Driving to Napier, you go through a town called Tirau. This town is famous for it's two converted barns, so here they are the "Dog" and "Sheep"
The Sheep is actually a Merino clothing store now
Good old New Zealand road sign
Jenn in Taupo, Mt. Ruapehu and Lake Taupo in the distance
In Taupo, McDonald's has fly-through
Waterfall along highway 5 between Taupo and Napier
The Pulp and Paper Industry is big in New Zealand, here is a clear cut area with new saplings growing.
Jim with one of the many views along the way
Another gorgeous view off highway 5
Classic New Zealand road sign, sharp corner
This one is for Buffy
Jenn at Bluff Hill in Napier, the tallest point in the City
Looking out at Hawke's Bay and the Napier Coast line
Sunset over Napier
This was inside the Hawke's Bay Museum, typical Maori Carvings of the local tribes
In 1931, the city of Napier and the entire region (Hawke's Bay) was destroyed by a 7.8 magnitude earthquake. The collapses and ensuing fires killed 256 people. The figure would later rise to 258 as two people were missing, presumed dead following the quake. Some 40 km² of today's Napier was undersea before the earthquake raised it. Here is a sign that was at the Train Station in Napier.
Jenn in the gardens along Marine Parade
The sphere in the garden was a gift from the Queen in remembrance of all the lives lost in the 1931 earthquake
Famous Clocktower in Napier
Pacu fish inside the National Aquarium
Crocodile in the Aquaruim
Our Hotel room at the Nautilus
View from our balcony
Yes that is in Celcius!
Shark head washed up on the beach
The beach in Napier is all pebbles, great for fishing
Jim thinking about a swim...shark head detered him
One of the most gorgeous places we have been. This range is called Te Mata Peak, it is 399m tall (1309 Feet). It is located outside of Havelock North which is 30 minutes south of Napier. The Maori Legend of this peak is;Many centuries ago the people living in pa (fortified villages) on the Heretaunga Plains were under constant threat of war from the coastal tribes of Waimarama. At a gathering in Pakipaki (near Hastings), a wise old woman (kuia) suggested that the leader of the Waimarama tribes, a giant named Te Mata, could be made to fall in love with Hinerakau - the daughter of a Pakipaki chief - and turn his thoughts from war to peace. This mission was quickly accomplished, and Te Mata fell under the spell of the beautifully Hinerakau.
However the people of Heretaunga had not forgotten the past and wanted revenge. They demanded that Hinerakau make Te Mata prove his devotion by accomplishing seemingly impossible tasks. His last task was to bite through the hills between the coast and the plains, so that people could come and go with greater ease.
Te Mata died while eating his way through the hills. His half-accomplished work can be seen in what is known as The Gap or Pari Karangaranga (echoing cliffs) and his prostrate body forms Te Mata Peak.
Such nice countryside below Te Mata Peak
Livestock off the road
Jim out in the country
Te Mata peak from another vantage point
Jenn with Te Mata Peak
Jim outside Craggy Range Winery
Jim with our Rental parked it beside a transit at the top of Te Mata peak. Some of the scariest driving Jim has ever done
Road going back down, do you see any guard rails? We didn't either
Looking down on the Hawke's Bay Region
The next few photos are all views from the top of Te Mata
Craggy Range Winery below
Jim taking a good look at what a 1300 foot cliff looks like
This one is for anyone who ever doubts the ability of a ford transit
Church Road Winery, one of the oldest in New Zealand
Jenn outside the original building at Church Road built in 1897
Going up the road to Mission Estate Winery. This is the oldest Winery in the Country founded in 1851.
Front of the winery
Jenn with a fountain in the wineries courtyard
Jim taking a look at all the vines growing in the distance
Coutyard at Mission Estate winery. Lionel Ritchie will be playing a showed here in February
Chuch in Napier
Jenn with the smallest car we have ever seen. It was a Fiat
When the town centre was destroyed by the 1931 Earthquake it was rebuilt in the popular Art Deco Style. Although a few Art Deco buildings were replaced with contemporary structures during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, most of the centre remained intact for long enough to become recognized as architecturally unique, and from the 1990s onwards had been protected and restored. Napier and South Beach (Miami) are considered by many Art Deco enthusiasts the two best preserved Art Deco towns, Miami Beach being mainly in the later Streamline Moderne Art Deco style. As of 2007, Napier has been nominated for UNESCO World Heritage Site status, the first cultural site in New Zealand to be nominated.The next few photos are of the Art Deco Buildings in Napier
I thought this was an interesting combination
Main shopping strip in the city
This bandshell is one of the most photographed structures in the city, it is right on Marine Parade which runs runs right beside the ocean
Cruise ship in the distance, Diamond Princess
Cape Kidnappers in the distance is at the southern end of Hawke Bay, on the east coast of the North Island. The name Kidnappers refers to an incident during Cook's first voyage when an attempt was made to trade with the occupants of an armed canoe. Tiata, the Tahitian servant of Tupia, Cook's interpreter, was seized by the Maoris and escaped by jumping into the sea when the canoe was fired on. The cape was named to commemorate the event; Sunday, 15 October 1769.The cape lies 7 miles by coastal route, negotiable between tides on foot or bicycle, from Clifton at the far eastern edge of the Heretaunga (Ahuriri) Plains. There is also an inland route which passes through private farm land. The high plateau area between Kidnappers and Clifton is deeply gullied and accessible from the shore by a few routes only. The cliffs behind the beach are vertical and largely unclimbable. The plan shape of the cape is an acute-angled triangle. It is flat, probably a sea-cut bench at a height of between 200 and 300 ft, rising moderately steeply at its inland edge. It is composed of Lower Pliocene (Opoitian) blue-grey sandy mudstone, with large irregular calcareous concretions.
The cape is the site of a thriving gannetry which has grown in numbers in the last few years to the point that nesting now occurs as far as the inland edge of the rising slope from the cape plateau, and outlying colonies nest on the stacks of nearby Black Reef. The gannetry is administered by a domain board and permits to visit it are issued by the Commissioner of Crown Lands, Napier.
The Maori name for Cape Kidnappers is Mataupo Maui – the fish hook of Maui. Another less common name is Tapuwaeroa – the long footsteps. These, according to legend, were made by the giant Rongokako who left other impressions of his feet at Mahia and East Cape.
Fountain along Marine Parade
Jim puting his feet in Lake Taupo on the way back to Auckland
Mt. Ruapehu across Lake Taupo, it erupted in 1995 and 1996
Sign when you start the walk around "Craters of the Moon"
Jenn with a large volcanic crater
This area is extremely thermally active
Another Crater smoking and steaming
Mud Pool
Lots of Native Ferns around the area
View from the lookout at "Craters of the Moon"
Neat Mountain on the drive back to Auckland
Countryside near Matamata where Peter Jackson shot most of the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. We now know why they call this country "land of the long white cloud"
