We were told by Dominic’s host family that we had to see Napier on Hawke’s Bay. We took her advice and drove to this location after our time in Taupo. Napier is a city stuck in the early 1930’s. In 1931 a powerful earthquake destroyed the city, leaving hundreds dead and many more homeless, but it also raised thousands of hectares that were once underwater. The city was quickly rebuilt and now it’s a destination location for modern day flappers and gangsters. In the summer the city is crammed with men and women of all ages dressed as an era they didn’t experience. This adult dress up party has it’s appeal but sadly without all the costumes Dominic and I thought Napier was a tad boring.
Like the Drive from Rotorua to Taupo, Taupo to Napier was just as monotonous, with tree farms on gently rolling hills. There were the occasional waterfall marked on the map, but the road markings were hard to find and not clear about what potential sites there were to see. As soon as we made it to Napier we checked into the nearly empty Criterion Art Deco Backpackers hostel. There was a faint smell of old cigarette smoke from a time it was allowed. I read that they once had a very damaging fire in the early 90s that started in the bar underneath and so fire safety is definitely something they take seriously. Other than the funny smell, the rooms were clean with sheets and pillows. The central location was also ideal for our desire to walk and enjoy some of the wine famous in the region.
Like the Drive from Rotorua to Taupo, Taupo to Napier was just as monotonous, with tree farms on gently rolling hills. There were the occasional waterfall marked on the map, but the road markings were hard to find and not clear about what potential sites there were to see. As soon as we made it to Napier we checked into the nearly empty Criterion Art Deco Backpackers hostel. There was a faint smell of old cigarette smoke from a time it was allowed. I read that they once had a very damaging fire in the early 90s that started in the bar underneath and so fire safety is definitely something they take seriously. Other than the funny smell, the rooms were clean with sheets and pillows. The central location was also ideal for our desire to walk and enjoy some of the wine famous in the region.
We had a wine tasting scheduled at the Wine Center later in the evening, but before we fuzzied our brains we took a walking tour around the city. We stopped for a snack and tea at one of the cute cafes that lined the same street as our hostel. It was a tasty little meal with a kick of heat in the salsa.
Hawke’s Bay was a rock beach with “fresh”, by Dominic’s standard but freezing by mine, water. The current was definitely a hidden power so I didn’t spend to much time walking in the water but I enjoyed our nice walk on the beach and being the only people there.
From the beach we made our way up to a lookout, by walking through hidden parks with waterfalls and beautiful flowers, random neighborhoods with hidden stairways to traditional homes and a few modern monstrosities sprinkled in. Once we made it to the top we saw a lovely view of Hawkes bay and the unsightly Napier port. For me ports are important but by no means pretty, they are too industrial for my liking.
All throughout the city we were constantly reminded of the pride Napier has for it’s Unesco’s world heritage recognition for it’s Art Deco buildings. Perhaps we would have been more inspired and impressed had we been architecture enthusiasts. One thing that did impress us was the wine. The wine tasting was ok but it was made better by our hostess. She was a lovely, well traveled, bubbly personality who gave us a few extra free samples, AND she introduced us to MY favorite wine. The Doctors Riesling 2012. After the wine tasting we filled our tummy with some delicious Indian food and downed our bottle of the Doctors. It was great to learn that any restaurants in NZ are BYOB. Bring your own booze, some have the occasional cork fee, but many allow the booze in for free. After dinner and polishing off potentially a bottle of wine apiece, we looked into finding a bar or two to hangout. It was unfortunate that most of the bars were empty, or filled with the creepy locals, and the drinks were expensive for their quality. We called it quits and headed back for an early night. |
The next day, at breakfast in another cute cafe, I convinced Dominic that we should at least do a walking tour of the city and the historic art deco buildings. He wasn’t very pleased but agreed. We went to pick up a little self guided brochure, when we were manipulated into watching a 30min film over the Earthquake and out an additional 20NZD. Don’t let little old ladies fool you, they are tricky witches. By that point we had lost most of our interest to see and read anymore about art deco. We walked two blocks before we drove off towards Wellington.
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