Hanging off the wine vine, East Cape, NZ

That's a view worth drinking too! 

As intelligent internationally educated wine punters we thought it was a must that we visit one of New Zealand central wine hubs- the sunny East Cape. We are pleased to say it did not disappoint!

We arrived into Gisbourne , or ‘Gizzy’ to the locals after a long windy drive from Opotiki. Gizzy is a small settlement squeezed between surf beaches and a sea of chardonnay, and claims to be the first city on earth to see the sun rise (although google informs us it’s actually Kiribati in the South Pacific). Attractions here were limited to statues of Capitan James Cook the first European to set foot in New Zealand in 1769. Following a whirl wind tour of the city centre we spent an afternoon at the local wine centre. We strongly recommend stopping in here as almost all the local vineyards in Gisbourne are too small to maintain cellar doors.

Although summer hasn’t officially arrived in New Zealand the temperature was warm enough for John to take a quick dip in the freezing Ocean before we visited the local Cidery and the Sunshine Brewery (we needed to take a break after the first day of wine tasting).

Gisborne had the sun and surf so we stayed longer than planned but when our feet started to itch we drove inland to Lake Waikaremoana, here we explored old caves left behind after lake was created.  The drive onwards to Hawkes Bay was mostly uneventful but we were rewarded with a free wine tasting at Esk Valley on our arrival into Hawkes Bay.

Hawkes Bay was amazing. Napier, the Art Deco capital of New Zealand, was considerably cultured and we spent several hours walking through the city’s amazing art deco come Spanish mission architecture and its beautiful stony beach. The city, which was almost completely destroyed in  1931 after a large earthquake was re-built Spanish reminisces. We spent an early evening in the historic (and haunted) Napier Prison.

The Hawkes Bay now encompasses three townships; Napier, Hastings and Havelock North each area with its many vineyards although we drove the vineyards are spaced so close it would be possible to cycle (in addition cycle paths are along the roadside).

We enjoyed Hawkes Bay and will definitely return in the future!

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Tot siens,

John and Kara 

 At the Gisborne wine centre- tasting several (…cough cough 10…cough) local wines

 

 An early morning climb up Gisborne's Kaiti Hill gave us spectacular views of the region

 A quick stop on the way down for a play on ‘Young nick’s’ playground!

 

 Taking a break from wine (not that we needed one J), tasting Gisborne Gold beer

 A freezing cold morning at Lake Waikarmoana (which stands for Sea of rippling waters) we imagine this is due to the blistery winds!!

 

 Exploring a cave at one of the lake’s walks

 Investigating a sound echo stage in Napier

 Kara being art-deco-y (the people on the right are having a party we are bashing)

Stop! Haunted Prison Time!  

 Kara Trinity Ross at Trinity Hill!

 

 At one of the Gimblett Gravels’ wineries tasting olive oils, dukkah and wine frappe’s

A quick lunch stop at Clifton beach, North of Cape Kidnappers. Trinity Hill wine? Check? Bread, Olives, cheese and Pastrami? Check!

Time to head back to the van after watching the sunset on Te Mata Peak, Havelock North