North Island Wine trail

Napier to Wellington was quite a nice drive, with lots of sheep and more cows. Rolling green and gold hills and beautiful single lane roads... which just make you want to go a little faster...

and resulted in our first NZ speeding ticket- please note who was driving! The best part of this experience was that Officer Tim Crum ended up helping us navigate our way to local wineries, and he actually gave us his map and business card, asking us to mail the map back to him before we leave the country. This willingness to help is something we've experienced throughout our travels, and it seems to be a trademark of the Kiwis - these people are sooooo nice!! (it's going to be hard to get used to home after this!)

Before making it to Wellington, we stopped in Masterton and Martinborough for some wine tasting at the Gladstone and Vynfields wineries. The Pinot Noir from the latter was excellent!


Our last night on the North island was at a small Hotel called the Ohtel. Owned and managed by an architect who collected impeccable mid-century furniture, all arranged in a very modern space.
Tomorrow, we're crossing to the Southern island, in a Cessna, from the windiest city on earth... "windy welly". argh.


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