Local In-SITE Winner Discovers Bays Best Gems
Friday 4 May 2012, 2:52PM
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It’s not very often as a local you get to play tourist in your own backyard, but Hawke’s Bay’s in-SITE competition winner Anneke Kersley gets to do just that.
Last weekend Anneke and her husband Andrew were treated to three days of jam-packed adventure and experiences which included everything from swimming with the sharks at the National Aquarium of New Zealand to quad biking over farmlands with On Track Adventures.
Anneke saw the competition advertised by Napier i-SITE inviting locals and visitors to share their favourite place or amazing experience in the region and enter through the Napier i-SITE website. An obvious inspiration for Anneke was a weekend back in February 2010 when she and Andrew invited their best friends from around the country to join them at Mangatainoka Hot Springs near Te Puia Hut.
“We had visited the springs a few other times but we really wanted our friends to experience the magic of the place just as we had done, “says Anneke.
“The walk to the springs takes about three and a half hours and you can fish along the way which is great fun. But the absolute best reward at the end of the walk is the hot pools which is where we set up camp. Nothing can beat sitting in hot pools in the bush – it’s such a unique and magical spot, “says Anneke.
With hundreds of entries and such a wide range of in-SITEs to choose from, the Napier i-SITE team had their work cut-out for them to choose a winner.
Napier i-SITE Manager, Carolyn Neville, said Anneke’s entry was selected by their judging panel because Mangatainoka Hot Springs is such a hidden gem.
“Our team is fortunate in that we get to experience many of the local secrets of Hawke’s Bay and then get to share them with visitors. But it’s fabulous also to hear what visitors and locals think are our best secrets too - it means we’ve got an even bigger pool of reasons for visitors to experience more and to stay longer.”
Napier i-SITE now has a great reference tool for anyone else needing inspiration of what to do in the region – check out their website www.napiercity.co.nz . Although the competition has finished, there’s still time to add your in-SITE.
For Anneke Kersley the website inspired her too.
“I went onto the website to enter my favourite place Mangatainoka Hot Springs, but at the same time I was drawn-in by reading about other in-SITEs. Now I’ve got a long list of other local adventures to have and special places to discover”.