Wineries and Gannets — Lisa's (& Steve's) Travels

That’s an interesting mix.

The town of Napier on the east coast was our next stop. It lies on Hawke’s Bay, which we had previously heard of in regards to wine.

The day we arrived was gorgeous - sunny and cloudless, which was such an improvement over the clouds and rain of Taupo. Napier’s center is unique in that it was essentially destroyed by an earthquake in 1931, and rebuilt in the Art Deco style of the 1930’s.

We enjoyed wandering around downtown…

… and near the sea -

This was one of my favorite buildings (I just wish that SUV wasn’t parked in front of it) -

We visited a number of wineries in the area…

… in various beautiful settings -

That’s the view from Craggy Range winery, which is one that we had tried some of the wines before this trip. For those who are interested, most of the wines from Hawke’s Bay are Chardonnay and Syrah, with a little Pinot Noir thrown in for good measure. If you want a list of the wineries we visited and/or recommend, just email me.

For our last day in the area, I had booked a tour out to Cape Kidnappers to visit one of the world’s largest mainland colonies of Gannets. Most Gannets nest on isolated rocks or islands surrounded by sea, but these are quite settled here, and are not bothered by their human visitors -

They mate for life, and when one of the pair return to the nest after fishing, they are greeted with enthusiastic calls, neck twining and preening -

Their chick also demands food -

These 4 month old chicks are as big or bigger than the parents…

… and are getting ready to take their first flight, for which they will be about 2 pounds heavier than their parents!

We actually saw one take off, and our guide informed us that it wouldn’t land until it reached some islands off the SE coast of Australia, 1500 miles away. How’s that for your first trip from home!

There were a few late chicks still in their downy best…