Wednesday, February 26, 2025

Down Under 2025 - Napier

Napier, 23/26-February-2025.

Table of Contents:

Sunday 23: We had a three night stay using a home exchange in Taradale, a suburb of Napier. We arrived, met our hosts who handed over the keys, gave us some basic info and then left in their motorhome for a short break of their own.

The benefits of Home Exchange are that you get to stay in real home with all the facilities like a fully equipped kitchen and access to a washing machine which means you don’t have to eat out all the time, especially for breakfast, and only need to pack a week’s worth of clothes.

Monday 24: We did a Hawke's Bay wine tasting tour with Hawke’s Bay Scenic Tours. Our first stop at Pask winery gave us a useful overview of the Hawke's Bay wine growing areas. We learnt about the gimlet gravels which resemble some of the Bordeaux terroir and produce the best wines in Hawkes Bay. We heard about the 2023 Cyclone Gabrielle and subsequent floods which wiped out a large part of the harvest. The flood waters were so high that some of the vines were completely underwater and they are still working to recover the vineyards.

The second tasting was at Church Road winery. We then went on to Trinity Hill for lunch. Both were enjoyable but not particularly memorable.

Our fourth and last stop was the Mission winery. This building was originally in the town centre but was disassembled and transported in 13 sections to its new location at the top of a hill.

Until fairly recently all the Mission cellar masters were Brothers and their photographs are displayed in the cellars.

Tuesday 25: We booked a guided walk of Napier town centre provided by the Art Deco Trust. In the Art Deco Centre they showed a short film which helped us understand the devastation caused by the 1931 earthquake and why the centre of Napier is so full of Art Deco buildings.

After the film, one of the volunteers from the trust gave us a guided tour of the town centre pointing out buildings of interest with a bit of history to go with. We both agreed The Daily Telegraph building was our favourite building, probably because it was standalone with no modern additions.

The front and back of the stylish Masonic hotel.

The manhole covers are Art Deco as well! Recurrent themes include ziggurats and sunbursts

Even the street signs in the town use art deco fonts!

Lots of different styles around the town centre:

And another!

Many shop windows were topped with Art Deco motifs.

More popular art deco motives: the zigzag and the fan

Our guide called this Spanish style with the curved roof and lintel.

There was an Art Deco amphitheatre right by the shore line.

Even the pedestrian crossing lights got in on the act with a lady dressed in flapper costume wearing a cloche hat echoing a nearby statue of the same.


In Taradale they have an Art Deco Town Hall and an Art Deco McDonalds. As they were clearing up the Town Hall after a function Mary was able to sneak a peek inside to snag a photo of the lovely stained glass window.

The Art Deco McDonalds!

Wednesday 25: We had a relatively short drive to Taupo for our next stop so we used the spare time to explore the area. First we took a trip down the coast.

Then we drove inland to the highpoint of Te Mata. I have to say, the road up was a little scary: very narrow with not much in the way of passing places if you met somebody coming the other way. However at the top we were rewarded with stunning 360° views.

Next stop: Taupo, 26/27-February-2025.

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