Harbour View Motor Lodge Napier

... the palette, soft, subtle, good acidity. Classy.

2009 Unoaked C******nay (tasted blind) - Herby again, limey fruits. Very drinkable.

2007 Syrah - Recommended four years plus cellaring. 11 months on American oak. Blackberry nose, then pepper and vanilla. Very smooth, crème brullé, big blackberry fruit. Exceptional.

2006 Cabernet Merlot - 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot. 100% French oak ...

... morale got higher when we overcome each obstacles, the joy is on the teamwork and care for each other along the way to a common goal. Life is always about moments, not destination. Our return turn out to be a even more severe test, path that we took could no longer be taken as the water got higher, stronger and finding yourself in the waters could really mean danger. There are only 4 of us there with no mobile reception, the ...

Sat 31 Jan - Wellington to Napier Very very little sleep last night. People around me were having snoring competitions!! Plus being a Friday night, or Saturday morning, most of the boys in the room had been/were out drinking. A couple showed up around 1am. Had a knock on the door at 3am with someone trying to get the guy in the bed next to me into the room. At 5.30am the last of them showed up, at which stage (after a few minutes) knowing I wasn't going to get ...

... but are not for the budget-conscious or the faint of heart (such as ourselves...at least the luge sleds had brakes!). And in a uniquely New Zealandian fashion, the same place that offered up zorbing and shweebing, also had a daily farm tour and sheep show...you can't help but smile! Given the amazing natural assets that New Zealand is blessed with, it's surprising that these extreme activities ever evolved. We continue to have a fantastic ...

We started this day with the winery my new german friend is working at, 'TeAwa', for which we had to drive a little further away from the city in her car. That was the first time for me driving with another person in a private car in New Zealand, and additionally she got her driving licence not much time ago. But well, this is New Zealand, and it's all relaxed, and nobody cares about driving, because there are not many people and not many cars (except for ...

... and travelled back into the city by train the next day to have a look around and to visit Te Papa the main museum in the country (not terribly impressed!). Wellington is a big city by NZ standards and judging by the number of boats in the harbour, is also a major yachting centre. Our main impression of our first few days in the North island is that it is much busier and more crowded than the south (relatively speaking). Unlike the South Island ...

... to go and sit up on a bank, quite far away from the stage. We had left ours in the car, and were glad that we had as the people without chairs could get right up to the stage. Luckily the rain held off, although it did start spitting at one point and threatened to get worse. Jack Johnson is quite special to us, as last time we were in NZ, we had a month in a campervan with only a Jack Johnson tape to keep us company. Needless to say we both became very familiar with his ...

Saturday 16th February 2008 Napier was rebuilt in 1930 after being destroyed by a fire after a large earthquake. It was rebuilt with an art deco style and the weekend that Daniel and I visited was Art Deco weekend where everyone dresses up 1930's style and all the old cars come out. Nana would have loved it!! Daniel's Dad's house is right on the beach with beautiful views and we were lucky to have sunshine to make everything look even ...

... of the mountains, as it was a clear day, then we headed off to our final destination, Napier. Napier was to be the more relaxing part of the holiday as I didn't have much planned or booked, deciding instead to see what we felt like doing each day. We stayed at our usual hostel - Criterion Art Deco Backpackers. This time we managed to get the ensuite room, which was a ...

... on the way in, so much so that we heard an announcement 'will the owners of a grey Mazda please return to their vehicle NOW?'. We half expected to find it alone on the car deck, but it turned out that they hadn't quite got the ramp down and so our blushes were spared.

There was some extreme bike riding going on in Wellington, but our main interest was the Global Challenge fleet. Wellington is a major maintenance stop, so with the exception of Stelmar ...