We were up fairly decent and had breakfast and left Rotorua before 09.00, at check out the receptionist said if we wanted to stop then everything is before Taupo, between Taupo and Napier which is about 75 miles there is nothing to see and no fuel stops. So we stopped just before Taupo at Wairakei and drove about 2km on a rough road to a small camp ground which had a "thermal walk". Basically a 30 minute round the tracks walk, steam coming out of vents and some silica deposit formations, we had an infra red heat sensor and it read some of the rocks at nearly 60C. The place was near a geo-thermal station and that has affected thermal activity as it has been extracting heat and water for the nearby township. We then drove a short distance to Huka to see the falls and after that we had coffee at a place that was all about bees and honey. After that it was onto Napier, the receptionist was correct, apart from the scenery there was nothing, a few picnic stops but no cafes, the scenery was a mixture of rolling wooded hills or cleared land with cows or sheep, here and there there are fissures cutting across the landscape and water cut gorges. But it was a decent road in the main with a limit of 100kph for the most part. We arrived in Napier about 14.30, sunny and 26C. Our accommodation, The McHardy Lodge, sits on the hill overlooking the bay, some very steep and narrow roads lead you up from the bay road, I had to ignore the sat-nav as it tried to direct us up several roads that said "no traffic beyond bend". When we arrived our host said she has had a number of guests who have arrived accompanied by the police as they have ignored those signs and also a number who have damaged their cars. She said they have lots of earthquakes in Napier, obviously most of them small, the last was a 4.5 on March 3rd.

We had a cup of tea and some biscuits and booked a restaurant for our evening meal, we then walked into Napier via the Botanical Gardens ending up at the Art Deco centre, this took about 35 minutes and was mostly downhill. They do guided walks so Fiona is going to do one in the morning, she says I can sit with a coffee and my book on the beachside. We have to be back at our lodgings for noon as we are being collected for an afternoon wine tour which probably means I will be asleep by 20.00. Of course the walk back from Napier was mostly uphill, the place seems built on a series of hills with lots of small dead end roads where large houses have sold off their gardens to have several houses built so the place is a warren.

Tonight we went to The Mission Estate Winery for our meal, lovely setting, great food and we were able to eat on the terrace under a canopy of wines as the evening was so warm. Its the oldest winery in NZ founded in 1851 by some French missionaries.