Napier and Wine
✒️ Written by: Abbie
We arrived in Napier in the evening after Taupo and Huka Falls, and with our spendings already rocketing we realised we need to stop eating out (especially after three nights at Rotorua's Eat Streat!) We took ourselves to Woolworths—the Tesco of AUS and NZ—and bought microwave meals, crossing our fingers our next hotel room would have a microwave.
Kennedy Park Resort was a hefty distance out from the centre of Napier, walkable when you've not got two suitcases and a Woolworths bag, but gosh was it worth it. Our room was only cheap (like all the places we've stayed) but it was our favourite so far. Ultra modern, clean, a kitchen with all utensils, walk-in shower, decent bedside lighting for once (our hotel in Auckland literally just had a 'big light' and there wasn't even a switch for it by the bed 🙃). We slapped our veggie lasagnes in the microwave and sat round the little dining table to eat it, like an old married couple.
We only stayed in Napier two nights, with a rather exciting day in the middle. The morning was mainly only exciting for James, as he took us to the Faraday Museum of Technology. Despite being non-technically minded myself, I can honestly say this museum was well worth a visit. Highlights were the big engine thing, the thing across the ceiling on a wire, and the sound thing across the room.
James here. The above things were actually:
The Fullagar Engine - the pride and centerpiece of the museum - a 400 kW opposed cylinder diesel engine which was installed at the Napier City Council Power Station (the site of the museum today) in 1925. It continued to run all the way through to 1970. For those feeling mechanically minded and nerdy, a detailed document covering the engine's design and history can be found here.
An example of an aerial railway used in goods stores to send cash to and from a dedicated cashier's booth. This article is an entertaining read; it covers a brief history of the use of various cash railway designs.
- A set of opposing parabolic sound mirrors which act as a whisper gallery. We didn't take any photos of the setup but this is roughly what they looked like. We could stand at opposite ends of the room (>10m) and whisper to each either. Very eerie.
Also, here's me looking very dorky in a hat. And in a car. I'll leave you to enjoy the rest of Abbie's writings. Bye.
We hurried from the museum to a bus stop in time for the bus to Clive, which we then followed with an Uber to a tiny little village called Haumoana. There, we met Murray at Coastal Wine Cycles. He gave us a briefing, recommended a route to us, reminded us that we don't need that third bottle of wine, but reassured us we can't get done for drunk cycling—only for being drunk and disorderly! And with a quick test-cycle round the driveway to make sure we both remember how to ride a bike, we set off cycling through Hawke's Bay wine region.
It was a stunning day for it. We lathered up with suncream as soon as the jumpers came off and basked in the sun. The cycle path took us past vineyards and apple tree farms. Pretty much the entire route was on a raised bank beside fields and the nearby river, with minimal need to cycle on the road. We curved off the bank towards some wineries, and stopped at Clearview Estate.
With all the cycle paths around, the winery was well-equipped with bike racks so we parked up and headed inside, where many guests were enjoying lunch with a glass of wine. We both ordered a different selection for wine tasting, and out came two wooden racks filled with 6 small tasters each. These were both whites and reds. Like the wine nerds we are, we made notes on each wine in my wine tasting journal. Feeling peckish, we also ordered some bread which came out with a pesto dip and creamy butter.
After we emptied all our wine glasses, we decided we still had enough time (and enough sobriety!) to make it to another winery before closing time. Off we cycled, back towards the river, heading to the wineries on the other side of the bank. We made it in the nick of time to Askerne Estate Winery and enjoyed a flight of whites; these were all exceptional and we actually preferred them all to Clearview so it's a good job we made it.
We bought a bottle of the Gewürztraminer and packed it in the bike basket to keep it safe as we headed back to Coastal Wine Cycles at a leisurely pace. Of course, this meant stopping for obligatory photos before the opportunity was over.
We dropped off our bikes and got an Uber back to Napier. Specially, back to Woolworths so we could kerb our half-drunk paneer masala cravings. Back at our super fancy hotel room, James cooked us up a curry and it's the last time we ever trust a pre-made curry sauce because that thing was wayyyy too spicy for little old me. Still yummy though. Once more, we packed up our suitcases and got ready for moving out again.