We picked up yet another Hertz rental car to continue our journey through the North Island. It was an easy route as there are only two main roads out of Wellington. We chose to travel along the East coast hugging the shoreline initially, until the route headed inland.
Within an hour, the country’s rural heartland shows itself and the numerous small, sleepy towns become apparent. Dairy and sheep farms continue to feature strongly in the region, but we did see a few ostrich farms and llama. As we crossed to the West coast, and entered the Hawke’s Bay area there were acres upon acres of vineyards, not on the slopes of
the mountains, but on the planes and flat areas in between. This area also was full of fruit, apples, kiwi, and soft fruit, as well as veggies.
We passed Kapiti Island on the East coast, which is a nature reserve. Access to the island is very limited, although there is a charter boat daily. There are a number of birds who live here that are rare or absent from the mainland, such as saddlebacks and takahe. Less rare, but twice as cheeky, are the wekas, which are likely to steal anything that is left unattended by visitors!
The town names on the North Island tend to be more native, and take a while to get used to them. We passed through Paekakariki, home of a tramway museum, Paraparaumu, home of a vintage car museum, including Marlene Dietrich’s limousine in its collection. Also a 1950 Cadillac Gangster Special, once owned by an employee of Al Capone and Lucky Luciano. It has a bomb-proof floor, armour-plated doors, bulletproof windows, and a hinged windscreen for firing from inside. Could prove useful for some parts of Bristol!
The Maori language never ends in a consonant and every vowel is sounded.
As we were passing through the towns we could see the Maori meeting houses, with ornate wooden carvings covering their exterior. Known as Marae, the meeting house is the focal point for Maori people.
Continuing on through pastoral farming land we passed fertile coastal plains stretching from the Tasman Sea across to the Tararua and Ruahine ranges. Large vegetable-producing areas and “pick-your-own” outlets on the outskirts of small towns were a pleasant distraction as was the winding journey along the Manawatu Gorge!
An uneventful stretch of the SH 2 followed until we reached Hawke’s Bay.
Hawke’s Bay is famous for its Art Deco buildings, orchards and vineyards.
We passed by several vineyards and orchards all groaning with apples, plums, kiwi fruit and of course, grapes! This is wine producing country!
The long sunshine hours, wide range of growing microclimates, and variety of soil types have allowed more than 40 wineries to develop all
the classical grape varieties to a high standard. Traditionally a fruit-growing area, Hawke’s Bay’s fruit is sourced from varied vineyard and orchard sites, and wines are made using both modern and traditional techniques.We arrived at our accommodation for the next 2 nights in the late afternoon. A delightful “homestay” just outside Napier.
Our hosts made us a lovely cuppa and we had cake and tea before unpacking our things. The temperatures are much warmer here (mid to late 20s), and quite humid but we found it quite comfortable. It was lovely to sit out on the verandah with our wine and enjoy some nibbles before dinner.
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