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Days 25-27: Napier

August 26, 2022

After saying goodbye to the animals and the farm, I headed off towards Napier. My first stop would be to visit Terrace View Vineyards which is owned by a former professor of mine from Saint Mary’s, Margaret Field.





Winter is an off season, so the winery was closed to the public, but Margaret asked her manager to give me a tour. We drove all around the vineyards and walked through the event space and the cellars. They grow many different varietals and sell their grapes to other companies who then bottle and sell the wine. The Fields get some of the wine back for their own personal use as well. 

After my tour of the winery I headed back towards town to find my AirBnB. This time I would be staying in a tiny home just up the street from lots of shops and restaurants.

The next day, Wednesday, I walked downtown to go to the National Aquarium of New Zealand. The aquarium was a bit smaller than I was expecting, but had a great earthquake exhibit and a cool tunnel where fish swam over and around you. It was fairly empty, being a Wednesday in winter, so it was very relaxing to walk around without feeling crowded or rushed like I had at the Sydney Aquarium.









After the aquarium, I walked back through town where I found an excellent pizza place (sold by the slice) and some gourmet cookies. I decided to take my lunch back to my tiny house where I hung out for the rest of the afternoon.

Thursday was my last day in New Zealand before making the long journey home. I didn’t need to get to the airport until 3:30 so I had some time for a few final stops.  After packing up and leaving my tiny house, I drove into town and found a place to park near the beach. I got a Starbucks (one of the few I had seen down under) and sat on the beach and watched the waves for a while.

After finishing my coffee, I walked over to MTG, which is an art museum, and then took a stroll through the nearby shops.  Finally, it was time to start heading to the airport. 

The Napier airport is very small. I dropped my rental car off in the parking lot, checked my suitcase, and walked right to the gate - No security! It was very strange but also very pleasant. When it was time to board, we walked outside and climbed stairs to enter the plane. My first flight would be a short one, only an hour, to Auckland.

I landed in Auckland around 6pm. My next flight was not set to depart until midnight so the ticketing counter was not open yet. Unfortunately, not much else was open either and I was hungry! I had to settle for McDonalds which actually turned out pretty well.

After eating, I headed back to the ticketing counter only to find the line practically out the door. It took about an hour to get through the line to check in and check my bag. While standing in line, there were a couple people with clipboards pulling travelers aside to ask them questions. I was almost to the front when they decided to come over to me. The man wanted to see my passport, and when I asked why, he said he was TSA from the states. After looking at my passport he confessed he had previously thought I was an unaccompanied minor and had better pull me aside. Nevertheless I made it through and to the gate. From Auckland I would fly to Honolulu. 

When we landed in Honolulu around 11am local time we had to go through customs and ended up having to walk across what felt like the entire airport in order to get to the next gate. I was dressed for NZ winter, so I was unable to appreciate the beautiful Hawaiian air. I did decide to get an ice cream bar though once I had made it to my gate. Next flight was the final leg back home to San Francisco and I landed at 10pm still on Thursday - the longest Thursday traveling backwards in time to finally return home.

I am glad to be home and sad the trip is over. I had so much fun everywhere I went and can’t wait for the next adventure.

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