The first time I had heard about 'Napier' was while as a kid I watched cricket matches held in New Zealand, with Father. After that never did I remember seeing any pictures of Napier anywhere or heard anyone mentioning it. So, the only reason my husband and I wanted to visit this place was to see and relate to what we had heard or seen bits of it on TV, and to tick it off our New Zealand check list. :-)
Napier is about 500 km from Auckland. We planned a 3 day trip during the Christmas holidays. With lot of luggage, food, and excitement, we started our journey at 7:30 a.m. We are both suckers for road trips, so we had really been looking forward to this trip. This would also be our first long road trip in New Zealand, and also the first one ever with our boy (excluding the flight journey to Auckland from Bangalore). The day was bright and sunny, and mood - a festive and holiday one. We saw quite a bit of traffic even that early. We did not stop until lunch as we wanted to reach Napier early and also because the baby was asleep, we wanted to cover as much distance possible. We had a quick lunch (bread and potato fry) in the car itself. The drive after our lunch was the best part of the drive. We saw lush greenery, quite a bit of mountains covered with sheep grazing (I can never get bored of this scene), a lot of summer flowering plants,and amazing smooth roads. We stopped at the "Welcome to Hawke's bay" board to click a picture.
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| I have always liked clicking pictures of boards that have some illustrations and text. :-) |
The bright weather had changed by noon to cloudy and slightly windy. I had by now got used to these weather changes and did not feel too bad. As we entered the Hawke's bay region, I started seeing wineries and huge orchards of what looked like plums and apricots. Adjacent to some of these orchards were shops that sold fresh fruits and sometimes fresh fruit ice creams. I instantly loved the whole vibe of this place. The whole stretch looked so colorful and pretty. Adding to the vibrancy were the Pohutukawa trees (New Zealand's native red flowering tree that blooms only in Summers). We stopped at a shop to taste the ice creams. I was surprised to find a table with free tasters placed outside the shops. A little further I saw a board that read "Welcome to Napier. The Art Deco Capital." and I said to myself "I am going to fall in love with this place." Some art, lot of nature, and a bit of colors are good enough to impress me ;-)
We reached the AirBnB house by 3. This place I think will remain the best property we have stayed in up till now. It was a small garage-like place that had a small garden in the front. We had to cross the garden to get to the place. The place had a small kitchen, a dining table with 2 small chairs, a bed, and one of the best looking bathrooms I have ever seen. The whole house had a blue and yellow theme going which gave it a fresh funky vibe. The artwork, painting, and the decor were at their charming best. Turns out Napier is famous for its murals, sea walls, street art, and art deco buildings. Our house was almost like a trailer of what the next 3 days were in store for us. We took a nap, freshened, and had coffee in that garden. Our boy was too small to enjoy the garden though which stopped us from spending too much time outside.
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| I hope I managed to cover it all :-) |
After coffee, we headed out for a small walk to get familiar with the surroundings. The beach was only 15 minutes away. I remember seeing a long line of Pohutukawa and very lengthy palm trees all of them lit up for Christmas. I have never experienced the vibe outside India during Christmas and was totally loving all these street decorations and lights.
We then took our car and decided to explore the city a bit. We first went to a viewpoint from where we got a good view of the clean, neatly arranged pile of logs at the port. It might sound that this could be a boring view, but it definitely wasn't. The port did look really well planned. Ahead of that was a long blue stretch of the ocean. This place is perfect for viewing sunsets, a run, or just some contemplation (all of which were out-of-bound currently for me :D).
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| I hope I managed to cover it all here as well :-) |
Next, we headed to the popular beach side place called Marine parade. Marine parade was basically a long stretch of a beach area that was converted into a space for people and tourists to utilize based on their interests. At a stone's throw from here were a lot of cafes, pubs, and eateries.We saw a hot pool and children's play area from where we parked. We decided to walk and explore a little further all along grumbling about the drizzle. A little ahead was a garden followed by a viewing platform that ran a little further into the sea connected through a bridge. The ocean was magnificent. Never have I ever visited a city which offered an ocean view this vast, clean, and so close. It had huge waves and absolutely no obstructions. The rains made it appear all the more daunting. The vast empty grey space with streaks of white made from the waves in the middle was all we got to stare at. On the opposite side stood the city of Napier. Its old yet what looked like freshly painted buildings, art pieces, murals, and neatly paved artistic looking roads were charming for sure. We couldn't stay and explore for long and returned to the car because of the rains. It was a mood dampener for sure because I was eager to start exploring the city streets immediately. We returned home quite early, cooked our dinner and settled onto the cozy bed (I with a book from the house's bookshelf, by the lampshade).
We woke up quite early next morning hoping for the promised sunny day. Bright and sunny it indeed was, and we got ready to leave as early possible. We drove to the other end of the town towards Hastings from where one could opt to go to Cape Kidnappers (a point a little into the ocean where one could see Gannets). As it was a 4 hour drive by bus, we dropped the plan. We also had the option to trek along the beach to reach this point. But it was out of question with a baby. So, we pent some time at the beach there and headed to the nearby town.
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| The last point in the beach from where we could see Cape Kidnappers |
Napier has plenty of orchards and wineries. And they all frame the city and its surroundings just so beautifully. We enjoyed our drive through these green views, and reached Havelock. We decided to go check the Te Mata peak. The peak was accessible by road and hence it was easier for us to get to the top quickly and and spend good time looking at the spectacular wineries, hills, and the beautiful town of Napier. A little ahead was the Mahia peninsula which we could clearly spot from the peak. Visitors can run, walk or mountain bike through the 99 hectares of this beautiful parkland on a series of well graded tracks. On the way also are the Redwoods forest - a 223 grove of California redwoods. The longer walking circuits take about two hours but shorter walks, suitable for both leisure and more active walkers, are signposted along the way. We would have loved to do one of these walks but did not opt for it because of the windy weather and the little one. We instead spent some time absorbing the views from the peak thinking aloud and accepting the challenges in our current phase of life.
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| Oh, the view :) |
After seeing so many wineries, I must admit, we got a little tempted to visit one of their vineyards and taste what they had to offer. We stopped at the Black Barn vineyard in Havelock. We tasted the premium red wine varieties such as Merlot and Cabernet Franc, and the award-winning whites including Chardonnay and Pinot Gris. We absolutely loved the Pinot Gris and bought one of it. The drive back to Napier was a very pleasant happy one. The wineries on both sides and the lush greenery all around was good for the eyes and soul. We stopped at the Otatara pa historic reserve (a Maori community gathering place in the olden days) by the ocean. One can see some remains of terraces, dwelling sites and food storage pits used in the olden days. The ocean views from here are stunning and there was also a small walking track which sounded a good idea. We walked a little and returned tired deciding to return here in the evening for dinner. We rested a little after lunch and decided to explore the neighboring sea-side village called Ahuriri.
Ahuriri is picture-perfect seaside town with a small beach, a long coastal walkway that contained some sea walls, many eateries and cafes. It was at a walking distance from where we stayed. We returned, packed a quick dinner and headed to Marine parade looking for a perfect spot for our dinner. We parked our car and decided to walk and explore. It was a long stretch from the viewing deck and the city center almost up till Hastings (the point from where one trek to Cape kidnappers through the beach). We could see Cape kidnappers at a distance from here. I might never forget the view of the ocean from here. I spotted a seaside gym at some distance and spent some time exploring it. I could only imagine what living in this town would be like. How healthy and happy would a person be! We spotted a bench a little further and enjoyed our not so tasty and cold (my only grouse here) dinner. We did not have much choice. To enjoy the mighty ocean we had to bear the winds and cold food. We spent some time just sitting inside the car post dinner staring at the ocean.
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| Looking for a spot to sit and eat |
The next morning we had booked a art deco walking tour where a guide walked us through those beautiful buildings, unveiled the finest details which one could skip to notice otherwise, shared stories about what conspired Napier to transform to what it is now. Napier apparently was hit by a powerful earthquake in 1930 which damaged most parts of the town but clearly not the people's spirits. The people immediately stood up and while on their road to recovery decided to beautify and rebuild the city to claim its lost glory.
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| Art Deco walking tour group |
To celebrate this spirit, the art deco festival is held in February every year. People are believed to dress up the in their best vintage attire and take part in the festivities. I paid a quick visit to the museum right opposite to the information center that has complete details about the life in Napier before and after the quake. The walking tour lasted for a couple of hours answering all our questions on the mystical Napier. We left to Auckland soon after a quick lunch of the famous fish and chips from a eatery in Ahuriri.
The pastel buildings we saw in the walking tour, the stunning architecture, and the little embellishments people have managed to carve on the buildings is just stunning. Every wall of Napier has something to offer. From murals to sea walls, the art deco buildings to the line of palm trees providing a view of the calm and majestic pacific ocean at Marine parade, Napier is pure paradise. I took back a huge pile of the pictures of almost every possible art form Napier exhibited, a handful of plums and apricots, that absolutely divine Pinot Gris, a art festival poster and bag, and a fridge magnet depicting the art, and a million clear, crisp, HD images of the colorful and vibrant city.
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