Whizz through Napier, Hastings to Greytown

With only 19 days before we had to be back at Mount Maunganui we realised our schedule would be pretty tight for seeing and doing all we would like between there and Cape Palliser, the southern-most point of the North Island and south-east of Wellington, having never been before. So the plan was to get to Cape Palliser as quickly as we could and come back a little more slowly, hopefully seeing as much as the Waiarapa as we can while we're down there as it will be easier to return to Hawkes Bay to do more there another time.

So on Thursday 6th June we said goodbye to the Mount and the boys leaving our car at our friends (Tony & Margarets) at Tauriko and taking the back road to Rotorua we headed straight for Napier, bypassing Taupo. It was another cold day and we knew we would need to park somewhere where we could plug our little heater in so our first nights stop was at the Bay View Motorcamp on the outskirts of Napier. A tiny camp with a circle of facilities in the centre - two toilets only and one of these had a shower in it, plus there were a couple more showers and an almost open-air basic kitchen, not that we needed it. At least we were warm for our $32 with the outside temperature going down to 0.7° overnight. The camp was quiet, being winter but you could see how they probably jammed campers in over summer by the power connections along the fenceline of the drive in. Looked likke it could make entry & exit very difficult!

The next morning we bypassed Napier, but reminisced about the cycle tracks along the way which we had ridden last time we were there, and headed straight for the Hawkes Bay golf club, passing the Hastings Club on the way. This also looked a nice course so we may play this one on our return!

It was a freezing cold day so thermals under all the other layers were a must, as well as the woolly hat - gorgeous! But at least I was cosy. 

Don't let it get into your head!

The course was quiet but the guys in the Pro Shop were nice and friendly and we were welcome to stay the night at the course connected to power and have this included within our green fees of $40 each which is actually pretty dear! No discount for affiliated players here. The course was nice to play being mainly flat with gentle undulations on the fairways and quite a good run of the ball for this time of the year. The greens were fairly true but were surrounded by a total of 37 bunkers, some pretty deep, just to make it more challenging!  Neither of us played very well on the first 9 but we redeemed ourselves somewhat on the back nine.

The night was freezing so it was again good to be able to plug our little heater in to keep warm. Only one neighbour there, (just as well with all the coughing I'm currently doing at night!) - an older man, with a friendly, happy black dog in his caravan, who looked as though he was there semi- permanently.

The next day, Saturday, after loosening  up our frozen limbs we drove south to Greytown only stopping for a coffee beside some old buildings in Ongaonga

Old Ongaonga.

and a naughty winter pie in Dannevirke as we know we will be able to take things more slowly, as well as see & do more on our return trip. Greytown is the oldest town in the Waiarapa and is situated within its heart. It only has a population of 2202 but in 2017 was awarded the title of NZ's Most Beautiful Small Town and it is easy to see why. Wonderful preserved colonial cottages and well-cared for historic buildings are a delight to see along the streets and if you are into Boutique shopping Greytown is the place to go if you have plenty of cash to spare.

We stayed at the, also rather historic, little campground, with it's easy walk into town, which provides a winter Campsaver Deal to NZMCA members - only $20 a night for a powered site. Excellent value, a good shower included and a great stopover point before heading to Cape Palliser the next day.