EC-Rider Travels

After a leisurely breakfast we headed south right across the centre of the North island through to Napier on the East coast. Another stunning drive twisting up through mountains and deeply forested areas and accross the Rangitāiki Plains, barely seeing a soul and passing through only a handful of villages during our almost two hour drive.

In Napier we were due to meet Barbara Herbert at a lovely cafe on the sea front. Unfortunately this was also the finishing line of a big Māori triathlon so there was a bit of navigating to do. But all was well and we made it and met up with Barbara who had been our nanny in the late 70s and I had not seen since and Mum only once in 1987. I recognised her immediately and we all had a very jolly lunch together.

Napier is set amid the renowned wine-producing region of Hawke’s Bay. It suffered the most devastating earthquake in 1931 and was rebuilt in the art-deco style. A number of these buildings remain in the centre of town and it is known as the art-deco centre of the world. The zigzag-patterned Daily Telegraph Building is particularly well known, though sadly we did not get to see this!

Due to the triathlon it was quite tricky to see much of the centre of town but we did witness a few to these buildings, before heading up to their rather lovely botanical gardens. Napier is incredibly steep with homes high up in the hills overlooking the bay. We drove right up a helter skelter like road to Bluff Hill Lookout and could see the acres of wood being prepared for shipping.

We then drove to Havelock North, through endless estates of fruit trees – cherries, oranges, apples, peaches, pears – and other stone fruit. In addition to its wine, Napier is New Zealand’s largest exporter of stone fruit and also the largest wool centre in the Southern Hemisphere. We arrived at Barbara’s dear little house and exceptionally pretty garden where we were to spend the next couple of nights. She treated us to cherries fresh from the neighbouring fruit farm, which were beyond delicious.