Holiday Park Colour Study

For the weekend of my exhibition over in Martinborough (read about that here), Ben and I stayed at the Holiday Park down the road from my parents' vineyard. We'd stayed there once before and loved it because of the insanely comfortable bed and the feeling of being on a secluded campsite in the woods. We would wake up to birds tweeting and frost on the windows, although the small radiator kept our cabin nice and toasty. As we had most of our meals with my parents we consumed lots of marmite toast and peppermint tea to keep us warm.

I love being surrounded by nature and feeling so far away from city life, even if it's only an hours drive away. It's relaxing, so relaxing that I even had a nap on Saturday afternoon after consuming a concerning amount of brie and crackers at Poppies Vineyard. There were barely any other guests staying in the various cabins, so we pretty much had the place to ourselves and it was peaceful. I had been worried about creepy crawlies, as last time we stayed at the Holiday Park we were ambushed by bush bugs. But luckily this time the only visitor we had was a small black and white cat who hung around outside our cabin door until we let him in. We named him Phillis. He hung out in our room for a good half hour and even went exploring in our kitchen cupboards and climbed up onto the fluffy blanket on the bed. We hoped that Phillis would return but he must have been off snooping in somebody else's cabin for the rest of the weekend!

After my opening at Colombo Vineyard on Friday night (separate blog post about this here) we struggled to find a place to have dinner, as Martinborough pretty much goes to sleep at 8:30, even on a Friday. We eventually made it into Cool Change in the main square. Although their kitchen was closed the manager whipped us up some hand-cut chips, baked brie and a bean burrito from their bar menu. It sounds like a strange combination but was actually really tasty. I was most impressed, however, with their decor, including the most amazing retro orange floral wallpaper I've ever seen. There were art deco lights and a mixture of 30s and 70s design throughout, which I love.

It was a cosy night in the cabin with the heater on and the latest episode of Love Island (our current guilty pleasure). On Saturday we woke up to a crisp morning and enjoyed the surprisingly good water pressure from our shower. We had our marmite toast and peppermint tea and then met up with Mum to go on a drive. Our first stop was Carterton to visit the most amazing antique store, hence the array of crockery photos and the most beautiful red Formica tabletop. Watsons is full of old dusty furniture and radios that haven't worked since the 1950s. But amongst that are some real treasures, like the best 60s and 70s crockery ever. I can't wait for the day when I have my own house and I can actually justify buying a matching orange dinner set and bright green kettle.

We then drove through to Masterton where Ben and I spent a good hour searching through the racks at Savemart. The Masterton Savemart might possibly be the best second-hand store I've ever been to. Every time I go, I find new and quirky pieces both for myself and my Depop store. I picked up a good haul, including some amazing vintage green flares and a fluffy brown angora beret (read more about them here). Our day ended with a wine and cheese platter at Poppies Vineyard, one of my favourite spots in Martinborough. By the end of our lunch, we were full to bursting point with Parkvale mushrooms, smoked salmon and brie.

Our trip over the hill was brief but so relaxing. It was a great way to end the four weeks of university break Ben and I have had together. Every time I stay at the Holiday Park I leave wishing I had one more night. One more night in that crazy comfortable bed and one more night of tranquil peace, in a place that feels so far from city life it's completely refreshing.

Bella 🌼