Rhythm & Vines

We decided to have a low-key Christmas this year, and save our energy for some New Year's festivities.

On Christmas day, we headed up to Warkworth, a town about an hour North of Auckland, to visit with Emma's extended family. We were treated to a traditional Kiwi Christmas lunch spread and an impromptu play performed by Emma's younger cousins (burgeoning actresses, to be sure).

Justin capped off the afternoon with a dip in the water at Orewa beach. Definitely beats a polar bear swim.

We also spent Boxing Day in typical Kiwi fashion, by getting dressed up and going to the Horse Races. A great excuse for Emma to wear a fascinator, and Justin to break out a collared shirt.

On the 27th, we rented a camper van and headed down to Gisborne (pronounced Giz-Bin, and commonly abbreviated to 'Gizzy') on the east coast of the North Island. This small city is known for its surfing and for having a laid back atmosphere.

We spent our first two nights at a holiday park on the beach. There was lots of beach time to be had (and lots of sunburns), and we also discovered what has thus far been the best coffee in New Zealand at the Gisborne Deli. The visit wouldn't have been complete without a beer sampler and a charcuterie board at Gisborne's local Sunshine Brewery.

A Justin-approved tree.

The beach at 'Gizzy'.

Sunset.

Sorry, more sunset.

After our two relaxing days in Gisborne, we headed to a local vineyard for the annual Rhythm & Vines festival. This three-day festival mostly features electronic music (yay for Justin), but alt-rock band Bastille were also playing (yay for Emma).  Most of the camping takes place directly within the vineyards. Overall, it was a pretty incredible experience. The best part was that we were able to drive our camper van in and out of the campsite each day, which allowed us to spend our days at the beach and evenings at the concert.

Vineyard camping setup.

Bird's eye view of the campgrounds.

Our home for the week.

Off to the first night of festivities.

Concert security (seriously).

Tee-pee village (aka the 'glamping ground').

The main bar and VIP section.

 A slip & slide on the festival grounds. Clothing optional.

Our favourite hangout was a cute little bar nestled away in the forest...aptly named the Forest Bar. I can't tell if it's Cher in line, or Jesus.

This truck was brought in to mix up the signature Smirnoff cocktails at the forest bar. They had one called the 'gingerbread man' and it tasted like drinking apple crumble...so delicious!

 More forest bar.

 We rang in 2015 watching Bastille & a fireworks display (somewhat inferior to Canadian fireworks).

Happy New Year everyone!