An entry in the TFS Travel Journal
Milton awoke (too) early and went on a few-hour mountain bike ride, while Wendy stayed in bed to have more strange dreams. She then breakfasted with the Woods family and a couple from Auckland who’re in the restaurant biz, chatting about life in NZ. The bike ride was nice, through rolling pine forests then through some rich green farmlands, riding amongst some beautiful horses and scaring some sheep. Mike, the guide, was a pleasure to ride with and talk to, as he expounded on the idyllic outdoor life in this country and, especially, the Taupo area. He actually does mostly white-water kayaking and rafting guiding, skills he learned in Oregon.
After returning to the Lodge and giving Hendrick the Manager a lecture on how to improve their customer services, we packed up and then had a delicious lunch. We started with cream of asparagus soup (tasty), and main courses were a caesar salad with chicken (good), and a grilled tuna/taleggio (we’d never heard of it either) cheese/bacon sandwich (excellent). It was by then misty and raining, but we motored away toward Hawkes Bay.
It was a bit less than a 2 hour drive, with the first part through a small, thickly-forested mountain range where we got a lovely smattering of leaf-changing — some reds and oranges, but mostly brilliant yellows. We then left the mist-shrouded mountains and drove along some very rugged, very green hills. Finally, we descended into the valley that surrounds Hawkes Bay, the premier wine-growing region of the country.
The town of Napier was significantly destroyed by an earthquake in 1931 and rebuilt grandly in the prevailing style of that day - art deco. It’s a small town, but with a dozen or so buildings still standing from that era looking so deco as to be part of a movie set. In fact, as we walked around the quiet town this drizzly evening, we felt as though we were on a movie location used to simulate some nameless city of indeterminate years ago. We checked into our quaint art-deco hotel and were assisted by the sweet and lovely Angie.
We then took a stroll to the Big Fresh, a grocery store on a par with the goliaths of America, but with a meat and sausage selection that dwarfed anything we’d ever seen (JB!). They sure love their red meat here! We picked up some fresh produce and hummus, and walked through the seemingly deserted town, noticing the proliferation of deco-themed items for sale. We then watched most of “Mighty Aphrodite” on the hotel tv, since all the movies playing in town we’d seen in the U.S. last fall.