Talents bear fruit at Wainui Beach

By MEGAN SINGLETON*

One Orange sounds more like a fruit shop than a trendy bed and breakfast at Gisborne's Wainui Beach, so my curiosity was piqued after I spoke to the bubbly Robbie Greenslade to make the booking.

The fact that Robbie is a vivacious redhead might have something to do with it, I thought, when she met me at the airport. I'd checked out the website and decided I wanted to go the whole hog and experience her famous food and wine match dinners and wade up rivers to catch a trout.

The multi-talented host is one of only two women who are registered members of the New Zealand Professional Fishing Guides Association and many of her guests learn to fly fish on the local rivers - sometimes bringing back their catch for Robbie to create a scrumptious meal.

We swung by a sports shop so I could buy a fishing licence, then drove the short distance to One Orange.

Robbie's husband, Michael Parkin, is an architect and designed One Orange to make the most of the sunshine and the views across the road to the surf.

It is actually three buildings cleverly configured to allow guests their privacy. The corrugated iron and cedar buildings are connected by an orange office, which doubles as extra king-sized accommodation for group bookings.

Robbie showed me upstairs to the studio apartment. The suite looks down on a park to the west (where Michael gave me a casting lesson) and to the east between houses to the beach.

The sun poured on to the deck and through the french doors, and I slipped off my shoes to wiggle my toes in the fluffy white rug. A perfect orange sat on a platter on the sideboard.

The kitchen is stocked with breakfast supplies, tea and plunger coffee and all I might need to create my own meals, but Robbie and I decided we'd go to a cafe together for breakfasts.

The next day we were up early to find the fish. For six hours I cast my nymph upstream vainly trying to entice the trout we could see hiding behind rocks. I managed only a couple of hook-ups, but had so much fun I didn't want to leave.

Eventually the weather decided it for us and we returned to One Orange where I disappeared for a shower and a lie down and Robbie headed straight to the kitchen to prepare our meal. By the time I returned the dining room was alive with aromas.

We started with a saffron-infused tomato bisque with basil sorbet plopped in the middle accompanied by a Pinot Gris. Then the main course of twice-cooked venison shanks with sun-dried tomato and red wine jus on a garlic mash, washed down with an aged Shiraz.

Dessert was pears poached in saffron and vanilla broth which we savoured with a local "sticky" from TW Wines. We were joined by another couple for dinner and long after the food was gone we continued sampling the wine cellar.

Since they moved to Gisborne four years ago, Robbie has made a splash on the food and wine scene. She's sought after to host wine and food match dinners and functions ranging from private dinners to the International Chardonnay Challenge held in Gisborne last Labour Weekend.

But most of all, she loves to create the perfect experience for guests at their peaceful retreat. Perhaps One Orange is the perfect name for this getaway in the first city to see the sunrise.

* Megan Singleton was hosted by One Orange.

www.oneorange.co.nz