Edgewater Motor Lodge Napier

... down the river in a tuxedo because of the color and how classy it is.

The last night I was there, Charles and his wife Coke hung out with is afterhours, which was cool because we got to hear all sorts of crazy stories from their adventures. Charles is pretty nuts; he told us about everything from gnarly kayak stories to tales of jumping and destroying old cars. What a guy.

I drove to Napier yesterday afternoon ...

... br>
2007 C******nay - 12 months oak, 30% new, 35% malo. Figs and bananas on the nose. Good integration, honeyed peachy fruit.

2007 Syrah - 5 years cellaring recommended. Blackberry led nose then pepper. Firm but ripe tannins, good blackberry fruit on the palette. Rich.

2007 Tempranillo - 9% Malbec, mainly French oak with a touch of American. Black olives on the nose and warm straw ...

... und arbeiten jeden Tag circa 4 Stunden und bekommen dafuer eben die Unterkunft zur Verfügung gestellt und Essen. Da das Ganze auch noch auf einer Ökofarm ist nennt sich es sich "wwoofen" (willing workers on organic farms) Von diesen Stellen gibt es in Neuseeland sehr viele und soweit ich weiss sogar auch in Deutschland.

...und jetzt eine kurze Zusammenfassung von den Tätigkeiten auf der Farm:
kleine Plastikringe um die Füße von 20 Hühnern gewickelt
Mandeln sammeln
Napier, Hawkes Bay, New Zealand evatoss

... haha..... I was teaming up with one of the guys one of the day, his name is Steve, a divorced, granddad to 12 at 53 years old but look like just a person entering 40s to me. Very well maintain and muscular, hoped that I could be like that when I am at his time. Anyway he is now looking for a Asian wife who could cooked, we were suggesting a few countries for him....haha.....Anyway if you are interested or know anyone ...

... which I'm quite sure is absent from most backpacker necessity lists...it's just too darn easy travelling with a car and staying in places with TVs. In our defense, as mentioned in an earlier blog, it's cheaper for us to stay in NZ's motels (and what's more wholesome than a family movie night watching thousands of people, elves, and dwarves getting slaughtered by fantastical underworld beasts?) Okay, back to Fartopia, I mean Rotorua. The reason ...

Napier was a small town on the coast and we arrived in the late evening. The town was pretty much empty since it is mainly a summer town. Much of the town had Art Deco architecture and it was a nice change. We had dinner at a local spot called breakers and played a game of pool inside. The next day we took a ...

... socket of the spot we were allocated so we 'took it upon ourselves' to move to a different spot, at least that was what the old boy who runs the park said when he told us off for doing it - suitably reprimanded (!!) we were allowed to stay. We drove on in the morning to Napier and shortly after Palmerston passed through the Manawatu Gorge, again we noted a difference between the north and south islands as this time we drove round the mountain as opposed ...

... ending in a draw. Seemingly a rarity in One Day cricket. Todd thought it was an anti-climax. I thought it was great, really entertaining stuff. So I at least caught the most exciting part of the game. And, to boot, those three hours asleep in the sun did wonders for my tan! (and yes. Of course I had sunblock on.) All-in-all, a good day out.

... His time was up and he got a fair run of it in the end. He deffo outlasted most dogs on the road leaving behind many young pups (bit of a stud) and was the most lovable little mutt a family could have. R.I.P. Ska. After another day chilling on the beach we checked out the next morning with a lot of poeple milling around on a large (and seemingly boring) tour of the prison. We got the tour for free by just staying there. Noice. Wellington next..