Hawke's Bay Wine Country

I am always drinking NZ wines back home so naturally, I had to go and experience the awesome wineries of the Hawke's Bay region while on the north island. From Hamilton I went to the bus station and caught an InterCity bus to Napier. I got in at night so I couldn't see the surroundings and it looked like an average city. I got off the bus with no clue where I would be staying so I starting walking to the Pak-n-Save (supermarket) and picked up a phone for a taxi. When the taxi driver got there he looked at me like I was crazy "all of the hotels are just on the other side of that street a block away". Oops. So I walked. and walked. No vacanies anywhere. It got to the point that I thought I might have to sleep under a stairwell somewhere (just kidding) but then I remembered that I had a Napier brochure that I picked up in Hamilton which listed a few hotels.

I called the Waterfront Lodge and luckily they had a vacancy. What was even better was that they were out of dorm beds so I got a private room for the price of a dorm bed!

The next morning I woke up on beautiful Marine Parade in Napier. It is a really cool city, it was re-built after a massive earthquake in the 1930's and it was established (unofficially) as the "art deco" city. There is heaps to do in Napier - wine tasting, the National Aquarium, and lots of shops and cafes. The Waterfront Lodge Backpackers was a great place to stay because it was inexpensive and was in the perfect location! That morning I wanderded over the the iCentre and booked a wine tour for the afternoon and then strolled down to the National Aquarium. It was surprisingly interesting - I got to see a live kiwi for the first time ever as well as man other amazing things.

It was small so I didn't spend more than an hour there but well worth it if you are in the area.

I had a great time in Napier because I met some really awesome people at the hostel and while wine tasting. I was a little hesitant to do the wine your by myself because I was not sure how many other people would be on it. Turns out it was just me and this lovely couple from Austria and besides the fact that I got mildly drunk, it was a wonderful experience! You drink lots of wine and I am never one to waste a glass...