Hawkes Bay

Hawkes Bay with just a drive of hour and a half from Taupo is one of the New Zealand richest agricultural areas and major wine producing region. Hawkes Bay enjoys plenty of sunshine and diversified landscape, ranging from stunning coastal beaches to fertile plains. Napier and Hastings, popular for fine Art Deco and architecture are the main cities of Hawkes Bay. With beautiful long sunny days for the most part of the year, visitors have endless choices to explore the region of Hawkes Bay.

Napier is the main city of the region, with fine coastal position, and it also get the fair share of sunshine all year round. The city of Napier fascinates the tourists for its outstanding architecture and Art Deco buildings. The Art Deco Walk is the main attraction in Napier all year round.

Hawkes Bay has an airport of its own; it is a domestic airport that links the region to three international airports of New Zealand. There are regular, daily flights of two domestic airlines schedule daily. Besides air connectivity, the three touring routes of the Thermal Explorer Highway, Pacific Coast Highway and the Classic New Zealand Wine Trail connect Hawkes Bay to other cities of the country.

Various events around the calendar are the main feature of Hawkes Bay. There is an assortment of activities taking place year round. February is the harvest season in Hawkes Bay; annual Harvest Hawkes Bay festival is the main highlight for wine and gourmet lovers. It is also a great month for concerts and to visit Cape Kidnappers to catch on the newly hatched gannet chicks. Winter is the great season for outdoor exploration in Hawkes Bay. The Matariki Festival is the advent of the New Year with Maori fireworks, art and other fun activities. The famous Hawkes Bay Winemakers Wine Auction in June is difficult to miss activity for the wine enthusiasts.

Hawkes Bay has rich agricultural heritage with orchards, freshly farm fruits and vegetables; there are food and wine trails to follow and discover the unique taste and exotic sensations any time of the year. The Hawkes Bay vineyards are scattered all around the city. There are more than 30 vineyards open to public and all of them offer tasting too. Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon are the special varieties on the region. Many vineyards in Hawkes Bay also have their indoor and outdoor cafés and restaurants.

Cape Kidnappers is a unique attraction for tourist to Hawkes Bay. The tip of Cape Kidnappers is home to the colony of gannet - large sea birds with long, pointed wings and golden yellow heads. Cape Kidnappers is believed to be the only two mainland colony of gannet in the world. Visitors thronged this place to witness their immaculate method of fishing, at the speed of 145 kilometer per hour.

Hawkes Bay also has the place with the longest name in the world, Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipuka-kapimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuaakitanrahu, which means ‘a place where Tamatea, the man with the big knees, who slid, climbed and swallowed mountains, known as land-eater played his flute to his loved one’. This name in short referred only as Taumatu.