Final Notes on Napier

Admittedly, we didn't explore Napier in quite the same way as the rest of our stops.  We spent more time relaxing in the rental house, catching up with the internet, doing laundry, and chilling with my family.  We spent less time zooming all over, climbing/kayaking/running over/around/through things.  But the change of pace was welcome, and my family, by the way, ROCKS.  Shout-outs:


1. To Erica & Reuben: You two are fantastic.  And thanks for having your wedding in NZ, and helping us discover this amazing country we otherwise may have overlooked. To anyone reading this right now: DO NOT REPEAT OUR NEAR MISTAKE.  GO TO NEW ZEALAND IF YOU CAN!!!  

And thanks for coming back to hang with us on Sunday!!

2. To Reuben's family: Your hospitality in welcoming two strangers into your lives, and treating us like, well, family, was so appreciated.  Thanks for opening your doors, your lives, and your arms to a couple of random stragglers from the US!


3. To the Kuzmiak/Jones Clan: Thanks for the wine, the terrific company, and most importantly the salad.  Sharing stories, food descriptions, hearty laughter, and general noisy fun with you all made me feel just like...well, just like a Kuzmiak!

Checking out the first set of wedding photos on Sunday night.

4. To the quiet running path along the Napier cove: Your uni-directional wind was both fantastic (I'm flying!!!) and brutal (ceaseless headwind).  Your views? Spectacular.

I am drooling over this place again, just looking at the picture...

5. To the Silky Oak Chocolate Company: You were a major disappointment.  We visited on our way out of Napier on Monday, hoping for a peek (through glass) into the assembly floor, a tasty sample or two, and a look at the Chocolate Museum.  I mean, seriously - this is a huge wine producing region, and there was a chocolate factory.  Tamar & Liz would disown me if we left without at least checking it out.

A chocolate museum.

Unfortunately, the whole thing was a disappointment.  The "factory" wasn't nearly as cool as Makana, which we'd visited in Blenheim.  The samples were lame, and the museum was $8 NZD per person.  Looking at the building size, I was unwilling to part with that much money for the trip inside.  So I can't really tell you how it was.  But, I'd suggest you skip this place - and jump at the chance to visit Makana, if you have one.  [The Macadamia Butter Toffee Crunch is particularly delicious.]


But seeing as how a disappointing chocolate factory was the "worst" we found in Napier, we were doing pretty well for ourselves.   So with that, we set out (albeit chocolate-less) for Taupo!

Zzzz....

And as if to make up for our chocolate-less-ness, just than an hour down the road, we pulled off at a tiny "scenic overlook" and saw this:

Hello, random enormous waterfall in the middle of nowhere...