Normally at March Hare Cycling I don’t  accompany my cyclists, however on Friday I was lucky enough to have a journalist that needed escorting (read ‘ required someone chatty’ – it was for radio).  Tim Graham from Radio New Zealand was recording for their Summer Report morning show which airs between Boxing Day and 21^st Jan.  I’m not sure yet what day we’ll be on, but I can assure you that listening to us giggle as we get the wobbles on our bikes and discuss scrummy wines is going to want you to change your holiday plans and head to Martinborough.

Anyway, as I don’t often get to bike myself, I thought I’d share some highlights.

Muirlea Rise

Shawn’s strapline is ‘wines with soul’ and he certainly puts a fair amount of heart and soul into producing his wine.  One of the smallest commercial operations in Martinborough, what he lacks in size he makes up for in character: both in terms of the quality of his wines, as well as personal character.  Shawn is a favourite with my hens parties and I suspect that has something to do with the cheeky quips and ability to keep it real.  He’s a one-man-band, so generally tends his vines early in the morning, before heading inside to make wine and take customers through his divine wines at his cellar door once the day starts to heat up.  My pick?  The Red Apres.  Even though we were there at some ridiculously antisocial time of the morning, it had me licking my lips at it’s up front sweetness and dry brandy finish – kind of a cross between a desert wine and a port.  That one is definitely being included in someones Christmas stocking.

Tim asking the hard questions of Shawn

Schubert

It makes you proud of our little region to hear the passion and pride that Kai and Marion have for their adopted home of New Zealand.  Although their native Germany produces some stunning wines, Kai was lucky enough to stumble across Martinborough Pinot Noirs early in his career and that was them hooked.  Since then Kai and Marion have shown what you can achieve if you believe in your passion.  Marion generally manages the vineyard (Kai reckons her multitasking skills are far superior) and Kai makes the wine.   And what stunning wine that partnership produces.  We were lucky enough to try their Marions Block Pinot Noir.  The experts extol its virtues and sing their praises for its ‘ripe morello cherries and wild raspberry flavours’ with  ‘delicate citrus fruit aromas and an intense ruby colour’.  I think we stuck with the incredibly eloquent description of ‘scrummy’!  (I’m so surprised Tim didn’t offer me a job in radio with my extensive vocabulary!)

Questioning Kai

Ata Rangi

Ata Rangi is always gorgeous and you can see why it has such a loyal following.  Recently described by Decanter Magazine as “… the crowned king of New Zealand Pinot Noir”, the cosy little cellar door belies the global influence of their award winning wines.  We were lucky enough to have their amazing winemaker, Helen Masters, take us through a wine tasting.  Not evens Helens beautifully unassuming manner can hide the passion she has for producing stunning wine.  By now we’d given Tim a glimpse of why Martinborough is known for its Pinots, so Helen very kindly showed us that the region is certainly more than a one trick pony, with a tasting of their 2010 Craighall Chardonnay.  Simply divine.  I know most Kiwi’s are staunch Sauvignon fans, but once you taste this you’ll be a convert.

Beautiful Helen taking Tim through the intricacies of producing award winning wines

Alas we’d had to squeeze everything into a morning session to fit around Tims schedule, so listeners won’t get the chance to hear us tucking into the scrummy March Hare picnic.  However maybe I can entice Radio NZ back in the summer to do ‘Part 2’!

OK, so I haven’t made an official announcement yet and there are a few key things to confirm before I do, but I’ve never been one for secrets so you heard it here exclusively:

I’m putting on a big event in Martinborough during the RWC!  Wa Hoo!

There is a fantastic thing called the REAL NZ Festival which is geared towards getting those legions of fans off the beaten track and discovering the ‘Real New Zealand’.  It’s predominately events driven and believe it or not, but the beautiful boutique wine village of Martinborough doesn’t feature.  A plethora of divine vineyards just an hour’s drive from Wellington and there isn’t a single event organised to encourage those fans over the hill and through the cellar door.  Sacrilege.  When the country is going to be inundated with amazing events & parties you need to do something a bit more than just be open to stand out from the rest but everyone hoped someone else would do it, and I’m sure you can guessed what happened…

So what ridiculous, crazy, mad reason is there for me to be the one to do something about it?  Well mainly the fact that someone has to.  My vision statement for March Hare Cycling is To create an internationally acclaimed tourism operation that lifts our region’s profile and sustains our community for the future.   Hmmm , a big call but best I start walking the walk.

So the plan is to develop an event that will be showcased internationally and will put Martinborough on the map as a destination over the RWC .  It’s going to be all about discovering the ‘real’ Martinborough – the people and the place.  I’ll be hand picking a selection of the best vineyards and producers who will each offer a series of 15min ‘sneak peaks’.  You’ll get to do things like a tour of the wine cellar, learn how to ‘bud’ vines, and get a lesson on soil biodynamics etc.  Tasters will be offered on the hours and will only take 15 minutes leaving you time to taste the wines and make your purchases before you continue at your leisure to whatever gorgeous vineyard you choose to visit next.  We’ll also have a few producers involved, so you can learn how to infuse olive oil or take a tour of an artists studio.  Because as beautiful as the vineyards are, there’s more to Martinborough than just wine so we’ll be giving people a sneak peak of that too.

Ooh, and because I get to design the event and it’s obviously all about me, I’ve decided to have an after party.  Well actually an ‘after happy hour (or two)’.  The best of local produce and wine at one of the gorgeous local establishments.

Full details to be announced shortly but event will be held Monday 10^th & Tuesday 11^th October (straight after quarter finals in Wellington).  For now I just have to think up a name, so any help greatly appreciated!  Go to my facebook and let me know your suggestions. http://www.facebook.com/pages/March-Hare-Cycling/182593155578

G x

I just had to share this lovely email.  It’s from the organiser of a hens party who came cycling on the weekend.  Shucks, don’t you just love nice people who write thank you notes.  A gorgeous bunch of girls and sounds like they had a gorgeous time. 

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Hi Gretchen

I just wanted to say thank you so much for organising our bike tour around Martinborough on Saturday morning. All the girls, including the bride to be, had such a lovely afternoon! We took your advice and had lunch at TK which was perfect out on their deck, then visited Olivo and all left with bars of soap and then finished up at Muirlea Rise which was great as the guy there was really entertaining!!! Lunch was definately a highlight and we even went to visit the store near the i-site and brought all the exact cheeses to take home and nibble on before dinner.

I am so impressed with your whole idea of running the bike tours. You have done such a lovely job of it, right down to the tiny details which made for a fabulous day! And Martinborough is the perfect spot for it all.

So thank you so much – I will be sure to your praises to everyone and may even be back for another go!

Kelly

One thing the past 2 years has taught me is that there’s no point burying your head on the sand and the only option is to take a positive course of action.  That and the fact that in Martinborough we can be open 12 months a year and we have a much larger selection of vineyards to choose from.

One thing I must say is I’ve been chuffed with the support we’ve had from the locals.  Oldfields are our new best friends and the recent recipient of some very rare home baking for all their amazing help.  My bikes are now stabled in their shed next to the i-SITE and it’s working fantastically. 

Olivo are probably rolling their eyes and wondering quite what they’ve got themselves into.  Not only have they agreed to set up an exclusive picnic site for my cyclists, but they were also being roped into a photo shoot and are featuring not only on my website but also on my pamphlets.  Thanks guys! 

The i-SITE staff have had to put up with me giving them biking lessons in the Oldfields yard but have well and truly embraced cycling as a result and not only are they now using gears but have even taken to going for a bike ride at lunch time.  We’ll have them biking around Lake Taupo by next year!

Poor old Martinborough Business Association are going to wonder what’s hit them as I’m intending to join that.  No point working in a community if you don’t intend to contribute to it.  I understand there’s a few fantatsic, innovative & inspring people in the local business community and I’m looking to working wiht them.  Whether they’re ready for me is another thing…

Tomorrow I’m taking the i-SITE staff cycling, letting them experience Martinborough from a March Hare Cycling perspective.  Based on the gale force winds forecast they’ll be appreciating that little bit of practice they’ve had when they hit the headwind!

John & Helen Meehan, Mike & Margaret Hanson

What an amazing weekend! On Saturday I held my Essential Beef, Beer & Barbeques out at The Landing, 5mins east of Masterton, as part of Wellington On A Plate. The praise and comments I received from the participants was wonderful, although you don’t need to be a brain surgeon to work out that when you combine tastings of boutique beers with copious amounts of beef and a room full of blokes plus a few brave lassies, you’ve got a pretty solid recipe for success. Add one of New Zealand’s top chefs and Beef + Lamb’s Platinum Ambassador in the form of Rex Morgan, Tuatara Brewery’s owner and beer fanatic Carl Vasta, and Silverfern Farms Head Knife Technician Alex Tuhi, and you know that this is one recipe for success guaranteed to never fail.

Considering that this came about because I felt most of the Wairarapa events appeared to be around wine and I couldn’t talk anyone else into putting on a beef & lamb themed event, I would have to conclude it a great success – if I do say so myself. That and the fact that it was hugely satisfying being able to link that gulf in my CV between my Meat Trading days and my current career in tourism and events.

One of the highlights for the class of 20 would have to have been Alex Tuhi, Head Knife Technician at Silverfern Farms. Alex embodied the true essence of coolness with his down to earth approach and ability to involve the whole class whilst keeping them entertained with stories from the freezing works. He certainly had a few of the city slickers viewing the meat processing industry with a new found respect and awe. Don’t be surprised to see a few lawyers applying for a job on the chain!

It was such a coup to gather 3 incredible experts – some of the best in the country in their respective fields, and all 3 so dynamic and entertaining. Beef + Lamb, Silverfern Farms and Tuatara were all incredibly supportive, especially considering I had cold called them all to tell them about my ingenious plan and ask for their advice and help. Well I say cold call but it turns out the Marketing Manager at Silverfern Farms remembers me from 2am in a very dodgy nightclub at a German Food Show…hmm one of the downfalls of having a distinctive name.

Anyway, to hear the feedback and see how much everyone enjoyed themselves was just fantastic. It just goes to show that you don’t need fancy foams, jus and other crazy sophisticated food thingys. Kiwis still love nothing better than showing off to their mates around a BBQ with a few beers, and if you can say that you’ve been taught by Alex, Rex and Carl, then you will always have a receptive audience. Especially if you kept Rex’s notes on how to make a very impressive Steak Tartare!  To see more pics go to http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=762841041#!/pages/March-Hare-Cycling/182593155578

Being ex farmers we’ve always been keen on our animals, but we’re very ‘functional’ about it – no toy dogs, weird alpacas, or high maintenance pedigree cats.  They all have a purpose… except the Donks.  Maggie and Holly seem to be a real mystery and sense of fascination to friends, family, and visitors alike.  Despite many bitten bottoms, high speed chases, and frequent colourful language born out of sheer frustration, they remain the most quirky, eccentric and interactive animals. 

My mother got Maggie about 10 years ago as a little foal and she has proved to be the most precocious, temperamental teenager in the history of stroppy, hormonal females.  Jealous rages are common place and usually set off by the Labrador receiving more attention than her.  That’s right, if you want to see a donkey literally stamp its feet in frustration, just give the Lab a bit of TLC – or even worse, give it some of her precious apple.  Absolutely hilarious – as long as you’re not the Lab or the other donkey Holly who also bears the brunt of the temper tantrums!

Gate latches are for dummys and in Maggies opinion if you can’t open one then you must be a real dunce (another reason she looks down her nose at the Lab).  Likewise water taps are for entertainment and there is nothing more satisfying than turning one on and draining the house water tank.  Herb gardens, rose bushes and lemon trees are all Mediterranean delicacies in the Donks opinion… as it turns out are Christmas Nuts.

 In addition to being able to open gates, Maggie can also open door handles, and although certainly not allowed inside, she’s never been a stickler for the rules.  Friends called in the other day on their way up North, and no tour of March Hare Headquarters is complete without saying hello to Maggie and her partner in crime, Holly.  The Donks were out grazing the Olive Grove at the time and we had just been remarking on how we couldn’t see them when we heard a massive crash from the house.  No burglers in balaclavas for the Bunny family, instead a certain 4 legged Harry Houdini had taken advantage of an open door, headed straight into the kitchen and hurled a bowl of Christmas Nuts onto the tiled floor in disgust when she realised she’d finished all of them.

And as hilarious and mad as that was, we seem to have plenty of similar stories about similar situations.  There was the Scottish girl staying in the guest room who woke to a Donkey standing over her bed, the truck driver who spent 2 hours chasing an escapee donkey up and down the road after it had squeezed through the gate on him, and of course our old Stock Manager who was locked in the dog food shed when he refused to feed her dog biscuits (that’s right, she actually moved the bolt across on him).

So in answer to the question everyone seems to ask when they come cycling: Why do we have Donkeys?   Because they’re the most hilarious, wacky, fun animals and there is never a dull moment or a lack of crazy stories when there are Donkey Kongs involved.  But just think carefully if you’re considering getting one – they live to be about 50 years old, and that is a lot of drained water tanks and escape attempts!

O MY GOD!!! There is surreal, then there is just plain CRAZY!!! I know my website looks pretty swish, and we make big efforts to look as professional as possible, but the secret reality is that we’re a brand new business and just opened for business 2 months ago. Since that time it’s been a real whirlwind of experimentation and ‘suck and see’ to ensure that we are able to develop a top class experience that still remains true to itself and ‘authentic’, and we’re very much learning as we go. Over this very short period of time I’ve had to pinch myself numerous times over the incredibly amazing things we’re achieved, but this just blows it out of the water.

Now for the exciting announcement… We’re mentioned in Condé Nast Traveller Magazine! Admittedly it’s only a tiny mention, but it’s Condé Nast Traveller!!! Only THE ultimate travel magazine in the world! It’s like studying fashion at the local polytech and getting a mention in Vogue Fashion (FYI, they’re owned by the same publishing house). Beautiful places like Wharekahau in South Wairarapa and Blanket Bay in Queenstown sometimes get to grace their illustrious pages, but not new businesses, let alone little old me!!!

Should I stop spinning out and gushing now?

I am luck enough to have an amazing friend in UK who has been following my business with interest and sent them my press release. I didn’t think for a minute that they would give it even a glance, but there I am! Diana Massey, you are amazing and will be getting a very fancy Christmas card this year! Am just going to have to contain my gushing enough to thank the editor who put me in there. Must remember to act hip and cool, yet gracious… kind of hard when you’re acting like a teenager who just got an autograph from the hot guy in the Twilight movies!

Recently I’ve been lucky enough to have had quite a bit of contracting and project work come my way.  It’s been a real eye opener working for a variety of companies and in totally new environments. The one thing that has come out of it is that patience isn’t a strength of mine.  I could never do a stakeout, just sitting there waiting, waiting, waiting… it would drive me barmy! However I don’t think that my lack of patience is necessarily believe that’s a bad thing – well as long as I’m not supposed to be wearing dark sunnies and reading newspapers with peep holes in them!  Some of my consulting work has made me appreciate how lucky I am to never have had to work for government or with a committee, and to have always worked with companies that needed things done yesterday,  on a shoestring budget.  I just can’t grasp the concept of having to do feasibility studies and spending money on engineering reports, basically just mucking about, when you could just get in there and do it.  No wonder the tax man demands such a big share of our salaries.  Greasing the wheels of government must cost a fortune just in paper work! 

Do people who work in bureaucratic environments experience frustration? Do they ever get an urge to throw caution to the wind and rebel by (shock horror) just getting on and doing things? I’m currently involved in coordinating Wairarapa’s bid for the National Cycle Trail and am struggling to understand how much some things can cost, when you can do them just as thoroughly for a fraction of the cost.  Apparently there’s a clip on cycle bridge in Hawke’s Bay that cost over $1 million, yet they built a big cycle bridge over a river in Central Otago for about 1/10^th the cost.  Those engineers in Hawke’s Bay must be laughing all the way to the bank. 

Anyway, March Hare has had a similar situation with a stream requiring a bridge.  Using a bit of good old kiwi ‘can do’ attitude, I did what I do best and charmed one of my neighbours into helping me.  The fact that Colin is an engineer by trade and worked as a health and safety inspector probably makes both the Hawke’s Bay and Otago bridges look flimsy in comparison.  This thing is seriously sturdy!  Yet total cost was less than $1000.  As you can imagine I’m incredibly proud to have built a bridge – not everyone gets to say that!  Maybe if cycling doesn’t work out Colin and I could contract our services out as a bridge building specialists?  Any, check out our engineering masterpiece. Pretty swish!

Ooh, this is so exciting!  My website goes live today – a momentous occasion for me, and confirmation that these months of hard work have been well worth the blood, sweat and tears.  Unfortunately I’m heading to Christchurch for what I expect will be my last weekend off this summer, but I think I may  pick myself up a cheap bottle of plonk and go find a paddle boat on the Avon River or something, because this really warrants breaking a bottle on the prow of a boat.  I’ve created a big, grown up, real company all of my own!

Just as a little mini disclaimer, I have no idea how to write a blog and infact have never even seen one before.  That brings me onto the big question of: What in the world are you supposed to write about???  It’s all a bit daunting and, to tell the truth, a bit weird!  I figure the place to kick this off is at the beginning and to explain how in the world I came to set up a business called March Hare Enterprises in Masterton.

I went to a school where learning Japanese was compulsory in 3rd form as we were destined to be ‘business women of the world’.  And although I have never used the few words that I learnt (the only ones I could remember anyway were swear words anyway), I have had a pretty cool, cosmopolitan, successful career.  I spent years just south of London in Kent as an International Meat Trader, buying and selling lamb, opening up new export markets, and generally giving the old boy a brigade a run for their money.  It was amazing.  High stress, quick moving, massive deals, hard nosed negotiation…  Although it didn’t require Japanese I think my 3rd form teachers would have been proud.

However after 5 ½ years in UK and with a recently broken heart and a very strange, hybrid accent I decided I had better come home otherwise there was a very high risk that I would never leave.  So after years of lots of work & no lifestyle, I decided that Hawke’s bay looked pretty nice – high sunshine hours and lots of wine.  What else could you ask for!  I stayed in Agribusiness and took a role as a Rural Recruitment Consultant – finding farmers shepherds, managers, tractor drivers etc from the back blocks of Gisborne to the fertile plains of the Rangitikei.  Awesome job, especially the abundance of home baking on client visits! However I was surprised to find that there’s only so much wine and so much sunshine you can handle, so when I was approached about working for one of Wellingtons top IT recruitment companies (IT???  I can’t even use a sky remote) I thought I’d better look into.

So that’s how I came to be working on the 12th floor of a building overlooking the Wellington Harbour, click clacking down Lambton Quay in my gorgeous new stilettos and generally being VERY IMPORTANT AND SUCCESSFUL.  I loved it.  High energy, amazing team, and despite the fact that I had no clue what they were talking about, I was good at it.  Anyway fast forward 5 months and the recession had hit Wellington with a silent but deadly attack and my beloved company announced company wide ‘restructuring’.  Needless to say a horrible, hideous process with the outcome being that the whole ‘last in, first out’ proved to be true.

So single, in my early thirties and unemployed, I took the obvious option and came up with a crazy, hair-brained idea, spent 2 months frantically researching it to determine its feasibility, then jumped on a plane to UK for 2 months of wedding marathons.  Hey, if you’ve decide to virtually bankrupt yourself by starting your own business you may as well do it in style and add a few Spainish and Scottish visa bills to the mix!  Admittedly the trip was the best thing I’ve done in a long time and great for inspiration and viewing things from a different angle.

So here I am, not speaking Japanese, not doing multi million dollar deals, and not living in Tokyo, London or New York, but absolutely loving and with a fantastic new business that I’m supremely proud of.  Redundancies and credit cards are best thing EVER for motivation.

PS if you’re wondering about the ‘March Hare’ name, well my surname is Bunny but that is just too cutesy-wootsey cheesy ”Bunny Cycling’ – eek!, plus I’ve been told that I’m barking mad to set up a business such as this, so ‘March Hare’ seemed like a pretty good option!

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