VictoriaMay 15
The 6:07 a.m. train was right on time this morning. Chugga chugga boo hoo.
It was a beautiful fall day and the leaves have changed. Many are gone or starting to fall off the trees with some trees still showing their fall colors. The drive was a pretty one. We seem to say that every time we get in the car. The vistas anywhere you look are awesome.
Havelock North was our first destination today. Named after British war hero Sir Henry Havelock, in 1910 the word “North” was added to the name so as not to confuse the city of the same name on the South Island.
It was a nice town and although there was intermittent rain, we enjoyed our stroll down Main Street and the side streets. Today was the day we originally scheduled for the Tongariro crossing. Thank goodness we went when we did as it was raining there today with 20 mph wind gusts.
We had to choose one winery to visit for lunch in Hawke’s Bay and Craggy Range was the winner. It is a family owned winery established in 1998 that placed in the Top 5 Best Wineries in NZ for this year.
The rain had stopped, but it was still pretty cloudy out. Still, the setting was absolutely beautiful; views of Craggy Range, multi colored vine leaves and Te Mata Peak as a backdrop.
We would’ve loved to sit outside to enjoy more of the view, but the weather wasn’t cooperating.
Inside was cozy and soon we enjoyed focaccia with camembert butter drizzled with honey, pan seared salmon with potato cakes, Brussels sprouts in ranch dressing and a salad that looked like it was just picked from the back garden only moments earlier. Delicious! We washed it all down with a glass of their Pinot Gris and left happy and satiated.
After the winery, we drove to the nearby town of Hastings, a major red wine and stone fruit producer. There, we visited the Hastings City Art Gallery and enjoyed the Māori carving expedition outside and another exhibition inside entitled, “Can you see us now?” It’s an artist’s interpretation of the slave trade whereby South Islanders were taken to Australia to work on plantations between 1847 and 1903.
We ended our day at Bluff Hill Lookout, which overlooks Port Napier and the Pacific Ocean. We are ready to move on tomorrow, to the west coast town of Whanganui, our second to last stop!
We were relaxing in the apartment and noticed a strange color of light outside. We looked out and realized the sun was setting, making the color of the sky and beach surreal. We captured a few shots from the front and then went out on the back deck to see an incredible sunset.
