At long last we were able to embark on our first ever road trip with our slow poke 1994 Barina to the East Coast! We were thrilled with the convenience of being able to load as much as we want into the car without having to worry about how much we could carry. Finally set off at 10am to Napier. Bit of a jam at Dannevirke. It was cloudy and there were a few showers up north. Parked at Pak n Save, ate some gimbap for lunch and walked over to Rush Munro to have a real fruit raspberry ice cream.


Clipped on reindeer ears and nose, all set to go!


The day before I made 18 blueberry muffins and he made 7 rolls of gimbap to bring along


Other food include museli, instant noodle, cookies, bumper bars, snacks, tea



We passed Te Mata as the weather was not looking great. Sun popped out when we got to Napier so we headed back to Havelock North again. It was quite a scary ride up to Te Mata Peak as the road was steep and narrow. I have a phobia of going up steep roads after my failed attempt to drive up a steep hill. There are splendid views of Hawkes Bay and the hilly terrain at the summit.






After checking in to Criterion, we went up to Bluff Hill. This time the road was not that scary or skinny. Surprised to find views of the port at the top and we could see Cape Kidnappers from afar. I finally got down to writing MB's card and posted it at the Napier i-site. Went for a walk along Marine Parade and decided to park overnight at the nearby carpark since it's free from 6pm-8am.





Pohutukawa trees along Marine Parade


Also known as New Zealand's Christmas tree that flowers only in summer