Hawkes Bay - Napier

Saturday 17th - Party time in Napier
We arrived in Napier just after mid day - another stunning day. Napier's Marine Parade is a waterfront the City should be proud of. Lovely wide beach front, riddled with shared walk/cycle ways. Caught up with a very sweaty brother, Graeme, & partner Claire( they had been cycling for the morning), and cousin Sandra (who wasn't sweaty). Then it was off to park up at the RSA which was just a street away from where my cousin Kevin's 60th was being celebrated - easy walk. Well easy when one is sober!
It was a good night of catching up with family (Aunt / cousins/ second cousins) and their friends in a very hot sunny afternoon / evening. Great Party with loads of smoked trout and rare venison

Sunday Oh Sunday! What was an enjoyable night was not an enjoyable next morning! I blame the heat :( Anyway no  time for sympathy), it was up and off to the Farmers Market in Hastings,  G&C picked us up on the way. Lovely big market with lots of food (smells not that great for me today) - lots of fresh produce not that cheap but lots of variety.

Bill, Graeme & Claire off in the distance.

Then off to the Puketapu Pub where we did a lovely cycle with G&C along the Tutaekuri River (18km return). On our return the Pub was buzzing with cyclists, motorcycles, a horse and locals, live music, good food, which was much needed after our ride. Lots of cycle trails leaving this area, will return and do more some other time.

Puketapu Pub with bikes & a horse!

Bill, G&C had an ocean swim at Westshore, before going to one of the trendy bars on the strip around the water front.

Next morning was of to the dentist for a double whammy, curse Bills rotten teeth courtesy of an overly proactive 60's school dental system, then met birthday boy Kevin and Debby our hosts from the party, for a coffee on the fore shore, our original venue on the wharves strip was untenable due to the huge amounts of fish being offloaded. The place was uber whiffy.
We set course for Taupo at 12 ish but got sidetracked at Westshore with a 2 + hr cycle ride on the way out which was scenic wetlands exposed from the harbour after the 1931 earth quake ,which incidentally S's father was caught in at school. This raised the seafloor, but for this Napier's Port area would be very similar to Nelson's, a large protective boulder bank encircling the harbour and sheltered lagoon

Water Ride Trail - Napier

We went on to Tarawera, a small local on the Napier Taupo Highway notable for its now unusable hot springs and Maori War shenanigans with the Pakeha.The Maori history all thru here is a tragic indictment on our relationships with them, with tales of betrayed trust and hostility on both sides


Onto Taupo with some more walks thru lovely forests, rich in history with the Pit sawing off totara telegraph poles being of particular interest, recalling photographs and conversations with my Grandad Cameron,as he was involved with pitsawing the timber in the 1920's to construct the first huts on the Milford track to accommodate tourists.

Opepe Historic Reserve

Massacre Cemetery Opepe