Martinborough Fair

The sun is out woohoo!....

This summer has been a bit of a disappointment in Wellington. According to the news it has been the worst summer, in terms of hours of sunshine, in thirty years. We have had the lowest number of beach days (days with more than 8 hours of sunshine) since 1987.

Luckily we spent a lot of the summer on the South Island and managed to avoid all the bad weather. However at this time of year we would normally have managed to swim in the sea quite a few times, and so far we have only managed it once.

So following our first week back at work we decided we needed cheering up and so headed north over the Rimutaka's to check out Martinborough Fair in the Wairarapa. A colleague recommended it as she liked visiting all the craft stalls but she did warn us about the traffic. And she was right. Clearly a lot of other people from Wellington had the same idea.

We had to park some distance from the little town and walk in. It was packed!

It was a gorgeous day and we didn't mind the walk into town as we got to pass all the vineyards that surround the little urban area.

The little town square and surrounding streets were jam packed with stalls and stands selling crafts, second hand goods and delicious smelling chutneys, jams, cheese and sauces. We spent a good couple of hours exploring what was on offer.

They also had a section for fairground attractions and weird balls on water. I think their called Zorbs.

Unfortunately we only spotted the horse and carriage just before we left. If we had seen it earlier I would have loved a ride.

I can thoroughly recommend Martinborough Fair as an excellent day out. Even in the heat we had today the little town has plenty of shelter and the food trucks are plentiful and varied enough to suit everyones taste. 

The bit I loved the most though was the lady doing the announcements over the loud speakers. During the day as well as the normal announcements for lost children, she announced several lost husbands who had apparently been mislaid and were looking for their wives. Plus half an hour before the fair closed she advised everyone to check they had all they had come with and to make sure that their bags, keys and purses were not lost. It was like someone had handed the loud speaker to my Nan for the afternoon!