Honeymoon Day 12

For our last full day in New Zealand was a Friday and we heard that a nearby town was having a fall festival.  Arrowtown is known for its fall colors, sort of like New Hampshire or Vermont does in the US (which I will see for the first time this year when Jeff and Mona get married).  We made the short drive and it was like we turned a corner and the hills were aflame.

Seriously!  Look at those colors!  I have no talent with photo editing, but if I did - I would be hard to beat these natural colors.

For the fall festival, the old and young were out in this little town park to watch the Miner band and a kid talent show called "Arrowtown Idol."  We figured that the seniors and the kids were the only ones in attendance because it was a normal work day.

Quite a large turnout for Arrowtown Idol.  We sat through a few interesting guitar performances and a few dance routines - one of which involved two little girls lip-syncing to an American pop song and throwing money at one point.  It was pretty funny. Very enthusiastic applause from us.

This Friday also happened to be ANZAC day (a holiday like our Memorial Day to honor those that have served in the military).   So, we put a few coins in a little can and got our very own ANZAC poppies to sport.  We fit right in!  Everyone was wearing them.  As proof, check out the two guys on the bench behind me.

After we had walked up and down main street five times and watched the entire 45 minutes of Arrowtown Idol, we headed to a nearby winery to eat and drink before heading back to our hotel.  We got the chef's tasting menu and a few glasses of the house made Rose.

I should mention that I had never tried Rose before this meal, but there was something that was very right about it that day.  (Pink wine reminds me of my grandfather for some reason.)  Since then, it has become my new favorite summer drink.  Crispy and cold, and a perfect souvenir of the trip.