east coast represent

need to mention the road sign to indicate cattle xing. it featured a cow on what appeared to be a skate board. not entirely sure, but it gave us a good laugh. wish i could have snagged a photo.

on the road by 9, as we had 6-7 hrs of driving ahead of us. talk about a whirlwind. but you take what you can get. drove the pacific coast highway to te araroa and somehow managed to miss the main tourist attraction, the largest pohutukawa tree. oops. tikitiki was next (i love these town names, especially when i can pronounce them), home to quaint st. mary's church and a cloud covered view of mt. hikurangi. mt. hikurangi is the highest non-volcanic point in nz and is the first spot on the planet to be touched by the sun each day. pretty neat.

next up, ruatoria, which LP says has "a couple of cafes". we found one. and it was closed. on to waipiro bay, where after 7ks of loose road (though not as much motion sickness this time) we came to what i think was my favorite viewpoint of the day. the ocean is so calming. i can literally stand watching and listening to the waves breaking all day. we stopped at tokomaru bay next, which LP says is the most beautiful. while lovely, i enjoyed waipiro more. though tokomaru did have surfers.. haha.

along the drive a little more was anaura bay, surrounded by maori campsites. we saw 2 people fishing and a couple walking along the beach. it's always amazing how isolated everything is out here. found one more bay view point, the name of which escapes me, primarily because we got attacked by at least a dozen bees. thank goodness for the bravery of steph - jumping into the car and pulling it forward enough for us to get in. a stung allison does not equal a happy allison, more like one that needs benadryl and a hospital asap. phew. at least the views were spectacular, and we have sun!

reached grisborne about 1pm, and of course made our way into a cafe. i don't know what i'll do when i get home and can't have hot chocolate or tea every day. walked to the ocean, saw a statue of captain james cook - and a group of kids that stole my idea of climbing on it. skipped the rest of the town due to lack of time, we had places to be. napier, to be precise.

ah, napier. i think it might be my 2nd or 3rd favorite town we visited in nz. it was art deco to the extreme, and we arrived for the final evening of the annual art deco festival. all around us were people - from all walks of life and all over the globe - dressed up in roaring 20s garb and swagger. i felt like i was in the great gatsby. and i really really wished i had a flapper costume in my backpack. i also really really wanted to sneak a photo of the cutest old women i've ever seen. they were sitting at a cafe table, dressed in headbands, feathers and beads, drinking who knows what and having a grand time. i hope to be like that one day.

walked around the town to get a sense of the art deco as well as spanish missionary style architecture. and got our almost nightly ice cream. there were so many cute shops, all themed of course, and a bit out of my price range. had wanted to buy a hat, but my left brain just couldn't justify it. silly left brain.

unfortunately didn't sleep much that night, thanks to spotting a giant flying buzzing gross bug that resembled a cockroach on steroids. i kept hearing it buzz while flying then a thud when falling to land. i was petrified that it would fall on me during the night, so i covered myself completely with the sheets. nearly sweated to death, but it was better than the possibility of the bug landing on me. i shudder just thinking about it.

the next AM, the hostel owner of archie's bunker was fabulous, and despite a growing line behind me at checkout, he took his time to ensure he explained and mapped out everything we should see on our way back down to wellington. and i didn't mind, considering the guy behind me was ridiculously attractive and had a killer accent. haha. checked out, packed up the car, and wandered around napier for a bit to see it in the day light hours. then in the car to see the sights that came highly recommended.

first up was the mission (said in a semi-pretentious accent). it is nz's oldest winery, founded in 1851. read a bit about its history, which was interesting. the wine was okay, but didn't like it enough to purchase. the grounds were beautiful, and i can see why it's worth a stop. next up was silky oak chocolate company - glorious! and we realized that yes, this would indeed be a self-indulgent food day. bought a few chocolate items from the gift shop before heading to the cafe - mistake. should have gone to the cafe first, because i probably would have eaten less. the 'must' at the cafe is a hot chili chocolate. a bit afraid of the spicy factor, i went all out and tried it anyway. so decadent. the whipped cream on top was sprinkled with chili powder (i picked off the biggest chunks), and the under layer was pure, thick liquid chocolate. felt a bit sick afterwards, but it was totally worth it.

made our way to hastings next, where we went straight to the lookout of te mata peak. the drive up was really scary, as the road really only fit 1.5 car widths though it was a 2 way road. and there were no railings or fence posts guarding the steep cliff edge. the view was a very impressive panorama. i will miss this country. stopped off at the arataki honey visitors center, where we learned about the honey making process and got to sample all kinds of honey. i learned i'm definitely a mild-honey person. who knew how many flavors honey could have? finally made our way to te mata cheese co, where we got a platter of hard sheep, strong blue and strong brie. i don't think i could fit any more in my stomach after that.

back on the road again, straight to wellington as we were pushing the clock to board the ferry. we made it in time, and said our goodbyes to the north island. sad. because i feel we didn't even touch the north island. and sad because our trip was coming to a close.