Wairarapa ~ Putangirua Pinnacles

We went to Luna Estate for lunch about a week ago on a fine winters day for our family day out. Luna Estate is a newly renovated premium Wairarapa winery, situated one hour from Wellington city. The winery itself is beautiful. As you drive into the property you find yourself surrounded by vineyards and then as you pull into the carpark you are greeted with a dramatically re-designed building and extensive terrace which is very stylish. A big fireplace promises warmth for cooler weather and of course there are outdoor tables and umbrellas for summer.

The staff couldn't have made us feel more welcome! I had pre-booked and let them know that we would be bringing a little person along with us. They had thought of everything, seating us in their tasting room meant we had the whole room to ourselves and Arlo (or us) could be as loud as we wanted without disrupting any other guests. They had also provided us with a high chair along with plastic dinnerware and also baby chopsticks! Did I mention they do Asian fusion sharing plates?! Not every winery welcomes children, but this one certainly does!

You may have already spotted my new Poppy Luxe baby bag from Storksak. I’m obsessed guys! Honestly I feel like every new mama out there needs to know about this bag. Before having a baby, I never really understood what the need was for a dedicated baby bag. But once I became a mama myself, I quickly realized that having a special bag for baby truly is a must! There’s no way around it! Babies need a lot of stuff and having a versatile, stylish, practical and durable baby bag is life changing. This includes copious pockets and compartments so everything has a place and is easy to find. The Storksak Poppy Luxe has all of those features, and more, making it an excellent choice. Over the course of this family day out I'll be pointing out a few reasons why we love this bag so much. For a start, you can wear this baby bag over the shoulder or across the body. It also has detachable stroller clips so you can attach it easily to your pram so everything is in easy reach while you push your baby around and explore your new surroundings with ease.

We were so excited to try Luna Estates menu as it's not very common for a winery to specialise in Asian fusion. Arlo’s favourite food just so happens to be dumplings too so this place sounded right up our alley! We started with some edamame beans covered in sesame oil, salt & spices along with some chicken & shitake mushroom and pork, garlic and chives dumplings.

Next up was their crispy Japanese vegetable pancakes and Xiao Long Bao, authentic pork dumplings. We finished our lunch off with their chocolate brownie, ice cream and raspberry compote for dessert. Everything was beautifully cooked and tasty, and the staff were helpful and friendly. Beautiful setting, delicious food & exceptional service! We will be back regularly.

Adventure time! We drove to the Putangirua Pinnacles Scenic Reserve in Aorangi Forest Park, about an hour out of Martinbourough. Once we arrived we got changed into our warm activewear along with converting our Poppy Luxe baby bag from a shoulder bag to backpack with the pull through nylon strap. Storksak have seriously thought of everything for this baby bag! I find backpack-style baby bags are not only often more comfortable to carry than shoulder-style bags, they also keep your hands free for wrangling kids and for active families that like to go on adventures.

We would recommend sturdy walking shoes if you do this walk as some of the track is stony and you have to cross the river a couple times. Jake loved wearing his waterproof bean boots which were ideal for trampling through shallow rivers…..meaning he also had to piggyback his wife over the river a couple times!

We wandered along the native bush track and came out the other end with a magnificent view of the Pinnacles. It was definitely a wow moment! We ventured into the rock formations and soon we were surrounded by them. It was absolutely incredible. The Pinnacles are something that I have never seen anywhere before, truly unique! The filmmaking legend Peter Jackson thought so too, as the Pinnacles were used as a location for The Lord of the Rings.

We made sure we came prepared and stopped for a bite to eat along with a bottle for Arlo. I pulled out my supplies from my Poppy Luxe baby bag. It comes with an insulated food and bottle bag which keeps the contents warm or cool for up to four hours. Setting the bag down on the riverbed it got a bit dirty with mud but another great thing about this bag is that it’s made from durable, water-resistant scuba material, making it super easy to clean and hard-wearing. All in all, the Storksak Poppy Luxe bag is just perfect for our family (or any family with a baby for that matter). I love finding good mama finds like this one and hope this little review of the Storksak Poppy Luxe bag helps a new mama out there.

I really enjoyed the walk to the Pinnacles. It’s got a bit of everything…forest, views, dried river beds, streams to dabble in and a whole lot of geological wonder. The entire experience was breathtaking…another must do in the Wairarapa!

Thank you so much to Storksak for partnering with me on this post! All thoughts and opinions, as always, are my own. Thanks so much for supporting my sponsors!