It’s only a “mid-level” hike, they said. Yes, well, all I can say is this: A New Zealander’s idea of mid-level is quite different to an Australian booze hack’s idea of mid-level. Crikey, they’re a rugged lot, the Kiwis.

The Patuna Chasm Walk is a three-hour ramble into – and then out of – a stunning gorge that cuts deep into the limestone bedrock of Martinborough, in the heart of the Wairarapa wine region near Wellington. I was halfway through a two-week tour of New Zealand with a bunch of wine writers from around the world – we’d just come from the pinot noir conference in Christchurch, and were heading further north to Hawke’s Bay – and the walk was scheduled as an optional side-trip, a welcome break from our hectic schedule of vineyards, wineries, tastings and dinners. Sure, I’ll do that, I thought. After all, it’s only “mid-level”, right?