Wellington to Napier

the journey

A long one, this, especially as we choose to travel on an undulating forest road; all goes well to begin with but it gets narrower with more hairpins that are negotiable in themselves but then add mad cyclists hurtling towards us a breakneck speed, sometimes fully committed, in the centre of a blind hairpin: sheer madness. I resort to blaring the horn on each uphill bend. This road is a no go on a Saturday, I think. It's a relief to get back on a state highway for a change as we make a couple of welcome stops at Paekakariki (for a cool coffee) and Waikanae Beach.

The long trip to Napier passes quite quickly, with Sue taking a big stint. We roll in around 5pm and settle in before an enjoyable 'social' with the group.

the city

The second day is all about Napier, which was virtually destroyed in the 1931 earthquake and rebuilt in the following years. The quake lifted the surrounding land, creating an amazing extra 3000 hectares.
What makes the place unique is that, because it was rebuilt at that time (in the 30's depression) it's the highest concentration of original Art Deco buildings in the world. A very nice place it is too, with the Art Deco Trust looking after its preservation.

We have a relaxing day seeing and learning; I have this fascination with the Art Deco period, although it stood, in many ways, for a time of class division and excess.

We finish the day with an enjoyable get together with the like minded travelling gang.

Poor bandwidth and 4G at this site so just a couple of Napier images. See HERE  for more about this amazing town.