Napier

A fine spell at the Mission vineyard in Hawkes Bay. Spent the day going from one vineyard to the next tasting the goods and learning about NZ wine along the way. Our guide, Gareth, drove the minibus, and that was a good thing.


Who knew there was a Beach Boys Savignon Blanc? Each year the Mission winery hosts a huge outdoor concert and labels one of their season's wines with one of the big acts. There was also Dionne Warwick Rose and Rod Stewart Cab Merlot.




After sampling wine, we went to Marineland to earn our 'Penguin Rescue Certificate'. My penguin has an undiagnosed inner ear problem so he can't walk straight or hold his head up. If you hold him wrong, he'll start flapping his wings to gain sensory input. Poor thing, in the NZ health care system, he'll never get the MRI he needs, much less any surgical fix.