As we travel around the country, people often ask us if we miss being in the United States. While I often have a hankering for some Arthur Bryant’s BBQ, All American burgers and fries, Goldenrod ice cream, Granite State chocolate, The Friendly Toast breakfast and anything that Mom cooks up, our response is that what we miss most are our family and friends. Two weeks WWOOFing at The Pavilion restaurant in Colac Bay was just what we needed to feel that sense of being part of a community of friends again. It was also the perfect place to go after backpacking for two weeks and in need of some good calorie rich food.
Colac Bay is a beautiful gem of a place on the south end of the South Island. The surfing is great, the moon rises over the ocean, and the locals are incredibly friendly. Julie, the owner of the restaurant (an an incredibly generous hostess) had asked us to stay through the Easter holiday to help out when things got busy. We didn;t know what we were in for. Easter is a HUGE deal here. The nearby town of Riverton hosts annual horse races over the Easter weekend and things get busy at the Pavilion.
Through our first week at the restaurant we worked on lots of odd jobs–gardening, scrubbing decks, refinishing chairs and tables, and doing lots and lots of dishes in the kitchen. The big project, however, was the renovations to a small room off the side of the restaurant to transform an old storeroom into a new bar. This project was the definition of a community effort. We felt as though we met most of the town as we helped with the renovations and through the restaurant. The restaurant staff was great, and we ate gourmet lunches and dinner every day. A huge thanks to our two chefs Dan and Rina for all the good food. We also owe a huge thanks to Mary, maker of incredible desserts among other things and the most perfect Pavlova in New Zealand. We got to know Mary’s boys Ricky, Nigel, and Bevin as well through the bar project, and we enjoyed a rauckus evening hanging out with them, playing music, and laughing an awful lot.
It was a big push to get the new bar ready for Easter weekend, but everything fell into place and the Foreshore Bar was packed on the weekend (And check out the vintage surfboard hanging from the ceiling courtesy of Don!). People know how to have a good time in Colac Bay. One thing we loved about our nights hanging out with everyone is that there’s lots of singing and music and it doesn’t matter how talented or untalented you are–just sing! Easter in Colac Bay is really a three or four day party and we just happened to be around for it. Woohoo! I spent a good portion of the weekend driving the restaurant “courtesy coach” back and forth to Riverton to bring people to the races, bring people to the bar, drive them home from the bar, etc., while Joanie took a few turns as bartender/waitress when things got really busy. In all it was an awesome two weeks. There’s so much more to tell, but we just don’t have the time.
We did get a chance to go to the Riverton Races on Eater Monday, and Julie generously gave us two “sponsor’s tickets” which meant we had free beer and food all day at the races. We got off to a great start at the track, picking a $50.00 winner on our first bet (We need to thank our Irish friends JP and Sorcha who inspired us to pick Celtic Dreams in that race). From there it was a mixed bag of winners and losers, but we left with more money in our pockets than we came with. We’re ready for Belmont when we get to NY!
