Winery weekend where 50% of the people don't drink wine...

If you go to the liquor store and look for New Zealand wine, chances are it will be from Marlborough (South Island) or Hawke's Bay (North Island).  We've been wanting to get to Hawke's Bay since we moved here, and we finally bit the bullet and made the drive for a long weekend.  February 6-8 was a holiday weekend for the Treaty of Waitangi.  We went with our friends and Lance's co-workers, Jason and Orycia.  Jason and Lance initially bonded at work over ice hockey since he is from Canada.  Normally when they say 'hockey' here they are referring to field hockey (which then Lance diplomatically tells them is for girls).

We rented a bach near Napier and spent the slightly overcast and drizzly weekend driving around the area, attempting to go to vineyards, although the majority of them were closed.  I really have bad luck with vineyards being open when I try to go.  I repel wine.  Sad day.  But we managed to find Mission Estate Winery and Church Road Wines, which were both lovely.  Jason and I were the wine drinkers of the group and it was nice to have someone to drink and discuss wine tastings with since Lance doesn't care for wine. Orycia isn't really much of a drinker herself, so she and Lance would explore the grounds and keep James entertained, which worked for Jason and me. I don't have any pictures from the wineries because, well, I was busy drinking wine.  I did get a picture or two of our walk along the boardwalk/railroad (which on a side note is apparently illegal in NZ?).  Orycia and I also went to the aquarium while the boys golfed.

The beach in Napier was a beautiful smooth-pebble beach rather than sand.  It felt so nice to walk on, and had the benefit of not tracking sand into the car when we were done.  I wanted to take more than a dozen home with me.  James and Lance had a blast in the waves.  The beach dropped off very steeply at the water's edge so it made for great waves (although no actual swimming with the undertow).

Jason and Orycia were incredibly kind and took care of cooking all the meals.  I can't tell you how nice it was not to have to worry about any meals for a whole weekend.  Our bach wasn't anything glamorous, but it felt homey and child-friendly.  James sniffed out the box of toys in the closet and had a grand time making a mess while we sat and enjoyed our meals and wine.

The view and proximity to a barren beach was nothing to sneeze at either.

The drive home went much more smoothly than the drive out.  On Friday we had left around James' bedtime, hoping he would sleep the whole way.  He slept about an hour of the five-hour drive so that backfired.  The windy roads were terrifying in the dark with fog and rain making every curve a nail-biter.  Needless to say when we arrived after midnight Lance and I were both a little tense.  But the drive back on Sunday was gorgeous.  We had done the drive as far down as Lake Taupo in the past, but the segment from Lake Taupo to Napier exhibited some of the best New Zealand rolling, green hills dotted with trees and farms.  I took some pictures but for the most part I just sat back and enjoyed the views.