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On a weekend away in the Matua Valley I bought a hat made out of bread bags, some herbed wine vinegar, two bubble makers and three cases of wine. I was only gone two days.

In my defence I have to say that I was feeling in a particularly expansive mood that weekend. It was the first time James and I had been together alone for over six years. The weather was shiny and autumnal and we were suddenly, briefly, and gloriously, childless. Really it’s a wonder, I told James who complained that the hat looked vile, that I didn’t buy a piece of real estate as well.

We were in West Auckland, renowned for its arts and crafts and its wine. Aucklanders use other words such as macramé-obsessed or Boganville. I wouldn’t go that far but it does, as I discovered, spawn a veritable cottage industry of hand-made goods, all in what I would describe as the rustica suburbia style. The sort of place where wagon wheels are in abundance.

A visit to an arts and crafts market on the way set the scene for what was to come. The market is held on the second Sunday of each month at the Corbans Estate in Henderson. It’s a lovely setting. To get there you walk over the railway line, turn right past the 17-room, 100-year-old house, once the home of the Corban family, and the market will meet you. Beautifully polished Samoan weaponry and tapa cloths vie with hand-made soaps, wire trees dangling gem stones, bubble-makers and on the day I was there, a small stage on which a group of children in velvety costume prepared themselves for their star turn.

Further along, in a now defunct wine distillery, is Stillworks, a gallery showcasing the work of local artisans. Next door in a large shed are the temporary, and largely amateur, craftspeople -- the knitters of hats, makers of wooden puzzles, weavers of bread bags and sewers of children’s clothes. Everything was a bargain. Or as good as.

Naturally I was starving after all this fiscal exertion so we had lunch at a café called The Carriages which features two restored railway carriages with red upholstery and silver serving dishes overlooking a deck which overlooks a weir and a lot of hungry geese and ducks. Fortunately a fence screens them from the diners.

The food was ho-hum but the latte came in a mighty beer mug, which I applauded. It was also good insulation for the afternoon of wine tasting we’d planned en route to our final destination.

This marathon began at Kumeu River where we bought the case of Brajkovich merlot, followed by Coopers Creek and a case of cabernet sauvignon plus the herbed wine vinegar. I longed to lounge on the landscaped grounds but Matua Valley wines and a case of chardonnay beckoned.

At last we arrived at Vineyard Cottages, our home for the night. Six wooden cottages surround a dip of land and behind them lies the Matua Valley vineyards. Indeed, the intermittent flatulent noise of the bangers going off scaring the birds was not so much annoying as lending a note of rural authenticity to our stay.

Inside the rustica suburbia theme is given its full dues. Nestled under the television set and CD player are three ancient irons cunningly balanced. Next to the sumptuous soft green sofa is an old sewing machine in its box. Antique skis and a brass pan are tacked to the wall, the visitor’s book has a wooden cover and you just know there’s going to be a wagon wheel outside. And there is.

The room reeks of freshly hewn timber, which is only right and proper considering this area was once a major timber-milling region.

Of course we had to open the complementary bottle of wine and devour the olives and cheese purchased at Matua Vineyards, before testing the bed for the rest of the afternoon. The sun slanted across our room illuminating the white Japanese anemones in the old glass cream bottle. Even the chamber pot under the dressing table glowed alluringly.

We eventually interrupted our enjoyment of the crisp sheets and billowy mattress for dinner at Gracehill Vineyard Restaurant.

Gracehill offers fine dining in a modern setting with live piano music, some terrible art and pretty good food. I say pretty good because although we both rated the tuatua soup threaded with crayfish bisque and char-grilled scampi highly, and I was satisfied with my eye fillet of beef with sundried tomato jus, pesto and bernaise, my husband declared his pork tenderloin with apple & mustard moussiline bland and disappointing.

Then again, perhaps we were distracted by thoughts of our little room with the piney smell and stiff sheets. So compelling was it that all plans to gallop, golf or 4WD next morning were forgotten and we only just managed to fling together a cooked breakfast (ingredients supplied) and leave before the 11am departure time.

On the way back I insisted on a stroll along Muriwai Beach. Walking on the black sand was hotter than we’d expected and James soon complained the sun was scalding his pate. He wouldn’t admit it of course but I knew he was wishing he had bought a bread bag hat.

FACTS

Vineyard Cottages at 1011 Old North Rd, Waimauku. Tel (+ 64 09) 411 8248, fax (+64 09) 411 9626.

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