Starting the day off at 9:15am at our usual meet-up place at BP SH1, we loitered around chatting amongst ourselves before departing at 9:45ish. We took a direct route down SH1, bypassing Hamilton City, and taking the exit at Tamahere to head west along country roads towards Ohaupo and Vilagrad Winery.
After arriving in dribs and drabs and parking up, we checked-in to the winery and ordered drinks at the bar before sitting down to our reserved tables in the semi outdoor area, with lovely grapevines hanging overhead. With the sun shining and no real breeze to chill us, it could have been a summers day in the Med and not a cool autumnal day in the Waikato. Very pleasant indeed.
One or two drinks later, lunch was ready. We were all looking forward to the spit roast. The selection of dishes was very good and catered to many tastes. On offer was chicken, pork, lamb and fish, with nice vege dishes too. The spit roasted meat was tender and succulent, which was followed by a delicious dessert of chocolate cake with fresh whipped cream, black dorris plums, jelly, citrus mousse meringue, yoghurt and their homemade caramel sauce.
The run home afterwards was quiet, as the road was easy, the sun was shining and our tummies were full.
All in all, a delightful day out at a venue I certainly recommend.
Trevor Ninness
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