Because the weather was bad in the mountains we decided to spend a few days in Napier and surroundings. We wanted to visit this area anyway and this is were the sun was this week.
Most of Napier was destroyed in 1931 in an earthquake. In spite of the big depression the city was more or less rebuilt in 2 years. The result was a city centre with almost all buildings in Art Deco style which was popular at the time. A few buildings that were built just a few years before the earthquake survived otherwise everything had to be rebuilt. The first house that was built was already designed and planned before the natural disaster and as they were working they made as much noise as possible to give the city some hope of the future.
The city is obviously very proud of its history and everyone is participating in conserving the architecture which is like a huge outdoor museum. It is important for the businesses that renovates old buildings to keep the old style and original details are restored. I am personally very fond of the Art Deco architecture and enjoyed every moment in this town.
The area around Hawkes Bay is famous for its wine and we took the opportunity to bike around the vineyards and did some wine tasting. Napier also has a small aquarium which is well worth a visit. This is were we saw our first kiwi.
 |
| Napier – wine tasting and Art Deco |