Day 23: Hawkes Bay
OK – I’ll admit it: we were a bit hungover today. Lindsay must once again acknowledge that she is not in her 20s anymore and visiting 6 wineries in a day (before lunch!) is no longer a good idea. Today was a slow day: we drove up to Hastings & Napier and enjoyed lunch at the top of Te Mata Peak, and a walk along the Cape Kidnappers beach. There is a gannet colony at the end of the beach, but you have to start the walk at low tide to avoid getting stranded on your way back, and we arrived as the high tide was already coming in. So we just walked until we got tired then played a good’ game of throwing rocks at bigger rocks.
Views of Hawk’s Bay from Te Mata Peak
Igor enjoying the view – and contemplating the hang gliding launch
Cape Kidnappers Beach
Throwing rocks and enjoying a lazy visit to the beach
In the afternoon, we started to head west to our farmstay/RV park – the Waiwhenua Farmstay. Unfortunately, we never saw our hosts, but we followed the signs to the riverside RV area. After shooing away a few cows and navigating a rather treacherous one-lane dirt road, we found ourselves in a completely secluded campground with safari-theme. That night we enjoyed our very first campfire, and Igor played chef in the “bush kitchen”!
Driving through farmland in Hastings
Own private RV camp – with fire-pits!
Igor cooking up a storm in the Bush Kitchen!
Dinner for two in the moonlight – camping can be so romantic!