Napier, New Zealand

"Courage is the thing. All goes if courage goes."


This has been my favorite place so far. No mountain hikes. No throwing oneself off of or out of anything. Well, there's not much of a swimming beach, but at least there's a nice long beach with pounding surf. And, one can walk to the attractions without paying $60 for a shuttle bus. The big attraction is the architecture. The town was destroyed by an earthquake in 1931 and was rebuilt in 2 years in the style of the day, art deco. There's some Spanish Mission buildings, too. I'll be posting lots of pictures on the Mac site, so peek in there from time to time. Click on the post title (above) for a link to the preservation group's website.

One example of the buildings is the backpackers hostel where we're staying. You can spot the Spanish Mission style, with the tiled roof.



Tomorrow, we're off toward the Coromandel peninsula in search of a warm beach. First a few days near Tauranga in Mt. Maunganui. Then, up the peninsula to Coromandel and Whitianga. Our bus passes do not cover that area, so we are going to rent a car. Or, as they say here, 'hire' a car.