Napier and Hawkes Bay wine tasting

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I left Paihia feeling that I could have easily spent longer there; but onwards, there are lots of places still to see.

It is a long way from Paihia to Napier, but these are the two places that had been recommended to me so that's what I did.

Upon arriving in Napier I dumped my bags and headed round to the pub with a Frenchman, Laurent, to watch Great Britain get beaten by NZ in the Rugby League Tri-Nations. The following morning I watched France get beaten by the All Blacks with Laurent; France really took a whooping.

Napier is a one-off town as most of the buildings in the town centre are in the Art Deco style. The town was flattened in 1931 by an earthquake and the subsequant rebuilding was all undertaken in the style of the day. So I took an informative tour of the town with a member of the Art Deco Society who all appeared to be Ex-Pat British. It is intreaguing travelling around as you get to meet some really dumb people; a Canadien couple on the tour didn't seem to understand a single thing!

I also visited the aquarium, the museum and the spa baths which are all on Marine Parade which is reminiscent of a British promenade. The aquarium was pretty good and included a saltwater crocodile that didn't move much and a couple of Kiwi birds that you couldn't see much of as it was dark (to imitate night as they are nocturnal creatures; presumably they have the lights on during the night?). But at least I've seen Kiwis now even if they are not in the wild.

The best day I had in Napier was the wine tasting day around Hawkes Bay. The morning consisted of food tasting and sightseeing. There were great views of the Bay and beyond from the top of Te Matu, you could even see Mount Ruepahu (so I can say that I've seen that now). In the afternoon we went wine tasting to four wineries. Some were delicious and some were not so good, and price seemed to be pretty much irrelevant. I also worked out that I like Sauvignon Blanc for the whites and Pinot Noir for the reds. The wineries were all in great settings but perhaps the best was Mission Estate that we went to last. By this time we were all a little lubricated and all really enjoyed the wine, the views from the verandah and the history of the estate.

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Photos

View from Te Matu hill
This was part of the wine tasting day

The Mission Winery
So called because it is a mission to get home after sampling all their great wine.