A Little Bit of Exploring and a Little Bit of Nature

Well, our days in Hawke's Bay are drawing to a happy conclusion. Since dropping Jon and Emma off at Hawke's Bay Airport on Sunday morning, we've made the most of having a car for a few days and have done some exploring, with the aim of finding a little peace and tranquillity amongst nature.

Our first stop was the Tangoio Falls Scenic Reserve, a short drive from the airport (though it felt quite a long way for Su, on her first drive in New Zealand, in a car much larger than she's used to, with an automatic gearbox which she's never used before! N.B. She's a natural!) The reserve is a delightful spot where two streams, the Kareaara and the Rauwiri Kokomua, come together in a valley full of pools and cascades. On one hand it all seems so familiar, the trickling stream running through a small forest, but you look closely and so many things are different. It has become quite obvious over the past few days that winter is approaching; there is snow on the mountains and a chill in the air, which means that, like England, deciduous trees and bushes have begun to drop their leaves. Therefore, as with areas of forest in England's autumn, there is a carpet of dead and decaying leaves on the ground. But amongst them is native bush of the most vivid, brilliant green, forming shapes and patterns unfamiliar to our eyes. And above the calming, familiar sound of the gentle streams is the deep melodic burble of the tui, and the inquisitive cheeping of the friendly fantails.

We had a gentle stroll through the reserve, listening to the sounds of the forest, studying the different plants and trees, and trying to photograph their shapes and colours (I appreciate that there is lots of greenery in this set of photos, but that really sums up the day for us.) We both felt relaxed and content, and this charming walk was topped off nicely by the two waterfalls: Te Ana Falls, a single rush of water dropping to a deep pool below; and Tangoio Falls, a series of large cascades amongst a wall of green.

A short distance up the road from Tangoio is the White Pine Bush Scenic Reserve, where we stopped to stuff our faces on a picnic packed by Su, before having another forest stroll. This time the woods were much denser and dominated by the giant kahikatea (known as the white pine due to the colour of its wood), which towered out of the forest canopy, and made this area feel much darker and more enclosed. But it was still full of the same colours, patterns, shapes and sounds. We returned home that night with a smile on our faces, before walking a very excited Hooky around the vineyard a few times - despite the fact that he is loose all day, he never takes himself out for a walk!

Now, when I said that we were after a little peace and tranquillity in nature, that was of course dependant on the weather, so when we woke on Monday to find it was tipping it down with rain and forecast to do that all day, we thought, hmm, maybe not! So we had a little potter around Hastings, then took ourselves back to the Silky Oak Chocolate Factory and consoled ourselves with a hot chocolate extreme (melted dark chocolate with a thick cream topping) plus a hazelnut chocolate slice and mini chocolate pecan pie which we shared, again with cream. We then hauled ourselves home, stomachs full of chocolate and cream, walked Hooky, slowly, then settled down, hot fire roaring, blanket over our legs and a tightly curled up and content Coxwell acting as a foot warmer, to watch Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. Well, you've got to watch them again here, haven't you! And now of course the landscapes and forest plant life seem a little more familiar to us!

Tuesday, and the rain was over so we went for another explore. This time we drove down Middle Road from Havelock North to the Elsthorpe Scenic Reserve, onto the beach at Kairakau, and back via the Kahuranaki Road. The drive itself was superb (though as the passenger I think perhaps I enjoyed it more than Su!) winding through mountain valleys and alongside rivers, lined with the reds and golds of autumn. A very common sight gliding next to the road is the Australian Harrier, known here as the Bush Hawk. It is a magnificent bird and we literally saw them on every bend, often perched on fence posts, watching us pass with yellow staring eyes. A less common sight, though one we were fortunate to glimpse was that of a New Zealand Kingfisher, who landed on a post as we were passing. And a much less common sight was a yellow can, on its side in the middle of the road. We passed cautiously, wondering if we should move it, then turned a corner to find another can, followed by a shepherd herding his sheep along the road! We'll have to remember that next time we are in the wop wops (a.k.a. the middle of nowhere.)

Elsthorpe Scenic Reserve is a tiny reserve in Elsthorpe, a settlement built up around the timber trade, which unfortunately meant that much of the native podocarp forest has been chopped down. A little patch has been preserved, and it is absolutely delightful - for us, a little enchanted forest. We wandered through, the only people there, stumbling upon magical little clearings, with shafts of sunlight shining through the canopy, and green ferns glistening where sun shone on the raindrops from the previous day. There were also tiny spider's webs with drops of water glistening like diamonds and lots of mushrooms, including a tiny bright orange fungi, definitely not edible, whose colour clashed wildly with the vivid green foliage.

Once we'd finished in our enchanted forest, we moved onto Kairakau Beach, a short drive down the road, and found another tiny settlement, a simple row of baches, mostly deserted for the winter, and a wild beach, which looked extremely moody and atmospheric with yesterday's rain clouds sitting off the coast. We ate another delicious Su-picnic in the car, Darby & Joan style, before setting off for an amble up and down the coastline, watching and listening to the South Pacific waves crashing over the shore. It felt very calming, peaceful, and a million miles from anywhere. We also saw several birds, including a flock of terns (what kind we do not know), 4 stunning black and white wading birds, which we later found to be Pied Stilts, and a large gull (again unsure what kind, but we've never seen them before!)

Finally this morning we drove to Westshore Scenic Reserve before collecting Jon and Emma from the airport. It was an extremely cold morning, frost on the ground outside, and a huge dump of snow on the mountains in the distance, and it felt different again driving along, through the main vineyards of Hawke's Bay which are now shining gold as the leaves have mostly turned and are starting to drop. And while it was cold it was the most gorgeous clear day, with a bright blue sky - I can do cold when everything looks like this! Westshore was another delightful spot, a huge wetland area with a vast lake, covered with black swans, and one white swan, the black sheep! We found a spot to sit down, in the sun, looking at the snow-covered mountains in the distance, and spent a happy hour or so watching and listening to the birds, the swans joined by ducks (we know not what!) more pied stilts, a pair of black fronted dotterel and white faced herons, dancing an elegant dance with each other. It was a relatively peaceful spot, considering that the planes were landing just beyond the water's edge, and Su dozed in the sun while I wrote ideas for this blog.

And that is Hawke's Bay. Jon and Emma are now home, we are packing our bags and tomorrow we get the bus to Tauranga where we have a few nights booked in a backpackers, and a list of people desperate for kiwifruit workers. We have had an absolutely fantastic stay here at Ash Ridge Vineyards and want to say a big thank you to Jon and Emma for everything they have done for us here. We have learned a huge amount about growing grapes, making wine, and tasting it, and have had a huge amount of fun in the process! We have however given our apologies to Jon and Emma as we have decided not to return for pruning in August - we've been in Hawke's Bay for 8 weeks now and there are too many other places we wish to explore before our visas run out, and of course we need enough time to explore the South Island.

We wish you both happiness with your new baby, please keep us updated with all your news.

Lots of love, Jo & Su, xxx