New Zealand in pictures: Hawke’s Bay

On the last leg of our whirlwind tour of New Zealand we headed to sunny Hawke’s Bay, and hopped into a fleet of gleaming vintage motors that took us on a tour of Napier.

In keeping with Napier’s Art Deco architecture, our lovely drivers brought the era to life with flapper girl costumes from the roaring twenties.

Irish wine writer Corinna Hardgrave got to sit in the front seat during our Napier tour, which, as fate would have it, took place on 3 February, the same date of the 1931 earthquake, which devastated the Hawke’s Bay region.

The one good thing to come out of the earthquake, which measured 7.8 on the Richter scale, was the fact that Napier was quickly rebuilt in the architectural style of the time – Art Deco – and to this day remains the Art Deco capital of the world.

Napier boasts 147 Art Deco buildings restored and repainted in cheery pastels. Among the highlights to look out for are the 1938 Municipal Theatre, which has its original chrome and neon fittings, and the former offices of the Daily Telegraph newspaper with its lotus flower capitals.

Cruising through the Art Deco streets with the tops of our vintage motors down and horns tooting at passers by, it felt like we’d jumped into the pages of The Great Gatsby.

Wind in our hair and the smell of fresh gasoline in the air, the tour ended with a cruise down a broad, palm-lined boulevard.

db’s Lucy Shaw couldn’t resist posing in her shiny blue set of wheels – Bonnie – a 1927 Buick.

The Art Deco theme continued at Hawke’s Bay’s famous farmers market, which we rocked up to in a gorgeous Art Deco bus called Belle.

The market was filled with tempting treats, including these adorable miniature pumpkins.

Hawke’s Bay is a haven for classic cars – we fell a little bit in love with this mint green Zephyr.

After the farmers market we cruised by Mission Estate, the oldest winey in New Zealand, which was founded in 1851 by French missionaries.

Mission Estate Winery is housed in an elegantly restored seminary building nestled in the Taradale hills, offering stunning views of the vineyards.

While at Mission we were treated to a tasting of some of the top Chardonnays and Syrahs being made in Hawke’s Bay today, both of which impressed us with their elegance, finesse, complexity and ageability.

Having worked up an appetite, lunch didn’t disappoint – the feast fruits de mers would have made Marie Antoinette blush with delight.

Our final visit of the trip took us to Craggy Range, where the canopy of blue sky turned pink as the evening drew on. Established in 1998, the winery overlooks the spectacular Te Mata Peak.

Dining al fresco, we enjoyed one of the best meals of our trip at Craggy, made largely from produce grown in and around the estate.