Hawkes Bay is recognised as one of New Zealand’s premier food and wine regions. It is also known as an international Art Deco capital without standing architecture dating from the 1930's. Hawkes Bay comprises of many towns and villages, the most well known ones being Napier, Hastings and Havelock North. We took a drive around all 3 and found some beautiful scenic areas, including the Tuku Tuku Road loop, Te Mata Peak and a number of world famous wine growing regions, including the Mission Estate, which is the oldest winery inNew Zealand dating back to 1851.
Basing ourselves in Napier, the biggest city in Hawkes Bay, we had a lovely walk around the town and along the pretty Marine Parade seafront, marvelling at the many Art Deco buildings on show. The old harbour area too was very quaint with lot’s of boutique shops and cafes to enjoy. A lovely way to spend a morning.
Cape Kidnappers is an 8km long peninsula with a headland protruding into the Pacific Ocean, and is located at the south-eastern part ofHawkes Bay. It is home to the world’s largest (over 20,000!), most accessible gannet colony where you can see nesting gannets and spectacular views over the dramatic coastline. We didn’t actually do the tour as we were there a little out of season and the gannets had migrated away for the winter. However the ZigZag Tour timetable will be in the Hawkes Bay during the gannet’s nesting season, and our ZigZaggers will be able to enjoy this amazing experience as an inclusion on our tour.
CHECK OUT OUR HIGHLIGHTS FROM LIFE ON THE ROAD TO HAWKES BAY IN THE VIDEO BELOW!
