Napier
Napier can't help but be touristy. With its Mediterranean climate, Napier sits just in front of the sea with a 2km marine boulevard lined with Norfolk pine trees. The streets are broad, the perfect setting for cafe life-stylers to sample a bottle of some of the fine wines grown in the region. However, Napier's main distinguishing characteristic is its architecture - it has one of the largest Art Deco collections of buildings in the world. What with the stretch of sandy beach just in front of the town and all the attractions which cater for kids, this is one busy touristy town frequented by both foreigners and local tourists alike. If possible try and avoid the December/January rush over the school holidays when accommodation is likely to be expensive or booked out.
History
Napier was formerly known as Ahuriri to the Maori who lived in the bay. While Cook noted Napier's bay he ended up anchoring off Cape Kidnappers which he so named after his unfortunate encounter with the Ngati Kahungunu Iwi or tribe. By the time the French explorer D'Urville, sailed into the bay with the help of Cook's charts, the Ngati Kahungunu people were no longer a strong force, their numbers having dwindled with the recently introduced muskets that European settlers traded with the Maori for land. Whalers started to arrive in the 1830 and the town has never looked back. In 1854, the town was given its name in tribute to Charles Napier a British general. Unlike other towns in the area, Napier did not suffer too much during the 1860's New Zealand Wars and started to thrive.
On February 3, 1931 peaceful, Napier was shaken like nothing before. It had been hit by a massive earthquake which measured 7.9 on the Richter scale - the largest ever recorded in New Zealand. The central city was reduced to a heap of rubble and dust. Whatever was left in the form of wooden buildings was soon ablaze with a fire that was fanned by a strong sea wind. Within the next couple of weeks the city rescue efforts were hampered by over 600 aftershocks. 162 people lost their lives in Napier alone. As the land heaved and churned it rose a couple of metres leaving boats and fish washed up on the beach. Enough new land was wrested from the sea to create more farms as well as the Napier airport (between 3 and 4 hundred square kilometres).
With a total of 258 dead in the Hawke's Bay region, new laws followed which sought to make buildings more quake resistant. Napier made the best from the tragedy. The town was replanned with new laws and almost everything was built in Art Deco style, the trendiest one around during the Great Depression. Napier is subsequently a planned and cohesively styled city which makes it unique.
Information
The Visitor Centre is on 100, Marine Parade (Tel; 06 834 1911) on the seafront. You can pick up a free map of the town and book tours to Cape Kidnappers to see the gannet colony or visit a winery. The DOC office, 59 Marine Parade, (Tel; 06 834 3111) is housed in the old courthouse. You can get a copy of the free heritage trail pamphlet or get tide info. for walking on Cape Kidnappers, Te Urewera National Park or in the Kaweka and Ruahine ranges which lie in the west.
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Things to see and do
By far and away the best thing to do in Napier is to take a walk and soak up all the Art Deco architecture. You'll easily notice distinguishing Art Deco motifs such as ziggurats, rising suns, lightning flashes, stylised fluting and fountains. Styles range from Spanish Mission to Art Nouveau, Stripped Classical and the jazzy Art Deco with various motifs inspired by Maori, Egyptian and Mayan imagery. On Hastings Street check out the ASB Bank which has kiwi motifs in the form of ferns and masks. If you look inside you'll see more Maori inspired motifs. On Hastings also keep an eye out for the Criterion Hotel. Emerson street also has fine examples of Art Deco though many shop fronts are modern so you'll have to look to the first floor to really appreciate it. Check out the Bowman's Building, McGruers, and Hannah's. The Daily Telegraph building, on Tennyson Street is another exuberantly unashamed example of the style. Also on Tennyson is the Market Reserve Building and the Municipal Theatre which celebrates a geometric style. On Dalton check out the Hotel Central. You'll find examples of the Californian Spanish Mission style on Dickens St at the GAiety de Luxe Cinema.
The 2km Marine Parade with its lining of Norfolk Pines has a British feel to it (if you're wondering why no one's in the water it's because its full of rips and way too dangerous). You can stroll through the Centennial Gardens and look at some of the few wooden buildings which survived the quake. For Art Deco check out the Masonic Establishment and the Soundshell. At the northern end of the marine parade check out the bronze Pania of the Reef, a voluptuous Maori siren who was forcefully retained by her folk when she left her lover to visit them.
Hawke's Bay Museum, 65 Marine Parade, has some precious artefacts of the Ngati Kahungunu Iwi. The taonga or treasures include fish hooks and intricately carved clubs. All in all its well presented with a few European and Art Deco antiques and the successful endeavours of amateur paleontologist Jan Wiffen. You can also find out more about the horrors of the quake through an audio-visual display in which survivors give an eyewitness accounts of the event to the accompaniment of some excellent sound-effects.
Also on Marine Parade kids will love the Hawke's Bay Aquarium. If you've got a diver's license and book in advance you can jump in the tank and feed the stingrays, eels, sharks, piranha, hawk-billed turtles and the curious kiwi tuatara (and heaps of other tropical fish...). Alternatively you can take the little ones to Marineland to watch performing dolphins and seals.
Guided Walks
If you'd rather take a tour head to the Desco Centre where you'll find the Art Deco Shop. You can either join their walking tour or watch a 20 minute video and head out on the self-guided tour to the accompaniment of the $2 pamphlet. If it's too hot to walk, you can also try their Self-Drive Art Deco Tour which will take you out to some of the distinctive Art Deco buildings which lie further afield.
Bluff Hill Lookout
The lookout is 102m high at the top of Bluff Hill and offers views of Hawke's Bay and down to Napier's port.
Wineries
There are some 30 vineyards around Napier and Hastings which mostly offer free tastings. Some have quality restaurants while at others you can eat your picnic lunch beneath the trees or play a game of petanque.The Hawke's Bay Region and Marlborough produce quality wines which to the surprise of many have earned New Zealand a growing reputation on the international market. This viticultural society was born in the 1850s with the French Marist Missionaries who planted the vines in order to grow wine the celebrate daily communion.
McDonald Winery, 150 Church rd, (Tel;06 844 2053) makes a fine bottle of Chardonnay (Church Road) and you can also take a free tour of their wine-making museum or have lunch in their restaurant which serving Meditteranean food to complement the wine. Sacred Hill Winery, Darmoor Rd, (Tel;06 844 0138) lies 20km west of Taradale. Try their Sauvignon Blanc with a rustic meal served underneath olive trees. Mission Estate Winery is on the corner of Avenue and Church Road in Taradale, (Tel; 06 844 0138). A well known winery, it is the oldest in New Zealand and is also the hosts the Mission Vineyard Concert during the Hawke's Bay Summer Festival which is generally held in the first week of February. You can avail of their free quided tours and absorb the rustic colonial buildings. Their restaurant is open for both lunch and dinner. The Esk Valley Estate is on the Main Road, Bay View (Tel;06 836 6411) just 12km from Napier. They have award-winning Chardonnay and Merlot and their pride of joy is The Terraces which is a blend of reds.
For more information on wineries and details of upcoming events check out the Hawke's Bay Tourism website at www.hawkesbaytourism.co.nz or pick up a free copy of the Hawke's Bay Wineries which is available from the visitors' centre in Napier and Hastings.
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