Things Happen……Napier to Picton

Wine Tasting in Hawk's Bay Area - near Napier

Before describing our travels since Tauranga, I’ll give an update on our revised cruise!  After a great day on the Akaroa Peninsula and in Christchurch we returned to the Oosterdam to learn about our revised itinerary.  Due to a major storm in the Tasman Sea, the Captain revised our course and eliminated the port call in Dunedin and the scenic cruising day in Milford Sound.  A storm in the Tasman Sea is predicted to have 9 meter waves.  We reversed our course and sailed between the North and South Islands with a more northerly course to avoid as much of the storm as possible.  Five meter waves will be better than the alternative.  Of course, Elisabeth is happy – the more movement the better.  “Fortunately, neither of us get seasick,” he said hopefully!

We will be in Hobart a day early as well as in Melbourne but we will get an extra day in the latter with an overnight stay.  I am now scrambling to change car reservations in Hobart and trying to plan an extra day in Melbourne.  I have emailed everyone I know who either lives in Melbourne or has been there.  Our cruising friends who live in Melbourne are off cruising too so I hope they get my email! 

Mission Vineyards - Oldest in NZ

Our stop after Tauranga was Napier in Hawkes Bay.  The city was destroyed by an earthquake in 1931 and was rebuilt in the Art Deco style – quite an interesting place.  Shows you what can happen in an era when the mayor could decree the style and approve plans quickly – no pesky public input or environmental reviews!!   The area around Napier is a famous wine region. 

Our tour took us to the vineyards where we visited two – Church Street Vineyards and Mission Vineyards.  The latter was started by priests and is the oldest winery in New Zealand.  This area and the one around Picton (several days later) reminded us a lot of the Napa Valley and Sonoma with similar terrain and climate. In each vineyard, we sampled 5 or 6 of their wines.  New Zealand is famous for Sauvignon Blanc but there are also Riesling, Pinot Noir, Gewürztraminer, and Pinot Gris wines.  Many of the wines that are traditionally thought of as sweet were pleasantly dry – but with fruity bouquets.  Our final stop was at a Cider and Beer Brewery where we could each sample 6 of their products with our lunch.  There were ciders of every kind – apple, pear, and various mixtures including passion fruit.   Beers ranged from lagers to ales!   This was a very happy day! 

Old St. Paul's Anglican Church Wellington, NZ

Our next stop was in Windy Wellington, the capital of New Zealand.  The city looks a lot like San Francisco with homes on hills overlooking the water.  Chicago was named for its windy politicians – Wellington because there really is wind most of the time.  On our day, it was foggy and drizzling.  We waited until after lunch to venture into the city.  You can easily tell this is a city of rain and fog.  Most of the sidewalks are covered which made walking around easier.  We took the cable car (really more of a funicular) to the botanical gardens where there “would have been” a great view but we just wanted to take the ride which is also used by locals to get to various levels of the City.  Thanks to the ever-helpful and friendly Kiwis we learned the secrets of the bus system and made our way to St Paul’s Anglican Cathedral. 

The new St. Paul’s is a fairly ugly modern structure but the Old St. Paul’s is a wonderful wooden gothic building that is preserved as an historic building.  The building was in danger of demolition because the Diocese could not afford to maintain two cathedrals but The Friends of Old St. Paul’s was able to raise the money to buy and restore the structure.  The church is still consecrated as a place of worship and now makes money by being used for weddings and concerts, as well as through donations.  The Docent was very helpful and showed us around – especially after I mentioned I was a Docent at St. Paul’s in San Diego!  The old organ was run by hydraulics but when the organist forgot to turn off the spigot it flooded the cottages nearby.  He was fired for this and for “singing too loudly!”

Wine Tasting in the Marlborough Region on the South Island 

Our next stop was in Picton the gateway to the Marlborough wine region, probably the most famous wine area of New Zealand.  Our private tour company took the 10 of us to 3 wineries and a chocolate factory.  A chocolate and vineyard stop by 10am is a great way to start the morning!  Our three wineries were Hunters, Spy Valley, and Bleben.  Again, we sampled the same range of wines – this area has many of the same characteristics as Hawks Bay but the bouquets were somewhat different – fruity as well as vegetal.  Lunch was wonderful New Zealand Mussel Chowder at Wairu River Winery.  Another great day!  The Akaroa Peninsula and Christchurch will be saved for the next blog entry!