8th January 2013
Another day trip from Taupo, the journey was very long and very hilly. The bus even struggled to get up over the steeper parts. Then we came down into Hawkes Bay and all of a sudden vineyards started popping up everywhere and Napier was in sight.
After we were dropped off, I went to the i-site and bought an art deco self guided tour booklet. In the 1930s there was a devastating earthquake and the whole place was built up again with art deco in mind. It is pretty much everywhere you look. Some of the buildings were magnificent but others looked tired and unloved.
I loved the quirkiness of the city and how proud the residents were for managing to rebuild it in two years after the earthquake. I actually loved the sea front, including the whole of Marine Parade which looked out onto the turquoise sea. The sand is weird as it is the broken down remains from the earthquake. Resourceful!
Once I had finished the tour, I decided to try some of the famous Hawkes Bay wine and visited the wine centre. I think the sales girl was happy there was someone young and I decided to stick around for a wine tasting. There I learned so much about how they produce wine, as she had grown up on a vineyard.
Then it was time to catch my bus, so I grabbed two bottles of wine for Linda and her parents. I quite fancy going back to that part of New Zealand and hiring a bike to ride along the coast, visiting vineyards along the way.
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