Hawke's Bay Today is supporting a fundraising campaign to build a visitor information and education centre at Te Mata Park, at the base of the mountain. In the months ahead, we will be writing stories about it
Kiwis Sarah and Ross Calder live in Brisbane but Hawke's Bay features highly in their lives, especially Te Mata Peak, where they tied the knot 13 years ago.
It was in 1995 when Ross proposed to Sarah in true Kiwi-bloke style, at a rugby game in Napier.
"He placed a message on the scoreboard and at half time popped the question, got down on one knee on the embankment," Mrs Calder said.
The proposal featured on the front page of the Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune newspaper and five years later on April 8, 2000, the couple were married at Te Mata Peak, Havelock North.
"It was a cold bleak day but that did not dampen our spirits and 13 years later we are still going strong. We had our pictures taken in the woods during what was nearly sleet, it was that cold.
"We decided on Te Mata Peak as it overlooks the region my husband and I both grew up in and love. It was meant to be sunny but that was not meant to be. We are still very happy with our choice."
The couple had another venue in Hastings as a "back-up plan" but loved Te Mata Peak so much they decided to stay with their first option.
"Yes, we loved it even though the weather was not our friend. We love the fact we were different and had such a magnificent backdrop."
Mrs Calder said she and her husband always talk about Hawke's Bay to their friends in Australia.
"We talk about the food and wine a lot and the peak that overlooks the plains, ranges and coast.
"We tell friends here and remind our kids where they have come from and the history of Te Mata Peak and the Maori legend attached to it. We show pictures of the peak from our wedding, calendars that mum sends over every year and online."
Mrs Calder said she and her husband had fond memories of Te Mata Peak when they were growing up in Hawke's Bay, from "Sunday drives" with her parents as kids up to the peak, to visits there with her own children.
"I remember biking with my brother to the entrance gates below the restaurant and giving up as we were knackered, but had a ball flying back down."
Mr Calder was a frequent visitor to the peak on his motorbike when he was "a young Hawke's Bay lad". The couple also remembered an April fools' day trick played by a local radio which suggested there were penguins on the peak as it was so cold. "We could see the peak from our house and through binoculars could see all these cars trying to get up there to see them. It is a fantastic symbol of Hawke's Bay that we love."
The Calders said they liked the idea of a visitor and education information centre planned for Te Mata Park.
The family had been living in Brisbane for five years now but returned to Hawke's Bay once a year for visits, weddings and birthdays.
"We are back this year for Christmas/New Year for the first time and can't wait. Our favourite spots are any fruit shops, Pourerere beach, Ahuriri district, wineries and of course Te Mata Peak."
The Te Mata Park Trust, which is heading the campaign to build a new visitor and education information centre at the peak, and to build interest around their fundraising efforts, is hoping more people like the Calders will come forward with their stories showing how the well-known mountain has inspired romance.
The trust said Te Mata Peak was a popular destination for Hawke's Bay couples to marry.
There had been 10 weddings in the Redwoods at the Te Mata Park during the 2012/13 summer. Wedding parties regularly booked photo shoots at the lookout and many proposal had taken place on its slopes.
Share your story
If you have a story to share about a special marriage proposal or wedding ceremony involving Te Mata Park, please email news@hbtoday.co.nz or contact the news desk, (06) 873 0810. The stories goes in a draw to win a donated $100 voucher for the new The Peak restaurant when it opens in a few months.
Readers can LIKE their favourite story, either posted on the Hawke's Bay Today Facebook page or the Te Mata Park Facebook page. The story with the most LIKES wins.