Hastings Feb 09

The drive north of Wellington was on the best roads we’ve seen; even the tunnel was 3 lanes & well lit. The commuter traffic was driving in the opposite direction; sun was shining, a beautiful day. We were instructed to ‘Merge like a Zip’ a zipper that is, as the lanes reduced in numbers – colourful and direct! We drove north through wine country with only one area of challenging roads! Shortly after leaving the city, we climbed steadily to Pakuratahi in the Kaitoke National Park. We had 13K of mountain road driving before reaching Featherston and good roads; 40 minutes of sharp bends, steep drop-offs & construction traffic. Even so the roads were better than on the South Island; guardrails on most sharp bends. Granted, most were just for visual aide, made from wood, but they gave the illusion of help! At Featherston, while still early in our today’s journey, a break from driving was needed!
We stopped at Dannevirke for lunch. It was 12:30 and we were 103K from Hastings. Surrounded by wine fields it was a pleasure to drive the region. We passed Waipukurau 40 degrees south; driving through river valleys, terraces & hillside vineyards. Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc & Malbec are Hawke’s Bay central red wine varieties; Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc the key whites. We stopped in Hastings for the evening, home to over 65 wineries! Visions of wine tasting danced in our heads! We arrived at 2 pm, great timing to an inviting city – lush flower hanging baskets line the streets and a cooling spray from water fountains! First a place to stay! For the 2nd time we fell prey to I-Site staff. Lots of vacancies but we were misled & sent to a remote place out of town. By the time we returned, challenged her on the location; refused other places; the afternoon was spent. We were hot, tired and relieved to check-in at the Valdez. We purchased salmon for a BBQ and a nice bottle of local white wine! The closest we got to our dream of a Hawke’s Bay wine tour.
For perspective – it was a sunny 24 C. Liz and Helen had a pool to splash & cool off; Tom had NZ salmon on the grill with new potatoes & fresh local corn. Fresh local fruit for our dessert: plums, apricots, nectarines, oranges, Kiwi and red gala apples. Yes & a glass of chilled Chardonnay in my hand! Not the day we had planned; but a worthy day nonetheless!