The famous Masonic Hotel

Napier & Hawke's Bay

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June 20th 2005
We went away for the long weekend (Queen's Birthday - one week later than the UK) a couple of weeks ago and it was a great weekend. We hired a car and drove up straight from work on the Friday through to Martinborough Wine Region up to Napier in Hawke's Bay on the east coast of the North Island. The weather forecast was a bit ropey and it's generally very difficult to forecast the weather accu ... read more

Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » East Coast » Napier

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The Polynesian Maori reached New Zealand in about A.D. 800. In 1840, their chieftains entered into a compact with Britain, the Treaty of Waitangi, in which they ceded sovereignty to Queen Victoria while retaining territorial rights. In that same year... ... read more