Matakana : Kiwi for Magical

· by · in F + B, New Zealand, Tips 'n Tricks. ·

Matakana is a small hamlet 45 minutes north of Auckland, out towards the coast from Warkworth. It is well known for its Saturday produce markets, with Omaha Beach just 5kms further east. The area is populated by ‘lifestylers’ on small acreages and is set in rolling timbered hills, with the occasional vineyard dotting the landscape. Omaha Beach itself is ‘Kiwi coastal’ albeit with some serious real estate…sort of a downscale Palm Beach of Sydney. The current Kiwi PM has a house there.

IMPRESSIONS: Matakana the town has a lovely vibe, still slightly ramshackle and best left that way. New money has brought upscale cafes, artisan shops, a totally renovated country style pub and some very tasty and reasonable food offerings. The kinda place where the living is easy. I suspect not so discovered by international tourists yet, but well known to Aucklanders.

WHAT WE DID

* Stayed with two different sets of friends. The Eddington’s on their beautiful 10 acre property ‘Twisted Plough’ named after a horse drawn plough embedded in the fork of a tree. The Honeycombe’s on their showpiece export persimmon farm. A persimmon is an edible sweet fruit that resembles a tree tomato. Full of nutrients it is much prized in Japan and Asia.

* Dined riverside alfresco for both lunch and dinner at the Matakana Market Kitchen. A lively place with very good food and service. Moderately priced

* Sampled whitebait fritters from The Whitebait Ladies at the Saturday markets. South Island whitebait commands a premium at $6 – whitebait, egg and service with a smile. The queue can be long.

* Ate fresh cold spring rolls from Phuongs Vietnamese Food Truck, roadside for lunch. Forget all you’ve heard about ‘roach coaches’. Absolutely delicious.

* Watched Peter Jackson’s ‘The Hobbit’ at the very arty Matakana Cinema complex. This is as civilized as a theatre comes. Buy your BYO bottle of wine and borrow some wine glasses downstairs, choose a comfy armchair, put on your 3d glasses and there is nowhere better in the world to watch goblins, elves and monsters.

* Casual outdoor dinner at the Matakana Village Pub. Sympathetically restored from an old boarding house, recommended is the very good local beer battered fish and chips. Even more recommended is the locally brewed Sawmill Pilsener on tap. Delicious on a hot and sunny evening over New Year.

* Lunched in The Glasshouse at Brick Bay Winery (www.brickbay.co.nz) Beautifully set amongst the vines and an impressive sculpture trail, it reminded me of the beautiful Montalto Vineyard on The Mornington Peninsula’s Red Hill. A superb tasting platter for 4 with a bottle of their Pinot Gris made for a very lazy lunch.
* Comfort stopped at Charlie’s Gelato Garden (www.charliesgelato.co.nz) Home made daily on the premises from locally grown fruit. Charlie’s is a match for what I thought was the best gelato in the world at La Gelateria Frigidarium on via del Governo in Roma (a short walk from Campo Di Fiore). Charlie’s doubles as a pizza cafe with an outdoor wood fired oven and dining area. Did not sample the pizza but the two teenage chefs busy cooking, we’re producing some mean looking pizza’s also available by the slice. What a find.

* The absolute favourite though was Bazza’s homemade crispy pizza’s done on a BBQ and impressive pizza stone. Toppings of fresh basil, rocket, local bufala cheese and proscuitto. As good as anything ever tasted in Italy? Absolutely! And not to forget the Central Otago Pinot accomplimenti. Unforgettable but the location is a secret.

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