We left Wellington 2 days ago and drove to Napier. On the way we stopped and put our feet into the Tasman Sea. The Tasman Sea seperates New Zealand and Australia by about 980 miles.
Napier is a beautiful little city along the east cost of New Zealand. 
It is a small resort city with beautifl beaches and a cute downtown shopping district. Many of the buildings are in the art deco style, which gives this town a unique look and feel. We walked along the beach, which is a black pebble beach and did some beach combing for awhile. We decided on a Steak restuarant for dinner. Our decision was based on wanting to see if steak tasted differently here than back home in the states. Interestingly, we found it tastes VERY different. The taste was a much gamier taste, probably because all livestock here is grass fed. They augment livestock 
occassionally when necessary (with grain), but only when neccessary. There are few crop fields in the country, so grain would need to be imported. Grass is everywhere however, so they graze the livestock. This can not be the only difference though, since I have had grass fed beef in the U.S. and it does not taste as gamey as the beef here. It must be the difference in grass. We also noticed a different taste to cheese and ice cream. I have heard that cheese made from cows in Wisconsin tastes differently than cheese made from cows in France because of the gasss, and I am assuming the same reason exists here. We walked the downtown and visited a few shops in this quaint town. It reminds me of the shore town in New Jersey, but more upsclae and nicer in so many ways.
It is a small resort city with beautifl beaches and a cute downtown shopping district. Many of the buildings are in the art deco style, which gives this town a unique look and feel. We walked along the beach, which is a black pebble beach and did some beach combing for awhile. We decided on a Steak restuarant for dinner. Our decision was based on wanting to see if steak tasted differently here than back home in the states. Interestingly, we found it tastes VERY different. The taste was a much gamier taste, probably because all livestock here is grass fed. They augment livestock 
occassionally when necessary (with grain), but only when neccessary. There are few crop fields in the country, so grain would need to be imported. Grass is everywhere however, so they graze the livestock. This can not be the only difference though, since I have had grass fed beef in the U.S. and it does not taste as gamey as the beef here. It must be the difference in grass. We also noticed a different taste to cheese and ice cream. I have heard that cheese made from cows in Wisconsin tastes differently than cheese made from cows in France because of the gasss, and I am assuming the same reason exists here. We walked the downtown and visited a few shops in this quaint town. It reminds me of the shore town in New Jersey, but more upsclae and nicer in so many ways.
We left Napier after 1 night and drove to Gisborne. Gisborne is known as the first city to see the sunrise each day. Gisborne is a city secluded on a bay along the east coast on New Zealand. There is one road in from the south, and one road in from the north. The road in from the south that we drove on was the a very twisty road through beautifu gorges. The hairpin turns and treacherous condistions were made all the more exciting by construction and huge logging and tracter trailer trucks, many doubles. This made it a thrill-filled ride, I assure you! 
I was astonished that some of these trucks could drive their huge trucks on these roads that barely allowed two cars to pass. 
We arrived in Gisborne and checked into our hotel. We are staying at a hotel where Nav's father works (Nav is a friend of Lindsay's). The hotel is beautiful and sits right at the point of a river and the bay. Gisborne has a beautiful riverwalk along the river that is used for biking, walking, etc. The river has shipping and recreational traffic along it. We walked from the hotel to the downtown area (about 8 blocks) to meet Nav at a resturant for dinner. Nav is a really nice young man and we really enjoyed his company. We talked, laughed and had a very nice dinner at a Turkish retsurant 
he had chosen. The meal was delicious, as was the dessert. We need more Turkish retsurants in the U.S.! We left the resturant and walked back through downtown as Nav gave a narrative about the area and the town. We walked down along the riverwalk and finally arrived at the hotel. What a wonderful evening!
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