On the morning I was leaving Waihi, January 2, we all arose pretty early in the morning and Kelvyn drove us through to Tauranga hoping to beat the traffic. He was successful in this and Mary and I had time for a little walk along Tauranga Harbour. This was very useful as my bus trip, following the grey route was over 6 hours long.
The tide was in the harbour and the area deserted so it was very peaceful.
The bus was only a few minutes late and we set off for Mt Manganui, out on the coast from Tauranga, where we picked up a load more passengers. A very chatty young girl, aged 17 (so she told me), sat next to me. Apparently Mt Manganui is the place to party on New Year’s Eve; she and nine friends had come up from Wellington for it. This year the police banned any consumption of alcohol on the beach and in many beaches in New Zealand. She said “we just tanked up beforehand”. She made some entertaining company between Mt Manganui and Taupo.
The next stop was Rotorua. On the way in we passed the airport, which was one of the first places I learned to fly a plane many years ago.
After a brief stop in Rotorua we set off for Taupo. There were some interesting buildings in Rotorua and it looks a thriving place.
As you approach Taupo you cross over the Waikato River, which arises from the slopes of Mt Ruapehu and flows into Taupo and drains out at the Huka Falls. We passed these and the geothermal activity at Wairakei on our way into Taupo.
Taupo is a very beautiful Lake, but the town is very busy these days. The bus stopped here for thirty minutes. The driver, who was a bit of a joker warned the young girls that they had only ten minutes before the Wellington bus left and not to to try to buy any food. I saw them a little later; they had all missed the bus. Anxious not to miss mine I dashed down to the Lakeside. I could see that Mt Ruapehu, Mt Ngarahoe and Mt Tongariro were in and out of cloud and looked beautiful as a back drop to the Lake. Unfortunately it was on the behind cloud phase when I took my photo.
For the next hour the drive from Taupo was not so interesting until it suddenly changed as we approached the series of Mountain Ranges that divide the East Coast from the centre of the North Island. While New Zealand roads are windy at the best of times this was something else; the hills on the sides of the road rose steeply and were covered in Native Bush. The Titokura Saddle at about 2,200ft is the high point and then the road descends, with some minor ups and downs to the Esk Valley. It is extremely scenic, but very difficult to capture from the window of a moving bus.
The road gradually descends and opens out and it is possibly to see beautiful vistas stretching into the distance.
Hawke’s Bay is famous for its wine growing and as the road became flatter I started to see vineyards.
The bus arrived in Napier about 20 minutes late and I was delighted to be met by my children’s Aunty, Judy. On the way to her place she took me to a mission house, run by Marist Brothers, which is now a winery and offers a nice panorama.
From there we went to her flat, which is on the side of her daughter’s house. Very soon I was sitting down to a nice cool glass of water and of course a glass of wine.
After a good catch up sitting in the shade; Napier was around 30C and I was told Hastings was even hotter; Janet drove me to my friend Christine’s house in Hastings. With these temperatures its easy to see why it is such a good region for Wine.