To us, Napier looked like the Hollywood of NZ, if you will, at least as far as architectural moods are concerned. (Caveat – neither Elisse nor I have really been to Hollywood. Also, the real Hollywood of NZ is Wellington, in the movie-making sense.) After a 1931 earthquake demolished the town, the whole thing was rebuilt in Art Deco style. While we were there, around every corner we saw bold lines on buildings, classy straw hats, shiny chrome on cars, and hardly legible but very cool fonts on street signs. We wandered all over – around the parks, along the beachside boulevard, through the downtown – feeling like we were accidentally on a very suave movie set.
So – we liked Napier a lot. In addition to the time warp and the beautiful weather, the town is centered in the Hawkes Bay wine region, with vineyards all around. We took two days to experience the bounty of the land, during which we somehow convinced ourselves that we should figure out how to bring some of it home with us. (Spoiler alert – we’re returning with local wine. Come visit soon.)
At least a full kilometer of Norfolk Pines lining the road into townA lovely example of Elisse's late pre-modern art: excellent continuity and shadow, showing us how two distinct lines can be perceived as a single whole. She really puts a lot of emotion in this one.I wanted to check out the comfort level of the tub before committing to actually filling it with water and getting wet.All along the beachside was a long park area, with lots of shade covers, benches, playgrounds, and a long, wide bike path that lead for miles either direction. Good show, Napier.The beginning of our morning photo walk. Art Deco, here we come!Even the trash cans are classy.Airstream coffee!Apparently this stadium was important enough that they had to put barbed wire around it. Seriously? That doesn't really fit with the ethos here.Cute houses / businesses.Such fun public toilet art!Bathroom art continued.There were a few Victorian era houses still aroundAll the street signs are in this font. Could you read this successfully while driving 30kmph? No, I didn't think so.The Dome here is one of the more iconic sights. It's right in the center of town.An ocean-side event space with a half shell music space at the far end. Very cool.We headed up to the bluff above the city that you can see far away here - the views were lovely.I'm working on my photoshop skills. Not bad, eh?The same building in the background of the fountain, but with no fountain blocking the way. Taadaa!This car is right outside a museum where I tried on *lots* of straw hats. I didn't find the perfect one. : (Awesome ground artBelieve it or not, the business behind the blue door is actually a nice whisky tasting bar.What makes this even better is the 'EFTPOS' sign cutely posted in the front. That's the term here for 'we take credit cards', but it's not often done so well and on theme.Love the front of this hotel.Entrance to the parkJacaranda - and as confirmed by Google, I even spelled it right on my first try. Score.We accidentally found a farmers market! Under the Jacaranda! Catch of the day: apricots, plums, peaches, and real fruit blueberry ice cream.I liked this plant.Then we went up to a scenic lookout. The prime view was of the shipyard, but it was pretty all the same.And there was a garden! The Napier Domain.Cliff side houses, a bird, a norfolk pine, and Cape Kidnappers in the background!Another 'bird' for our collection.Craggy Range Vineyards gardensLook! It's the namesake craggy range!Lots of rocks here - good drainage for vine growing.That is indeed an elephant statue. It's right outside a tasting room that's just inside a gigantic glass window from an infinity pool, backed up by vines, with the ocean not far behind. They've done a good job of making it pretty.We visited another vineyard, this one with some scenic pool action.Sculpture along the beach-side walkway.Water feature! Kids were playing in this one. It kind of reminded me of the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool a bit, so at first it ws kind of strange to see people in it.Scenic dinner!Our little running track, on the other side of the road.Napier is pretty.
I feel like you guys did a much better job of visiting Napier than we did! I guess having more than a day and a morning helps, especially if you haven’t dedicated your day to wine tasting by bike. (No regrets, Hawke’s Bay is my new favorite wine region and it sounds like you guys liked it too. I’m coming over very soon.)
I feel like you guys did a much better job of visiting Napier than we did! I guess having more than a day and a morning helps, especially if you haven’t dedicated your day to wine tasting by bike. (No regrets, Hawke’s Bay is my new favorite wine region and it sounds like you guys liked it too. I’m coming over very soon.)
Yeah, we had a bit more time, and I do think dedicated wine tasting time was a good choice there. It was one of our favorite wine regions here too.