So much wine and not enough time!

Our journey through the North Island took us further east heading towards Napier and the Hawkes Bay wine region. This part of our trip also saw us experience the first rainfall of any substance. Crossing the Ahimanawa Range of mountains we climbed through steady rain and an absence of views! By the time we arrived on the coast in Napier the rain had stopped and the sun was shining again although short blustery showers were ever present throughout the day. 

Our approach to Napier, despite being a bit wet had been interesting....as there were numerous signs for vineyards. Hawkes Bay is, as many readers will know, one of New Zealands major wine regions so a couple of days would be needed to explore!

Napier is reckoned to have the finest collection of art deco buildings anywhere in the world. This all came about as a result of a major earthquake that took place on 3rd February 1931. The quake destroyed much of the commercial centre necessitating a major urban reconstruction project. The main architects were heavily influenced by the then fashionable art deco movement and designed the new centre in this style. Most new buildings were completed within 2 years. What you see today is a feast for the eyes. 

We hadn't sorted out a campsite for the night...our planned freedom camping spot hadn't looked that appealing..so we called in at a campsite about 5 miles outside of Napier. It had two main attractions. Firstly it was right by the beach and we got a spot overlooking the Pacific Ocean, secondly it was right opposite a vineyard! It was a Friday night and as luck would have it the Crab Farm Winery had a restaurant that only opened in the evenings once a week on a Friday and offered live music. I promptly booked a table.

At 7.30 we arrived to find a rustic restaurant,  a warm welcome, and a full house. The food was excellent..I had a delicious pan fried red snapper served on an orange and mint salad and ordered a bottle of Gewurztraminer. Mrs B. doesn't normally like wine but seemed keen to share this one...and became a little merry quite quickly! It was an excellent evening but Saturday morning brought a couple of muzzy heads....

Many places in New Zealand have regular farmers markets and Napier was no exception. On a bright, blustery Saturday morning after a much needed coffee we pottered around the stalls tempted by the fresh fruit, veg, jams, honey and olive oils. Once we had finished we set out to walk the art deco buildings of Napier using a handy guidebook produced by the local conservation trust. 

An alfresco lunch on the cheap...2 sausage ciabattas from the farmers market (cost $6..roughly £3) revived us and we set off in 'Ned' to explore some of Hawkes Bay. We drove to the top of Te Mata peak just outside Hastings. This was a precipitous road, narrow, with no safety railings, so getting to the top in a camper was a little hair raising. The views were fortunately worth it! We got chatting to a man as we were admiring the panoramic vista - he was a local councillor and clearly proud of his local area. He liked visiting cathedrals and we told him we had visted the Anglican cathedral in Napier that morning (rebuilt in the 1950s) which had a cross of nails - all the way from Coventry Cathedral. 

The view from Te Mata Peak

Our final destination was another winery. This one offered free tastings, cellar door sales and low sulphite wines. It would have been discourteous not to have tried a few..and I was quite taken with a pinot noir but settled on a more affordable syrah to take back to the camper van.

It would probably take a good 6 months to visit all the wineries in Hawkes Bay and our time was limited. We had to move on the following day. I consoled myself with tne knowledge we'd be in the Marlborough region later on our travels and therefore there would be a chance to sample a few more wines before we left New Zealand.