2/10-2/13 Napier
2/10 – After several delays due to the road construction, we got to Chalet Swensong around 3:00. Ron, the owner came to greet us about 5 minutes after we arrived. He was full of information on Napier. On his recommendation, we headed to the New World Supermarket to stock up for meals for the next few days. We returned to the house, which, is amazingly spacious and we don’t even know what to say about the panoramic views! Definitely our kind of place. We did have a bit of a struggle to figure out the oven (it had to be unlocked, which Markus, thankfully, figured out!), then we made pizza for dinner. It was yummy!!
2/11 – We had a light breakfast of oatmeal and drove into Napier for the Sunday Market. We found a great parking space just about two blocks from the seaside; bonus was that it was free for two hours. To be honest, the market was disappointing. We were expecting a farmers’ market with lots of local produce, but it was a mixture of crafts, used goods (like a flea market) and a handful of food trucks. Although, we were happy to find a food truck with coffee (really good) and another with Asian dumplings – called Dreamy Dumplings. We opted for a sampler platter – two each of pork, chicken, and beef dumplings. Admittedly, they were pretty dreamy! We also had a nice conversation with the man who was cooking the dumplings. Oddly enough, the topic was the US election and Trump’s bid for president!
We went for a walk along the water and then in town, stopping to take a few pictures of the art deco architecture.
In the late afternoon (~2:00), we went to Crab Farm Winery for lunch. We visited the same winery 18 years ago (January 30, 2006) when we were in NZ the last time. The winery was much busier than previously, and we weren’t even sure that we would be able to get a table since we didn’t have a booking and there were two large parties of about 45 people combined, celebrating birthdays. But we were lucky and got a table. We ordered a bottle of pinot gris and the “winemakers platter” which was a combination of meat, cheese, olives, crackers and bread with a multitude of toppings. We couldn’t eat it all and had to take leftovers home with us. On the way back to the chalet, we stopped at a local orchard for fruit and “real fruit” ice cream. We bought peaches and plums and a mixed berry ice cream cone. The ice cream is mixed for each individual order with vanilla ice cream and fresh berries. I wouldn’t normally pick berry ice cream, but it was incredibly delicious! Some of the best ever!
We spent the balance of the evening catching up on laundry. Dinner was sausages with peppers and onion – all cooked on the grill by the master himself, Markus!
2/12 – This morning, we made French toast with ham for brunch – on holiday, we can have brunch any day, not just on Sundays! Anyway, once again, Markus cooked everything on the griddle on the grill and it couldn’t have been better.
So, in NZ, today was Super Bowl “Monday.” The big game started at 12:30 here. We watched the first half of the game, and then we left for the Elephant Hill Winery as we had a tasting reservation at 3:00. Oddly enough, you are encouraged to book a tasting – completely unlike Sonoma, Napa, etc. in California, where you just walk in. Also, the wineries here are typically only open on the weekends. And most don’t have tasting rooms at all. Our tasting was awesome – worth missing the end of the Super Bowl, even the excitement of overtime! We sat outside and had a really nice conversation with a couple from Canada. We enjoyed the views and the atmosphere and lingered well over an hour.
We drove back along the sea front in Napier as we wanted to see the hotel that we stayed at on our first visit in 2006. It looked very much the same. We could have stayed there, but we opted instead for a house – and we are so glad that we did. We love the house we chose; the location is great, the views are panoramic and the furnishings are top tier.
Once we got back to the house, we made guacamole (again!) since we had an avocado that we needed to use. Dinner was pizza with a crust that we bought at the supermarket and homemade sauce with fresh peppers, mushrooms, and salami.
One item to add about the chalet. The refrigerator has a built-in ice maker – well, kind of. There is a water well in the refrigerator and you add water to it to make the ice. There is no direct plumbing. Haven’t seen that anywhere in the world before!
2/13 – Check out wasn’t until 11:00, so we had a leisurely morning with leftovers for breakfast. We left the chalet at 10:30 and calculated that we would be in Lake Taupo around noon. But we didn’t consider all of the construction along State Highway 5, so it was after 12:30 by the time we got to town.