Auckland and Napier

After turning my camper van in I headed over to a Bed and Breakfast in the Ponsonby area of Auckland that I had booked.  My plan was to stay in Auckland for a few days and explore the city before heading to Napier, where I was going to stay for the holidays.  Ponsonby, located just outside the city center proper, was an area thriving with bars, boutique stores and restaurants so I decided that it would make a good staging area.

After getting settled in one of the handful of rooms in the B&B, and being hungry, I decided to venture out into the neighborhood to explore while seeking an early dinner. The main street, also called Ponsonby, was crowded with people out and about, no doubt getting their Christmas shopping done.  I strolled along looking for somewhere interesting to stop.  After passing a lot of Asian restaurants, of all types, I decided on Italian and had a wonderful meal.  After a little bit more roaming around, stopping here or there to check out some of the unique stores in the area, I headed back to the B&B to chill out.

The next morning I mapped out a route that took me, in a round about way through some other neighborhoods, to the city center.  The main plaza was dressed up for Christmas although it was weird to see a Christmas tree standing tall in hot, sunny weather.  They also had a Santa’s house set up near the tree– colored white, in what I have to guess was an attempt to provide an illusion of snow. The downtown area was thriving with both locals and tourists out and about, shopping and simply enjoying the nice weather.  The main ferry port, located on the harbor at the city center, was very busy as it serves as a nexus for getting out to the many islands that dot Auckland harbor.  I spent the afternoon walking around and exploring all of the different areas of downtown, watching people and grabbed a bit to eat (mussels!) before heading back to the B&B in the early evening.

The next day I decided to walk over to Mt. Eden, a dormant volcano just south of the city center that provided a great view of the surrounding area.  It was about an hour walk to get to the park at the bottom of the hill (then more “up” to the top….).  There were buses that could have gotten me there quicker, but I enjoyed stretching my legs and exploring more of the city.  The views at the top were spectacular and I could see the sprawl that is Auckland spread out on all sides.  (Auckland hosts about 1/3 of New Zealand’s population at around 1.7 million people.) It was another nice day so I spent some time at the top watching the world go by, people watching and pondering my next move. I was a bit surprised to see how many people were at the top wandering around, but had to remind myself that I was now in the middle of a big city.

After looking at my map, I decided to go visit the Auckland Museum, but take a scenic route through yet a different area, to get there.  I meandered through some residential districts, passing several parks, before emerging into another shopping area, including a large mall, on Newmarket Street- reflecting New Zealand’s British heritage.  The Christmas shoppers were out in force and I got through that area pretty quickly as I headed to the museum.  The Auckland museum, which also hosts the war memorial on its top floor, is situated in a large park and green space on a hill (surprise!) just south of the city center. The museum was busier than I expected; tourists and local families populated all of the galleries as I slowly made my way through.  I spent a lot of time learning more about the geological history of the country, having had my curiosity whetted by the small film I had seen at Tongariro Park HQ.  I discovered why so many kids were present when I came across several galleries that had hands on discovery activities.  I passed through those pretty quickly!!  After nearly three hours in the museum I emerged in the late afternoon, plotting a course to the waterfront, planning to stop there for dinner before looping back to the B&B.

As it was late afternoon on a Sunday by the time I reached the city center by the ferry port, most of the down town area was quiet, especially compared to the day before.  I walked along the waterfront, slowly making my way back towards Ponsonby, pondering the many restaurants along the way as I sorted out dinner.  The marina, east of the ferry port, had some huge ships docked, a sign of how active Auckland harbor is.  On one side of the marina a small area had been roped off for swimming and a large number of local kids were enjoying the water.  Nearby I found a street food market and settled on some Pad Thai and a beer and sat down to enjoy the crowd.  After a while the sky was looking threatening so I decided it was time to head back to the B&B (more “up”) and got back just before it started raining.   I enjoyed wandering around Auckland and getting a feel for the city, but was ready to head to Napier and chill out for the holidays.

Napier, located near the southern end of Hawke’s Bay on the eastern side of the North Island, is another well-known New Zealand wine growing region. Napier is also well-known for its art deco architecture and marine parade, I booked an Airbnb in the city center near the beach for my extended holiday stay with no other plans than to relax and visit a few wineries. I was pleased with the location of the Airbnb.  Even though I had a car, I could walk to grocery stores, restaurants, and the marine parade, a long walking and bicycle path along the beach, was only two blocks away.  As I explored the small downtown area for the first time, there were tons of people everywhere–it turns out that Napier is a popular cruise ship stop and there were two cruise ships docked.  I noticed the ebb and flow of people the whole time I was there.

Knowing that lots of business and restaurants would be shut down I stocked up at the grocery store, including what I needed to make myself a nice Christmas dinner–roasted leg of lamb (when in New Zealand…) and got settled in.  The next morning I decided to explore the marine parade towards the part and spent a couple of hours walking around the northern part of the beach area.  When I got back to the city center I wandered into a wine bar and, as I was the only customer there, got into an extensive conversation about wine and a bit of impromptu wine tasting.  She recommended several small family wineries in the area that I should visit.

One morning I headed out to climb Te Mata Peak, an approximately 1000ft tall hill about 30 minutes south of Napier.  Te Mata park had numerous different trails winding through it, including one that went through a stand of redwoods.  Even though I got there early, it was crowded.  For those who did not want to climb to the peak, it was possible to drive up.  But I wanted to hike up so I parked at the bottom.  I headed out, mapping out a route that would take me through the maximum amount of redwood forest even though it meant I was going up one of the steeper routes to the peak. The redwood forest was awesome– majestic and peaceful; for some reason there were not a lot of people lingering there.

As I emerged from the forest and started ascending the hill, I saw more people, including what had to be locals– running (up)!!!  The route was difficult, including one area that is apparently called the “goat track” because it is one– I was climbing up boulders on a steep incline wondering what I had gotten myself into.  The path after that was narrow, basically a flat area carved out of a steep hill, but. very doable.  Still not sure how people could run along it though they were; I was overtaken several times by runners.  It was a hot day and it was steep and I admit I had to stop and rest and drink occasionally. Those runners were in excellent shape!  I made it to the peak eventually and joined the crowd, many who had driven up, to enjoy the views.  Eventually I headed down, the route down rather straightforward, to return to the car and head back to Napier.

There was an overlook above the Napier port and one morning, rather than walking along the marine parade, I climbed the hill to take in the view of the area directly surrounding Napier.  From the bird’s eye view of the port it was possible to see the large number of stacked logs waiting to get shipped out.  It was also possible to get a great view of the rainbow of blue water that spread out across Hawke’s Bay.  I celebrated as I climbed down the hill recognizing that was probably my last hike up a hill in New Zealand for this trip.

But in general, I did not have a huge list of things to do in Napier and my days fell into a bit of a rhythm.  I really was interested in chilling out and slowing down a bit after several months of moving around.  I would get up and talk an hour or two walk along the beach on the marine parade, do some work on my computer, read, wander around town, either cook or find a restaurant, read or work some more, and call it a day.

I spent one afternoon visiting a couple of wineries recommended by the bartender I had talked to.  One of them had a musician so I had an enjoyable time sitting back with a glass of wine and listening to music.  I also signed up for a wine tasting tour on New Year’s Eve day and had a great time tasting wine with some Aussies and a New Zealand couple.  The city of Napier had a New Year’s Eve celebration on the marine parade (basically across the street from my Airbnb) that included bands, street vendors and fireworks which was a great way to ring in the New Year.

With the New Year came the time to say good-bye to New Zealand after almost three months of wonderful adventures.  Next up–Australia!