01-09-10

Wow, where to begin?

We last left off just before we landed in Napier and since that time we’ve completed Napier and Taupo. I will try to fill in as many blanks as I can but I’m sure I’m going to forget something and for that I will apologize now.

So we had a nice night in Masterton and zoomed into Napier the next afternoon, Monday January 4th. The original plan was to do some wine tasting in Hastings which is more or less on the way into Napier. But we nixed that idea and went directly to Hawk Hill cottage where we were to spend the next two nights. I posted a picture of the front of the cottage and needless to say it was a really nice, relaxing place to spend a few days. Noel and Helen, our hosts, are great folks and made us feel right at home. That evening we went into downtown Napier, had a nice meal, then ventured to the top of Bluff Hill to have a look around from the highest point.

The next day we cruised around most of the countryside and made some of those winery visits. That was also the same day that we got a picture of Schmoose on Mt. Te Mata. We actually got to see a lot of the area and really wished we had booked more time there.

The next day we took the short drive to Taupo. The city of Taupo sits on the northern banks of Lake Taupo which was once a volcano that collapsed in on itself. There are still many volcanoes and geothermal hot spots around the lake and we visited many of these. In fact we spent most of yesterday in New Zealand’s first national park, Tongariro.

I must give a huge shout out to Carmen and Kevin, our hosts at Banksia B&B in Taupo. Between the yummy breakfasts and good conversation they were the perfect hosts. And I’m not just saying that because they actually checked out this blog. They are super folks and if you ever have the opportunity to stay with them, do so. You won’t regret it.

I do also have to mention our personalized trip on the Barbary. The captain and crew, Dave and Tasha (that really was her name), provided us with a top notch sail and were very gracious hosts considering we were the only customers they had on their first sail of the day. The Barbary was built over 100 years ago and at one point was owned by Errol Flynn, so it was really cool having a personal crew sail us on Lake Taupo. It almost felt like we were John and Jackie Kennedy for a while there.

But now we are winding it all down and it’s almost time to get on the plane and head back home. I will probably have at least a couple of more entries to make because there is still a lot more I want to tell you. I also have a lot of pictures and I’ll need to figure out a way to show you those. So there is more to come.

In the meantime, we’ve got a couple of days in Hamilton and we’re planning a pilgrimage to the hometown of Neil and Tim Finn, Te Awamutu, about a 20 minute drive from here. Stay tuned…