Day 11 - Taupo - Napier

December 22nd - Breakfast the Trees

View From Bedroom

Another fine day. Our bedroom patio windows look out across the lake. We bumble about until called up for breakfast with Jill and Brian. The upstairs is a pleasant open plan kitchen dining area opening onto a terrace overlooking the lake. I wonder if you can get fedup with such a view. Their grandson is staying with them, typical youngster - playing on the computer all the time.

Full English with toast, jams, juice and coffee. Brian and Jill give us a potted history of the area and fill us in on their background. Brian is of of Cornish descent. Under the quaint old English system, the family farm was left to the eldest son  and others in the family had to make their way in the world. His grandfather headed to New Zealand. Quite daunting for such people in those days of steamship travel and little chance of returning. Brian and his brother John started their own farm near the coast about 40 miles from Napier (our next stop), clearing the trees and scrub by hand to create a farm for their families. His brother still lives there and has created a famous arboretum. The farm is now run by the next generation. Brian gives us a leaflet on the arboretum – nice sales pitch.

Pak 'n Go

It’s getting late and we pack and leave by 10.30. Back to Taupo - great views of the lake. At the nearest town we stop in a New World supermarket for petrol. Fuel is cheap here so driving a four wheel drive is nowhere as expensive as in the UK. The girls like New World as we get fuel coupons with our supermarket purchases (bit like Tesco at home).

Arboretum

We head for Taupo and then onto the S5 to Napier. Unspectacular scenery, but good camping country. We make good time as the roads are deserted and decide to visit the arboretum ( told you it was a good sales pitch by Brian). The road to the farm is a four mile dirt road. The holiday period does not kick in here until Christmas, so our arrival in the car park increases the number of  parked cars by 100%. We park near to a yellow tractor. No need for parking wardens here.

All out and into the shop/cafe, where Brian’s sister-in-law, Fiona comes out to serve us. We tell her how we came to find them and she gives us an embellished version of clearing the brush and building the farm. The place reminds me of tourist attractions I visited in Africa in the 1980’s, old fashioned, pleasant, unpretentious, god awful local art for sale everywhere and pleasant service. We had coffee and I tried the nut and treacle slice. Brilliant, I must have been hungry as I don’t normally like treacle tart.

Paid our dues and set out on the garden tour. We are allowed to take the family dog, a Pharaoh hound called Sand. He seemed to know his way round. So he should, he lives there. The gardens were extensive with a wide variety of plants and trees all planted by Fiona’s husband. Kew gardens it was not, but we enjoyed the walk with a stop at the “chuck” house a coop with loads of chickens clucking about . The most amazing hydrangeas grow here in giant form.

We are spread out in our tour and arrived back at the shop in dribs and drabs. Coleen first then me, so we had a cup of tea. Fiona told us the farm story once again and we listened attentively. Lovely people, pity there aren’t more Fionas, Brians and Jills around as the world would be a better place (we never got to meet John).

Late lunch picnic in the car park. The yellow tractor has gone, so we won’t have to queue to get out of the car park.

Off To Napier

We come down from the pine forested hills to miles of landscaped, manicured vineyards before hitting Napier itself. I have never seen such tidy farms anywhere in the world. Napier is big, bland and a disappointment considering it calls itself the “Art Deco Capital of the World”. The tourist blurb goes something like “Internationally recognised as representing the most complete and significant group of Art Deco buildings in the world”. It does nothing for me, but neither does the Gillett building in West London or the Hoover building on the A40.

Manor On Parade

Our B&B is easy to find as it is on the seafront on Marine Parade. It is a beautiful building built in 1906 and one of the few building to survive the 1913 earthquake. we park up outside and unload. The house has a pleasant Edwardian feel to it. Downstairs guest lounge and our bedrooms and bathrooms on the first floor. Pat and Chris are at the front looking down onto the seafront - 10 out of 10 for the view. It's a spacious and well appointed room. Our's is less so, smaller with an outlook over a motel car park - the view gets a fat zero in the later evaluation of the accommodation. We do have the advantage of a large balcony, which we test out with a few beers before going out for a meal. Chris has noticed in the booking in terms that soiled bed linen will be charged. For the first time we have to pay for overnight parking - must be an Engish mayor trying to up the council revenue.

Eating Out

The season starts in a couple of days, but the town is deserted on our foray to find a meal - like a Dollar film before Clint Eastwood rides into town. Many restaurants are shut early, but we find one called the Med Bar - lively and spacious. We are served by  a friendly, Dutch waitress working in her student gap year. The modern parlance would be to call her a Holland girl (never quite understood this 21st Century use of country names instead of the nationality - France footballer Thiery Henry). The meal was excellent and well priced and the young staff all very good. Coleen gets her gluten free meal without any hassle. NZ food - so far so good.