Monday, 14 Feb (Happy Valentine's Day to everyone), we are to do a 150 km drive to Hawkes Bay, where more wine tasting will be in store. Stopped en route to Hawkes Bay at Waiotapu, one of New Zealand's largest areas of geothermal activity with over 50 hot springs, mud pools and geysers, which boasts the largest geothermal lake in the world. I guess it is to be expected, as NZ lies directly on the 'Ring of Fire', which is an enormous ring of volcanoes around the Pacific. We took a one hour walk around it in sweltering heat, amid steam and sulphurous smells-it was great fun. It is amazing to see what type of wildlife live in these extreme conditions. Our drive then continued through some dramatic forests then over the Abimanawa Range where we had spectacular views of the countryside.

We are spending two nights at a lovely traditional B&B in Te Awanga, just outside the Art Deco town of Napier, on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island, at Hawkes Bay, one of the great vineyard regions of the country. Our hostess, Jeanne, is very welcoming and her home is a beautiful 102 year old colonial house near the beach. Our room opens out onto a long covered verandah, and the surrounding grounds are beautifully planted with jacaranda trees, lots of flowering bushes (jasmine, azaleas, others unidentified), smooth green lawns and long, full borders. Quail, Tui birds and rabbits all roamed freely in the garden and were visible from our window. Jeanne recommended a local winery, Elephant Hill, for dinner our first night. The restaurant is in a very modern building, with an outdoor seating area surrounded on 3 sides by an infinity pool, with the usual immaculate rows of vines stretching out beyond the pool. We started off out on the terrace, but gave it up and fled inside, as a fierce wind came up, with the infinity pool sprouting small white caps. The menu suggests different wines to be paired with each selection, so we followed their suggestions rather than just choosing one bottle for the dinner. Good food and wine.

The town of Napier was destroyed by earthquake in 1931 and was rebuilt afterwards entirely in Art Deco style, which is meant to be the town's USP. We spent a morning wandering around the downtown area, and though a number of the buildings are certainly period pieces, the town itself did not have anything more to interest us, as casual visitors. So off we went for lunch at another winery. One of the New Zealand wine industry's great strengths, for the local visitor, is the number of vineyards that not only offer wine tastings and sales via their Cellar Doors, but also have good quality restaurants attached. Some only open for lunch, others for lunch and dinner. Lunch on 15 Feb was at Mission Estate, a winery that was previously a Catholic mission, with the vineyards operated by the Brothers. The estate buildings are up on a hillside, with views towards the town of Napier in the distance. Old sepia photos on the walls show the Brothers in their long robes picking grapes and doing other chores around the vines. The place is still owned by the church, so all the profits go to good causes. The wines we tasted were reasonable and we chose one of their Sauvignon Blancs with which to wash down our salads, in the charming outdoor courtyard restaurant. Afternoon spent in an internet café trying to get web access to upload some of our pics and updates, but no luck. This is a downside of the more rural parts of NZ—no wireless. We gave up and went off for dinner, our third winery restaurant in 2 days. This one is Craggy Range, one of the top rated wineries in the country. We had tried their wines in Auckland, so were interested to check out the restaurant which is highly rated by locals. The restaurant is in an enormous round building that resembles a silo from the outside, but is very French in décor and cooking on the inside. All the restaurants we've tried seem to be doing very good business, with both local and tourist trade. You'd be hard pressed to detect any signs of economic slowdown in this part of the world. As we did last night, we went with their wine pairing suggestions with our starters and main courses, with Chardonnay and Pinot Noir excelling. Off tomorrow to South Island.