Sunday 15th January 2023
Last night we were staying at an Airbnb just outside Taupo. It’s pretty much in the middle of nowhere but in an idyllic setting, and as we’ve got a car being out in the sticks wasn’t an issue. The owner had supplied us with bread and fresh eggs from her chickens so we made ourselves some scrambled eggs on toast before setting out for the day.
Our first destination was Craters of the Moon, a geothermal park. It’s an incredibly interesting landscape of steaming craters and mud pools. However, I didn’t find it quite as impressive as the one in Rotorua (which had many bubbling water pools as well as steam coming out of the earth), but the entry fee of $10 (about £5) was a lot more reasonable.
We then drove into Taupo, where we did a boat tour on Lake Taupo with Ernest Kemp. The boat was relatively small, but very full.
The boat ride was absolutely beautiful and very relaxing. There was a drinks service on the boat, with a full bar and snacks available. The drinks were surprisingly reasonably priced, with a glass of wine just $6 (about £3).
At the far end of the lake are some Māori carvings, which were impressive to see (although they weren’t as old as I was expecting, dating from just 1976).
After the boat ride, we went into Taupo, and enjoyed the views overlooking the lake with plenty of ducks waddling along.
We then set off on our drive towards Napier, stopping off at a couple of wineries along the way. The first one was Linden Estate, a very artsy little vineyard. The tasting fee of $10 was waived if you made a purchase, which we did as the wines were excellent and very reasonably priced.
We next visited Crab Farm Winery, and it there shortly before closing time. The lady behind the bar was very friendly and was happy for us to a tasting. It was quite informal, with her just asking which wines I wanted to taste (most other vineyards have set wines you taste, or at least limit the number). The most surprising thing was the Chardonnay which was served room temperature. Apparently she always drinks it this way! We agreed that it tasted less sharp than the chilled Chardonnay we had as comparison, but I still wasn’t totally convinced! We weren’t charged for the tasting, but that could be because we purchased a bottle to takeaway.
As we drive past the vineyards, we noticed what looked liked apples growing. It was very odd, as they looked very much like vineyards (small plants all planted in rows). Maybe they were just baby apple trees.
We backtracked to Cone & Flower for dinner, where we shared a hanger steak with chimichurri and a whole grilled fish with beurre blanc sauce and some freshly baked focaccia. The food was great, and the focaccia was great for mopping up the buttery sauce from the fish.
On the way into Napier we stopped off at Westshore Beach, a beautiful black pebble beach which looked quite stunning as the sun was setting.
From there, it was only a short distance to the Quality Inn Napier where we were staying. It’s quite a basic motel, but the rooms were comfortable and very spacious. We spent the rest of the evening relaxing with the bottle of wine we’d purchased from Linden Estate earlier this afternoon.
Emma and Pete’s Asian Adventure 