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Our whistle stop in Wellington had lasted all of 17 hours and we were onboard an Intercity coach destined for Napier, a 1930s Art Deco coastal town halfway up the east side of New Zealand's north island. Things should have been a little smoother than they actually were.
That morning, all seemed to be going to plan when we awoke early to get ready for a connecting bus to our coach however time soon disappeared. We took a brisk walk to the bus stop and just missed a bus going to the railway station which is where the Intercity coach departed from (the Magic Bus wasn't departing for Napier for 2 more days so we paid to get a different connection).
Missing the bus meant time was now getting a little tight for us to make the coach connection. Nevertheless, we managed to jump on another bus 10 mins later but it seemed to take an age. As we were approaching the railway
station we knew we were now super tight on time (only 10 mins to the coach departs and we had no idea where to check in or even where the bus departed from). Lisa jumped off the bus and started walking briskly followed by Mark. Halfway down the staircase, Mark noticed Lisa didn't have her small bag which has her purse and camcorder in it. Mid-stride we both stopped........it was still on the bus!!!!!! We ran back up the stairs with our weighty rucksacks with little hope of finding the bus. Fortunately, a passenger had noticed the bag, handed it to the driver and he was now walking towards us!! Phew, that was a
close one.
Anyway, we just made the coach and were on our way to Napier....a little hot and flustered but mighty relieved.
After checking into the YHA hostel we took a walk along the seafront and into town. Napier was a quaint town with colourful buildings and pretty flowers. After a pleasant stroll we headed back to the hostel to cook our dinner.
Afterwards, we sat in the lounge talking to two of the guests. Mark sat chatting to a guy who owned his own business involved in an alternative power technology whilst Lisa sat chatting to a girl from New Zealand about her career in hospitality, which seemed pretty
limited as all she appeared to be doing was travelling and watching tv as she couldn't get a job. The guy was in his sixties and had been a director or CEO of a number of small companies. His claim to fame was inventing a new (different) technology to generate power from water with it soon to be hitting the market. It therefore seemed a little
strange that he was staying in a hostel, as he sounded like he was on to something big. Then again, you get so many different people staying in hostels.
The following day we went to Esquires coffee shop to use their free internet and to drink lattes/mochas and eat their yummy muffins! Well Lisa did anyway and then started to complain that she had put on weight......I wonder why! We felt guilty and decided to take a walk through botanical gardens to burn off some calories, have an energetic (!!) round of mini golf and then we had an ice cream! The perfect workout routine.
That afternoon was spent looking around the National Aquarium of New Zealand. We didn't think much of the aquarium. To be honest, it was a bit lame. Anyway we saw a few sea creatures; reptiles, exotic fish, a kiwi and the giant turtle from Fiji.
When we came out the aquarium, Mark decided we should venture further afield so hired a car for the next 24 hours. It arrived at 5pm and we were soon cruising the mean streets of Napier and beyond.
In a few short hours we had visited a town called Clive (Mark's dad's name so we took a few photos of Clive's hairdressers, Clive's fish n chip shop, Clive's newsagent etc), Hastings and Havelock North. We then drove back to Napier to an area called West Quay where there were a few restaurants and bars. It was here we had dinner and a few drinks.
The next morning we jumped into the car and headed up to Mount Bluff for some spectacular views across Napier......unfortunately there weren't any! We did manage to get a photo of the port though.
We then headed down the hill to Centennial Gardens; a pleasant landscape garden with a pond and a waterfall. This was followed by a 40 minute drive to Clifton as Lisa wanted to watch sheep shearing. The excitement (from Lisa anyway) was palpable until she realised it was closed.....for two weeks. Not much point hanging around there then.
On a positive note, we continued driving to a place with the World's longest name;
"taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu" !!!! It's a Maori name which translates to something like the place of
a man playing a nose flute to his dead brother.....or something like that.
Before heading back to Napier we went to a fantastic winery called Elephant Hill Estate and Winery. We were told it cost NZ$70m to build about 8 years ago. It is owned by a German couple who visit once a year. Nice to have that kind of spare change kicking about!!! We sat outside overlooking the vineyards drinking wine and eating a light
appetiser. Very nice indeed. We could have sat here all afternoon and evening but we needed to return the car for 6pm. We just made it back in time. The guy arrived to collect the car 30 seconds as we pulled up.
Later this evening we went into town for a drink and this was precisely what it ended up being. We had one drink in a bar and then left thinking we could go to another bar for a drink. We thought wrong. We found a bar but it shut at 9:30pm!! We couldn't believe it,
everywhere else seemed closed.....except for an Irish bar but it was full of guys who were well and truly hammered. We realised that locals don't go out much during the week only the latter part of it! So one drink it was....we had too many teeth and no tattoos so didn't fit in with the locals that frequented the Irish bar.
The following day we were up and packed ready for the Magic bus to take us to Mount Maunganui. On the plus side, at least we didn't wake with a hangover.
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