Napier

Napier is a lovely city, our first stop on the North Island of New Zealand.  It was virtually destroyed in the earthquake of 1931, and re-built in the style of the times: Art Deco, which is still beautifully retained today.

We also went inland into the agricultural countryside. Orchards for apples (mostly Gala), cherries, plums and more competed with new vineyards (and wineries), with sheep still important.  Our stop at a sheep farm, which has transitioned from wool as the mainstay to meat as the mainstay with wool as a minor part.  The farm also row crops and uses AG-tourism to support the income stream. They used to be solely wool, trying for fine wool from merino sheep, but the merino did not do well in the wetter area around Napier.  Still, they had a merino ram, shown below.

All sheep farms use dogs.  This farm used a border collie, a sheepdog, and a huntaway. The Huntaway is a large, strongly built breed of dog used for general sheep herding tasks.  They were bred in NZ to use their loud, deep bark to drive sheep.  Part lab,  border collie and Rottweiler, they use their voices as they circle around the flock.  But the best herder, to me, was the border collie.  

We ended up at an apiary and honey facility, where we could taste the different ho yes (all tasted different) including the costly manuka honey. We also were given some scrumptious ice cream.  Loved their bee entryway display (sorry it is sideways—will fix later):