Art deco

Thursday

We took it slowly this morning after the exertion of the day before.  We slept in and caught up on some emailing and didn't end up leaving Taupo until after lunch.

Our drive today wasn't a long one, although it was a varied one.  On the way we passed spectacular mountain vistas, forests and farm land...

... before catching the stunning sight of Hawkes Bay and the town of Napier.

We arrived in Napier at about 3pm and checked into our hostel; the Criterion Art Deco, which certainly lived up to it's name.  The hostel is located in an old 1930s hotel and was classically styled. As was the whole town.

This is because nearly the whole town was designed and built in the late 1930s following a colossal earthquake knocked town the whole core off the town and killed hundreds of people.  You felt like you were in a time warp around town.

It was a lovely sunny afternoon and so after unpacking and finding somewhere to park the car we had a ice cream on the beach, did a short tour of the main streets.

Then we settled in a Mediterranean restaurant on the front to sample some Hawkes Bay wine (local to the region) and share a gourmet pizza and Greek salad.

A simple and comforting towny afternoon/evening that felt quite different to our more outdoorsy time so far in NZ.