Napier and around

Art deco building in Napier

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After an interesting scenic ride from Taupo (2 hrs), we arrived in Napier, famous for its art deco architecture. Napier was completely vanished when it was struck by an earthquake in 1931 (7.9 on Richter scale). It was completely rebuilt in art deco style and ranks amongst the world's famous art deco cities alongside Miami.

Here we spent one day, but the weather was not great so we decided to move down south to Hastings.

Both Napier and Hastings are in the Hawke's Bay area, an area famous for its wines. So on the third day we drove to a winery called Te Awa (famous for its Merlots and Pinot Grigios) and tasted some delicious wines (but too pricey for our backpackers' budget).

In Hastings we inquired about workon an orchard as we both want to earn some cash and have the experience of picking fruit in New Zealand. The apple picking season does not start until mid Feb though, so we will have to come back here.

Vineyards on the way to Napier

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Driving from Hastings to Havelock North, we drove up the Te Mata Peak, a long ridge of limestone bluffs. Here we had great views of Hawke's Bay and Cape Kidnappers.