Cruisin' around the Hawkes Bay

Sunday dawned sunny and warm - infact the bus was rather like a sauna! So we didn't muck around, it was up and away. The first stop was the Farmers Market about 20 minutes drive away. A lot of looking, a few samples and a few purchases filled in about an hour or so. Carly was very interested in the preserves - looking for ideas for her fresh produce from the garden.

Dad spied Lisa and Co from the Club and had a quick chat ....And Mumbles tried out and purchased several locally made vegetarian cheeses... YUM! We also found a stall selling beautiful local Olive oil for a very good price so Carly and Mum negotiated a bulk deal and got two litres each. We'll probably regret not buying more.

Then it was in to Napier to find a nice place for Brekkie. Carly and Kate stopped off to check out handmade jewellery so Mumbles and Dad wandered on to secure a table. After considering sending out a search party to find the girls we finally saw them making their way up the street. We were looking forward to spending an hour looking at their large selection of jewellery thinking that's why they had taken an hour an a half in the shop. But no, just one (very beautiful!) necklace each. After a very yummy brunch we went for a wander.

Down on Marine Parade there appeared to be lots of elegantly dressed ladies and gents all heading towards the beach.

We found out that the annual Long Lunch was about to start. About 800 guests are accommodated on 2 huge tables stretching about 100 metres each and served a gastronomic delight! We suspect there may have been a few sunburnt people by the end of the afternoon!

Down on the beach promenade we found the catering tents with 100's of entrees just about to be served - with military precision.

After watching for a few minutes we carried on our way along the beach. What a beautiful day, if only it had been like this yesterday the Lionel Ritchie concert would have been fantastic.

Well after walking off the brunch we decided we should head off to Clearview Winery for lunch/antipasto and a few glasses of their superb vino. As usual Mumbles being the willing sober driver.

We then headed inland to Havelock North just because we could. Also Kate has not been to this part of NZ before so it was a good chance for her to have a look around. We went to the top of Te Mata Peak (I'd like to say we walked but that would be a lie!).

What fantastic views, you can see the coast line from Hastings to the right and Napier further off to the left.

Of course, you can't take sensible photos all the time ! The girls were having fun.....

Our last stop for the day was the PINK restaurant in Havelock North. It is a beautiful Italian restaurant that Carly went to about 4 years ago... it lived up to it's reputation and we had a lovely meal before heading back to Napier and settling in for our last night.

Monday dawned bright and clear again. Carly and Kate packed up and headed off to Auckland and Dad and I took a bit longer and cruised our way back to Wellington. A wonderful weekend even if we didn't get the see the main attraction we went for. Never mind maybe next time.

Journey to the Mission Estate and missing Lionel Ritchie

Taking Friday and Monday off work, getting the bus all street legal, packing up and heading off to Napier.... Yay! A great weekend of catching up with Carly and buddy Kate, going to the Mission Estate Winery to see Lionel Richie and then another couple of days to check out wineries and the sights of the Hawkes Bay - who could ask for anything more?
Well if you have to get stuck in a traffic jam you could hardly ask for a better view than the Manawatu Gorge. The line of traffic was about a kilometre or two heading off round the corner so we figured we were in for a long wait but surprisingly once we got moving after about 5 minutes we went straight through. It may have had something to do with the fact that it was about 4 o'clock and the workers were heading off home!

So we continued our merry way to Napier and parked the bus, put the billy on and watched everyone else putting up their tents... with a quiet smile on our faces. And on Saturday morning when we woke to rain and the news that one of our parties tent had become a swimming pool overnight we were even happier to stay warm and dry in "The Bus". Carly and Kate while a wee bit cramped in their tent, managed to also stay warm and dry over night, however they chose to join us in the bus for drinks, food, warmth and conversation.
Pops was checking out the knobs and buttons as only boys can find facinating!

And the girls chatted, read books and even braved the weather to go shopping for supplies in the hope that the weather would clear and we would get to see Lionel.

The rain continued and the mood of the concert goers ranged from hoping the weather would break to thinking we would brave the conditions to see Lionel to praying that the concert would be cancelled so we didn't have to be wusses and bow out! Our prayers were answered at 7.45pm and the concert was cancelled! Though it was a disappointment to not see the show we had all driven to see it was quite a relief that we could stay dry and warm. Planning began for tomorrow.

Biking to Whangamomona

A group of very youthful bikers from the Johnsonville Club decided they were going to have a bit of a rally to Republic Day in Whangamomona. Brent decided that it sounded like fun (being the middle of the fire season Lesley stayed home ...in comfort!). Besides there was only just enough room in the tent for one! but it was very cosy. The bikers left early Friday afternoon and headed into the sunrise. A longer than anticipated stop for tea just out of Wanganui meant that it was a case of pitching the tents in the dark.
After a hearty breakfast at Kaieto Cafe on the Forgotten World Highway, Stratford, the bikers headed in to Whangamomona for the big day!
The township really gears up for the day with passports required for all visitors and a market day atmosphere! The weather came to the party and it was so hot that the tarseal melted on the road, to the point that several jandal wearers became separated from the base of their jandals. An abstract art piece was made of the left behind thongs... sorry no photo.

Just a couple of the 8 bikes parked outside the local just to prove they actually made it. And they made it home after a wonderful trip going through some fascinating backroads and letting the bikes have their lead. Brent returned home late on Sunday having enjoyed a fantastic weekend and busy planning the next trip!