I woke up early, got up and crossed Marine Parade to sit on the beach to watch the sun rise over the Pacific... or more like it, over some low distant clouds above the Pacific. The day was shaping up nicely—sunny and warm. Went back to my room and noticed a couple of e-mails from the office with some files I was going to have to work on... so I changed my booking for that evening from a B&B to a hotel that promised me high-speed internet in my room. I then packed up, and went downstairs to savor the breakfast that Gerard, the innkeeper (and an outstanding cook! :-: ) prepared for us.
Photo album for this segment
Gannet colony at Cape Kidnappers
Got in the car and headed south toward Cape Kidnappers, as my first call that day would be to the
Gannet Colony (some photos
here). I drove past the beautiful area around Haumoana, Te Awanga, and Clifton to the starting point of the off-road adventure. The gannet colony is located at the tip of the Cape and to get there, one can go either
along the beach at low tide or
overland thru private lands and rugged gullies. Due to the height of the tides the beach trip was a non-option that day, so I signed up for the organized overland tour. It took about an hour or so to for us make it to the actual colony, but time passed quickly thanks to our guide: a crusty old sheep owner with a great sense of humor and lots of funny stories... Once at the colony site, we had plenty of time to observe the birds up close. What an impressive sight! From the small chicks receiving meals, older chicks exercising their wings, and the full-grown adults taking to flight and going "fishing", one can pretty much see it all with a little patience.
We were somewhat late in returning to base, which unfortunately forced me to rush out rather than linger in the surrounding area for a bit—all in vain, as it turned out. In my 'must-do' list I had Seahorses-viewing, which could only be done on a scheduled tour of a
Seahorse Farm. I got to the place (on the outskirts of Napier) some five minutes before the scheduled time to find a suspiciously empty parking lot... and as I got to the door I saw a sign on it announcing that operations had ceased merely a week before
. What a disappointment!
Napier Art Deco treasures
As I didn't have time to backtrack to Te Awanga and then come back to Napier in time for my next call, I continued on to Napier to check out the view from Bluff Hill... Well, I could have skipped it, as on this one Napier got it all wrong: instead of having the lookout oriented toward the pretty and charming center of town, the only views are of the port and the distant and bland northern suburbs...
My last call in Napier was a guided walk of the
Art Deco buildings put on by the local Art Deco Trust. It all began auspiciously with a very informative slide show at the Information Centre. Unfortunately our group was a tad too large for our guide to manage comfortably... so at about 75% of the walk, I dropped out
to finish it on my own and go back to check out some interiors that we couldn't access (due to the size of the group). I also decided to skip a contemplated visit to a couple of wineries and instead just hung out a café for a while, readying myself mentally for the drive to Taupo.
Chasing the Sun (and storms) into Taupo
I felt some ambivalence about carrying on as I got on the car and thought that maybe an extra day around Napier in the sunny and warm weather wouldn't be so bad... A sudden shower as I neared the airport on my way out of town put an end to those misgivings. By the time I left the Pacific Coast Highway and turned inland on the Thermal Explorer's Highway the rain had dissipated and I was left to chase the sun between the thick clouds... and chase the sun I did over three mountain ranges and valleys until I reached a plateau from where I could divine cloud-shrouded mountains in the distance. I stopped and stepped outside to be blasted by a strong, cold wind. In less than two hours I had gone from ~80ºF to what felt like <50ºF...
I cruised along the plateau and its gradual downhill slope and reached the blue shores of Lake Taupo with wind-whipped whitecaps glistening all over the place in the setting sun—where's the windsurfing gear when one needs it? I stood at the edge of the lake watching a regatta until the chill drove me back to the car and toward my hotel. Upon checking into my room at the Caboose Lodge I would be met with bad news times three. One: my room was just slightly larger than the bed
—there was a space about two feet wide on one side of the bed, and a foot wide at the foot of the bed... Two: I saw no network port anywhere, nor did my laptop detect a WiFi signal, so I inquired about the broadband internet on every room, only to be informed that the internet access available was dial up, and it required one to have a local host. Clearly the agent I had spoken with while making the booking seriously misrepresented to me what the actual accommodations were
. As result, I had certainly made a mistake changing my booking from my B&B.
Final piece of bad news: my plan for the next day was to do the famous
Tongariro Crossing, and to this effect I had made a booking with a shuttle service for drop-off and pick-up at the start and end of the trails. When I called to re-confirm they advised me the next day's shuttle would not be operating due to bad conditions at the mountain (high winds, rains, etc.). I called other shuttle services and they corroborated the situation, one going as far as to suggest that the Department Of Conservation (the Park Service) had closed the trail. The Crossing was certainly out of the question—I neither had the appropriate equipment for the conditions, nor did the conditions suggested that the crossing would even be worthwhile—I wasn't going to do it just to say I did it... That meant I would have to re-figure some plans, but decided to put that off until the next day.
Outstanding dinner in Taupo ^
For the moment, I showered and went to get myself some dinner, and some dinner it was! :-: :-: :-: In retrospect, it was probably the best dinner I had in New Zealand, with most elements coming together: pleasant setting and surroundings, excellent food, great service, and outstanding wines by the glass.
The place was
The Brantry Restaurant, where after perusing the menu I decided to simply put myself in the hands of Chef Prue Campbell and have the evening's tasting menu... I was blown away by some of the combinations and thoroughly delighted by the flavors, preparation and presentation. If I had to pick a highlight from that dinner I'd make it my main of Lamb Neck Fillets, served on new potatoes and seasonal vegetables, topped with onion jam and drizzled with jus for one simple reason: the onion jam accent. I sent the chef a message of congratulations on the entire meal, emphasizing the onion jam... her response was to send up a jar of the stuff (her own recipe) for me to bring home ^! (I can post full menu details and wines if anyone is interested).
After dinner I drove to the center of Taupo and walked around in the chilly wind getting a feel for the place. When I had enough I went back to my tiny room, put on some music and fell asleep as the wind whistled outside.