On the east coast of New Zealand’s north island, the port of Napier, with its vast timber export industry, is in the heart of sunny Hawke’s Bay, the second largest wine region in the country, though when we arrived the weather was cloudy and drizzling.
Napier, the Art Deco capital of New Zealand with a population of about 60,000, was all but destroyed by an earthquake in 1931 and rebuilt in the prevailing style of the time which is still embraced. We visited in 2009 during their annual Art Deco Festival in February which draws tens of thousands of people from all over the world to celebrate the 1920’s and 30’s in elegant Gatsby style with vintage cars and period clothing. During the popular festival, the city is transformed back in time to an era of glitz and glamour.
We had made a lunch reservation at Terroir Restaurant, at the stunning Craggy Range Winery that we most delightfully discovered seven years ago and just had to revisit. So, after wandering about the friendly, quaint town in the morning and checking out the local Saturday Farmers’ Market, we befriended a taxi driver and made a beeline for the winery.
Our friends Tom and Deanna surprised us and joined in a tasting of the winery’s current vintages with the cellar door host, Michael, before we enjoyed a leisurely lunch of fresh oysters, thick chowder, and a light, fruity, white wine.
Undaunted by the damp and dreary weather, it was another perfect day in New Zealand that will keep us wanting to return yet again.
