Day #8 - New Zealand Travel Adventure (Napier to Wellington)

After a breakfast of Eggs Benedict with wonderful homemade Hollandaise sauce, we left Napier at about 9 am. We drove up to the top of the hill for an overlook that showed the cruise ship terminal and the harbor.

We filled up the rental car tank because you cannot always find petrol stations along your travel route. The GPS navigator is quite helpful as there are many twists and turns along the way to Wellington that are not always obvious. After about two hours, we decided we needed some coffee and stopped in a small town called Dannevirke to partake of excellent “flat white” coffee at the Black Stump Cafe and Bar. The town was quite active on a Friday with many street venders. I asked the barista what the reason was and was told “it is market day.” We strolled the street (there seems to be only one main street) but could find nothing of great interest.

Back in the automobile, we continued towards Wellington as the weather turned more foul. Rain was light but constant and there were occasional winds gusts to make you pay extra attention to the road. As we approached Wellington, we had to travel through a narrow gorge.with a raging river and occasional rocks in the road from slides. I of course had to hit a rock that thudded on the undercarriage, but fortunately, we did not sustain vehicular damage. It would have been awful to get a flat tire on a one lane road in the rain.

It took about 4 hours and 20 minutes to reach our hotel in Wellington. For this evening, I chose a simple accommodation called the Capital View Motor Inn. The rooms are self contained efficiency apartments with Microwave, stove and refrigerator but we did not plan to use any of these things. We just wanted a place close to the Inter-Islander Ferry that we need to get on in the morning. I would not recommend this place to other travelers because it is too noisy at night and the internet connection is very poor. They allow a total of 300 MB for two devices which it not suitable for modern needs.

The Motor Inn is convenient located near the city center and the interesting Cuba Street that has many food establishments and stores. 

 Earline was on a mission to buy more New Zealand wool so we explored the extent of Cuba Street and also Willis Street that had two wool stores.

After obtaining her stash of four skeins, we walked back to Cuba Street and got a slice of pizza at “Heaven” wood fired pizza. They also had a great porter beer that made Earline happy. 

Tomorrow we go to the South Island.

Day #7 - New Zealand Travel Adventure (Rotorua to Napier, New Zealand)

Today we traveled from Rotorua to Napier, a distance of 219 kilometers. We left Rotorua and traveled south on Route 5 to Taupo, to see Huka Falls. 

We were going to drive to Tongarira National Park but the weather was overcast so there was little benefit in going to the peak of Mt. Tongarira. We wanted to go there because this mountain was featured in Lord of the Rings.

The Lord of the Rings

In autumn 2000, Tongariro National Park was home to the most sinister of the Lord of the Rings locations, Mordor, which is the strong hold of the dark Lord Sauron.  Mordor, is the great volcanic plateau filled with geological  wonders known as Gorgoroth.  Much of Frodo and Sam's journey into the land of Sauron was filmed on and around the Tongariro National Park. 

We turned south on Route 5 and headed to Napier, known as the Art Deco Capital of the World. It is easy to see why, as the majority of the buildings reflect that style from the early 1930’s. The reason for this was in 1931, there was a 7.8 earthquake that destroyed the majority of Napier along with a more southern city of Hastings. During this period of time, there was a lot of unemployment and the rebuilding effort employed many New Zealand workers. They rebuilt the city in two years.

Napier Band Shell

Lee the champion Cricket Player

Napier is a seasonal tourist community of about 18,000 permanent residents, but during their summer, there is a large influx of tourists. In February, they hold an Art Deco Festival that swells the city by 40,000 people. This attractive cities would be high on my list of places to revisit for a longer period of time.

We booked an overnight stay at the Country Hotel. This was a 5 star experience and for $299 NZD, this included a gourmet 3 course dinner for two and a cooked breakfast for two, free parking and internet. The meals were great and I would highly recommend this to any traveler. 

The special rate is not always available so you have to look online. Our room on the top floor included a terrace with table and chairs, a jacuzzi tube, and was immaculately furnished with antiques and a great bed.

Outside Balcony

This hotel is across from the New Zealand Wine Center. For $25 NZD pp, you can taste 6 wines, watch a movie on the various wine regions of New Zealand and experience their aroma room to learn to appreciate the various organic compounds that exist in the smelling of wines. We were given a coupon for 20% off of wine purchases and bough a bottle of  Gimlet Road 2013 Hawke’s Bay Cabernet/Merlot/Malbec blend. This wine for about $22 NZD is to die for. If you can find it in the USA, buy a bottle! :)

Following our dinner, we crashed early because we had a four hour drive in the morning to Wellington and the weather was predicted to be rainy.

Day #6 New Zealand Travel Adventure (Exploring Rotorua and Visit to Maori Village)

Today started with a hearty breakfast included in the price of staying at the Ibis Hotel in Rotorua. Earline and I then set off on foot to find Kuirau Park, a free public geothermal park located a few blocks from our hotel.

The park has many hot springs and boiling mud pots but no geysers. It takes about an hour to cover the park in a leisurely manner. It is not recommended to go to this park in the evening as it has some criminal elements as well as being a hook up point for homosexuals. We encountered no unsavory types on our walk in the mid-morning hours.

Lake Rotorua and Kuirau Geothermal Park   (Click the link)

After we finished walking the park, we took our map and explored a number of the city streets to get a feel for the downtown area. It is a clean city and it feels quite safe. As we headed back to our hotel down "Eat Streat"(not a typo), we found another microbrewery called CBK and tried their dark stout beer.

It was of interest to me that when I stopped into a music store to compare prices of instruments with those in the USA, and the prices were comparative, I found no brass instruments. When I spoke with the store owner about this he told me that they tried to sell a silver flute once, but because of the amount of sulphur in the air from the geothermal vents, it turned black within two weeks. He said after that, they no longer sell brass or silver plated instruments.

We then returned to the hotel for a rest and for me to work on my blog until it was time to be picked up for our cultural experience to the Tamaki Maori Village. It starts at 5 pm with a welcoming ceremony to allow entry into their village. One of our bus members was chosen chief to represent us, his tribe. Once admitted, we experienced a variety of typical Maori activities that I will eventually post as a youtube video link.

Video of Maori Village Visit

Dinner was cooked in the typical manner in a hot pit covered with burlap and dirt. After cooking for 3 to 4 hours, the meal is brought out for consumption. This is similar the the pachemanca cooking in the Peruvian mountains. The meal consisted of potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, Green Lipped Mussels, salad, lamb, chicken, white fish, and desert. The choices from the bar are not included. The food was average but as much as you wanted to consume.

Before dinner, there was a pre-dinner singing and dancing experience and a small performance after dinner.

The cost was $115 NZD per person but we were glad that we went.

Tomorrow we move onward to Hawke's Bay area via the Tongarira National Park..