The Smiths Abroad: Anniversary trip

This past weekend we took a trip to Hawke's Bay for our 2nd wedding anniversary. Hawke's Bay is New Zealand's version of Napa Valley with over 140 wineries/vineyards. It's about a 5 hour, beautiful drive from Auckland. We had great weather the whole time and really got to enjoy the coast.

Hawke's Bay highlighted in black

We stayed at Ormlie Lodge which is a lovely Bed and Breakfast outside of town. It was just lovely and was a great place to just relax. Plus, they had two dogs and two cats. One of their cats actually slept with us!

Me with the B&B kitty

Doggie #1

Doggie #2 (Sandlot!)

Saturday we drove from Auckland to Napier going by way of Lake Taupo for a picnic lunch. To be clear, picnic lunch was peanut butter and nutella sandwiches and chips--nothing classy. Then we carried on through some very pretty mountains/big hills that led up almost right to the coast. We got settled in at the hotel then set off for our first winery Craggy Range. This was one of the more well known wineries of the area. Set just below Te Mata peak it was breathtaking. We decided to pay a little extra for a tour and it was nice having someone show us around and give us an individual attention during the tasting.

Cellar of Craggy Range

Tasting room at Craggy Range

In some of the vines, it's a bit windy

Will with the vines

Will with out lovely tour guide

After the winery we drove up Te Mata peak which is 400 meters above sea level. It was quite the windy road getting up there, but the view was definitely worth it! We were there on a "cloudy" day so couldn't see quite as far as on a clear day, but we still got to see quite a bit!

View of the Southwest from Te Mata Peak

View to the Northwest from Te Mata peak

View of the Northeast from Te Mata Peak

View of the Southeast from Te Mata Peak

After that it was fish and chips on the waterfront, and unfortunately so ends Will's portion of the vacation. 2 hours after the fish and chips he was showing definite evidence of extreme food poisoning (no need to elaborate, right?)

Sunday we had a tour of several different wineries with a company called GrapeEscapes. It was really nice and we got to have private attention at the cellar doors. Will was nice and came long even though he didn't feel good, but didn't do any tastings for free of stirring up his stomach lining again...The first winery we visited was called CrossRoads Wines. There wine was good, nothing that stood out to me though. The second winery we went to was Ngatarawa. This cellar door had the best ambiance as it was set us kind of like a farm, dog and all! We got to try a Gewurztraminer varietal that had a really neat rosewater taste to it, best paired with curry they say. After that it was on to Saleni Estates. Here my favorite wine was a 2009 Riesling which had a "jet fuel" or in my opinion burning tire aroma, but the flavor was so sweet and had a honeysuckle after taste. It was so unique I had to purchase a bottle! Next stop was Ash Ridge which is a smaller, boutique wine producer. I have to say this place was my favorite overall. Truly each of their wines were just so smooth and flavorful. I took home the Chardonnay from here. Last stop was C.J. Pask Winery. This place also had some very good wines, I especially liked their Merlot.

Monday we took a drive towards Cape Kidnappers, then went into Napier for a stroll along Emmerson street. Napier is known as the art deco capital of New Zealand. Because of it's architecture it very much reminds me of Miami. Then we tried to ride our bikes along the coast, but it was so windy I actually stopped moving despite pedaling, so we called it quits. That night we hoped to go out for our anniversary dinner, but of course, everywhere good was closed on Mondays, so we ended up with Mickey D's.