Tales from New Zealand: A weekend with Sting

Last weekend I was stung by the green hornet. This weekend I was stung by the man himself. On Friday after work, we piled into Sally's "red rooster" and made our way over the Rimutakas toward Napier for the annual Mission Estates concert.

This year's musical guest was none other than Sting on his latest tour, Symphonicity. In Napier, at the Mission Estates winery, he performed to a sold out crowd with the support of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. It was absolutely incredible. We arrived at around 4 pm and parked ourselves close up and to stage left. There were no clouds in the sky and the moon was sitting high setting the perfect setting as the sun was slowly floating below the skyline. By the time Sting stepped on the stage, the sun had set and the stars were starting to appear. I will never forget the moment he started into one of my favourite tunes - Roxanne - while a star shot across the night sky. I had died and gone to sting heaven. He closed the night with an accoustic version of Message in a Bottle - a perfect fit for me and my Ocean:Views campaign :)

Sipping on Mission Estates sauvignon blanc at the Mission Estates shindig

Some folks really got in the Sting-y spirit

People gather

More 'n' more people gather...

Sally 'n I enjoying the afternoon sun and waiting for the man himself to do what he does best!

Cheers!

Panorama crowd

Dancing the night away

My favourite Police tune performed at a stunning outdoor concert with a 50 piece orchestral band. It blew me away!

Wine glasses by night

The next day we took our time making our way back to Welly-town, stopping at farmers' markets, outlets, and Sally's fantastic mum's on the way. the sun was shining, the windows were down, and the red rooster was blazing its way across the beautiful hills and mountains carrying us home after a fantastic weekend in wine country!