After 3 weeks, Cameron and I are leaving Hawkes Bay (the name of the greater region containing Napier and Hastings). As we have been telling ourselves for a while, we would try to make it work here in the city we enjoyed and if we couldn't find jobs we wanted, we would move on. Well, that has become the case and we are moving on to Wellington now. While Cameron has a few leads here in Hastings/Napier, none are moving quickly enough, or are promising enough to make us feel secure in staying here longer. However, we've so immensely enjoyed our time here and value it as its own experience. Who knows, one of our leads here might end up working out, and we could be back!
We really lucked out booking the AirBnb that we did, because we made such a great friend in our host. Grant, Cameron and I got along really well right away. Additionally, Grant has a long-term boarder - an 18 year old English boy, Tom, who is in New Zealand to learn the finer points of running a farm (education he plans to take back to England where he will eventually run his own farm), and we "got on swimmingly" with him as well. Grant, Cameron, Tom and myself were the permanent fixtures of the home for a few weeks as others came and went through the other room Grant has listed on AirBnb. One short-term guest was named Pete and he was also an Englishmen. We had a great time chatting with him. He has followed a path with some similarity to mine and Cameron's in that he taught English in China and now lives in New Zealand. Where we are different is that he is now in his mid 30s and has not lived in England since he was 18 years old. He has spent his time between Thailand and Australia in addition to China and New Zealand. He was an incredibly interesting person and gave Cameron and I some great tips for getting along, including a way to teach English completely on our computers should we need it as a way to earn a quick income.Â
Our AirBnb reservation with Grant ended on the 13th, but Grant actually invited us to stay with him through the 15th (since no one else had booked our room through then) for free, which was incredibly kind. After the 15th, he recommended us to some of his friends that had an extra room in their home, which is where we have been through today (the 18th). These people are called Tao and Paul, and they're so friendly as well. We've had some good chats with them. The night of the 15th, the evening after had left, Grant told us he was thinking "aw, where are my Americans?". We were missed.Â
On the 16th, I actually went with Grant to "his work". I put this in quotations because Grant's job is managing a series of holiday homes in a nearby beach town. I went around with him to the various properties he manages to either help tidy or make sure that houses were in order for the next guests to check in. It was actually a very wonderful day just seeing the various homes and the beautiful views they had. In New Zealand, these holiday homes are called "Baches", pronounced as we would say "Bach" in "Bachelor".
Last night, Grant invited us "to tea", which is the Kiwi way to ask someone over for dinner. Grant made an absolutely delicious potato and chickpea curry! Afterward, we said goodbye to Grant, at least for the time being. As a joke, he said that he hoped we did not get jobs. He then corrected himself/ elaborated to say that he hopes we do not get jobs in Wellington so we can come back to Hawkes Bay and get jobs here after all. All in all, it is so great to have made such a great Kiwi friend. Â
Highlights of our time in Hawkes Bay, in no particular order:
- The kindness of two ladies on the Te Mata Peak: We hiked Te Mata Peak one morning at Grant's recommendation. When we arrived, there was a posted map showing the various trails available. There were 5 and they were ranked for difficulty. All trails appeared to go in a circle that would eventually put you back at the parking lot. Hah. Being idiots, we chose the 4th most difficult. Well. You know that joke people like to tell? About grandpa having to walk uphill to school - both ways? I didn't think that could be true, but somehow it was. We just kept going up steep hills, and it didn't make sense. Sure we'd go downhill every now and then, but it seemed disproportionate to the amount of time we were going uphill, and given that our elevation had not yet increased to Everest type heights, it was quite confusing. It was a very hot day, and when our trail crossed over with one of the shorter, easier trails, we decided to take that and get back to our car sooner. All the trails go in a circle... but somehow we got lost, and we were still somehow going uphill! Very luckily, we met a lovely couple of ladies with their dogs that hiked Te Mata Peak every week and knew all the trails extremely well. They stopped hiking their trail and hiked with us to take us where we needed to go. We hiked about a mile with them and we had to hustle to keep up with them! They must have been in their 50s or early 60s and, boy, could they move! At points we were jogging just to keep up with their walking. They chatted with us and told us about how they had been to San Diego. They also told us that they hike so frequently so they can earn their junk food later. Haha! So nice of them to take us right back to our car.Â
- Maraetotara Falls. It was an extremely short walk but the waterfall and small lake were gorgeous. There were other, braver souls who were jumping off the waterfall and into the lake. Here's a video of the waterfall:
- Day trip to Lake Taupo: Lake Taupo is about 2 hours away from Hawkes Bay. Cameron and I had been thinking of taking a day trip somewhere and I found a last minute deal for a boat trip on Lake Taupo to see the Maori rock carvings. It was so nice! For $28 NZD per person ($18.50 USD), we got a 2-hour boat ride that included a pizza dinner and a complimentary glass of wine or beer. We were a fairly small group - maybe 24 or so? It was a hot day, 86 degrees F and the boat dropped anchor right by the Maori rock carvings so we could all go for a swim! Cameron and I both jumped in the lake. Of course, I got water in my ears, but I was absolutely elated to have done something like that. The water was really nice and clear.Â
- Wine Tasting: I booked a wine tasting tour as a belated birthday gift for Cameron. Our tour group was an interesting bunch, because most of them didn't really like wine. There were 12 of us and we consisted of an English couple visiting the country, a group of English people living permanently in Auckland, and one Kiwi couple. By the end of the day everyone was fairly invested in our journey and were making suggestions of jobs we could get, how to talk to employers, and what parts of the country we should try out. Quite nice!Â
- Napier Beach Front: I've never been a "beach person" but there is something truly amazing about the beaches here, especially the Napier beach front. It is incredibly serene, with a black rock shore instead of sand. Unfortunately, there was an earth quake a few years back that has created a dangerous undertow, so the beach is not swimmable except in this very small area right in front of the life guard stand. However, the nice thing about this is the shore is not crowded with people. There is a concrete path to walk along the beach, and people enjoy the oceans from their bikes, on their runs, or from the many benches along the track. I find the Napier beach front incredibly calming and I can't get enough of it. Every time we have been about to leave it for the day to go back to our AirBnb, I get very sad because I don't want to leave it.
- Sunday Hastings Farmer's Market: This was a huge weekly farmer's market that we thoroughly enjoyed! I would estimate roughly 50 vendors selling things like produce, locally made breads and cheeses, baked desserts, coffee, and olive oils. We found one bread baker that was absolutely amazing, who made great sourdough. Not quite San Francisco sourdough, but really great, hearty bread. Another favorite was the specialty mushroom vendor. This was a local couple that grows oyster mushrooms at their home. They were honestly some of the best mushrooms I've ever had. There was live music, and food vendors (pizza, dumplings, paninis, etc). It was a great sense of community.
4) ICE CREAM! The ice cream here has been amazing. They mix fresh fruit into it right in front of your eyes. We've gotten ice cream a couple different places (you know, to be fair to all the different ice cream companies), and our favorite is from a place aptly named "The Fruit Shop". Their main business is selling fruit, specifically the stone fruit that grows so abundantly here, but they also have a small ice cream stand in the back. They let you choose between strawberry and mixed berry, and the ice cream is so light and creamy. Delicious!Â
This video shows the machine they used to mix the fruit in with the ice cream