Hawkes Bay / Wairarapa New Zealand
" wine and orchard country, shearing contests, art deco and rare native birds . . .
If you are making any kind of a loop tour of the country - i.e. starting from Auckland, travelling to Wellington (and possibly the South Island) and thence back to Auckland - you'll have the issue of which road to take one way, and what the other way.
Since most travellers take SH1 one way, the options for the other direction are through Taranaki, through the Parapara Road between Wanganui and Raetihi near Mt Ruapehu, or through the Wairarapa and Hawkes Bay.
Each has its attractions, but if a decision has to be made (a friend of mine, Ian Margison, used to say to his staff "If you want a decision, try making one") the the latter is probably the best option. Accordingly we'll start at the southern end and work our way north.
From Wellington you'll take State Highway 2, climbing up and over the steep shoulders of the Rimutaka Ranges. If you're doing a cycle tour, take a bus! This is hard yakker even in a car.
Big attraction of the southern Wairarapa region is wine. The area around Martinborough has a number of excellent winemakers. Call in to the local Visitor Information Office for a local map.
If you like lonely coasts, pick your way out seawards here and enjoy some of the best coastline (and worst roads) in the country. The road from Masterston to Waipukurau - the alternative to SH2 - is a good road for most of its length, with only a short stretch of gravel in the middle. If you really want to get away from the madness of the world, meander along this typical New Zealand rural road - a place where the locals still wave as you pass them. Drivers of cars coming the other way will raise a couple of fingers in acknowledgement - no not that sort of two finger acknowledgment! Just a quiet interaction between travellers on a countryside journey.
Other than the lack of any rush-rush-rush
and the rugged coast, the main attraction is visiting the
place with, according to the Guinness Book of Records,
the longest place-name in the world: Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapimaungahoro
nukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu. Which is basically
a Maori sentence that means "The place where
Tamatea, the man with big knees, slid, climbed, and
swallowed mountains, known as landeater, played his flute
to his loved one". It has been bestowed upon a
rather ordinary hill about 8km off the main road. The
descedants of Tamatea still farm the property.
Otherwise, you'll stay on SH2 through Carterton and Masterton. In Carterton - apart from finding some excellent cafes and food shops - you can, at the Paua Shell Factory, watch artisans at work making gifts, jewellery and souvenirs out of paua shell. Paua (which is a food delicacy in itself - you might know it as abalone) has a brilliantly irridescent shell lining in blues and greens. The colder the water they come from the hotter the colours. Find them in Kent St which is off the main road.
Masterton which has one main claim to fame . . . shearing. For many years this country literally lived off the sheep's back - wool was a major export - and the men who shore the sheep were rather special. Hard men (and women). Tough men (and women). Their own lore grew up around them.
If you want to catch something of this, read one or two of Barry Crump's books. "A Good Keen Man" is an excellent starting point.
Shearers developed their skill to a fine art and set daily production tallies that made the rest of the world blink in amazement. Currently the world record for shearing is around 660 sheep in an 8-hour working day.
On the first weekend of March every year it's Golden Shears week in Masterton - when those hard men (and women) leave the nation's shearing sheds for a few days to pit their speed and skill against all comers. If you're in the area at that time go to this event. There isn't anything more "kiwi" than this. But book your accommodation early or see it on a day trip, or as part of the day's run to or from the Wellington.
If you are just passing through the town and the kids are getting grumpy, stop at the playground on the northern edge of the business area. Fanstastic place to the small brigade to get it out of their system.
For wildlife enthusiasts - or if you have kids (which sometimes amounts to the same thing) - or if you just want to take a timely stop the Mt Bruce National Wildlife Centre is on the right, 30km north of Masterton. Here you can get close to some of NZ's most precious and endangered birds like saddleback, stitchbird and kokako. Indeed with "nest-cam" you can get right inside their nest. These are some of the rarest bird species in the world and they're being patiently nursed back from the abyss of extinction.
Among them, is the kaka - a natural knockabout clown who never fails to amuse watchers at feeding time. Speaking of feeding, they also have a tribe of wild eels (and brown trout) which gathers at meal times in the nearby stream.
Norsewood. Tiny little hamlet with one big reason to stop: Norsewear Industries factory shop. Superb pure wool knitwear at rock-bottom rates. Buy up big.
Hastings.
Two big attractions here.
The big biggie is the gannet colony at Cape Kidnappers. It's the worlds's largest mainland colony of the bird with something around 15,000 nesters between October and April. The best time to visit is between early November and late February.
The first chicks hatch in the first week of November. The last of them leaves on a migratory flight to Australia in late May. They stay there for 2-3 years before returning here to live. Bit like a lot of their human countrymen (and women).
The colony is closed between 1 July to mid Oct.
There are several ways of getting to see them.
Hiking: It takes about two hours to do the 8km from Clifton Domain to the colony. The farmland between the domain and Cape Kidnappers is privately owned (Summerlee Station - see below). There is no camping. You can only make the trek at low tide. Get away from the domain no later than three hours before low tide and leave the Cape no later than 1 1/2 hours after low tide. There's a formed track for much of the way.
Gannet Beach Adventures takes you along the beach by tractor and trailer. That's a much easier solution. But they too must be governed by tidal timing. There are two trips a day from late Oct to late Apr. Booking is essential. Cost $14 adults/$11 students (12-17)/ $9 children (4-11).
Gannet Safaris is an overland 4wd adventure across the hill country of Summerlee sheep station. Summerlee is a farm of 5,000 acres which includes Cape Kidnappers and several miles of spectacular Hawkes Bay coastline. (You can stay at Summerlee house itself - at $750 for a two night stay). The 3 hour tour takes you across farmland - you get to hear about farming operations on this sheep and beef station. - along the cliff tops to the gannet colony. If you'd rather walk they'll take you on a guided half day trek to the colony.
The other "must-do" is a drive to the top of Te Mata Peak for a broad vista of one of the prettiest parts of the country. There are several walking tracks if you have the time. Follow signs from Havelock North.
Fancy a bit of an adrenalin bang - go tandem paragliding from Te Mata Peak with Airplay Paragliding. Spend 15mins soaring along the cliffs of the mountain, perhaps even climbing to cloud base in the right conditions.
Incidently, Havelock North is a very beautiful little town and you could do worse in terms of an operations base.
One thing a lot of Kiwi kids know is the look of an Arataki honey pot. It's one of the best-known brands of honey - and you can tour the honey factory, taste the stuff and watch the little bees work. Arataki Honeyland, 66 Arataki Road Havelock North. You'll also buy the product at factory prices.
Got kids in tow? Give 'em a break at Splash Planet. Hot pools, an ice rink, bumper boats, racing karts - and lots of simple old-fashioned low-tech stuff that can enchant just as well as it newer, brasher up-tempo neighbours.
This area is orchard country and everywhere you can buy fruit from honesty boxes at the orchard gate. It'll never be fresher or cheaper. If you prefer you can even pick it yourself. Now that's fresh.
Napier.
Styles itself as the art deco capital of the world. Not without reason. The climate has that Mediterranean feel - warm and temperate - and with its Pacific shore location, palms, and Norfolk Pines, its thirties-style gardens it somehow captures the spirit of the "design moderne" era.
In 1931 a devastating earthquake flattened the old brick buildings of the original Napier. Being the period, the new-built environment was designed in art deco mode. Fortunately "progress" largely ignored the place until we had time to realise that this was an architecural treasure to be preserved and enhanced.
Guided walks are available regularly (every day in summer) from the Art Deco Shop in the Deco Centre, Tennyson St, but if you pick up an art deco leaflet from the Vis Info Centre you can do either the art deco walk or the art deco drive.
Marine Parade is the major focus of the city. Here's a thought: Gaze out and sea and consider that there's not another dot of land between here and Chile half a world away across the Southern Pacific Ocean.
Drive north along Marine Parade, past the Port of Napier and into the little suburb of Ahuriri to the West Quay Precinct - home to an eclectic collage of restaurants, bars, cafes and antique shops. Several of the cafes have verandah wining-dining overlooking the marina and fishing boats. Stick the kids into Jungle Junction or Salty Rock Adventure Centre while you nosh up large on region's wines and foods.
Napier can also claim to be the marine entertainment capital of the country. The Aquarium of New Zealand, reputedly the largest in the Southern Hemisphere, has everything from crabs to a 3m "Jaws" as well as piranhas, lizards and turtles. Marineland has a collection of performing dolphins, sea lions and fur seals. The only show like it in NZ.
Hawkes Bay is one of the premium wine producing regions in the country with 37 vineyards at last count, including some of the acknowledged industry leaders. There's a selection of organised tours, but why not do it on yer bike? With On Yer Bike. 06-879-8735. Hire a cycle and ride between six local vineyards. And at the end of the trip they'll collect your wine. If you prefer the organised thing give Liz Burnside a call at Liberty Tours. 06-835-9888. She'll custom tailor a tour itinerary for you.
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All you need to know about a visit to the place where God set the contrast and colour and man hasn'nt fiddled with the dials.
What, hopefully, you'll get out of this mish-mash of peripatetic ramblings.
Background bumpf on the country.
Visas, customs, immigration, duty free shopping, and getting away from the airport. Bloody important if you don't want to be arrested on arrival.
Moving on . . . by road or rail, by air or by sea.
"nuff said.
What to see, what to do, and why to go there.
Diving, fishing, golf, rafting, sailing, skiing - and more.