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( 3 / 555 )You can't get accommodation any closer to Matakana than this. Right in the Heart of the Village this charming old world (circa 1866) cottage is one of the few original buildings in Matakana. An extensive garden with many roses provides a private oasis, yet very close to the Saturday Market, shopping, cinema complex, cafes and restaurants.
For breakfast, the popular Black Dog Cafe is literally across the road with the local general store adjoining. The highly rated Matakana Patisserie is just a short walk away, also the Matakana House Hotel & Bistro, The Vintry Wine Centre and Lounge Bar, Tapiano Restaurant and Cinema Complex. No need to worry about parking for the market day either.
Comfortable lounge with open fireplace, functional kitchen with original coal range (there is an electric stove for the more modern cook). Two double bedrooms (one queen sized), a single bedroom, an attic with single bed, and a bed settee in the lounge allow for 6 guests (3 couples or 2 couples and 2 singles). Old style verandas and outside seating complete the picture.
View at www.rosecottagematakana.co.nz
;)
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( 2.9 / 778 )
Fruit from our Matakana vineyard was fermented in open tanks with frequent hand plunging then matured for 12 months in European and American oak barriques. This robust, stylish red wine, made from 100% Cabernet Sauvignon grapes, has a delightful perfumed aroma with rich cassis flavours and a firm backbone of fruit and oak tannins. Enjoy with red meat or cheese.
A great year for Hyperion from some of the oldest grapevines in Matakana. There’s leather and truffle on the nose and rich fruit in the full bodied palate with a backbone of dusty tannins. It’s a star at the big picture wine experience in Auckland. Sue Courtney
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( 2.9 / 1047 )In March 2005 we began using our idle computer power, with the nomenclature ‘Hyperion’, to aid the SETI@Home project run by the University of California in their search for extra-terrestrial intelligence outside Earth. This is part of Radio SETI which uses radio telescopes to listen for narrow bandwidth radio signals from space consisting primarily of noise, which latter has to be differentiated. A virtual supercomputer comprising of large numbers of internet-linked computers was set up towards this purpose in 1995. After problems with our former computer running too hot we dropped our input for a time, then participated again earlier this year. A graph displaying mathematical calculations running at breakneck speed (a fraction of total input) and constantly updating our home statistics has replaced our usual screen saver. We have currently contributed 100.058 Cobblestones of computation (86.45 quadrillion floating-point operations!) to the SETI@Home project. ‘Hyperion’ is currently 128,025th out of 1,570,934 in the world for computer useage on this programme. In July 2005 our highest ever world figure was 56,956.
Is anybody out there?
If you're interested in helping go to http://setiathome.ssl.berkeley.edu/
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( 2.9 / 946 )We’ve put ourselves in it. This inter-active video showcases individual winemakers on film talking with passion about their wine, whilst the audience samples flights of the wine on the desk in front of them, preceded by magnificent aerial coastal and country scenery from Auckland north, zooming in on the wine region then the winery involved. This is grand and stirring stuff! Two separate videos feature 6 red wines and 6 white wines and their respective winemakers, with wineries plucked from several northern wine regions including Cleveland, Oratia, Kumeu, Waiheke Island and Matakana. Hyperion’s excellent ‘06 “the Titan” Cabernet Sauvignon features in the red line-up.
The Aroma Room Before you attend the main event you can enter a specially set up room off the main entry point and sniff the rows of scented cones which convey the aroma components usually associated with wine - mostly good, a few with common faults. Quite a number of these are tried blind, so they really challenge your olfactory senses. If you are not sure and want to know the answer, one can just lift up a flap and find it underneath. Some cones are really easy but others aren’t so obvious.
Location Brilliantly positioned alongside the Auckland Fish Market at 22 Jellicoe Street, off Beaumont, (or Halsey) Street to suit, Freemans Bay, west of the Viaduct area in Auckland City. Car parking is available, proceed to courtyard area between auditorium and the Auckland Fish Market where you can afterwards purchase a wider range of Auckland wines and partake of them with delicious ultra fresh seafood tapas in relaxed indoor and out dining.
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