Napier

At the southern end of the beautiful Hawke Bay is the port of Napier. We stayed on the outskirts of the town in order to watch the wildlife on the tidal estuary and wetland formed by the river Ahuriri. There is a great circular walk around the mudflats at low tide when we saw hundreds of tiny tunnelling mud crabs, scores of white faced herons and many other birds we had no chance of identifying.

Looking for a good place for lunch with an excellent wine list we chose the Mission Estate Vineyard, just out of town situated in an old seminary. Great food and wine.