For some reason these all posted out of order...Not that any of you would notice that it would be funny to put Napier and Hawke's Bay and Wanganui in the same day. I think only Lyle and Donna will notice, but hopefully they won't mind.
In Wanganui, we took Lyle and Donna to see Bushy Park...and of course, had to take the requisite picture with the giant Kiwi. At Bushy Park, they got to see some nicely preserved native forrest and the North Island's largest Rata tree, "Ratanui." Unfortunately, no Kiwis, but they'd had the chance to see them at Mount Bruce Reserve and Rainbow Springs. But once you see how cute they are, you've got to pose with every possible rendition of them!
When we got home from travelling with the Thiessens, we found that our Romaine had grown a couple of more stories. Amazing how things grow here...unfortunately, so do the weeds. We had our work cut out for us!
Of course, we had to take them to try out the Flying Fox at Kai Iwi Beach...our most favorite Flying Fox in New Zealand. These are fantastic playground ziplines, scattered all over NZ. No age limits, no supervision, totally free. You can't find these in the States so freely...as you can imagine the lawyer and ER doctor can conjure up 100's of reasons this is a bad idea in the US, but super fun in NZ! Here is Lyle about to go for a ride. Donna rode a couple of times, and even convinced a 76-year-old onlooker to take a ride!
Windy, windy day at Kai Iwi Beach...it was actually closed for swimming because the ocean was so angry!
This is the whole crew on their last night in NZ...it was a great trip!! 
In Napier, we took Lyle and Donna on the Lonely Planet walking tour...Lonely Planet has a pretty good walking tour outlined in most towns of any significant size in NZ, and it's always a good way to get your bearings and see a little of the town. Here they are in the park with a giant, old tree.
In 1931, Hawke's Bay was struck with a giant earthquake (7.8 on the richter scale), and most of Napier was destroyed. They rebuilt shortly thereafter, and because of the timing, the city now has a distinct Art-Deco feel through all of the architecture. Most of the buildings look like this -- It's like walking around in an old Superman comic book!
On Saturday morning we hit the Hastings Farmers Market. We've become pros at shopping the farmers markets in NZ, eating in season, and becoming total olive oil snobs. It's so fun...first we gorged ourselves on apricots, then strawberries, then peaches, and lately plums and nectarines. You just buy whatever's cheapest and enjoy until the next yummy thing gets cheap. Here's Patrick with the boysenberries we got that day - They didn't last long. (Wanganui actually has a fantastic farmers market every Saturday, featuring our favorites, the Crepe Ladies and the Omelet Guy. We're not sure what their real names are, but we love them.)
The day that didn't go as planned...here we are all ready for our fun bicycle wine-tour (Hawkes Bay is renowned as a food-and-wine-region.) The plan was stop for lunch at a little cafe situated within a chocolate factory (yes, please!), then cycle around to a few wineries, doing some tastings along the way, then leisurely return the bikes in time to have a little rest before dinner...What ACTUALLY happened...the cafe was closed (=no lunch), the map was wrong (=couldn't find a winery, or anywhere to give us lunch), we rode all the way to the coast and had to go back to a brewery for lunch along a busy highway (=total 15 miles biked that day, most of which occurred before anyone had eaten! We did find some tasty fish and chips and ciders to try at the brewery, not a total loss.), and then we had to ride back to the bicycle rental place just as a torrential downpour commenced. We returned the bikes, drove to a winery so they could at least taste at one place...and the tasting room was closed. Needless to say, Lyle and Donna (and Patrick and Molly) were very good sports!
This day makes me tired. But it looks like fun.
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