I’ve needed a break recently.

With so much going on globally, it’s been easy to get overwhelmed. It’s simultaneously been very easy to get bored from the same old, same old locally.

We haven’t been in the position to jet off overseas to a tropical island beach, or some massive, heaving metropolis, but we ARE very fortunate to live in one of the most popular tourist destinations in New Zealand.

So, we stayed there – TWICE!

In late January we had a family night at Te Pania Hotel on Napier’s Marine Parade.

Miss InFrame wanted to stay somewhere that had room service (cheers, YouTube..), and Napier’s Scenic Circle Hotel had cheap nights going, so we spent Friday night / Saturday morning looking out over Hawke Bay.

We played “tourist”, going to Wardini Bookshop, and Mrs. InFrame bought a new handbag from Beja Flor.

We had a flash dinner at Te Pania’s restaurant, The Curve, before going across the road to Ocean Spa for an evening dip in their heated pools.

We woke the next morning to the stunning summer sun rising over Hawke Bay.

We did, indeed, get room service for breakfast, and ate with cricket on the television and Marine Parade glowing in the morning light outside our window

It was a great little break away, while still only being a few kilometers from home!

Inspired by our hotel stay, Mrs. InFrame had been looking for somewhere to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary, which is coming up later this year a little early, because of other plans closer to the date.

For our honeymoon we stayed amongst the gum trees and kookaburras in the Dandenong Ranges outside Melbourne (the last time we went overseas), and a few years ago friends of ours who ran a “glamping” retreat gave us a night’s accommodation.

She found something that mixed the two, and then some in The Enchanted Retreat in Havelock North!

Part tent, part Frank Lloyd Wright-esque glasshouse, the retreat was very flash, with smart home technology meaning fire, blinds, light and other features were merely a tablet press away!

The night we arrived it was absolutely heaving with rain, but we were still warm and dry in the opulent surroundings.

Only a few minutes from the middle of Havelock North, The Enchanted Retreat is set in amongst trees, overlooking a valley with Paki Paki, and the ranges to the west in the distance.

The rain had worn itself out by the morning and after a quick dip in the hot tub we ventured into Havelock North Village to get some breakfast from Ya Bon Table to go with the juices we had gotten from Hapi in Napier the day before.

While in the village we went for a wander to the original Wardini Books shop.

A fictionalised-ish version of the store and Havelock North Village is the main setting for most of the goings on in Wardini’s owners, Gareth and Louise Ward’s bestselling “Bookshop Detective” novels.

After retreating back to the.. erm.. Retreat for a few hours to read, and catch up on Star Wars Andor episodes, we headed for Te Mata Peak to go for a walk amongst the redwoods.

(It really is fortunate that my phone camera takes panoramic photos horizontally AND vertically…)

Yet again only a few minutes from the middle of suburban Havelock North it really felt like you were in the middle of a wonderfully natural nowhere.

Back to nearby civilisation we went for a light, early dinner at Japanese Restaurant & Cocktail Bar Piku.

Before retiring, once again, to the hot tub to watch the sun set over the ranges.

It was a fantastic couple of nights, yet again so close to home, but also feeling far away.

If you’re looking at visiting my home region (or locals considering having a similar staycation) I can highly recommend these places!