Kia Ora

Tuesday 6th January 2009

Mel had some trouble getting a shower this morning as it seemed everytime she tried,someone had beaten her to it,but it was funny watching her to and fro trying to get in!!!

It was a short drive for the first stop on Mel's magical tours and the narrow road up to the summit of Bluff Hill caused one or two problems passing cars coming the other way but once at the top it was like dodgems in the car park as there was way too many cars for the small car park but once I had found a space it was funny watching people go forward then backwards then forwards again not knowing quite what to do.I have to be honest and say that the views from the top were excellent but they were spoilt somewhat by the Port of Napier directly below us banging away unloading containers from the ships,but if you looked straight ahead the view was worth the ride up.

Next stop on the tour was an old tobacco building that gets raved about in all the guide books as a must see,now when we were driving to it I was thinking that we must have taken a wrong turn as we seemed to be in the middle of a derelict industrial estate but sure enough it turned out to be there,but after a quick look I was less than impressed with it!!!

We had a quick stop at Pak 'n' Save which was unscheduled but we needed fresh supplies for lunch and dinner and fuel for the car.The sun was beating down today and it was hot hot hot,the summer really seems to be warming up now,so back at the hostel we took advantage of the quiet deck area and ate lunch outside,Mel shared my sushi with me and liked it...

The afternoon broke down into a few different parts and the first involved a walking tour around the art deco buildings which Mel had discovered in our guide book so it saved us $10,we had to keep topping up the sunscreen and dodging into the shady spots whenever we saw them.The buildings are beautifully kept and really nice to wander around.The tour naturally led us to the seafront and to Pania,now Maori legend has it that Pania was lulled out to the sea by the sea people and when she tried to return to her true love she turned into the reef that sits beyond the breakwater. Now next to her was a very cool and inviting looking fountain that we could have easily jumped into to cool down but our attention was caught by something else.

Just a bit further along the front was a crazy golf course so we couldn't resist a game and paid our money to get going,you had a choice of 2 courses and it was bloody difficult but great fun and it seemed to take ages to get around,by the end of it I was sure that my flip flops were melting!!!

We lathered ourselves up on sunscreen again for the walk back to the hostel where we took time out of the sun to cool down,Mel hs another day planned for us tomorrow down to Hastings and the surrounding area so should be able to report back then with more news...

Lots of Love

M & M

xx