Sunday starts early, driving from Napier to Hawke’s Bay Farmers’ Market. Jazz buskers and the waft of bacon greet us as we enter a circle of vans, trailers and gazebos positioned amongst shady ancient trees and backing onto Waikoko Gardens’ tranquil lily ponds.
Above verandas, art deco motifs, zigzags, suns, fountains, scallops, and ziggurat decorate basic facades.
We peruse Te Mata Figs, Preserve and Co., Raw Life and Berry Bees, berries, stone fruit, and citrus. Maud and Harry’s walnut brittle is tempting. Tables below spreading trees are perfect to enjoy purchases at – maybe goat cheese, breads, smoked meats, beer, wine, cider or freshly-squeezed juice, the smell of which drifts and entices, but we’re off to Clifton. I grab an almond croissant for lunch later. With only 72 hours in Hawke’s Bay, we’re packing in as much as possible.
The padded seat on the trailer towed by Gannet Beach Adventures’ vintage tractor is comfy as we chug down onto Clifton Beach. On the 1.5-hour ride to Cape Kidnappers we speed over sand, rock over rocks, and bounce over boulders, looking out to a powdery blue sea. Horizontal layers making up the towering cliffs hemming the beach consist of brown riverstone, grey dried mud, whitish volcanic ash, blackish plant material, a streak of shells. The occasional vertical fault line leaves layers disjointed. Squawking terns nest on ledges; pigeons in cliff holes are quieter. The sea splashes at our feet when we drive into it skirting rocks. Passing by Black Reef Gannet Colony, I discover male gannets are the ones flying with seaweed in their beaks – used for nest making. We chug another kilometre and reach the 30-minute track to Cape Kidnapper’s Gannet Colony.
The ascending walk, giving spectacular views of the coastline we’ve driven, brings us to an open, guanaco-pungent headland. Nesting on mounds that look aligned, almost all of the thousands of yellow-headed gannets appear to face the same direction, necks extended, beaks pointing skywards, throats wobbling – apparently a way of cooling. I spot, mere metres away, several white, fluffy chicks.
Returning to Clifton, we head to Napier for an art deco walking tour. It begins with 20-minute movie, The Day that Changed the Bay, the story of the Napier earthquake that hit on 3 February 1931 with all but around a dozen buildings destroyed. Rebuilding was completed in two years, and we view some of that architecture on our walk starting on Marine Parade, where Norfolk Island pines lining it are apparently quake survivors.
On the corner with Emerson Street, the original T&G building is impressive, its copper-domed roof topped with a clock tower. Down Emerson on Hastings Street’s corner, the old BNZ (now ASB) sports Māori motifs incorporated into art deco designs high on its exterior walls. Opposite, the Criterion Hotel is built in Spanish Mission style. Wandering Emerson, we walk beneath verandas with decorative, pressed tin ceilings and view restored pinkish terrazzo in doorways and shop frontages where occasionally leadlights feature. Above verandas, art deco motifs, zigzags, suns, fountains, scallops, and ziggurat decorate basic facades.
On Tennyson Street, the old fire station is simply elegant in blue; Provincial Hotel reminds me of Spanish colonial buildings in Central America; Napier Municipal Theatre, built in the late ‘30s, still has its original foyer and ticket office. The Daily Telegraph building is almost identical to the newspaper building in the Superman comics – which came out the same year it was built – with its ziggurats, central flagpole, and balcony.
Inside the art deco Masonic Lodge we get lucky, our tour guide has been given keys to several suites to view. Named after some of the famous who have stayed, the first Masonic opening on the site in 1861, the Mark Twain Suite is very masculine, the Jean Batten features pictures of planes, and the greyish-green Anna Pavlova brightened by swans and pink waterlilies on the headboard. They’re all gorgeous: period furniture, ‘30s-style china bathroom basins and taps, luxurious sitting rooms, and balconies with Pacific Ocean views.
We’re on bikes the next morning, hiring them from Tākaro Trails in Ahuriri, a small coastal town a short drive from Napier. We set off on the Water Ride, part of the Hawke’s Bay Trails, which takes us around Ahuriri’s port area, where old woolsheds now house restaurants and pubs, past fishing boats and out to Westshore Beach. Heading north, coastal views stretch to distant Mahia. We leave the shoreline before Bay View and ride inland between paddocks of crops, passing canals and The Beacons – navigation lights dating from 1907 which led vessels to Napier’s original harbour before the earthquake thrust the land up. They now stand in fields. It’s peaceful riding on flat trail.
Walking through its grand entrance and out the back, we’re rewarded with views stretching over vineyards looking onto Taradale’s outskirts.
We pass dark brown swamp that swans, shovelers and herons paddle and peer through viewing holes in information boards to spot more birds at Southern Marsh.
The cycle lane reaches road and brings us to New Zealand’s oldest winery, Mission Estate, established in 1851 by French missionaries. We ride up its plane tree-lined driveway to what was once the seminary, a verandaed, two-storied, colonial structure with crosses on its gables. Walking through its grand entrance and out the back, where diners relax below white umbrellas, we’re rewarded with views stretching over vineyards looking onto Taradale’s outskirts. Wine tastings are available, but we just visit the cellar display.
We get lost in Taradale but eventually rejoin the cycle trail and ride past orchards and crops to the coast at Awatoto. It’s a little industrial and ugly riding north until nearing Napier where the trail leads towards the seafront. Remains of a WWII gun emplacement, one of six between here and Bay View, are seen; Norfolk Pines line the roadside. Passing the National Aquarium of New Zealand, the Soundshell, art deco fountain, and Napier Port, we reach the popular beach at Perfume Point not far from Tākaro Trails’ base. It’s been a full day’s cycling.
It’s back on bikes for our last day to cycle the Wineries Ride, looping through Hawke’s Bay’s western wine-growing regions. From Hastings, we ride the flat, white, limesand trail past hectares of grapevines stretching in straight lines to distant rolling hills. I read of Bridge Pa Triangle, a region having the largest concentration of vineyards in the Hawke’s Bay, planted for wine growing 40 years ago.
Wild roses adorn Oak Estate’s fenceline where there’s a red barn with a cellar door and kitchen… but they’re closed. Riding in the shade of Ngatarawa Road’s roadside hedges, we turn right onto State Highway 50 and arrive at Trinity Hill Winery for 11am opening. Inside, I peer through glass windows at dozens of wine barrels and vats, then read of Gimblett Gravels’ stony soils, an area which produces red grape merlot, cabernet sauvignon, and syrah varieties. Rugs are scattered on the grass outside, the pizza oven ready for action… tempting, but we have further to ride.
Ngaruroro River is a multitude of blues. We cycle over it to arrive at a picturesque church and cemetery, Omahu Marae opposite. A right down Korokipo Road brings us to Zeffer Cider Co. & Taproom. Under sun umbrellas, looking out on apple trees, we taste eight ciders. Rose, Passionfruit and Apple Crumble, which smells of cinnamon, are my favourites.
Instead of backtracking to the cycle trail, we carry on along busy Korokipo Road, and come across Waiohiki Creative Arts Village where there’s some paintings and pottery I fancy. It’s a shame we’re on bikes… We dither at Silky Oak Chocolates’ sign pointing down Links Road but continue on Waiohiki Road for Nevaria Lavender. Two ladies enjoy a scrumptious-looking high tea on the edge of one of its blooming lavender fields, a beautiful spot. Proprietor, Maria, says they make their lavender products: soap, shampoo, conditioner and oil, which are sold in the premises’ little store.
We should’ve arranged a Tākaro Trails’ shuttle from nearby Taradale to their base for a shorter ride. But cycling the flat trails, with rural, water or vineyard scenery is a pretty good way to spend our last few hours in Hawke’s Bay.
Words — Eleanor Hughes
