Day 43 - Hawkes Bay

Friday, November 15th, 2013

What a beautiful day we've had! We packed away our jackets and sweaters and checked out this morning wearing only one layer of clothing for a change. With temperatures in the low 20's we're happy to say good-bye to those jeans and layers of shirts and sweaters for awhile! 

We began our day with a 'bush walk' that began on the property of the Copthorne resort where we were staying in Masterton and then continued on toward town. How gorgeous the spring flowers are - bottlebrush is in full bloom here but was just finishing in Australia last month. We've been on the hunt for pahutakawa (NZ Christmas tree) and I might have spotted it today, just starting to bloom. 

By late morning we were leaving Masterton, continuing northeast on the Classic NZ Wine Trail. It was a beautiful drive through rich farmlands and interesting small communities, some with magnificent palm or Norfolk Pine trees lining the main roads. We took a wrong turn at one point and ran into a roadblock.

We had to act fast to photograph the road block because the sheep dog had them rounded up and out of our way within minutes. It's pretty amazing to see those dogs at work!

                                           

We arrived in Napier late afternoon and checked into a huge suite in a most delightful motel on the coast. We immediately headed out to walk the beach and boardwalk in search of more sea air, sunshine and a cold beer. The sand here is different - coarse and dark.

We watched kayak surfing - something we haven't seen on any other beach walks this trip.

After our first refreshment stop we continued our exploration of the coast. Tina had never before watched tugboats meet and escort a container ship into port, so we watched that as well as other port goings-on. I was intrigued with a young boy carrying a cricket bat and wicket to the beach and then later saw him and his family playing beach cricket.

Once it started to cool down, we found a seafood restaurant with a trumpeter fish special so we sat down and enjoyed that with a glass of local white wine.  A fifteen minute stroll later, we were back at our motel - with wifi access!!!