age 13, using traditional methods, and now has more than 20 years of experience. “To make good cheese you have to observe; you have to know how the ingredients interact,” he says. “A machine helps, but you need to have experience to manage the whole process.”

Flavia says that in Italy good cheese is part of everyday life.

“We bought fresh cheese from the market. Whatever we did not eat we would use for another dish. For example, ricotta. We would eat it fresh for breakfast with berries, and use what was left over for dinner, such as spinach and ravioli cannelloni pie. The flavour of the cheese was always changing according to the season.”

Above: Clockwise - Francis Bigot from Thorvald making haloumi; gorgonzola ready to be packaged at Viavio Opposite page: Wildfire cheese maturing at Thorvald

A family tradition

Although Dave Barrett from Thorvald was initially inspired to start a cheesemaking business after meeting a couple of key people in the industry locally, the idea was consolidated by his father having been a cheesemaker in Denmark. With a background in sales and marketing, Dave and wife Sue have owned and run a number of successful businesses in the Nelson region over the years, including the Stoke and Nelson Fruit and Vege stores in the early 2000s. About the same time, when craft beer was in its infancy in the region, Dave partnered with master brewer Craig Harrington to establish the Sprig & Fern brand.

Dave and Sue bought their cheese factory in Upper Moutere a few years ago, and with Francis Bigot, a master cheesemaker from France at the helm for four years, they have been handcrafting sheep and cows’ milk cheese ever since. Dave says an important factor in their cheesemaking business, from a social perspective, is creating employment in the Nelson region. “We want to offer a living wage rather than just the sunshine dollar, and keep younger people in the area.”

Highly qualified in cheese

Nelson-born Gabrielle Kervella is a qualified French cheese judge, and spent 10 years training cheesemakers in France. She moved back to Australia, and her English-born husband Alan Cockman, a dairy technologist, recalls the irony of French cheesemaking students travelling to Oz to learn how to make French goats’ cheese with him, an Englishman.

Gabrielle and Alan, founders of Kervella Cheese, are both master cheesemakers and a formidable team. Even with a combined 40 years of practising their craft, they say they still have so much to learn.

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Kervella’s ethos is to tread as lightly as possible on the planet, while creating a range of cheeses that are authentic, have depth of flavour and are completely different to anything else in the world.

Gabrielle swapped high heels and cocktail parties for goatfarming in the early 1980s in Western Australia. Through sheer grit, determination, observation and a deep passion for organic farming, she produced the best-quality milk for the cheese that won Australia’s top award in 1996-1998.

“I gradually learned that as the pasture improved via biodynamic farming practices, the goats ate less because their nutritional needs were taken care of. It is the same for humans – if we eat better food our bodies are nourished and our health problems diminish.”

Kervella’s ethos is to tread as lightly as possible on the planet, while creating a range of cheeses that are authentic, have depth of flavour and are completely different to anything else in the world. With evocative names for their cheeses such as Indulgence, Temptation and Love, Kervella recognises the rich emotional connection we have with food, especially that made with care, attention and the best-quality ingredients. They use wild local cultures and the freshest, healthiest cows’ milk from the neighbouring Manson family farm in Takaka, who practise holistic farm management.

Kervella have developed their own fully recyclable and biodegradable packaging, they recycled the machinery and equipment they use for cheese production, and they power their home, fromagerie and electric car using solar panels.

When Kervella were approached by Golden Bay’s renowned Mussel Inn to invent a sour cream that doesn’t contain gelatine, Alan embraced the technical challenge. Now, the ‘Blanc’, packaged in a biodegradable bag made from vegetable oil, is one of their most popular products.

Determined to ensure the long-term future of their craft, Kervella’s vision is to train cheesemakers and provide them with starter cultures and recipes under licence.

“As the cheesemakers learn to work with cheese using traditional techniques, they will gain the confidence to start making their own unique products,” says Alan.

“But now, our customers are beginning to realise that although the one-kilogram block of colby and the industrially made hockey pucks that you buy at the supermarket have their place, there is much more to cheese than that.”

DAV E BA R R E T T, T H O RVA L D

In for the long haul

Above: Racks of Kervalla cheese maturing in their fromagerie Top right: Sue Barrett at the Thorvald cheese stall at the Nelson Market 38

Top-of-the-South cheesemakers recognise the importance of educating customers about cheese and yoghurt, and as such are trying to reintroduce the idea of cheese-mongering. They encourage people to approach them at local market stalls to taste all the cheeses, and to ask questions.

Dave from Thorvald explains: “We want people to be bold; to come and tell us what they like … if you want cheese that is perfectly mature, you need to buy it from a specialist who offers the next level of service, who has made it, who takes care of it, who wants you to have the best possible experience with the product.”

Flavia from Viavio adds: “Expanding people’s palates takes knowledge and time. The names of our Italian cheeses are not familiar to people, so when you put stracchino on the shelf nobody will buy it. But when you do a tasting people love it and come back, especially when they know how much care has gone into producing it.”

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“You’d be amazed at how many little kids love blue cheese.”

S I M O N L A M B , C R A N K Y G OAT

The reactions of customers at the market who taste the cheese motivate and inspire our cheesemakers. Says Alan from Kervella: “The biggest reward is when a local tells me they haven’t tasted anything like this (Temptation, a blue cheese) since they were last in Italy, or when a tourist says our cheese reminds them of home.”

Simon from Cranky Goat particularly relishes the response of young children. “The three- and four-year-olds try everything.

You’d be amazed at how many little kids love blue cheese. We will have a great conversation about what we are tasting. That is the key because they are then able to articulate what they like and then decide which flavour they would like more of.”

Dave from Thorvald has noticed that his customers are demanding a lot more from the cheeses in terms of flavour. “New Zealand never developed quite the same cheese culture as Europe, so when supermarkets came along it became more about convenience rather than flavour and experience. But now, our customers are beginning to realise that although the one-kilogram block of colby and

40

Above: Clockwise - Cheese tasting with Viavio at the Nelson Market; happy, healthy cows in Golden Bay

the industrially made hockey pucks that you buy at the supermarket have their place, there is much more to cheese than that.”

Simon explains that New Zealand cheese was originally made into rectangular blocks for good reason. “In the late 1800s/early 1900s New Zealand cheese companies were sending blocks of cheese to Europe on boats in wooden boxes because the blocks took up less room than round wheels.”

Dave adds: “New Zealand cheese won an award in Britain in 1908 – most likely because the cheese had a three-month boat journey, allowing it to mature in exactly the way it needed to. There is a saying in cheese, that age doesn’t matter – unless you are a cheese. Often there is no such thing as a bad cheese; it’s either ready or not ready.”

Customers care about provenance

The way we think about and buy food locally is being transformed, Simon notes. “There has been a huge change in our customers’ palates in the past five years – they are becoming more discerning. Also, people are starting to question where their food comes from. What’s the provenance? What’s the sustainability of how that food is produced? What goes into it?”

Flavia agrees: “We have noticed that New Zealanders are becoming more aware and concerned about the ingredients and additives contained in their food, and the health impact this may have.”

Both Simon and Dave point out that goat and sheep farming can be a lot less intensive on the land than dairying. With regard to the cows’ milk cheese, Dave and Flavia say they like using Oaklands milk because the company uses sustainable practices – they don’t feed palm kernels to the cows, no permeates are used, and it’s all whole milk, as is the milk used by Kervella in Golden Bay. With four ingredients in their cheeses and two in their yoghurts, local producers don’t use any unnecessary additives.

The national profile and supply of artisan cheese is steadily growing, thanks to consistent effort by cheesemakers throughout New Zealand. These businesses are determined to create unique cheeses using natural ingredients and traditional techniques.

The next time you buy or taste cheese, try something a little different. Step out of your comfort zone – it may just add more intensity to your experience.

Enjoy cheeses from some of our talented artisans in the Top of the South ...

CheeseShop

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f you like your cheeses ripe and tasty, with tang and maturity, CheeseShop offers the best award-winning NZ cheeses ready for your table. Maturation and ripening cheese is our specialty, and award-winning boutique cheeses made from cow, sheep, goat and deer milk from all over NZ and the world are available.

Our website offers fresh cut cheeses, gourmet gift hampers, gourmet goodie boxes, and divine cheese stacks, couriered by overnight courier around NZ every weekday.

Our gourmet cheese accompaniments include our own range of Robbie’s Gourmet Preserves, relish, chutneys and spicy figs in red wine and balsamic.

Ph 03 540 3034 www.cheeseshop.co.nz

Cranky Goat

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ased in the picturesque Marlborough Sounds, Cranky Goat has a reputation of producing consistently high-standard cheese.

Simon describes their process: “Our partnership with our goat farmer neighbours Andrew and Jackie Leslie is important, and we’re getting the most amazing product from them.”

Relationships with the community matter to this business, working with other businesses to create a unique cheese combining flavours.

Another aspect of their business that’s really important to them is their values and ethics.

Strong relationships with their customers are at the top of that list. Cranky Goat identified very early on that they were going to remain artisan and supply other small businesses. Out of the top 100 restaurants, you will find Cranky Goat cheese featured on 26 menus.

Ph 03 574 1158 www.crankygoatltd.co.nz

Kervella Cheese

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n today’s consumer-driven plethora of all things dairy, Kervella Cheese stands with one foot in the present and one set very firmly in the past.

Difference is the key to Gabrielle and Alan’s passion. Trained in France, Africa and the UK, with vast experience in cheesemaking, technology and judging, they bring over 80 years

CheeseShop

of combined knowledge to these utterly unique products, all of which are made from sustainably raised A2 cows.

Indulgence, a raw milk cheese, is the latest to stand next to Love, Essence, Blush, Temptation, Innocence, Knowledge, Wisdom and Blanc.

Their motto says it all.

Master cheesemakers, unique cheese.

Ph 03 525 7975 www.facebook.com/ kervellacheesegoldenbay

Cranky Goat

Thorvald and Little River Estate

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estled among the green rolling hills in Tasman’s Neudorf Valley, Thorvald creates delicious award-winning artisan dairy products under the Thorvald and Little River Estate labels. The Thorvald label signifies premium cheeses and yoghurt made from 100 percent New Zealand sheep milk, while the Little River Estate label is for A2 dairy products and cheeses made exclusively from Oaklands whole cows’ milk.

Both brands are available at various stores around Nelson, Tasman and Marlborough, the Saturday Nelson market and The Junction Store in The Grape Escape, Richmond, where specialist cheeses like Cumulus, Wild Fire and Tasman Blue are available to taste.

Kervella Cheese

Ph 03 544 1911 www.thorvald.co.nz

Viavio Cheese

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iavio produces award-winning Italian-style artisan cheese and yoghurt in Nelson, all preservative-free, made using Oaklands Farm naturally rich A2 cows’ milk. Italian owners, Flavio and Flavia, want people to enjoy their cheeses as they could do in Italy. Each single cheese is manufactured following the best Italian tradition with great passion and care.

ViaVio assortment includes fresh: Mozzarella or Bocconcini, Ricotta, Stracchino, Burrata (2019 Best Italian Cheese in NZ), and aged: Caciocavallo, Gorgonzola, Fontal, Monello, Caciotta, Scamorza. Some names will not sound familiar but everyone will be surprised by the natural yet tasty flavour. Just try them!

Ph 03 970 6778 www.viavio.co.nz

Thorvald and Little River Estate

Viavio Cheese

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Change needed to protect whitebait in New Zealand You cannot have your fish and eat it too.

Sophie Preece explains why.

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cool wind ripples the waters of the Wairau diversion, hiding shoals of whitebait as they move upriver on an inward tide.

Determined whitebaiters hunt them from the bank, some with basic scoop or set nets, as their grandparents may have used, and others using long sock nets with inescapable traps.

Jan and Alex Ellery are sitting cold and patient at the river’s edge, with little hope of accruing a fritter’s worth of whitebait in their scoop by evening. But they’re pretty patient and content, their caravan parked behind them, two small dogs at their feet, and the tasty possibility of a passing shoal making its way to their pan.

It’s a far cry from when self-described ‘feral’ Alex was growing up on the West Coast and whitebait was so abundant they would feed it to the cat, while neighbours were known to dig it into the garden as fertiliser. On the day we meet, the pickings are slim for those with handheld nets. However, there are enough whitebait scurrying up this river to ensure a cash influx for big-net fishers, who can catch as much as they want and sell it to whoever they want.

That would be illegal with any other fish species in New Zealand, and it’s an anomaly that upsets the Ellerys and many others.

The Department of Conservation surveyed nearly 3000 members of the public between October 2018 and February 2019 and found that Above: Netting the elusive whitebait Opposite page: Clockwise - Peter Hamill at Wairau Diversion; whitebait 42

That would be illegal with any other fish species in New Zealand …

89.3% wanted something done to keep the fishery sustainable. More than 75% ‘strongly agreed’ or ‘agreed’ that a bag limit or restriction on how much whitebait could be caught could be a solution.

“If something is not done soon … Kiwis in generations to come will lament the loss of a wonderful way of life, pastime and a beautifully subtle gastronomic treat to eat and enjoy,” said one respondent. “Basically, everything is the problem,” said another. “No one wants to change their behaviour, but everyone agrees the fish are disappearing. New Zealanders are terrible at telling people ‘no’, but sometimes that’s the right answer.”

A culture of greed

Peter Hamill reckons in this case ‘no’ is definitely the right answer.

The Marlborough District Council freshwater scientist hopes one day he’ll be able to head out and catch half a cup of whitebait, but until some pressure is taken off the beleaguered fishery, he’ll not throw his net in the waterways. “If it was managed like other fisheries, everyone would have the opportunity to catch a feed,” he says, beyond frustrated by an anomaly in New Zealand’s laws when it comes to the native galaxiids.

Photo: Matt Winter

Taking the Bait

“If it was managed like other fisheries, everyone would have the opportunity to catch a feed.”

PETER HAMILL

Photo: Sophie Preece

Swimming against the tide

That anomaly, paired with a ‘culture of greed’, means some people are commercialising whitebait with little thought of sustainability, he says. “It’s going past and you take it and take it and take it.” Other commercial fish species in New Zealand are managed by the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) under the Quota Management System, which quantifies the commercial catch. It also gives recreational fishers a limit for their daily take, as well as seasonal and size restrictions, and strictly prohibits them from selling or trading seafood.

In contrast, whitebait is managed by DOC and can be caught in unlimited amounts over its four-month season, then sold by whoever caught it, says Peter. “If I wanted to go to the Wairau beach and collect stones to sell, I would probably have to get a mining permit, so that something was going back to the resource. But with whitebaiting, you take it, you sell it, and of course you pay tax on your makings.” He hears plenty of anecdotes about people working the whitebait season, then spending the rest of the year in Australia, and is ‘incredulous’ that the rules haven’t been overhauled.

An occasional Marlborough whitebaiter, who asks to be anonymous, is similarly bewildered by the rules governing the galaxiids, and in particular by the lack of food safety regulations. “If I wanted to make raspberry jam for the farmers’ market I would have to have a licence. But I could sell whitebait from the back seat of my car?”

He notes the irony of trout and salmon – both introduced species – being protected by freshwater fisheries regulations so that their catch is licensed and their sale strictly prohibited, while the native whitebait is a free-for-all over the season.

That’s despite the fact that four of the five species known as whitebait are either endangered or at risk. Whitebait are the juveniles of giant kōkopu, banded kōkopu, shortjaw kōkopu, īnanga and kōaro.

Shortjaw kōkopu are described by DOC as ‘nationally vulnerable’, while īnanga , giant kōkopu and kōaro are described as ‘at risk – declining’.

Peter says the main species on the Wairau Plains is īnanga , which can live up to three years, but will often live for one season only.

In many cases habitat loss is to blame for a threatened fish species, says Peter. But he believes fishing – not ecology – is primarily to blame for the state of New Zealand’s whitebait stocks. Since the 1800s, Marlborough’s habitat has changed dramatically, but over the past 10-15 years you could argue there have been improvements, including riparian plantings and less stock access to waterways, he says. “On that basis things like īnanga should be rocketing off again.”

Improving spawning sites and treating waterways better would of course make a difference, providing a better food source and greater fecundity, he says. “But it still has to be in relation to the fact that you are taking the juveniles out of the population with no limits … that has to have an impact.”

One of the respondents to the DOC survey noted that there’s little point in restoring a spawning site “without concurring fishing control to allow population regeneration”. They noted a local site received plenty of attention to restore spawning sites, “only to see someone else come in and catch an unprecedented amount of whitebait in the stream the following season”.

Apart from the Chatham Islands and the West Coast, the whitebaiting season is open between the months of August and November, and fishing is permitted between 5am and 8pm, or between 6am and 9pm when daylight saving begins. DOC regulations stipulate that nets may not cover more than one-third of the water channel width, or be used in conjunction with another person’s gear to cover more than that third. Nets cannot be longer than six metres, and the person who sets the net has to be within 10 metres of it at all times.

This and a raft of other stipulations are policed by DOC and by other whitebaiters, many of whom are sticklers for the rules.

However, it is still possible for the dedicated whitebaiter to set up in a campervan at the edge of the river and take as much as they can catch each year, says Peter.

And the number of those dedicated fishers is growing, thanks to New Zealand’s ageing population. “Twenty years ago no-one went to the river and fished every day. Now you can have a campervan with a TV parked up next to your net where you catch whatever goes past while you are warm and dry inside. That’s your home parked on the edge of the river.”

In for a feed, not for a dollar

Jan and Alex would love to see whitebait stocks given a chance to recover, with the season perhaps closed once every three years. They would also like to see the rules surrounding whitebait changed, so that recreational fishers are not able to sell their catch, and serious operators, such as those on the West Coast, are able to commercialise the resource.

Rob Fryer, managing director of Nelson land and water management company FuturEcology, says for issues like whitebait decline, people look for a single polarising cause. “But in reality it is a whole lot of things, like a perfect storm. Fishing is one part of it, but there are a whole lot of other issues as well, around habitat and around storm water runoff during spawning.”

He and his family go whitebaiting one weekend a year. “For us it’s a customary thing. We will have a meal of it and that’s it for the year. For us it marks the passage.” The fact that anyone can sell a catch, however large, seems ludicrous, he says. “Recreational should be recreational and we all have to be a bit more responsible.”

43

Photo: Sophie Preece

... whitebait was so abundant they would feed it to the cat, while neighbours were known to dig it into the garden as fertiliser.

A L E X E L L E RY

DOC will prepare a discussion document with proposals to improve whitebait management for the Minister of Conservation and government to consider. The discussion document is planned for release later this year and will be followed by public consultation.

800 years of family fishing

When the tide is out, the table is set, says Kevin Abbott with a grin as he sets his whitebait net in the Wairau River at dawn. By the time the sun glints on the water he’s sitting back and waiting for a school of the juvenile fish to travel upstream on the rising tide. Once he’s got a cup or two, he’ll throw them into a pan with a single egg to make a purist’s whitebait fritter, thick with white threads of fish.

He has been whitebaiting since he was a child, when he could catch a pound for his mum before he set off for school. Since then he’s been a commercial paua diver and cray fisherman, caught wild deer on choppers and worked in forestry, but he’s always come back to the Wairau Bar for kahawai, whitebait and flounder.

Things have changed over the years, and now the banks of the Wairau can be lined with campervans between August and November, their occupants settled in for long days of fishing. It’s all very well and nice to spend your retirement parked up in a campervan catching buckets of whitebait, but it doesn’t bode well for the future of the species, says Kevin, who would like to see more regulation of the fishery.

But looking to the fishers alone is missing a big part of the picture, because whitebait are also heavily influenced by what’s happening upstream, far from the nets at the bar, he says, talking of a wine industry that takes water from the rivers and aquifers and sprays chemicals at the edges of waterways. Stock management and forestry are also playing their part in decimating habitats, he says.

“It’s our environmental impact on our whole system.”

Around 800 years ago, Kevin’s ancestors were fishing here too, as is being discovered through archaeological studies of Te Pokohiwi o Kupe by Otago University and Rangitane, the local iwi. The work has included excavations of huge double-lined ovens created for single feasts, where the remains of paua, seals, pipi, cockles, eels, the Haast eagle and moa have been found.

The mark of his ancestors remains throughout the province, says Kevin, pulling up Google Earth on his mobile phone to show the shadowed lines of ancient kumara beds, the dents of storage or cooking pits and the circles of fish traps in the Wairau Lagoons.

However, on this early morning, he is happy to concentrate on his own little harvest – half a cup of wriggling translucent fish, bound for a whitebait fritter.

Above: Alex Ellery seeks enough whitebait for a fritter or two; whitebait fritters 44

Backing Nature

T

here are no plans for a “blanket ban” on whitebaiting, says Minister of Conservation Eugenie Sage of the Conservation (Indigenous Freshwater Fish) Amendment Bill, which had its second reading in Parliament in August.

Rather, the bill is part of the Government’s plan “to back nature”, and includes tools to improve the way native fish are managed to make sure they survive for generations now and in the future. “These include ensuring native fish can have some rivers and streams where they can swim upstream and spawn without being caught in a net.”

The response comes after National’s Conservation spokesperson Sarah Dowie claimed the bill would ultimately result in the prohibition of whitebaiting in New Zealand, “unless there is specific authorisation to do otherwise”. The whitebaiting community feel the consultation process has been a farce “and they are concerned about their future livelihoods and the future of the Kiwi pastime”, she said in promoting a petition to save whitebaiting.

The minister says such suggestions are an attempt to muddy the waters with misinformation “rather than focusing on making sure there is a sustainable fishery”. The bill does enable areas of conservation land to be closed to whitebaiting, so “native fish can have some rivers and streams where they can swim upstream and spawn without ending up in a net and a whitebait patty”, she says. “More than 70% of New Zealand’s native fish species are threatened or at risk of extinction.

The whitebait fishery needs better management and the Bill provides the tools to do that. There is already strong public support to improve the management of whitebait fisheries and there will be public consultation before any changes are made to the whitebaiting regulations.”

She says DOC’s recent survey found 90% of respondents wanted changes to make the whitebait fishery sustainable.

“This consultation was done to form the basis for further engagement with iwi, hapū, stakeholders, and the wider public as the details of any changes to regulations are worked through.” The Bill isn’t just about whitebait, and includes tools to help protect other freshwater fish like long finned eels, she says. “A key part is to improve the rules to protect fish passages so fish can get upstream and downstream to breed without being blocked by culverts and dams.”

Welcoming Dr Mark Stewart Nelson/Marlborough residents now have local access to weight loss surgery for the first time. Mark operates at Manuka Street Hospital, the Nelson Tasman region’s only private surgical hospital. Mark has built a team of health professionals to support him, all of whom have had extensive experience working with weight loss patients, including an anaesthetist, dietitian and psychologist.

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E-transport

Reinventing the wheel Electric vehicles are staging a quiet takeover, Alistair Hughes reports.

Electric cars

Taylor Dowell, sales consultant for Nelson Kia, is fielding an upsurge of interest in electric vehicles (EVs). “Particularly since the Nissan Leaf [introduced in Japan and the US in 2010], came about and people first imported them here, a lot of customers enquiring are looking to make a change, not only for their own benefit, but for the planet as well.”

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“… to appreciate EVs you really need to travel in one.”

TAY L O R D OW E L L , N E L S O N K I A

Photo: Brent McGilvary

I

magine motorways that really do ‘hum’ with traffic, without an exhaust pipe or fuel spillage in sight. The future of transportation, both personal and public, looks likely to run on the power of the electron, and not the hydrocarbon molecule.

As innovative as electric cars and buses may seem, they’ve been around for a long time. They actually share the same historical origin as the internal combustion engine – the mid-19th century.

Rapid development saw a fleet of electric taxicabs introduced to the streets of London in 1897, their distinctive sound earning them the name ‘hummingbirds’. Electric vehicles even held the land-speed record at the turn of the 20th century.

The greater range of petrol-driven cars eventually outstripped their quieter, cleaner rivals, particularly when the invention of the electric starter replaced crank handles, and the muffler reduced engine noise. While humanity motored and fumed through the ensuing decades with a slowly awakening concern for environmental impact, clean electric vehicle technology bided its time, and improved.

The Top of the South is blessed with ample cycling opportunities and a diversity of landscape to enjoy – tailor-made for the electric bicycle.

A greater choice of EVs and longer travelling range per charge is appealing to a wider market. “The EV Niro came out as a hybrid model first, and we’ve just received the electric model, which is hugely popular throughout Europe. This is one of the reasons why there is now a waiting list for them in New Zealand.”

An electric car can now travel up to 455km on a full charge, often supplemented by ‘regenerative braking’, which converts kinetic energy into charge while driving.

EVs can be charged overnight at home, or at public charging stations, four of which are located in central Nelson and Richmond. Using one of these ‘fast-charging’ stations can cost up to $10 for 100 kilometres, and takes about 20 minutes.

“You are reducing your own carbon footprint and saving money while you do it as well,” says Taylor. “But to appreciate EVs you really need to travel in one.”

Councils in the main New Zealand centres are aiming for emission-free public transport fleets in the next decade.

Christchurch company Red Bus launched three new electric buses at the end of June. These were tested on a route between the city centre and the airport.

In Wellington, electric trolley buses, powered by overhead lines, were a decades-long institution. These iconic vehicles, beetling through the streets with antennae eagerly extended above them, were phased out at the end of 2017. Within a year the new generation arrived. Ten electric double-decker buses joined the fleet, with a further 22 planned by 2021. Public transport in the capital has never been quieter.

E-bikes

The Top of the South is blessed with ample cycling opportunities and a diversity of landscape to enjoy – tailor-made for the electric bicycle. The Tasman Great Taste Cycle trail actually takes you straight to the showroom and distribution centre of Rev Bikes, based in Hope and supplying a classically styled range of e-bikes nationwide.

Battery-powered bikes also have their genesis in the 19th century. Over the last decade, however, they have come of age, with a rapid increase in sales. An estimated 120 million e-bikes are used in China alone, and it is here that The Rev Bikes Company story begins. Director Ross Keeley explains: “I was in China on business in 2017 and was taken to a facility where they were assembling Maverick e-bikes. I basically fell in love with them straight away and bought one on the spot.”

Ross was so taken with the striking design and advanced technology that he committed to importing a containerload of the bikes into New Zealand. Although the shipment missed the Christmas market that year, Rev Bikes picked up speed quickly from this point.

“We now import a range of five different models from a French-owned company based in China. The supplier agreed that we could brand each model for the New Zealand market.” So Rev Bikes now offers models graced with the designations Maverick,

Photo: Aimee Macquet

Electric buses

Above: The Rev Bikes Company director Ross Keeley Opposite page: Clockwise - Plugging in is a sign of the times; electric Kia Nero

“… by far the majority of people buying electric bikes are over 50 ...”

R O S S K E E L EY, R E V B I K E S

Coaster, Trekker, Freedom and Swift, ranging in price from $2750 to $3490.

The company recently opened a retail outlet at 82 Bridge St, Nelson. Despite launching in the middle of an, at times, wet winter, Ross says the level of interest has been encouraging.

“What’s quickly becoming apparent is that there is definitely a trend for people wanting an alternative to car transportation. Also, the ‘mid-age’ market is looking at how to enjoy cycling without overly exerting themselves. In our experience, by far the majority of people buying electric bikes are over 50, and there are more partners looking for bikes so they can cycle together.”

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“So I thought, ‘I’ve got the skills – why not do it myself’.”

Those factors add up to explain why electric bikes make up a larger part of the cycling market each year. The benefits of modern living mean many people enjoy exercise up to retirement age and far beyond. Cycling has always been a beneficial, low-impact activity, and battery assistance puts hills and greater distances within the capabilities of older or convalescing cyclists. An e-bike’s gearing enables cyclists of differing ability to keep pace with one another, and zeroemission, low-cost transportation appeals to users of all ages.

“We have people in their 70s and 80s getting out there and biking, whereas two or three years ago that wouldn’t have happened,” says Ross.

I was fortunate to be able to take the Maverick – which evokes the appearance of an early 1920s motorcycle, but is light and manoeuvrable – for a short spin. The surge of assisted power once you begin pedalling does give you an initial ‘start’ in more ways than one, but before long I was shifting up through the power modes and thoroughly enjoying the sensation. I returned to the factory wearing a huge grin – what could be better than an environmentally conscious mode of transport that is also fun to ride?

“What gives me a buzz is when people ring up, after they’ve had a bike for a day or two, and say: ‘Ross, this is fantastic’. We know there are people out there riding 75km a day on their bikes, to and from work, and we’re providing them with that means.”

Rev Bikes opened with a trade-in deal, where customers could bring in their old bikes for a discount on a new electric cycle.

The Rev team intend to restore those trade-ins and make them available to special-needs children for monthly guided rides.

Self-build spawns a business

Photo: Supplied

Another Nelsonian sharing his love of e-bikes with the world is engineer and entrepreneur Frank Witowski. He had designed and improved solar-energy systems since 2004, until cancer changed the direction of his life. After successful surgery, the man who always liked to be busy was faced with a crucial decision. “Stress and cancer are a good fit, and because I was always stressed I decided, ‘Okay, let’s change my lifestyle a little bit. Let’s do something for my health’s sake and get a bike’.”

Frank was aware of the growing trend towards e-bikes, and living at the top of a steep hill decided this was the ideal option.

However, he couldn’t find a model that appealed within his price range. “So I thought, ‘I’ve got the skills – why not do it myself’.”

48

Photo: Aimee Macquet

F R A N K W I TOW S K I

Above: Clockwise - Engineer and entrepreneur Frank Witowski; close-up of the super-light carbon fibre

He travelled up and down the country, speaking to dealers and riders to find out what makes a good e-bike. Analysing all that information, Frank designed his dream cycle and had it manufactured in China.

This prototype for what would become the commercially available Hybrid bike is nothing less than sculptural in appearance.

Shaped in matt-black, super-light carbon fibre, even the kickstand looks aerodynamic. The lithium-ion battery unit complements the overall form rather than being just a functional addition. On a single charge the bike has a maximum range of 100km, with the speed setting limited to 45km/h.

Needless to say, Frank’s new bike quickly attracted attention.

With so many people asking him where they could buy one, the entrepreneurial side of his nature came to the fore. Once again, he travelled the country, this time to gauge interest from cycle dealers. The positive response persuaded Frank to go into full-scale production, and Hybrid Bikes was formed in February last year.

Now available in four models at Frank’s target price-mark of just below $5000, the Hybrid has also benefitted from a recent glowing report from Consumer magazine and exposure on TVNZ’s Seven Sharp. This has certainly been a power-assisted journey for the man who originally just wanted to get some exercise.

“I say, ‘Look at the Hybrid, lift it, ride it,’ and the bike sells itself. I still have a long way to go but every step along the way has felt really good.”

RIDE

REVOLUTION

SEE THE FULL RANGE at 82 Bridge Street Bikes to suit all styles, drop in and see the range and grab a test ride www.revbikes.co.nz

“It’s only slightly larger than a laptop bag, and if I’m going to another town, I can just put it in my car boot.”

Photo: Aimee Macquet

B R U C E FA R Q U H A R

Kylie enjoyed being able to leave the scooter behind when she’d finished her journey (they are located and unlocked via a cell phone app), but found the cost of about $18 an hour a little pricey, and felt that general safety awareness needs to improve. “But on the whole, I think it was good for the Hutt, and I recommended them to everyone.”

Closer to home, Nelson residents might have spotted a local businessman who happily scoots by on a single wheel. Trade Central director Bruce Farquhar fell in love with the Inmotion V8 mono-wheel scooter when he saw one in France last year.

“I just stood there with my mouth open and decided I had to have one – it looked so amazingly modern.” Resembling an LEDlit flying saucer balancing on its edge, with pedals either side, the Inmotion wins out over a standard e-bike or scooter for Bruce because he can literally store it under his desk.

“It’s only slightly larger than a laptop bag, and if I’m going to another town, I can just put it in my car boot.”

Bruce’s ‘unicycle’ was imported from China, has a range of 50km on a single charge, and a top speed of 30km/h. “It takes a couple of months to be confident and proficient, but the fuel savings for me are enormous. And I’m not just doing this to be environmentally conscious and frugal – it’s also a lot of fun.”

The shifting current transporting us into the future is definitely electric.

Scooters fuel the craze

Photo: Joshua Small-Photographer / Shutterstock.com

Lime, a California company providing electric scooters for hire, has a presence in more than 80 cities worldwide. Last year, Lime pushed off in Auckland and Christchurch, the first Southern Hemisphere cities to make the distinctive green scooters available.

When Wellington’s Hutt Valley joined the movement, journalist Kylie Klein Nixon was quick to hop aboard: “It took a minute or two to get the hang of how fast the scooter could go, but the more I used them the easier it was to take off and stop smoothly. I would make ‘Lime dates’ and go ‘Liming’ for fun on the weekends.”

Above: Clockwise - Bruce Farquhar on the Inmotion V8 mono-wheel scooter; Lime electric scooters 50

Looking to the future

T

en thousand electric vehicles (EVs) are a miniscule part of New Zealand’s four million car fleet, says WildTomato motoring reviewer Geoff Moffett.

“Is perception holding us back?” he asks. “Let’s be honest, the second-hand electric cars (EVs) you can buy for $15,000 are not sexy vehicles and they’re already ageing. If you want new and exciting, be ready to spend $60,000 plus and up to $200,000 plus (but then you have no fuel and negligible maintenance cost).”

Geoff reminds us that the government’s ‘feebate’ scheme to subsidise new EVs by up to $8000 doesn’t kick in until 2021. Norway aims to have total EVs and no vehicle emissions by 2025. EV buyers there pay no VAT (GST), no road tax or road tolls and get free city parking and can use bus lanes. Then there’s Kiwis’ range fear.

How can they drive to Christchurch on batteries? But do you need a 400-km range? The fact is that most daily driving in NZ averages 30 kilometres.

“Every car maker is now making EVs – and very smart cars they are. Once these filter through into the second-hand car market at affordable prices, we may get EV lift-off in New Zealand.”

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FA S H I O N S H OWC A S E

Spring fashion blooms B Y S O N YA L E U S I N K S L A D E N

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eptember is that month when spring really reveals itself to us, and it may incite a feeling of optimism and renewal. It’s great to capitalise on this, and stylishly speaking it’s the perfect time of the year to push ourselves out of winter hibernation. But the goal of great style isn’t just about our wardrobes. Our health, wellbeing and beauty routines all contribute to how we look and feel, and therefore are equally as important. Here are five ways that I’ll be looking to spring clean my style this season.

Overhaul my wardrobe It’s an oldie but a goodie, and a task I engage in at least once a year. As I begin to notice the transition to a springsummer wardrobe, I make a point of reviewing everything I own. I am ruthless 60

in discarding anything that no longer fits, suits or appeals. I will pass on highquality pieces to my local re-sale store to redeem a little extra cash, and donate the rest to charity.

Try something new Each season brings with it new looks, inspiration and styles to tempt us, and while I am generally more about ‘style’ than ‘fashion’, I always encourage women to explore new things. Without committing to buying anything, make a point of trying something new! It’s a great way to discover more about what suits and works for you, and it helps us to steer clear of the dreaded ‘style rut’, where we may reach for the same things out of habit and comfort.

Update my make-up kit Not unlike our wardrobes, it is easy to fall into hoarding habits with care products.

I recommend overhauling all haircare, make-up and skin-care products at least once a year. I will discard anything I no longer use or enjoy, and/or that has passed its use-by date. As a reward for my efforts, I have in the past booked a session with a local make-up and skin-care professional,

seeking advice on how I might improve my beauty routine for better results.

Re-visit my health and fitness goals The days are getting longer and the weather is on the improve, so September can be a great month to re-visit or re-new your health and fitness goals! For me this isn’t about taking on any drastic weight-loss or exercise plan, but in reflecting on my habits and asking myself if they are helping me to achieve my goals. If I find myself in a space where I am unhappy, then I will seek ways to change habits that are working against me.

Engage in a little pampering and self-care I’ve long been a believer in the idea of having a ‘self-care routine’, although I admit to not being very good actioning it! This spring I decided to put in action some new routines to look after myself – and my family – better.

I wrote up a list of simple, time-efficient and cost-effective things I will do under the headings ‘nutrition’, ‘sleep’, ‘exercise’, ‘relationships’ and ‘beauty routine’. With these things pinned to the inside of my diary, I am slowly working on turning them into habits over the coming months.

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61

MY HOME

At home on the hill

BY BRENDA WEBB | PHOTOGRAPHY DOMINIQUE WHITE

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nton James grew up looking up at Marlborough’s dry Wither Hills. These days he lives on the slopes of those hills, in a stunning home with jaw-dropping views over the lower Wairau landscape, Cloudy Bay and the North Island.

The long and narrow two storey house was built to encapsulate those views and every room does, from the downstairs living areas to the five upstairs bedrooms.

Anton and wife Michelle bought the one-hectare block in the Dry Hills subdivision during a trip back from the United Kingdom in 2007. “We were back here for a wedding and thinking of coming back here permanently so were looking at opportunities; we walked up here and looked at the view and thought wow,” says Anton.

They moved back in 2012 and Anton drew up plans, agreeing with architects that the site needed a long and narrow pavilion-style home, to make the most of the views.

“The site dictated the style,” Anton says.

He took his plans to a draughtsman for refining and they were tweaked further once builder Rowan Lee from Peter Ray Homes began construction. The owners had a clear vision of what the house was to look like and the final results are almost exactly what they had in mind, according to Rowan.

1. The striking black and tobacco cedar clad Dry Hills house 2. The sleek kitchen with a mix of dark and light cabinetry 3. Comfy and inviting furniture in the living room 4. Room with a view and music too 5. Binoculars sit on an oak desk in the gun room 6. A sumptuous leather chair 7. Sliding doors open up to provide true indoor/outdoor flow 8. The front area is tiled around the pool and spa but has a small grass area

“Our builders put their hearts and souls into hundreds of metres of cedar cladding nailed off to precision which is a visual showpiece at the top of the rise.”

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The eye-catching feature in the kitchen is the four-metrelong island bench.

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A satisfying build “This was an exciting house to build particularly on such a stunning site,” he says. “Our builders put their hearts and souls into hundreds of metres of cedar cladding nailed off to precision which is a visual showpiece at the top of the rise.

The finish, outlook and warmth of the home, along with the satisfaction of our clients, made this a truly satisfying build.”

Four months of major earthworks took place before construction to create access, make a platform for the building site and prepare retaining walls. Material from the site has been recycled – stones were placed in gabion baskets as a landscaping feature.

The 500sq metre home is built from black corrugated iron, used both vertically and horizontally to break up walls, black stained cedar and oiled cedar for contrast.

One of the biggest challenges for the builders was meeting insulation and thermal envelope requirements sought by Anton and Michelle. The walls are twice regulation as is insulation and heating, and a UK underfloor water reticulation system is installed to maintain a constant temperature throughout winter. Windows and doors are double glazed, Low E, argon-filled and thermally broken.

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English touches Inside the colour scheme has been kept neutral with cream walls, light carpet upstairs and Italian tiles downstairs. Large doors retract into the walls allowing true indoor/outdoor flow and the house’s position on the hill means the worst of prevailing nor-west winds are avoided.

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9. A kitchen built for entertaining 10. Anton’s wine cellar sits snugly beneath the stairs 11. The oak stairs lead to the upstairs bedrooms

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The eye-catching feature in the kitchen is the fourmetre-long island bench. Cabinetry is modern and sleek and includes a hideaway pantry.

Having spent so much time in England and loving the old English style of use and décor, Anton wanted to include such touches and the card green gun room with dark oak flooring and solid oak antique furniture fulfils that. A clever door in an antique breakfront wardrobe links the gun room to the equally English snug.

An oak staircase leads upstairs to where three daughters have their own bedrooms. Each was allowed to pick a feature colour wall and feature wallpapered wall.

They share an ensuite with three basins, three heated towel rails and a huge shower.

A guest bedroom on the west end has a large living area which doubles as a play area for the girls.

Dramatic master suite The master bedroom is dramatic with dark striped wallpaper and a large ensuite with double showers and a feature platinum bath. It was brought back from England along with the shower heads, some appliances and furniture. “We did a lot of shopping at the Grand Designs show; it was so much cheaper over there,” says Anton.

Landscaping is an ongoing project but the pool is in and many summers are spent enjoying the fabulous views from that area. A hot tub provides the same views in winter.

The entire pool area is paved with non-slip Italian tiles.

The house was designed with family in mind as well as a good indoor/outdoor flow.

“There is plenty of space for everybody – there are two staircases so no one is tripping over anyone,” says Anton.

Clever touches in the house include laundry chutes from the top storey direct to the laundry and sensor lighting in the bathroom – a simple wave under the cabinet turns the lights on. In the master bedroom shower room there is a choice of shower roses – a huge rain shower, two regularsized rain showers and smaller handheld shower roses.

Beneath the house six rows of pinot noir are planted – enough to produce one barrel of wine from the fruit which will go into the wine cellar under the staircase.

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12. The sunny dayroom with loads of books and an inviting window seat 13. Spectacular views toward Cloudy Bay and Port Underwood 14. Simple and uncluttered lines in the girls’ bathroom 15. The master ensuite reflects the owners’ love for all things English 16. The stunning platinum bath was bought in England

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M Y H E A LT H

Getting a good night’s sleep

BY CINDY DE VILLIERS, GP

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h, for a good night’s sleep! We seem to be constantly bombarded about the dire consequences of not sleeping well. Everything from weight gain to dementia seems to be linked to poor sleep. Why is it that we are suddenly not sleeping adequately? Is this cause or effect of chronic poor health?

To quote Scott Carney, New York Times bestselling author of ‘What Doesn’t Kill Us’, compared to previous generations, we have too much food, too much warmth and too much light. The technological advances making us comfortable may in the end be making us less healthy. I am not going to delve into this here except to say that it is likely that our pursuit for comfort could in fact be preventing us from getting a good night’s sleep and be keeping us from optimal health and performance. So, short of living in a cave, how might we improve our sleep and thereby our health?

I would like to briefly discuss adenosine and melatonin. Adenosine is what makes us tired and sleepy – the body is constantly

making adenosine during the day. Adenosine is an end product of ATP. Sound familiar?

ATP (adenosine tri-phosphate) is the packet of energy that your cellular power houses (mitochondria) produce from food, for use by the body as energy. The more energy you require, the more ATP your mitochondria make, and the more adenosine builds up in the body. So by the end of a hard day’s work you collapse into bed to sleep soundly.

You know where this is leading – exercise! No energy expended during the day, no adenosine build-up, no sleepiness at night. How much exercise is required is a moot point – probably as much as is needed to help you sleep! My suggestion is to move as much as possible during the day.

Set an alarm for every 30 minutes, get up from your desk, walk around and do some squats, press-up or planks. Not only will your sleep improve but it is likely that your mental output will improve too.

Melatonin increases a few hours before bedtime and peaks in the middle of the

My suggestion is to move as much as possible during the day. night. Melatonin is involved in the onset, duration and quality of sleep. However, light suppresses melatonin and is the most powerful cue for setting human circadian rhythm. Humans are particularly sensitive to blue light, the very light emitted by computer screens, TVs and other electronic devices. The blue light from these devices inhibits melatonin, potentially disrupting circadian rhythms and sleep if used before bed.

Just as darkness is important at night, so is light important during the day. Working in a dark office and not going out into the sun during the day will also negatively affect sleep. This holds true for sunglasses too. I recommend that unless a glare is affecting your driving, that you do not use sunglasses before midday. A robust light and dark rhythm is important, not just for sleep, but also for general wellbeing.

So, for a good night’s sleep, treat yourself to a walk in the sunshine during the day and a paper book at night.

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MY GARDEN

Making the most of living Christmas trees

BY ANNABEL SCHULER

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should not be uttering the word, giving it the slightest ‘oxygen’ or committing it to print. But here goes … now is the time to start planning for Christmas if you would like to maintain your own living tree.

There are several good reasons for growing your own Christmas tree. One is that it is not always easy to source a handy branch or small tree, especially when you are busy ticking 100 other things off the to-do list. Secondly, that needle-shedding, brown skeleton is not easy to dispose of afterwards. And thirdly there is something smugly efficient about having your ‘own’ tree nurtured and groomed throughout the year ready to be curated into a shiny little Christmas gem.

There are a variety of suitable trees in garden centres and now is a good time to buy one and establish it before December rolls around.

Your choices include: • Cupressus sempervirens ‘Totem’ – Italian cypress • Thuja occidentalis ‘Pyramidalis’ – Upright conifer • Taxus baccata ‘Fastigiata’ – Upright Irish yew • Cupressus sempervirens ‘Gracilis’ – Cypress • Metrosideros ‘Maungapiko’ – A pohutukawa-rata cross for a New Zealand flavour • Picea abies – The Norway spruce is promoted as an ideal Christmas tree and takes pride of place in our house.

All these varieties will grow into mature, tall trees if you let them, but contained in a pot and with a judicious prune each year you can keep them to a manageable size and shape while they add interest in your garden or on the patio for the rest of the year.

A useful hint is to place three to four ice cubes on the soil every couple of days; these will melt slowly and provide water without danger of spillage.

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Once you have chosen your tree you should re-pot it as soon as possible – the container is important. If you are going to decorate the pot you do not need to be too fussy, but if you intend to display it unadorned chose a red, green, silver, gold or a shiny black one, to complement the overall look you are aiming for. The pot should be large enough to accommodate more growth.

Use high-quality potting mix containing a slow-release fertiliser and be prepared to re-pot the tree every three years to maintain it at its green and healthy best.

You can underplant it with annuals throughout the summer but remember these will take up some of the nutrients and moisture in the soil so both must be replenished regularly.

When you bring your tree indoors in December chose the site well. The tree and pot will be heavy so place them on a solid table or shelf with a saucer underneath because you will need to do a judicious watering occasionally. If you are going to string lights on your tree be careful. Water and electricity do not mix, and battery-driven LED lights which emit less heat are recommended. A useful hint is to place three to four ice cubes on the soil every couple of days; these will melt slowly and provide water without danger of spillage.

The ultimate advantage of maintaining a living Christmas tree is that it is a sustainable option and if it grows too big ultimately you can plant it out in your garden and start again.

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Saving past memories for the future

BY F R A N K N E L S ON | P HO T O I S H NA JAC OB S

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ld photos, negatives and slides ... we’ve all got them hiding somewhere in dark, damp, dusty places around the house. They slip out of albums, get lost at the bottom of drawers and overflow shoeboxes. It’s hard to find the ones you want, harder still to share them with others. And worst of all, you’ve probably long given up trying.

We know they hold cherished memories and we really should sort them out one day, but who has the time? Or the technical expertise? Well, the answer to both those questions is Michael Gilbert and Linda-Roxy Simpson.

Six months ago the Nelson couple launched Scan4U, a business that will take all your piles of photographic paraphernalia, create digital copies using the latest state-of-the-art scanners, and return everything on a tiny, highly portable USB stick or, if you prefer, a DVD. In addition, they back up every image in the ‘cloud’ meaning they can all be reproduced if original material and copies are lost in a fire, flood or other disaster. That extra protection for precious, irreplaceable family treasures is

something Top- of- the-South residents will especially appreciate after the devastation of last summer’s wildfires.

And that’s not all. During the scanning process, Michael and Roxy clean and restore faded, scratched, dirty or damaged images, and otherwise enhance the overall picture quality. With the client’s help they will also sort photos into easily managed categories, for instance by topic, date or place.

Customers delighted The care taken with clients’ photos is obvious from the day they arrive. Michael and Roxy video the boxes as they are opened, count the contents and send or email a receipt. From then on, the photos are handled only with lint-free gloves in a modern, clean and tidy environment, free from dust and liquids.

Once scanning is complete – usually within five business days – the photos are returned by tracked courier. In some cases people don’t actually want their originals back.

“They may be downsizing,” says Michael. “Some much prefer a USB stick to boxes of old photos.”

Browsing through digitised old photos becomes a simple pleasure, while sharing

“We have a lot of delighted customers who are blown away by the results. This makes it very rewarding to see their joy when we have been able to rescue a precious photo of a loved one.”

M I C H A E L G I L B E RT

Above: Michael Gilbert and Linda-Roxy Simpson

copies with the kids or friends is as easy as uploading images to Dropbox, Facebook or other social media, or attaching them to an email and hitting ‘send’.

“For me, scanning is a wonderful way to contribute to people’s lives by preserving their family history,” says Roxy, a trained teacher.

“We have a lot of delighted customers who are blown away by the results. This makes it very rewarding to see their joy when we have been able to rescue a precious photo of a loved one.”

Michael, who worked as a lawyer for 30 years, most of that time in Nelson, says the response since the business started has been fantastic. “Every client has been very pleased with the results and some have scanned 5000plus images! Our scans have been sent as far afield as England.”

He’s not at all surprised that people, especially as they grow older, want a record of what they’ve done and achieved in their lifetime, thinking about what they’re going to hand on and how they’re going to share it. “And that’s what a photograph is: it’s a record of that period of time in your life. Every picture tells a story.”

Contact Ph 021 546 811 www.scan4u.co.nz

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MY KITCHEN

Pickled onion & carrot salad A tasty spring lunch or dinner, full of colour and taste.

BY MADAME LU’S KITCHEN

Serves 4 Ingredients 1 cup mung bean sprouts 2 carrots, julienned 1 ripe mango, thinly sliced 1 cup coriander leaves 1/2 cup torn mint leaves 1/3 cup roasted peanuts, roughly chopped 1/3 cup crispy shallots 1 recipe of red onion pickle 3tbsp roasted rice (optional) Fresh coriander pesto to serve (optional) Red Onion Pickle 1 red onion, finely sliced 1 1/2 tbsp white sugar or maple syrup 1/2 cup rice wine vinegar 2tbsp water Method:

1. To make the red onion pickle,

place the sugar, vinegar and water in a small saucepan and bring to the boil. Reduce to a simmer and continue to cook until the sugar has dissolved.

2. Place the onion slices in a

medium sized jar and pour over the hot liquid. Set aside to cool then lid and store in the fridge.

Lime & Chilli Dressing 1 green chilli, deseeded and finely chopped 3cm ginger, peeled and finely chopped 1 clove garlic, finely chopped 100ml lime juice 1/4 cup light palm sugar 2tbsp fish sauce

Method:

1. Place all dressing ingredients in a blender and blitz until well combined. Taste and add more fish sauce if required.

2. To assemble the salad, place all the

salad ingredients including the red

onion pickle and the dressing in a large bowl and toss to combine.

3. Transfer to a platter and serve

immediately with a bowl of pesto on the side. madamelus.co.nz

DINE OUT

KAI FUSIONZ

COD & LOBSTER BRASSERIE

MELROSE HOUSE CAFÉ

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41 Halifax Street, Nelson 03 546 8118 info@kiwikainz.com www.kaifusionz.com

300 Trafalgar Street, Nelson 03 546 4300 www.codandlobster.com

Cnr of Brougham Street & Trafalgar Street, Nelson 03 548 9179 www.melrosecafe.co.nz

CBD CAFÉ

CHOKDEE

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ituated in the heart of Blenheim, we are open every day for breakfast and lunch.

We have a delicious range of chef-inspired cabinet food, breakfast and lunch menus.

Homemade pies, sweet treats and salads.

Delicious coffee. Recent winners of the Best Café 2018 - Marlborough.

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The Forum, Queen Street, Blenheim 03 577 7300 www.cbdcafe.nz

109 High Street, Motueka - 03 528 0318 83 Hardy Street, Nelson - 03 539 0282 www.chokdee.co.nz

ndigenous catering Te Tau Ihu and Aotearoa.

Kai Fusionz Catering offers a unique balance of gourmet catering for all occasions. The very best local artisan products, exquisite game and seafood combined with our indigenous flair will get your taste buds critiquing. Kai Fusionz Catering — stepping outside the square.

ADVERTISE IN OUR DINE OUT GUIDE

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ur Dine Out guide features six templated ad spaces which include a photo, the business name, a description of up to 50 words and contact/social media details. All you have to do is supply us with the photo and text, and we do the rest!

Nelson Tasman contact: Chrissie Sanders 027 540 2237 | chrissie@wildtomato.co.nz Marlborough contact: Jo Hender 021 264 7559 | jo@wildtomato.co.nz

it in our sunny courtyard and enjoy the best seafood from around New Zealand.

Meticulously mixed cocktails and fresh regional fare — including beef, lamb and venison. Our attention to detail will make your visit to Cod & Lobster unforgettable. Open for brunch, lunch dinner and tapas.

ituated in Nelson’s grandest historic home lies Melrose House Café. Boasting elegant yet uncomplicated cuisine the café caters to those with a notion for all things good in life. Open for breakfast, brunch, lunch and famous ‘High Tea’.

A visit to Nelson’s enchanting Melrose House Café is a must!

xperience the exquisite and delicious flavours of Thailand. Our food is prepared from scratch, the traditional way, using only the freshest ingredients. We have something for everyone as we cater for a vegan, vegetarian or gluten-free diet, along with your choice of heat.

Takeaways available online at chokdee.co.nz

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DINE OUT

Definitely worth a return visit

BY HUGO SAMPSON

If you’re in the know, you can’t go past the ‘Locals Menu’ ...

Photo: Supplied

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t’s a pretty good combination; great location in the heart of the dining precinct, good food and a drinks menu (59 pages) that reads like a book!

Fortunately, there is an index to help you navigate your way through, and the staff are super friendly and helpful.

The Cod & Lobster is the spot to enjoy a tasty lunch, a quick bite before a show, creative cocktails or celebrate a special occasion with a loved one in the restfully elegant dining space.

The menu is unashamedly seafood as the name suggests. So if you’re after a wintry smoked fish soup, grilled lobster (priced by the gram), or a flashy, fresh seafood platter for two, then this is definitely the spot.

The winter menu is enticing and well thought out, with tempting mains for carnivores too like the classic fillet of beef with bourguignon sauce that my dining buddy enjoyed. He started with an entrée of crab arancini; I thought one of the tastiest things on the menu.

If you’re in the know, you can’t go past the ‘Locals Menu’, very well priced at $35 for two courses or $45 for three, available seven days between 11.00am and 5.30pm.

I couldn’t start my Cod & Lobster experience without a gin. After all, they have the largest selection of gins around, at my count, over 180 to choose from! My Hendrick’s ‘Gin of the Week’ came served just as it should, in a splendiferous glass, slither of cucumber, clanking ice cubes and elegant little bottle of Fever Tree tonic on the side.

As you’ve gathered by now I’m a lover of fish so my first plate was grilled scampi. It was beautifully fresh and tender but could have done with more seasoning.

Fish of the day presented two tasty fillets of grilled John Dory, skin off, on a bed of chargrilled courgette ribbons and a deliciously perky romesco. No complaints there.

We shared a dessert of fantastically lemony crème brûlée with parchmentthin caramel brûléed perfectly, and thyme shortbread, which sadly, didn’t

really pick up the flavour of the thyme.

Great to note the cheeseboard of local Thorvald, Little River and Viavio cheeses. I was tempted.

Cod & Lobster has plenty to tempt me to make a return visit. I’m thinking octopus bruschetta and lobster bisque, or maybe the fruits de mer for two?

Hmmm, can’t decide. Now that’s a good problem to have.

Cod & Lobster Brasserie 300 Trafalgar Street, Nelson City Ph: 03 546 4300. Open: 11.00am 9.30pm, 7 days a week. Cost: Food $136.50 – two entrées, two mains, one dessert, and $51.00 for wine and one gin and tonic, total $187.50 for two.

Comida & Prego Mediterranean Foods - two of Nelson’s finest ingredients in one location Join us every Thursday for a

PIZZA & A PINT

$30 buys one large-size, thin-crust, wood-fired pizza, and a large glass of Deep Creek craft tap beer.

Buon appetito!

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Restaurant

Prego banner – locked spot

à la carte In the giant seal & squid building, Buxton Square

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Photo: Chocolate Dog Studio

WINE

Break out the tasting glasses B Y J U S T I N PA P E S C H

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s a local winemaker I am always keen to take an opportunity to publicise the amazing aromatic wines that Nelson Tasman wineries produce. This year has been an excellent vintage and the public will soon be able to try the first wines from 2019 and decide for themselves at the official Nelson Wine Tasting on 24th September.

At The Boathouse in Nelson, this tasting is one not to be missed, for several reasons.

I’m hands-on in the vineyard as well as being a winemaker, which helps me greatly when it comes to wine styles and analysis. For me a good vintage is one where the weather does not dictate the harvest; where grapes can ripen to optimum brix and fruit maturity to suit the style of wine the winemaker wants to produce. Such conditions also allow winemakers to produce more stylistically consistent wines.

Above: Trudy Sheild and Tim Towers tasting wines in a tank at Middle Earth Wines 78

Vintages that have stood out for me in recent years have been 2010, 2012 and now 2019.

Winemakers had great fruit to work with this year and the excellent results are already coming through in the wines, which locals will have a chance to try all at the one venue on 24th September. It sure beats a weeklong wine trail to get around all the wineries, and also has the advantage of having many of the producers there to talk about their wines.

Analytically most 2019 grapes had both good acidity and a high sugar content or brix, meaning that often it was more about how the winemakers hit that sweet spot without having too high an alcohol content.

Great fruit flavours Even some of the thicker skinned varieties – cabernet sauvignon, malbec, merlot – and the Italian varieties grown in Nelson Tasman, for example montepulciano, came in fully ripe, allowing great fruit flavours and intense colour and tannins.

Pinot gris, riesling, rose and sauvignon blanc will all be on offer, as well as previous vintages from some wineries. In style you will see some very big, complex and textural wines (such as pinot gris), showing a lot of

“Such conditions also allow winemakers to produce more stylistically consistent wines.”

J U S T I N PA P E S C H

complexity and many varieties showing a lot of colour.

A class above Not all the 2019 wines will be on offer at the official tasting. The 2019 chardonnay and pinot noir wines need more time and won’t, for instance, be released until about the end of the year, however there will still be plenty of interesting aromatics to try.

As I said earlier this tasting is one not to be missed; there’ll be some rocking wines there, and overall given the ideal harvest conditions the 2019 wines will be a class above the last few vintages.

Remember you’re there to taste and enjoy. Find a variety or a style you like and identify what it is you like about it. It may be the oak, or lack of oak, the big buttery flavours or the green gooseberry which marks one style of sauvignon blanc. If you don’t like it, move on to the next one and remember that wine is a very personal taste experience.

BREWS

The joys of homebrewing

BY MARK PREECE

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here are plenty of reasons people brew their own beer, says Mike Stringer, who sees them all through his Nelson store, League of Brewers.

“Some brew for financial reasons, whereas some people enjoy the engineering challenge – so they excel at building homebrew systems – and others geek out on the science of it, like the fermentation temperature or mash pH.” The League of Brewers, which sells homebrew supplies, has grown steadily from humble garage beginnings in Nelson, to a busy base for new and seasoned brewers, who can take in their own beers on Thursday evenings to get advice on how to improve them.

Mike’s own brewing began when he was at university but yielded ‘very poor results’. He paused for several years before having another go using “a tin of hot malt extract that you chuck a kilo of sugar in”.

That ‘kit-and-kilo’ approach led to more online research, until Mike discovered Above: Brewers Mike Stringer, Ed Briem and Michael Rhodes

all-grain brewing, in ‘super-small batches’. That craft approach greatly appealed and Mike delved into The Joys of Homebrewing, which he describes as a brewers’ Bible, before piecing together the necessary brewing equipment.

“I really enjoy the challenge of all-grain brewing,” says Mike. “If you are brewing with a kit and kilo you have limited control over the recipe – basically you are brewing someone else’s recipe.” All-grain brewing allows the brewer to create exactly what they want, he adds. “You can tweak the recipe and dial in the beer that you want to drink. There’s a lot of appeal for me in that you are being ‘crafty’.”

Two years ago, Mike helped organise New Zealand’s first National Homebrew Conference, and this year he has coordinated the ‘Beat the Brewer’ competition at Wellington’s Beervana.

Six commercial brewers have given away the recipe for one of their beers, and competitors will brew clones to be put in front of the commercial brewers and challenge them to pick their own.

Mike has an off-licence at League of Brewers which enables him and fellow brewers Ed Briem and Michael Rhodes to sell their ‘super-small batch’ (60 to 120 litre) commercial brews. People can bring their own riggers to fill and take away for home-consumption.

“All-grain brewing allows the brewer to create exactly what they want.”

MIKE STRINGER

Head down each Thursday night to fine-tune your brews, and take away some of what Mike’s offering:

Shelby Wright, American IPA, 6.5% ABV. They say: Brewed in collaboration with Michael Smith, this is a punchy IPA made with three American and two NZ hop varieties. A limited-edition batch of 120 litres only.

Darkside Oatmeal Stout, 5.9% ABV. They say: Rich, creamy and full of chocolate-coffee roast goodness. A collaboration brew with Craig Boon.

Family Jewels Records IPA - New England, 6.5% ABV. They say: Brewed for the pop-up bar at the Family Jewels Records International Record Store Day event at the Free House. With four kilograms of fresh Nelson Sauvin hops in a 120l batch, this is a juicy NZ version of the hazy IPA style.

Where’s Wallonia? Saison farmhouse ale, 7.1% ABV. They say: Our take on the Saison style, super-dry and dangerously drinkable.

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Photo :Shutterstock.com

T R AV E L

Dirt-poor, wine-rich Little-visited Moldova was long hidden behind the Iron Curtain, but Craig Sisterson discovers Europe’s most impoverished nation offers some surprising attractions for thirsty travellers.

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erhaps Yuri Gagarin could have used Ariadne’s ball of red thread. The famed Soviet cosmonaut may have been the first human to journey into outer space, but five years after his 1961 mission he apparently got lost among limestone caves in central Europe.

Of course, Gagarin may have been a little off his game, given the venue and its contents. Our guide Cristina chuckles as she regales us with a story that’s become local legend, of Gagarin – one of the most intrepid explorers of the 20th century – entering the vast Cricova wine cellars as an honoured guest and finally re-emerging, a little flummoxed, two days later.

This tourist-pleasing tale has a whiff of ‘My fish was this big’ hyperbole to it but having just spent more than an hour traversing a small portion of Cricova’s labyrinthine network of cellars, factory, tunnels and tastings rooms, it’s not implausible. Moldova’s most famous winery is akin to an underground town: populated by 30 million litres of wine, plunging more than 25 storeys deep, and spanning 125km of streets named for grape varieties.

Cricova is a maze, and you wouldn’t want to lose your way.

Fortunately, our guides act as our red thread from the surface and back, and neither we nor Gagarin had to face the Minotaur – though artefacts from a long-gone monster are contained within.

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Whisked into the abyss From the entrance, we’re driven underground in vehicles that resemble the offspring of a golf kart and one of Thomas’s tank-engine pals. We scoot through tunnels originally carved in the 15th century when limestone was extracted to help build Chisinau, the capital city of the poorest country in Europe, and one of the least-visited in the world.

The air is naturally chilly and almost totally humid – an ideal climate for cellaring wine. Once we are deep underground, we mix walking and karting, pausing regularly to watch a video about Cricova’s history, to view some of the factory processes, to hear how a handful of women turn thousands of bottles of sparkling wine by hand, and to visit the private collections.

It’s an impressive operation, speckled with opulent tasting rooms that wouldn’t look astray in luxury hotels, a small museum sketching the four-millennia history of winemaking in the fields of what is now Moldova, and cool caverns that Cristina told us have been the venue for high-profile events ranging from fashion shows to Vladimir Putin’s 50th birthday party.

In a dirt-poor nation that finally became independent in 1991 after centuries of being a vassal to various neighbours and empires, Cricova has raised riches from its surrounding dirt.

Visiting Moldova is an eye-opener in many ways. Until shortly before our visit I had no idea the former Soviet Republic sandwiched between Romania and the Ukraine is among the world’s top 20 wineproducing nations (it sits a couple of places below New Zealand).

Moldova was long considered ‘the orchard of the Soviet Union’, a well-earned moniker given its land mass made up about an eighth of one percent of the entire Soviet Union, but its fertile black soils

The most prized bottles, chained in a thick layer of dust, belonged to Hermann Goering.

Photo :Ewa Studio / Shutterstock.com Photo: FrimuFilms / Shutterstock.com

The importance of winemaking to Moldova may be best exemplified by the fact that last year its citizens voted to rename Chisinau’s international gateway ‘Wine of Moldova Airport’. produced a quarter of all the fruit and vegetables. Among that fruitful bounty, grapes. In fact, startlingly, the answer to the pub quiz question ‘which country has the most grapevines per person?’ isn’t winemaking heavyweights France or Spain, but Moldova.

Seasoned grape vines A country now independent, which fits all New Zealand’s population and four times as many grapevines into an area the size of Otago, Moldova has historically consisted of hard-scrabble family farms where vines were plentiful and homemade wine flowed.

Grapes have been planted here for thousands of years. While its place behind the Iron Curtain for half the 20th century meant Moldovan wines weren’t well-known abroad, in the past European royalty such as Queen Victoria and King Edward V, along with Tsar Alexander II, were devotees and admirers.

Buckingham Palace is again putting in orders. Local red blend Negru de Purcari, a mix of cabernet sauvignon, saperavi and rara neagra grapes – the latter indigenous to Moldova – is known as ‘the Queen of England’s wine’, after Victoria.

Cristina does her best to give us a sense of the history of Moldovan winemaking, and its most famous winery, Cricova. While local winemaking goes back millennia, Cricova was opened by a decree from Stalin in 1952. In the decades since it has hosted political leaders, royalty and celebrities. Private collections for the likes of German Chancellor Angela Merkel and former US Secretary of State John Kerry sit near Russian President Putin’s impressive stash.

The most prized bottles, chained in a thick layer of dust, belonged to Hermann Goering. Looted by the Red Army during the war, they eventually ended up in Cricova’s caves – priceless relics from a long-gone monster.

The importance of winemaking to Moldova may be best exemplified by the fact that last year its citizens voted to rename Chisinau’s international gateway ‘Wine of Moldova Airport’.

While Cricova is well worth a visit, for its caves and the history within as well as its tasty wines (including some unusual

Above: Clockwise - Underground wine sampling hall in Cricova, Moldova; wine barrels arranged in the hallway of an underground cellar, Cricova Opposite page: Old Orhei Monastery at sunrise in Moldova Republic

local varieties), it is only one – if a giant one – of more than 150 wine companies spread across Moldova. For us, a great way to sample such wide variety was to visit Carpe Diem, a wine shop a short stroll from the Nativity Cathedral in Chisinau.

By fortune more than planning, we were staying in a hotel a few doors down from Carpe Diem, making it rather compulsory to pop in after each day of exploring the city. Small but beautiful, Carpe Diem offers their own wines alongside many from other Moldovan producers – though we didn’t get close to ticking off all 150+ choices during our few days in town. Their Bad Boys red blend (mixing indigenous feteasca neagra grapes with saperavi) and deliciously dry white feteasca regală were particularly tantalising and memorable.

Chisinau itself is an eclectic mix of Soviet architecture sprinkled with ambitions for something grander. Its cathedrals and churches, a Triumphal Arch, parks and squares, and a range of museums celebrate its chequered history and its people, from Aleksander Pushkin’s house to monuments to Stefan the Great, a prince who resisted the Ottoman Empire. Overall Chisinau is very walkable, and an enticing location for a city break, especially with the increasing flights from western Europe into Wine of Moldova Airport.

Dirt-poor, perhaps, but Moldova is full of rich surprises for thirsty travellers.

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ADVENTURE

From mountains to sea WRITTEN & PHOTOGRAPHED BY SOPHIE PREECE

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hat’s not to love about a bike ride that starts in the Southern Alps, nearly 800 metres above sea level, and ends at the edge of the Pacific Ocean, offering many more downs than ups?

Add the turquoise waters of glacial-fed lakes, the snow-capped peaks of the Southern Alps, the bright blaze of lupin-covered hillsides, and wide iconic valleys of gleaming tussock, and the Alps to Ocean (A2O) cycle trail is a pretty spectacular package.

Nature is the star of the show on this 301km trail, starting with the sacred Aoraki (Mount Cook) and the extraordinary lakes Pukaki, Tekapo and Ohau, then progressing though the alpine heights and delights of the Ohau Range, to the lower climes of the Waitaki. But this is also a journey through some fascinating chunks of man-made development, including the canals, power stations and dams that tell historic stories, from the depression in the 1930s to the Think Big policies of the 1970s, resulting in the birth of Twizel township.

Now the canals serve as conduits for the cycle trail, offering convenient routes through stunning landscapes, as well as social and engineering heritage.

Twizel is our first stop on the trail, after a 54km journey from the edge of Lake Tekapo, past the Tekapo A Power Station and along a straight canal. Starting the ride at Tekapo is an alternative version to the main route, which begins at Aoraki and requires a short helicopter ride across the Tasman River. We are calling on family and friends to help us get our car, tents and gear to us each evening, so chose our route to make for simpler shuffles. And we’ve no regrets as we cruise down the edge of the bright blue canal, flanked by banks of pink and purple lupins.

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Not every trail on the A2O is a gentle canal ride, and the trail from Ohau to Omarama includes a decent climb to the summit.

Café with a view A gentle decline takes us to the Mount Cook Salmon Farm, where dozens of fishers hover, hoping to hook passing escapees. From there it’s a steep descent to the edge of Lake Pukaki, and we skirt its southern end before veering off to Twizel to camp. It was a long day for nine-year-old Emily, our youngest rider, but with some help from chocolate reserves and a bungee cord, she cruises happily into the campground.

On day two, my favourite of our seven-day journey, we are joined by my father and his electric bike for the 55km ride. Our three-generation party rides upward to the Ohau Canal, then along its straight thread to the stunning Lake Ohau, nestled beneath mountains of bush and schist. We travel around the lake’s western edge, then climb to Ohau Lodge, where we devour coffee and cake with a view.

Not every trail on the A2O is a gentle canal ride, and the trail from Ohau to Omarama includes a decent climb to the summit. But it’s a nice trail with great views, and over before we know it. From there it’s a fun cruise down to a picnic lunch at the Quailburn historic woolshed. We ride on through beautiful farmland, on small country roads lined with wild flowers, before reaching our camping ground in Omarama. This wee town has a big reputation for its gliding conditions, so we swiftly set off for the Pink Glider café in the hope of watching some of them soar. We don’t find gliders, but Ben and Emily highly recommend the milk shakes and waffle-cut fries.

Close encounters My sister and her family join us for the beautiful ride to Otematata on day four. This day includes a nerve-wracking stretch of State Highway 83, where cars pass far too close for comfort, and some drivers yell abuse as they pass. I understand that the cycle trail will ultimately be off-road, but in the meantime it could do with a few signs educating drivers on courtesy, let alone road rules.

Fortunately, my niece and nephew have a much better experience the next day, as we cycle up the steep hill to the enormous Benmore Hydro Dam then around the northern edge of Lake Aviemore, to Deep Stream where we stop for lunch and a swim. The 44km ride takes us past the Aviemore and Waitaki dams before we roll into Kurow, with its fantastic campground, a couple of great cafés and the definite feel of a town buoyed by the A2O. We suppress the urge to linger a few days, and set off for Duntroon the next morning, stopping to look at Maori rock art at Takiroa.

Duntroon is less well set up than the other townships we’ve passed through, so we load the bikes on the car and drive up to Danseys Pass Holiday Park – a short drive but a big step back in time. From a magic tent site at the edge of the river, surrounded by bush-clad hills, we wonder why we’d never been here before. Ben registers for the gladiator competition so as the sun sets we peel ourselves from the edge of the Above: Clockwise - A smooth trail, blue skies and perfect swimming spot; cruising along the Ohau Canal; crossing the Ohau Weir Opposite page: From the edge of Lake Tekapo to the edge of the Pacific Ocean, in seven days of gentle riding

We suppress the urge to linger a few days, and set off for Duntroon the next morning, stopping to look at Maori rock art at Takiroa. river, and wander up to camp central, to find the entire community cheering on competitors. This is apparently classic Danseys Pass action, with an absence of Wi-Fi and abundance of connection.

We drive back to Duntroon for our last day on the trail, cycling up to the Elephant Rocks – rounded limestone formations thrusting up from farmland, like a herd of fossilised creatures. Then it’s on through farmland and quiet country communities, where we realise our plan to buy lunch on the way is seriously flawed. We’re 42km in and the kids are increasingly ‘hangry’, when the glorious Fort Enfield comes into view. It was possibly just the empty bellies, but the impressive Elephant Rocks dwindle into insignificance as lovely staff serve up platesized burgers and perfect pints, while Johnny Cash sings in the background.

The first rain of our entire ride starts falling as we eat, but nothing can stop us now. Bolstered by burgers, we cycle the final 12 kilometres under deepening skies, admiring Oamaru’s botanic gardens as we pedal against the weather. The rain eases nicely as we slip into the town, winding our way through wonderful historic streets before happily reaching the harbour.

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SPORTS

Pro Am hits the greens in Marlborough

BY BRENDA WEBB

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he greens will be beautifully manicured, the wine perfectly chilled and the atmosphere convivial for the Whitehaven Pro Am Golf tournament in Marlborough this month.

On Thursday, 26th September, some of New Zealand’s leading professional golfers will join amateurs for a spectacular day of action at the Marlborough Golf Club’s picturesque site on the rolling hills of Fairhall.

Jonti Philipson, director of golf at the Marlborough Golf Club, says the successful tournament is in its fifth year. While it is run locally by a group of enthusiastic golf club members, the event is part of the New Zealand Professional Golf Association tournaments run throughout the country.

“It is a springboard for the professionals who are looking at bigger and greater things, but it gives the amateurs the opportunity to play alongside and see what these top guys can do,” he says. “It’s a fun day out.”

Each professional player teams up with three amateurs and while points are awarded for each team the professionals are doing battle against each other for prize money as well. Action gets underway with a shotgun start at 10.30am with a full field of 120 – 30 professionals and 90 amateurs – participating.

“There is a great atmosphere and it’s a good opportunity for locals to come along and watch. With 120 players out there the course is busy but there is always a fun atmosphere at the clubhouse with a wine tent and sausage sizzle,” he says.

Leading professionals expected are Richard Lee and Daniel Pearce who both play on the international stage. Richard Lee has spent many years playing on the Australasian, Japan and Asia circuits as well as competing in more than 50 European tours.

He will always be known as the first man to shoot 59 in competitive golf – an

“It’s a huge deal for our region and with Nelson hosting an event the same week it really is strengthening the South Island position.”

JONTI PHILIPSON

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achievement he gained at the Tauranga Open in 2010. As an amateur he beat Michael Campbell.

Most professionals will be using the Marlborough tournament to prepare for forthcoming national and international events including the New Zealand Open tour, according to Jonti.

The Marlborough event is part of the main golf tour which includes 22 events around New Zealand.

“It’s a huge deal for our region and with Nelson hosting an event the same week it really is strengthening the South Island position,” says Jonti.

Organiser Janet Leith says the Nelson event on the Monday and Tuesday will give professionals a chance to hone their skills then have a practise or rest day on the Wednesday before competition day in Marlborough on Thursday.

“The Whitehaven Wines Marlborough Pro Am is delighted to have 19 gold sponsors – 12 of these have been gold sponsors for all five years, showing their dedication to the event, sport and the region,” says Janet. “Our club is thrilled to have their support.”

Sue White, from Whitehaven Wines, was looking forward to another successful event this year.

“As a family-owned wine company Whitehaven places great importance on giving back to the community. Becoming the name rights sponsor in 2018 was a good fit for us and it is great being involved in such a well-organised event,” she says.

MOTORING

Kia’s answer to EV fear

BY GEOFF MOFFETT

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ia has given new electric car buyers no excuse for range fear with its pure EV Niro, capable in theory of a drive from Nelson, Tasman or Marlborough to Christchurch. However, you’ll pay $75k for the privilege of noiseless, petrol-less driving and, for a smallish SUV, that will sort out the EVevangelists from the ‘just-looking’ buyers.

The Niro, though, is much more than an average small SUV with its whiplash surge of seamless power you only get in electric cars plus the inducement of big running-cost savings compared to any petrol or diesel carbon-emitting equivalent at half or twice the price.

Yes, you can have a cheaper Niro as the car is offered in two battery specifications; the more powerful, EX455 64kw/hour model producing 155 kilowatts of power and a given range of 455km, or the EX289 with a 39.2 kWh battery with a claimed 289km range. And a price of ‘just’ $69,990. Most motorists could surely live with a smaller capacity battery and lesser power. A trickle charge from a home plug will take more than a day and a half while fast charging, using a public DC outlet, will top your battery to 80 percent capacity in about an hour. Once we see more fast charger stations on our highways, you could aim for a top-up over lunch during a long journey.

Even a short drive in the Niro – and I drove the EX455 – should enthuse any

prospective buyer with an eye to reducing carbon emissions, saying goodbye forever to service station pumps and saving thousands on mechanical maintenance. But will it excite you as a driver? The instant response from right pedal pressure will. Acceleration from 0-100 in the 455 is given at 7.8 seconds – quick without being shattering but the linear power push with only the whine from the electric motor makes it feel faster. And for overtaking, the instant torque makes the car feel very quick, especially in Sport mode.

The car feels solidly planted and you can feel the serious battery weight of the near 1.8 tonne SUV.

Very comfortable The Niro lacks for nothing in safety equipment with autonomous braking and smart radar, lane keep assist, rear traffic alert, blind spot detection and pedestrian and cyclist detection. At low speeds the car emits a noise to warn people that an EV is approaching, although you won’t know that inside where everything is very comfortable. Front seats are excellent, and the cockpit well laid out. A large rotary controller controls the gears and the seven-inch touchscreen works well.

There’s no end of information on the digital instrument cluster. Load space is impressive, with 450 litres in the rear, increasing to 1405 litres with the rear seats down. For the money, the Niro has

While expensive, the Niro is a rarity in this price bracket for full electric power and excellent range.

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most things you want but a few you might expect, like power front seats (heated, too) and head-up display. I’d also like a power tailgate for $75k. The cabin is neat and tidy; a large rotary controller switching from forward to neutral and reverse in place of a gear shifter and a choice of economy, normal and sport drive modes.

A rarity While expensive, the Niro is a rarity in this price bracket for full electric power and excellent range. You can buy cheaper cars with half the range and pay more than twice as much for the top end of Tesla, Jaguar i-Pace, Audi e Tron and so on. Niro buyers will justify the cost on the basis of the car’s zero carbon emissions and the large running-cost savings over an internal combustion engine car (and the peace of mind of a seven-year battery warranty).

Tech spec Price:

Kia Niro EX289 $69,990, EX455 $75,990

Power:

EX289, 39.2kWh, 100kw/395Nm; EX455, 64kWh, 150kw/395Nm. Single speed reduction gear drive.

Fuel:

Nil, zero carbon emissions.

Range up to 289/455km

Vehicle courtesy of Nelson Kia

2019

EV

nelsonkia.co.nz

100% PURE ELECTRIC | EX 455 RRP

Service. Fit. Style.

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455 km Maximum Range

Features include: •150 kW @ 3,800 – 8,000 rpm •395 Nm @ 0 – 3,600 rpm •64 kWh high voltage battery capacity •Liquid cooling battery system •Smart Cruise Control •Autonomous Emergency Braking •Lane Keep Assist System •Lane Following Assist •Blind Spot Detection •Front & rear parking sensors •Regenerative braking mode select •7” LCD touchscreen audio •Apple CarPlay™ & Android Auto™

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159 Haven Road, Nelson (03) 545 6785 *Recommended Retail Price (RRP) is available for a limited time or while stocks last. Not available with any other offer or promotion, or for rental or government purchasers. The Kia Scheduled Service Plan runs for the first 3 years from the date of registration or up to 45,000km (whichever is reached first).The Kia 5 year Warranty Programme runs for 5 years or up to 100,000km (whichever is reached first). All other on road costs (ORC) are additional. Warranty, Scheduled Service Plan and Roadside Assist terms and conditions apply, see Kia.co.nz for full details. *Driving range figure standards are calculated using the World Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure WLTP). Actual results achieved will differ according to operating conditions and driving style. **LED headlights are not available on New Zealand model specification.

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Photo: Dave Sheriff

ARTS

Dancer’s career is up in the air

BY JOHN COHEN-DU FOUR

A

mongst the many inspired offerings in next month’s Nelson Arts Festival is the premiere of Herelessness, a new outdoor dance piece

by Chloe Loftus.

Since returning to New Zealand from the UK three years ago, the Nelsonbased performer has been wowing audiences from one end of the country to the other with her choreographed works often featuring the gravity-defying enchantment of aerial dance.

While many won’t recognise Chloe’s name, they’ll certainly recall her magical Albion Square tree dances in the 2018 Light Nelson festival.

“I was so grateful to Sophie [Kelly, Light Nelson’s director],” says Chloe.

“We’d previously discussed the kind of work I do and she contacted me about creating a new piece for the event. She was one of the first New Zealand festival directors to sense my vision and trust in my abilities.”

It was a beguiling idea: take the dancing off terra firma, high overhead into a tree, flitting gracefully from branch to branch to a background of meditative electronic music – a kind of mystical tree-sprite reverie.

“It’s not about circus skills and big acrobatics,” Chloe explains. “It’s taking all the subtlety and intricacy of contemporary dance then placing it in a completely different setting. I’ve been touring it across NZ ever since – I think I’m up to twelve different trees now, with more booked into 2020.”

Chloe first came to NZ from the UK with her family when she was eight. “I’d been learning ballet, tap and jazz – the usual. But here’s where my interest in contemporary dance was fostered. I was so fortunate to find two really inspiring teachers who are no doubt the reason I’m still dancing today.”

As a teenager, Chloe decided to return to the UK to complete a BA (Hons) in Dance Performance.

“In 2006, I won a Welsh choreographic competition, which opened the door to commissions and arts councils’ grants. I became a full-time freelancer, creating my own pieces alongside working as a dancer with other companies.”

Performing rooftop pieces across the UK, Chloe became involved in harness work, which led to vertical dancing on

Chloe became intrigued with bungee-assisted dance, where harness dancing lightly touches the ground but also hovers and glides, creating an altered sense of gravity.

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Above: Chloe’s recent Auckland work, aerial dance with an inclusive dance cast

walls. She began creating performances for large-scale outdoor productions, music and arts festivals, and theatre and Olympic events.

“But I always felt NZ was home,” she says.

“In 2016 I listened to my heart and headed back. When I arrived I travelled the country wondering where I would settle. Nelson and its incredible lifestyle ticked all the boxes.”

New solo piece Chloe became intrigued with bungee-assisted dance, where harness dancing lightly touches the ground but also hovers and glides, creating an altered sense of gravity. “I enjoy exploring its subtlety,” she says, “alongside the vibrant dynamism it offers, creating movements that float, and suspensions offaxis – the possibilities seem endless.”

In July this year, in Auckland, Chloe co-created a new work for the InMotion Matariki event with Touch Compass Dance Trust, NZ’s leading inclusive contemporary dance company. It was an outdoor spectacle reflecting on kaitiakitanga and the human relationship with our oceans.

Now Chloe’s poised to unveil in Nelson her latest solo piece; free, outdoor, bungee-assisted dance performances linking landscape, water and music.

“For years I’ve asked myself how I can make contemporary dance performance more accessible and inclusive within our communities. The answer? Take the art outdoors, bring it to the people!”

IN THE GALLERY

September’s top artistic picks Indulge your creative side with a stunning new artwork from one of our talented local artisans and galleries. Check out our pick of this month’s must-have artworks.

1

2

3 1. Roz Speirs, Ocean Wave, fused glass, Wall to Wall Art, 112 Bridge St, Nelson, 027 500 5528, www.clarityglass.co.nz, $195 2. Nic Foster, Blue Estuary, 500 x 500mm, oil on board, Quiet Dog Gallery, Nelson, 03 548 3991, www.quietdoggallery.co.nz 3. Ian Hamlin, Gone Tomorrow, oil on canvas, 300 x 900mm, www.ianhamlin.co, $4,500 4. Russel Papworth, Stainless steel birds in flight on rods, Forest Fusion, Mapua Wharf, 022 0918 380, www.forestfusion.com 5. Jens Hansen, Ole Lynggaard Lotus Ring in 18ct yellow gold with rose gold leaves, London blue topaz and diamonds, www.jenshansen.co.nz, $7,500

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Photo: Mrs Jones

THIS IS TAMI NEILSON! with special guest JAY NEILSON

Festival Mainstage Mon 21 Oct, 7pm

MASK PARADE & CARNIVALE Upper Trafalgar & Hardy Streets Fri 18 Oct, 5.30pm (Parade), 6.30 – 10pm (Carnivale)

PIC’S PIKI MAI Upper Trafalgar Street, Fri 18 – Mon 28 Oct, dusk to midnight

nelsonartsfestival.nz

SUPPORTED BY

Photo: Sean Young

Photo: Stephen Langdon

MR RED LIGHT Theatre Royal Nelson, Wed 23 Oct, 7pm & ASB Theatre Marlborough, Fri 25 Oct, 8pm

KAPUT Australia Suter Theatre, Tue 22 Oct, 7pm

Photo: Ray Tiddey Photography

THE TOPP TWINS Theatre Royal, Sun 27 Oct, 7pm & Mon 28 Oct, 3pm

STILL LIFE WITH CHICKENS Suter Theatre, Sat 26 & Sun 27 Oct, 7pm

BJORK: ALL IS FULL OF LOVE

THE WONDERWOMBS

MIGHTY DUKE & THE LORDS Australia

Theatre Royal, Fri 18 Oct, 8pm

Photo: Franz Ritschel

Photo: Daniel Luxford

ASB Theatre Marlborough, Wed 23 Oct, 7pm & Theatre Royal Nelson, Fri 25 & Sat 26 Oct, 8pm

PORTRAITS IN MOTION Germany

SHOOGLENIFTY

Festival Mainstage Sun 20 Oct, 7pm

Scotland Festival Mainstage Sat 19 Oct, 8pm

Aotearoa New Zealand was founded on stargazing. It was celestial navigation that brought the first people here, and it was t ā tai arorangi, M ā ori astronomy, that helped people survive once they arrived. There is no better place on Earth to view the brilliance of other worlds.

Covering eclipses, aurorae, comets and constellations, backyard observatories, traditional stargazers and world-class astrophotographers, this is the unique story of Te Whānau Mārama, our family of light – the night sky that glows above us all.

GREG COPELAND

Southern Nights

Photo: Tom Althaus

Neudorf Vineyards Sat 19 Oct, 2pm

Southern Nights NAOMI ARNOLD

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NAOMI ARNOLD

.

USA / Germany

NON-FICTION

The stor y of New Zealand’s night sky From the southern lights to the Milky Way

COV_SouthernNights.indd 1

THE CLEARING Theatre Royal, Sat 19 Oct, 8pm

Festival Mainstage Fri 25 Oct, 8pm

PAGE & BLACKMORE PUKAPUKA TALKS Fri 25 – Mon 28 Oct

27/06/19 7:03 PM

Photo: Dana Foley Photography

MUSIC

Let the music play on

BY PETE RAINEY

T

he last time I wrote about Nelson City Brass in this column was back in 2016.

The band’s new musical director Nigel Weeks had caused an upset at the Nelson, Marlborough, West Coast Regional band competitions when the C grade Nelson band chalked up a higher overall score than the other higher ranked A and B grade bands from Marlborough and further afield.

Nigel subsequently took the band further by winning the C grade competition at the National Championships in 2017, and then last year placing the band second (only by a slim margin) in the B grade at the National Championships in Blenheim.

So to this year, and the National Brass Band Championships held in Hamilton in July. Twenty-eight bands competed in all, 10 or so in the B grade and in a stunning result Nelson City Brass took out the national B grade title.

In only its second year in the B grade and following its close second placing in 2018, the band competing against nine other Above: Musical director Nigel Weeks leads the band at the national championships earlier this year 92

What has changed is the repertoire that bands perform (especially at championship level), where despite the regimented, conservative presentation, the music on offer can be anything but.

New Zealand bands and one from Australia won all stage events for an emphatic win by 11 points overall to the next closest band.

In addition to this the band had several members recognised for their performances in the stage events and a number who won or gained placings in the solo events held earlier in the contest.

The brass band scene is fascinating to me as a relative newcomer, and I need to declare my interest here as both my boys play in the band.

No question it is a conservative musical genre, with the instrumentation and even the way bands sit on stage having remained pretty much unchanged for decades – maybe much longer.

What has changed is the repertoire that bands perform (especially at championship level), where despite the regimented, conservative presentation, the music on offer can be anything but.

The level of musicianship displayed is very high, and reflects a commitment and work ethic that is admirable.

This is true for the Nelson City Brass players who have thrown themselves into the task of improving their individual

playing and overall ensemble. Their dedication and commitment is admirable.

Part of this is being able to survive under the baton of director Nigel Weeks.

Nigel will be the first to admit he is a hard taskmaster, and is very clear that the reason he is tough on players is because he seeks, and gets, results. There are some who don’t respond to this environment well, however for those who can, (and in the context of brass banding which Nigel knows inside out) the rewards are obvious. His depth of experience, commitment to excellence and ability to shape a performance is proving to be very successful for Nelson City Brass.

This environment is paying dividends for the brass scene here in Nelson, with a strong junior band developing as well. The development of young talent is important in any endeavour, and the potential for growth is clear.

Nelson City should place greater value on the civic and artistic contribution Nelson City Brass makes, and I think stronger efforts should be made by all concerned to upgrade the band’s facilities which are tired and coming to an end of their useful life.

FILM

A fond farewell

BY MICHAEL BORTNICK

The Farewell Comedy, Drama Directed by Lulu Wang Starring Awkwafina, Tzi Ma and Diana Lin 100 minutes Rated 12A

T

he following is based on an actual lie. The Farewell is a comedy-drama motion picture written and directed by Chinese- born Lulu Wang. It tells a story from Wang’s family history; upon learning their grandmother has only a short while left to live, the family decides not to tell her.

Wang felt conflicted when her relatives explained that her ‘Nai Nai’, or grandmother in Chinese, had cancer but she would not be told about the diagnosis.

At the time, Wang hadn’t heard of keeping a prognosis from a family member, something that could never happen in the United States but is allowable under Chinese law.

She decided to create a movie on the topic and film it in her grandmother’s neighbourhood in China.

The result is a poignant account that blends heartwarming drama, subtle wit and comedy that takes a thoughtful look at the cultural differences between the East and the West. It is alternately hilarious, dark and tearful.

Nora Lum, known professionally as Awkwafina, is an American actress and rapper. She made her breakthrough in the heist comedy Ocean’s 8 and the romantic comedy Crazy Rich Asians.

Lum’s mother died when she was four, and she was raised and influenced heavily by her paternal grandmother. This made her a perfect choice for the lead role of a Wang-like character called Billi who has moved from China to America but still keeps in very close touch with her grandmother.

Billi feels terrible about keeping the secret from her Nai Nai as the whole family travels back to China for a phony wedding that has been set up exclusively to say goodbye. Through deception and manipulation of medical test results, the fatal diagnosis is kept from the sweet old girl. But everyone in the entourage-sized cast has a hard time looking at her without putting on a sad face.

Somehow, this is often really funny.

Mention must be made of the role food and its preparation play in the film. Almost every significant scene takes place around a stove, a chopping board or a dining table. After viewing, you will desperately want to plunk yourself in front of a revolving lazy Susan and eat with chopsticks.

The Farewell is packed full of memorable scenes and moments, which Wang ties together with a creative and engaging style that involves everything from the framing of her shots to the quirky music playing in the background. It is an adorable film that should top your must-see list.

Although it is a study of East-West relations, the larger themes bring our universal human experience to life.

See the film with your grandma.

Spoiler alert!

Shortly before the story ends, footage of director Lulu Wang’s grandmother is shown, with accompanying text that reads: “Six years after her diagnosis, Nai Nai is still with us.”

Michael Bortnick has left the theatre to sharpen his chopsticks.

91 Trafalgar Street, Nelson - Ph: 548 3885

Movies Screening in SEPTEMBER THE FAREWELL PG | 1hr 50min Based on an actual lie.

A Chinese family keeps their terminally ill matriarch in the dark about her prognosis in this Sundance hit comedy starring Awkwafina.

AMAZING GRACE G | 1hr 37min Oscar winner Sydney Pollack (Out of Africa) co-directs this documentary on Aretha Franklin’s seminal live gospel album, recorded over two days in January, 1972.

DOWNTON ABBEY Rating: tbc | Runtime tbc One trip can change everything. The show followed the Crawley family who lived in an Edwardian English country house with their servants at the turn of the 20th century.

AD ASTRA Rating: tbc | Runtime tbc An engineer journeys across the galaxy in search of his father in this sci-fi from the director of The Lost City of Z. Front-loaded with an Oscars-certified cast.

For more information, go to our website:

www.statecinemas.co.nz

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EVENTS

Regular Markets

Nelson Tasman

Every Saturday morning

Friday 27

The Nelson Market 8am to 1pm

Blue River Baby New Release Album Tour

MONTGOMERY SQUARE

The debut self-titled album from Wellington’s Blue River Baby was released earlier this year and now is the chance to hear them live. Well-known for their epic energy, live shows and exceptional musicianship, the six-piece band is bound by their passion of psychedelic rock, reggae, funk, soul and roots.

Band starts 10pm.

Every Sunday Motueka Market 8am to 1pm DECKS RESERVE CAR PARK

Monty’s Market 8am to 1pm MONTGOMERY SQUARE

Every Wednesday Nelson Farmers’ Market 8.30am to 1.30pm

EAST ST CAFE, NELSON

KIRBY LANE

SEPTEMBER Friday 6 to Sunday 8 Art Expo Nelson 2019 Art Expo Nelson plays host and curator of art works by eminent and emerging artists from Nelson Tasman and around the country. Over 1000 artworks in a wide variety of mediums, styles and subject matter. And yes, the artists will be there too. Friday & Saturday 10am to 6pm; Sunday 10am to 4pm.

THE TRAFALGAR CENTRE, NELSON

Saturday 7 Spring Flower Show The Nelson Horticultural Society and Central Garden Group are holding a combined spring show for the first time. Daffodils, cut flowers, house plants and floral art categories, plus stalls selling a variety of goods and plants will be on offer, along with refreshments.

From 8.30am to 3.30pm.

STOKE METHODIST CHURCH HALL, STOKE

2009 with local musicians Mary Ayre (piano), Juliet Ayre (violin) and Lissa Cowie (cello). This will be their first concert performing together since 2011. Starts 1pm.

wine releases from Nelson Tasman, and a chance to meet the winemakers, growers and producers. Limited tickets and an R18 event. From 5pm to 7pm.

provide added entertainment.

Starts 7.35pm.

NCMA, NELSON

THE BOATHOUSE, NELSON

Nelson Home & Garden Show

Thursday 26

A show packed with ideas and information to transform your surroundings into the space you’ve always dreamed of. Innovation, expert advice and show-only specials. From 10am to 5pm daily.

Sunday 22 Nelson Cherry Blossom Festival 2019 Enjoy a programme of music, food and entertainment under the cherry blossom trees to celebrate the Japanese culture and the 43-year Sister City connection between Nelson and Miyazu. The programme includes Japanese martial arts, big brush calligraphy, dance and more!

From 11.30am to 2.30pm.

MIYAZU GARDENS, ATAWHAI

Tuesday 24 Official Nelson Wine Tasting 2019 A public tasting with the latest

NCMA’s Lunchtime Series: Pianist Richard Mapp Well-known pianist Richard Mapp gives his first solo concert in Nelson since moving here earlier in the year. He will perform works

by Bach, Chopin and Schubert.

Starts 1pm.

NCMA, NELSON

Friday 27 Mako v Auckland A night of fun, fashion and games when the mighty Mako take on Auckland. Fashions in the Field

Tuesday 10

Sunday 15

A Doll’s House

Mako v North Harbour

Tour-Makers with Twist Productions presents a one-night only performance of this awardwinning and critically acclaimed play. Cleverly exposing the power and gender dynamics within a marriage, this version of the explosive story has been re-contextualised in a modern Aotearoa, complete with a sugar-free, eco-conscious lifestyle. Starts 7.30pm.

Join the support team to cheer on Team Mako in a home game.

Starts 4.35pm.

TRAFALGAR PARK, NELSON

Thursday 19 NCMA Lunchtime Series: Grampians Trio The Grampians Trio formed in 94

THEATRE ROYAL, NELSON

TRAFALGAR PARK, NELSON

Friday 27 to Sunday 29

SAXTON STADIUM, STOKE

Saturday 28 Zumba Dance-off Ninety minutes of intense dancing with New Zealand’s Zumba guru Marlex Pagalunan from Auckland.

A high-energy dance session for Zumba lovers and others. Limited to 200 people. Facebook EJ ZUMBA. Starts 5pm.

MEMORIAL HALL, MOTUEKA

EVENTS

Regular Markets

Marlborough

Every Sunday

Sunday 1

Marlborough Farmers’ Market 9am - 12pm

Craft Fair Crafts, sausage sizzle. morning and afternoon teas. Knitting, sewing, jewellery, pictures, handmade cards, wheat bags, knitted toys, canvasses, and much more. Supporting the Cancer Society Marlborough. 10am to 4pm and same on Saturday 31st August.

The Sunday Marlborough Farmers’ Market is based on supporting local, fresh and seasonal produce and products. Everything at the market has been picked, grown, farmed, fished, produced and made by the people selling it at the market.

A&P SHOWGROUNDS

REDWOOD COMMUNITY CENTRE, REDWOODTOWN

SEPTEMBER Monday 2 Red Cross Crosses the Runway Fashion Show Charity fundraiser fashion show event for Marlborough Red Cross.

A fun night out for raising money to be spent locally in Marlborough.

Clothing supplied from Shizazz Fashion Boutique and menswear supplied by Hallensteins. From 6pm to 9.30pm.

MARLBOROUGH PUBLIC HOUSE, BLENHEIM

Monday 9 NZ Mountain Film Festival - 2019 National Tour Internationally recognised as one of the world’s premier mountain film festival events, expect up-close adventures, emotive and insightful

cultural content and the usual fast-paced, action-packed adrenaline entertainment making for an impressive programme that will have you inspired and entertained. Ticketed event with proceeds to the Nelson Marlborough Rescue Helicopter.

From 7.30pm to 9.30pm.

Street, Riverlands choirs. From 7pm to 9.30pm each night.

THE ELIM CENTRE, BLENHEIM

Tiny Ruins return to home ground this spring with legendary Australian songwriter and Milk!

Records co-founder Jen Cloher (solo) joining them on tour. A group renowned for their electric dynamic live on stage, Tiny Ruins have made steady and consistently surprising waves in the underground music scene. From 7.30pm.

Tuesday 10, Wednesday 11 & Thursday 12 Kiwi Can Jam All the songs you love, performed

by Marlborough Primary Schools’ Choirs, led this year by Suzanne Prentice. Tuesday night - Bohally, Springlands, Seddon, Ward, Rai Valley, Mayfield choirs; Wednesday night - Witherlea, Blenheim, Tua Marina, Richmond View, Rapaura choirs; Thursday night - Fairhall, Redwoodtown, Waikawa Bay, Picton, Whitney

ASB THEATRE MARLBOROUGH, BLENHEIM

Wednesday 11 Tiny Ruins - Olympic Girls Spring Tour

THE PLANT, BLENHEIM

Friday 13 to Sunday 15 Mud House Women’s Regatta One of the two largest women’s

keelboat regattas in New Zealand, this event attracts top female sailors from all over New Zealand and Australia. Comprising two long-course events and two ‘round-the-cans’ events as well as social opportunities. Friday 3pm to 9pm, Saturday 9am to 11pm, Sunday 9am to 2pm.

WAIKAWA BOATING CLUB, PICTON, SOUNDS, MARLBOROUGH

Friday 19 The Great Burleigh Pie/ Wine Pairing Challenge Your chance to see the best of Marlborough’s wines matched with legendary Burleigh pies, as local wineries compete for the ultimate prize in this annual competition which benefits three local charities.

Relax in comfort with a coffee or glass of wine at the fabulous Wine Station and find out who this year’s winner will be! From 2pm to 5pm.

THE WINE STATION,BLENHEIM

Friday 20 to Sunday 29 Thursday 26 Whitehaven Wines Marlborough Pro-Am Golf The fifth such event, the Pro Am is a great opportunity for the public to watch 30 professionals team up with 90 local amateur players and give a display of excellent golf.

Shotgun start 10.30am.

MARLBOROUGH GOLF CLUB, FAIRHALL

NZIA Festival of Architecture Nelson and Marlborough will have several free public activities including a heritage walking tour, a public talk with well-known NZ architects, a public pop-up space, a photo competition and an Architectural Cake Baking Competition! For event details, visit the festival website for details, festivalofarchitecture.nz ASSORTED TIMES & VENUES, NELSON & MARLBOROUGH

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DIRECTORY

Stockists of Magnolia Pearl, La Bottega Di Brunella, Meg By Design & Beacon Hill’s Closet STORE HOURS Friday 10am-4pm Saturday 10am-2pm 205 PATON ROAD, HOPE facebook.com/beaconhillcountrystore

@beaconhillstore

Kawana

LYRICAL LOUNGE HIP-HOP & RnB Saturday night at 10pm Replays Thursday at midnight

Check programmes on www.freshfm.net Nelson-Tasman 104.8 • Nelson CBD 107.2 • Takaka 95.0 • Blenheim 88.9

marina2

9 November 2019 6pm To support this event purchase a table of 6 for $800+GST at helirescue.co.nz/feast

A fundrasier for the

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M Y E D U C AT I O N

A beauty of a business Marlborough Medi Spa owner Wendy Dixon has always loved helping others feel good. She talks to Olivia Buys about her business and how studying at Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology gave her the confidence to tackle the industry on her own.

PHOTO BY LISA DUNCAN

Can you tell me a little about your beauty business?

Marlborough Medi Spa is an awardwinning purpose-built oasis, in the heart of Marlborough’s wine region.

We provide a whole range of beauty treatments, specialising in repairing skin and permanent hair removal. We also have a private spa pool and offer total relaxation packages.

Why beauty therapy?

It’s hard to describe the feeling you get from making people look and feel good, on the inside and out – it’s just amazing. I love nothing more than seeing an increase in client confidence after a course of skin or hair removal treatments. The world we live in today is full of pressures, but Marlborough Medi Spa is a place where people can come to transport themselves away from the daily stresses, even just for a few hours. It’s a place where tranquility reigns, and our client’s health, beauty and comfort are our only concerns. It’s very rewarding to see clients relax. These are my real motivations.

enter into the industry on my own. There is also a specific module on business ownership, so I was able to take what I learnt and put it into practice.

In what ways did the Diploma in Beauty Therapy at NMIT help you become a business owner?

How do you find employing other NMIT beauty graduates works for you, and your business?

The biggest thing the diploma gave me was confidence. It covers the industry across the board, so it gave me selfassurance with respect to different beauty treatments, as well as the self-belief to

It’s no secret that staff are your biggest asset, and our staff are incredible. They all share the same passion towards a flawless service. With similar NMIT diplomas under their belt, it helps to ensure our clients get

a consistent professional service – every single time.

What advice would you give to other beauty graduates who are thinking about starting their own business?

Simple really. There are always challenges to business ownership, so your motivation needs to be stronger than any obstacle you come across. You will never stop learning in this industry, so surround yourself with people who will help you grow.

be your best with the best in the world

If you’re an experienced and motivated real estate professional with strong networks looking to join the highest standards in real estate then let’s talk today.

Life’s short, work somewhere incredible. Contact Ian Keightley in confidence 021 968 108.

Nelson P +64 3 539 0216 Shop 1, 295 Trafalgar Street, Nelson nzsothebysrealty.com

Each Office Is Independently Owned and Operated. Browns Real Estate Limited (licensed under the REAA 2008) MREINZ.