After spending so much time in Australia, by the finishing point of our employment at Sea Temple we were ready for another NZ holiday! (We also had to leave the country in order to apply for visitor visas to re-enter as our Working Holiday visas were set to expire--but still--we were happy to go). So, to begin our 6-month period of unemployed traveling, we hopped on a plane across the Tasman!
We had beautiful weather upon arrive in Auckland, naturally, and made it through customs in a very speedy and efficient manner, which was fantastic since we were racing to catch a bus to Hawke's Bay. As soon we as got out of the airport we were going to hop in a taxi to take us to the bus station, and the taxi driver was nice enough to point out that a public bus would be arriving in about 10 minutes to take us to the same place, only he would be much cheaper. That, my friends, is why we love New Zealand. So we thanked him kindly and hopped out and made our way to the bus stop where, sure enough, 10 minutes later the bus came to bring us to the depot.
We made the quite familiar 8-hour trip from Auckland to Napier via Lake Taupo and the road from hell--I just tried to fall asleep during that nauseating stretch of the journey--making it safely to Napier in the evening.
Our friend Laura picked us up as she lives right down the road and we were pleasantly surprised to learn that both she and our friend Nichola were pregnant! Our normal visits to Hawke's Bay usually include a boozy themed-dinner party complete with at least 2 bottles of wine per person--though it was clear that obviously this time would have to be a little different! Laura had already prepared dinner for us, which was so kind as we were starved and had a nice early evening that first night. Laura's husband Dan has just recently become the new part-owner of the Mission restaurant (passed down from his father) so he was enjoying later nights with his newfound responsibilities, but it was great! We would soon find that life was moving right along in sunny Hawke's Bay.
Though it wasn't as sunny as we would have hoped for the whole weekend, but we enjoyed ourselves anyway. As Laura and Dan were both working, we spent the first full day running errands and buying some baby gifts for our impending parent friends! It was actually kinda fun to shop for baby clothes--they have some really cute stuff! We also got the girls a foot massage which we figured they would both need and enjoy and we bought the guys bottles of single-malt scotch--which we figured they would both need and enjoy as well.
It was a relaxing evening that night as we prepared dinner for Laura when she arrived home and managed to catch Dan as he stopped home in between his shifts which was nice. The next day we headed out to visit good ole' Cardoness to see how things were moving along and arrived to find that indeed things have grown by leaps and bounds in the last 6 months! A new coffee machine, a cellar door manager, lots of guests, bikes going out, tours coming in, and baby twins to boot! Sarah's daughter, Kelly, had twins about 9 months ago and now works at the Cellar Door on the weekends to help out, so we were able to see her and the tots. She has both a boy and a girl--one of whom is a piece of work and the other of whom is a angel, I'll let you guess which gender was the easy one :) So we enjoyed an afternoon of catching up, making free espresso coffee, and baby sitting (I was pretty good, actually)--and of course had to leave with a nice bottle of wine (though they made a sticky this past year and I was dying to try it--unfortunately it was selling fast and they didn't have any in stock!) We decided on a Cabernet Merlot this time--a departure from our usual Chardonnay. We can't wait to go back again in April of 2014 when John's cousin gets married in NZ to see how things have grown even more! (And to see our friends with babies running around!) And no, that doesn't want to make us settle down and have kids. I'm happy to play with others and then give them back. :)
Sunday evening, instead of having a home-cooked theme dinner, we decided to enjoy the weekend by going out for a theme dinner instead. First, however, it was off to the Mission to enjoy the perks of beings friends with the owner. We had a nice cheeseboard and bottles of wine with our friends Laura, Dan, Nichola, and Carl out on the terrace. Started off with a nice glass of sparkling, before moving on to their top shelf Chardonnay and their reserve Pinot Noir. It was so great to see our friend Dan in this new role--all the waiters who served us obviously wanted to do a good job in front of their boss--while we just see him as our laid back, lovable friend Dan. But here he was in his nice suit ordering their best wines while we enjoyed each other's company--it was a slightly different feel to our previous gatherings as things have obviously changed so much since we left a year and a half ago, but the camaraderie is still the same and it's lovely. We headed out to enjoy a delicious Thai dinner that night at a local restaurant, where the boys brought out even more wine (and enjoyed it for themselves and their pregnant wives) so that part was still the same :) After dinner we were able to meet up with John's South African friend Glenn for a quick drink and catch-up at the new local swanky bar in Napier. We were also able to check out Laura's new place of business--a hip bistro/wine bar right in town. Things are indeed moving right along!
The last morning we woke up early so John could enjoy his birthday present I bought for him. The Aero Club in Hawke's Bay offers cheap trial flights on their little planes and the whole time we lived there John always talked about doing it but never did. After a weekend of "eh" weather we awoke to beautiful sunny skies and calm winds--perfect day for flying! I got some photos of the action and John brought his GoPro to get some film from the air:
After that it was time to bid adieu and head down to Wellington for the evening. We caught our bus and made it to the airport in the early evening. As a way to save money I had looked up airports that allow you to sleep in them, providing you have an early flight the next morning. As our flight out of Wellington was at 6:00 a.m. I'd say we had reasonable cause to stay the night. We had a quick Subway for dinner (which I would soon be regretting--more on that later) before claiming our spots on some nice leather lounges for the evening. Now, staying in Wellington airport was actually kinda nice. They had a free hot shower in the bathrooms and free WiFi. What more could you ask for? Despite not getting very much sleep as there was constant construction all night, we were ready to go the next morning to finish off our Oz adventure. First stop was back to the place where we were so happy to leave the first time--our old stomping ground of Melbourne.
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