It’s a days drive from Dunedin to Blenheim and departing at 10 am still meant arriving just after 6 pm. Plenty of time to absorb the Eco Retreat accommodation, take a walk around the estuary and try to recognise the wildlife – sadly very sparse on this rather chilly windy evening – however , the very friendly farm animals made up for it . 
In our haste to ensure we had a quiet relaxing retreat we omitted to see there was no kitchen. Obvious really when we booked into a B and B .. A bit dumb but, hey made a challenge !!! What a great challenge and thanks to Yotum Ottolenghi’s smashed broad beans with ricotta and the inevitable ham we produced a delicious meal with beans from our garden, my cousins fabulous extra virgin olive oil and ‘yes’ cooking in a microwave.