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| Napier after Hawke's Bay earthquake |
Very few buildings survived the 1931 earthquake and subsequent fire which destroyed most of the town.
The surviving buildings were mainly of timber, including a set of 6 2-storey houses on the waterfront built by a wealthy man for his unmarried daughters and now called the Six Sisters.
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| Ariel view of Napier and Hawkes Bay |
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| Marine Parade |
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| Two of the Six Sisters - matching houses |
Again we had a nice warm day, with temperatures in the mid 20s, thankfully a bit cooler than yesterday. We took a tour with Shawn and Tina, which covered the Aquarium, city sites and a winery. The guide was very good, and passionate about the region.The Aquarium was quite small, but we saw Little Penguins (Korora) , a turtle and some kiwis through a darkened room. The Little Penguins were the same (species) that we’d seen in the harbour at Akaroa.
What was interesting was that there was a water jet just above the water and one penguin was using it for swimming practice – like a wave pool, swimming against the current.
Napier is in the Hawkes Bay region which is one of the most agriculturally productive in New Zealand; mainly wines, apples (and other fruits), vegetables and timber.
On our way to the Mission Winery the driver explained how the earthquake actually lifted the area about 2 metres, so in addition to the destruction it caused, the surrounding swampland and low bays were now above sea level, creating a massive increase in land area and changing the way ships approach the town. It also provided much of the fertile agricultural area around Napier and Hastings.
At the Mission Winery, Frances, Shawn and Tina sampled the wines which they said were quite good and reasonably priced – unlike many of the vineyard cellars in Australia.
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| Mission Winery |
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| The vineyard |
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| The girls sampling the produce |
On the way back into town we stopped at the Silky Oak chocolate factory where my companions indulged in a little tasting.
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| Silky Oak chocolates |
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| Chocolate display |
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| Chocolate mould tray |
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| Photo courtesy NMTC |
Also in the museum was an exhibition about the local Maori culture, including film footage from the week long Hui Aroha in 1919 to welcome home the Maori Pioneer Battalion.
The highlight for me was watching the young girls' Poi dance in which the oldest girl would step to the front to indicate the next move for the other girls to follow. Maybe you had to be there, but I found it fascinating.
The rest of the afternoon we spent exploring Napier on foot. They take Art Deco pretty seriously here and have annual festivals and make the most of its marketability for tourism.
Of course just out of the town are new estates with a swathe of ugly, new, large houses packed together like sardines to make up for it.
The photos below are a selection taken on our walk.
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| Timber church |
church, designed and build in the architectural shape and style of a stone church, including buttresses and arched windows, but made of timber.
In a complete departure from the Art Deco features and heritage, there is large series of excellent ecologically and environmentally based murals within the town.
The artistic style is pretty unique and its impact is magnified by their association with each other rather than just a one-off mural. Unfortunately I could only photograph a small selection.
Hope they had a break.
