Jill’s Scene has been off the scene since going tropical back in November. But this month sees us out and about, off the beaten track, once more. The small village of Otane, in Central Hawkes Bay, features twice. We were there on Waitangi Day – a post is […]
Eschewing Ormondville toasted sandwiches was one thing, coming up with an alternative was another. We were hungry! We fancied somewhere untried, somewhere with food, lots of it, and not too far away. Our stomachs rumbled as we drove south. If there’s a debate to be had whether Mangatera ( the hotel is […]
After a long hiatus through the winter months, spring, and a birthday in need of a celebration, saw us out and about once again. This time to the Ormondville Pub, more correctly known as The Settlers Arms. We’d never been before and it well and truly met our core […]
Central Hawkes Bay is beautiful at any time of the year. On our most recent visit – for lunch at the Duke of Edinburgh in Porangahau – the poplars were still yellow, the maples were turning and, after the first rain in months, there was a hint of […]
Just when our readers may have given up on us we were out and about again at Easter. This time we chose somewhere a little closer to home for some of our group: The Puketapu. Once this hotel may well have been described as off the beaten track. […]
‘We’ll see,’ I thought when I saw the blackboard, not entirely unreasonably, after all Patangata is a long way from the markets and there’s not a lot of competition nearby. Although it turns out bike clubs, car clubs, and even cyclists (keen ones, very keen ones) make the […]
Occasional trips off the beaten track in Hawkes Bay take us (four regulars, others by invitation) away from the high profile cafes and wineries familiar to most tourists and foodies to places known only to those with the inside know how. Often our small but fussy group visits […]
Jill's Scene 
The korero