Heading South

Woke this moring after a great nights sleep. 19km can do that to you and the celebratory bottle of wine also helps! The weather was way worse than yesterday.. well we did warn the Limerick couple last night and there were fairly strong gusts today.. not good to be balancing on a knife edge in on the Tongariro Alpine hike. Had a leisurely breakkie with Julia and we both went our separate ways.. she to try and locate her brother and me to Napier the Art Deco city in Hawkes Bay part of the North Island. Yes it is the same Hawkes Bay of the vineyard noteriety. The guide books only mention 34 vineyards locally and their collective slogan is "Our world in your glass" They can be in my glass anytime. :-)
Napier was destroyed by an earthqauke in the 1930s and they decided as was in vogue at the time to rebuild in the Art Deco Style. The town really looks as if it stopped in a certain period with tiny but beautiful wooden houses along the waterfront and some stunning period houses with stained glass and verandahs. When I got here I booked into the Criterion Hostel which is one of the landmark Art Deco buildings in the city of 55000 soles. Very friendly guy in the backpackers reception kept saying that he loved the Irish accent cause the nuns and priests who thought him were very kind to him in his childhood eductaion. Its good to hear stories like this cause the other stories are way to negative and frequent and the press seem to concentrate on the negative
On the way to Hawkes Bay area the landscape is incredible but not a bloody house or building along a stretch of about 50 miles. In fact I was gaggin for a coffee and a toilet break when I stumbled across the Tarawera Cafe .. a bikers paradise which still had its windows decorated with Santa and Christmas trees... very festive but a bit far behind,.... I told ya there was a time warp. There even was a time warp in their prices. A cup of Barrys with a Long Valley type beef sambo and a chunk of cake for €7.. Lads we are being screwed!!! To add insult to injury I stopped at a fruit shop closer to Napier and got a mixture of bananas oranges and apples .. about 7 kgs in total for €5!
Spent a frustrating few hours trying to add a few more pics from yesterday. Eventually got a few on but it took all my patience not to fling the buggar of a computer out my beautiful art deco window!
So I got a late tour of the town and just as I was trying to find the post box at about 8pm I heard a "whooo hooo Dermot" from up the street. It was Harry Burkes look alikes wife waving fursiously at me. They were the couple I met in the hostel in Rotorua.... jeez but this world is a very very small place and they are staying here this evening. Luckily I didnt read or annoy them as they want to meet up for a beer later!!
I am all on for that.... just a sec.. you cant mix the grain and the grape isnt is? Oh oh...maybe the headache the other day was not from the Suphur!!!. 
Have a brill day and by the way those who left comments no matter how much I want to reply....nay retort... I cant, cause it wont let me but ye know who ye are!!! An by the way all my pics are arttistic in nature.
PS Melissa is still in her snot form. After a few "recalculating" yelps from her today she then went into a stoney silence and I am now in conventry!! There is a God!!
Hhmmm just have a thought I can always put her on mute!