Just south of Havelock North is a fantastic scenic area with a host of walking tracks. Maranu, our host in Napier, suggested we make the half hour drive to enjoy the sun before we started working for her. We were glad to take her advice and we set out for a hike!

We parked our car and decided to take the trail from the car park through the Redwoods to the summit of Te Mata Peak. We kept getting turned around since the tracks weren’t very well sign posted (very unusual for New Zealand!), but with a little help from other walkers, we found the right trails.

These are Californian Redwoods, introduced to New Zealand in the early 1900s. A little piece of home on the other side of the world (sort of. California is still a long way from Tennessee! :-P)

The journey to the summit was steep in some areas, but the views made it worth it.

Once at the top, we stopped for a picnic lunch and a few more photo ops. We find we appreciate the view so much more when you have to climb up there yourself.

Check out more pictures from Te Mata Peak on Facebook!