Firstly, I must say that the people here are incredibly friendly, the family two doors down from our lake batch filled our bags with fresh organic veggies and herbs from their garden and offered to take us kayaking or windsurfing if we ever came up again. They were so outgoing, their yard was littered with intertubes, boards of all kinds, kayaks and thier backyard was filled by a homemade half pipe! The Kiwis are utilize the outdoors more than any other people I have ever met. It was really fun to chat with them during our stay.
After exploring some neighboring lakes and picking blackberries the downpour started....I havn't seen rain like this since Costa Rica! So we all pilled in the car and headed back towards Palmy a bit early. By the time we got into town we were all about ready to fling our only CD, The Kooks, Inside Out Outside In, out the window.
We stopped to load up on groceries and who do I run into in the parking lot but Chris Lowrey, a good friend from high school! We go our separate ways after going out to an 80's party down town with our friends, and plan to leave in the morning to go surf up along the coast near Napier.
Bright and early on saturday morning, I checked out the farmers market to pick up some fresh produce and met up with Chris. I bought the most delicious blue brie and proceded to finish it by the end of the day...so full but so good!
After returning the rental car and loading up on veggies Chris and Leigh and I started our quest to seek out the surf. We drove up to Havelock north and Napier which is on the east coast. Havelock is a very cute town but Napier was by far my favorite! We were fortunate to stumble into Napier during the annual Art and Deco Festival! The WHOLE town and visitors dressed up in the theme of the 1920-1930s. All the women, men AND children were dressed like flappers and gentlemen and the streets were lined with hundredes of beautiful, old cars. It was absolutely charming to see a whole town travel back in time for the weekend, I wished that cities in California would host festivals like that more often!
We got the last beds in Archies Bunker, a wonderful hostel right in the center of town. I really enjoy the hostel life, the communal kitchens and shared rooms are really fun and you can meet all kinds of people! The next morning we drove down to pick up some boards at the Greedy Gannet, a cute little surf/wake/paddle board/ coffee shop. Yet again the Kiwis proved to be extremely generous and let us demo his boards for free. Unfortunately we didn't have leashes and ended up chasing our boards quite a bit. We drove out to Ocean beach (about half an hour from Napier) and hit the waves. The surf was not very good but it was just so nice to be out on the water and the temperature was great! After returning the boards and thanking the owner of the cafe we traveled back towards Palmy but first checked out Te Mate Peak. The view was breathtaking and the extreme winds at the top were a thrill (I thought I was going to blow off!)
We didn't make it to the Cheese and Honey Factories before they closed but we heard they were really fun to visit. After visiting the peak, we drove back to Palmy where we made a big dinner and I taught Leigh and Chris how to make homemade cheese! The milk comes in bulk in plastic bags and it is extremely affordable! So we stocked up and hit the kitchen. The whole weekend was such a blast with really fun vibes...It seemed to cure any lurking homesickness I had!
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