Hawke's Bay

Si and I had Friday off so we decided to head over to Hawkes Bay to see Napier and sample the local produce!

We arrived at about 2pm and quickly found a campsite and erected the tent. From there we headed into Napier to see what it has to offer. Got a quick bite to eat, played more crazy golf (I won..AGAIN) then went out for a drive around the local area and a little walk before heading back into Napier for some dinner.

Saturday we awoke to rain, not ideal when heading out for a bike tour of the vineyards. Unfortunately Si must have caught some vomiting bug as he couldn't even keep water down - again, not ideal!. He did however want to try to come so we headed out on our bikes. Luckily the rain stopped just in time to enjoy the day. The 1st stop (at 10.30am) was a cider house and brewery. I ordered the sample tray (£5 for 6 1/2 pints!!!) Si tried a sip of the alcoholic ginger beer and left me drinking the rest - solo! After that we headed out to a boutique vineyard where they had some AMAZING wine. Si joined in the tasting this time after realising that although he couldn't keep water down, alcohol seemed to go down quite well! The wine tour continued till about 5pm after which we realised we spent over $300 in wine. Oh well, it was REALLY nice (or was it just that we were a bit pissed!)

Sunday we decided (a little crazily) to get up at 7.30 to watch the All Blacks v Barbarians replay (the match was played at 3am so we didn't bother getting up for that) After the match we packed up the tent and headed to the coast in search of surf. Found some surf - bit average but had a good time anyway. Back to Napier for lunch then headed home around 5pm.

This week I have started my 1st week as an ITU reg. Had 2 days of induction, where I was shown around the helicopter, warned not to wear nylon as when it burns it sticks to you, told that if the helicopter lands on the sea it goes upside down and you have to kick the windows out....... and when it is necessary to crack someones chest open.
So, sounds like this run will be a breeze!!