Hawke's Bay: Napier and Hastings - December 2009 - January 2010

Hawke's Bay (Māori: Heretaunga) is a region of the east coast of the North Island, New Zealand. It is a large semi-circular bay which extends for 100 kilometres from northeast to southwest from Mahia Peninsula to Cape Kidnappers. The Hawke's Bay region includes the hilly coastal land around the northern and central bay, the floodplains of the Wairoa River in the north, the wide fertile Heretaunga Plains around Hastings in the south, and a hilly interior stretching up into the Kaweka and Ruahine Ranges.

I took these during our trips through the area.











It is recognized worldwide for its award-winning wines. Missionaries in the mid 19th century first planted the vines. Hawkes Bay is has become an important place for full bodied red wines.

The two main cities in this region are Hastings and Napier. They are located less than 20 kilometres away from each other and are known as "The Twin Cities". Hastings is definitely the less interesting (as far as architecture or entertainment are concerned) of the two towns.

On February 3, 1931, Napier and Hastings were devastated following New Zealand's worst natural disaster. An earthquake measuring 7.9 on the Richter Scale killed 256 people. Napier began re-building influenced by the art of that time and now it is known as the Art Deco city for its world-famous Art Deco buildings.Eric and I did a abbreviated version of Art Deco self-guided tour.















We rented a great house on the hill with great views of the Pacific and overlooking the centre of the city.



We kept really busy over the week we spent in Hawke's Bay - the region has lots to offer for both adults only and families with young children.

We went for walks downtown,













We devoted a day to wine tasting... Fantastic reds, really!























We visited the Arataki Honey. After tasting all sorts of honey (Manuka being our favorite) E and I decided to sneak around the building and found out where the bees had their "secret" entrance.





National Aquarium in Napier,







Trainworld with its wonderful display of model trains,











Haumoana Farmyard and Zoo,















where E bottle-fed the lambs,



and rode a horse.





Although Napier's beach is sadly all "stony,"





the city's amazing playground gave E opportunities to get sandy and wet... and tired.













We fed the ducks and swans in the city's park.





And we visted New Zealand's oldest ice cream maker, Rush Munro.



And then, on December 31st we celebrated E's 3rd Birthday! There were a cake and presents in the morning,







and afterwards, we headed for New Zealand's biggest water theme park - Splash Planet. Lots to do whether you want to get wet or stay dry! E had a blast!































All in all, our time in Hawke's Bay was great! Soon after we returned home, Carol and Sandy left for the US and our trio headeed for the South Island.