Another destination to tick on our list of must-visit places the next time we visit Auckland is the Matakana Village Farmers’ Market.
Just 45 minutes north of Auckland lies the picturesque Matakana wine region, the home of over 30 boutique vineyards, olive groves, restaurants and the famous Matakana Village and Farmers’ Market featuring locally grown food and produce. Settled in the 1840’s, Matakana has a proud history and strong sense of community.
The 45-minute road trip to the Matakana Village was one that was filled with picturesque countryside with herds and herds of fluffy sheep and cows on green rolling hills. Though I was really knackered and sleepy from the days of lack of sleep due to jet lag, I just had to keep my eyes wide opened to enjoy the scenic green countryside.
On arrival at the Matakana Village, what greeted me was this tree blooming with beautiful lilac color flowers. Behind me is a century old church. What a beautiful backdrop on a cool and crisp Saturday morning. I just had to snap a picture for remembrance. What a pity the girls missed this trip as they had gone to do some indoor extreme sports with their aunts.
At the village market…
The ambience and setting of the Matakana Village market reminded me of our very own ‘pasar pagi’ (morning market), except that this village market is way cleaner than our local markets.
I got myself a cup of freshly made green machine juice on arrival…
New Zealand is internationally well-known for its good quality dairy products. Stalls selling cheeses are very common at village markets and are aplenty. But buffalo cheese, buffalo milk yoghurt and buffalo milk labneh? Er, no thanks. There were free samples to try but hubs and I walked passed them.
Available at the market are luscious fresh produce like fruits, vegetables, delicious artisan baking, Italian sausages, organic chocolate, flowers, fine wines, olive oil, nuts and the all important freshly brewed morning coffee with locally roasted beans; all with a live musical accompaniment.
Nestled on the banks of the picturesque Matakana River, the Farmers’ Market has a unique experience that hubs and I really enjoyed.
With such picturesque view of the Matakana river, we patronized the Matakana restaurant seated next to the river and had brunch by the river side to enjoy the view and experience New Zealand by watching how the locals go by. Food was top notch.
Too bad the girls missed this trip. I know they would have enjoyed themselves playing on this tree house located along the river bank at the market.
We tried this Paella for NZD10. It would be cut throat price if converted into Ringgit Malaysia. And there is nothing really to shout about too.
How could I walk past the organic blueberry stall without getting some? At only NZD5 for 2 punnets, it’s a steal!!
We also tried this Greenlipped Mussel and Paua Fritters, which reminded me of our very own ‘ho cien’ (oyster omelette).
I thought that these 2 were ordinary trees until the MIL pointed out to me that they were Sakura trees! If only they had Sakura flowers blooming on them, I would be hugging the trees and collecting the flowers!
Till we meet again Matakana, I will definitely pay you a visit again the next time we visit Auckland. I think it will be in another 7 years’ time. And our agenda will be different by then. Perhaps Alycia will be staying there for purpose of tertiary education or perhaps we will all be there as migrants, who knows! 😉
No. of times viewed = 373