August 27-29 in Napier / Hawke’s Bay

Before you read this, scroll down a bit for entries by date (I fell behind there for a bit and had to play catch-up...)


Gratefully, the temperatures on the central west coast, generally referred to as Hawke’s Bay, were several notches higher and it's felt comparitively mild here. I am writing this entry from our hotel in the city of Napier. The city is notable for containing the largest collection of Art Deco architecture in a single location anywhere in the word, and the story of how it came about is an interesting one. On February 3, 1931, a magnitude 7.8 earthquake hit the city and completely destroyed it. 162 people were killed, and the quake was so severe that it raised the land surrounding the area between 2-3 meters. Whole estuaries were drained in about 5 minutes. A British warship, the HMS Veronica, was actually struck by the rising seafloor during the quake. The presence of the ship in the bay turned out to be fortuitous to Napier, since the navy crew was able to render aid to the townfolk and save many lives. After the quake, the town was rebuilt with a renewed spirit and a new theme, Art Deco. The changes also allowed city planners to lay out the city in a very organized fashion, and it shows even today. Stacey and I took a walking tour of Napier and were quite happy we did. Many subtle details of the buildings would have been missed. Of particular interest were some of the buildings that used Maori motifs in their designs.

Today, we went tramping in the mountains North of Napier, in an area called Boundary Stream. This zone, called a “Mainland Island”, is tightly controlled by the Department of Conservation. They have attempted to seal it off from outside intrusion by invasive pests and exotic, foreign predators that wreak havoc on the native plant and animal life. Simultaneously, they re-introduce native species to the area and monitor them to see if the populations take-off. Although we did not see a Kiwi, it was gratifying to know they could be out there. We did see a Weta, however, and although it was neat they are also very yucky creatures that closely resemble what I call “camel crickets” back in Georgia. The track was only about 2 hours worth, but we had a nice time and it still feels very exotic to be walking underneath those tree ferns!

And that brings us up to date. Next stop, the Windy City of the South: Wellington!