Farewell New Zealand

Oceania » New Zealand » North Island
January 2nd 2010

Published: January 2nd 2010

Edit Blog Post

Chris and Lisa

Art Deco

Even the pubs look after the art.

Still slightly aching from our marathon tramp over the Tongariro Alpine Crossing we headed back south to Napier. Even though we had briefly passed through here a couple of days earlier there were two main reasons we wanted to go back and see a bit more of the area - the proliferation of Art Deco buildings and Hawke’s Bay Wineries. We had been told that Napier was known as “The Art Deco capital of the world” and as we had already sampled some Art Deco delights at Miami Beach we decided to see if New Zealand could do better. It is quite a tribute to the determination of the people of Napier how the town, as it is now, came about. In 1931 an earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter Scale totally devastated central Napier, and those buildings which were not reduced to rubble by the quake were destroyed by the ensuing fire which swept through the town. There were only a few left standing by the time it was all over. But it only took 2 years to rebuild the town, which was quite an achievement as it happened during the lowest point of the Great Depression and, as

Media Tower

As big as it gets in Napier

Art Deco was popular at the time, symbolising the new industrial and modern world, this became the town’s new look. We had a quick look around the town ourselves but to get the most out of the time we had we decided to go on an Art Deco guided tour. All the tour guides are volunteer members of the Art Deco Society who are working hard to preserve the buildings as they now are, and with the instruction to “look up or you’ll miss something” firmly placed in our minds we set off around the town. We were shown many examples of Art Deco buildings and having the favourite motifs of the style explained to us was really useful (such as ziggurats, sunbursts and speed lines). All these motifs were also mixed seamlessly with Mayan, Egyptian, Aztec and Maori decorations. Walking around the centre of the town almost every building had examples of Art Deco whether it was the cool smooth lines of the facades, the original colours, light fittings or glass and a number had been lovingly restored to their original glory. We had the chance to go into two of the buildings which also had lovely restored interiors.

Great Office

What a great environment to work in

The tour was excellent because of the knowledge and passion of the guide and the Society. Sometimes you see people trying to preserve things that really aren’t worth it but in Napier’s case it’s the right thing. Hats off to Napier for recognising its potential and making the most of it. As to the matter of the title of Art Deco capital, well sorry Miami SoBe, you may have the style but Napier knocks your socks off.

Enough of the culture, as the afternoon was reserved for a bit of wine tasting. We had booked on Vince’s World of Wine Vineyard Tour, as Chris had read some good things about it and we wanted to be part of a smaller group. This was certainly the case, as we were introduced to the other 5 people on the minibus and was due to meet another 5 at the first winery. All looking good so far. Vince was hoping to visit 5 wineries during the afternoon and regaled us with lots of information en route to our first stop Moana Park, a small boutique winery. Here we met the owner and he personally talked us through the wines they produced and

Hawkes Bay

One of the earlier loggers got bored so carved this with a chainsaw!!

was obviously passionate about wine making. Apparently one of the reds we tasted was completely organic with nothing added, so good for you - marvellous. After tasting 10 delicious wines I was beginning to think I might have to slow down a bit if I wanted to make it through all the tastings without passing out - easier said than done. Purchases duly made we trundled on our way to the other wineries, and experienced tastings at Ngatarawa, Salvare Estate and C J Pask. Some we enjoyed more than others, which was to be expected, but what a great afternoon out. The others on the tour were really nice and chatty, especially as we really started to get into the tastings. Vince was really knowledgeable about wine in general and obviously loved his job - well who wouldn’t. It was a great afternoon with the opportunity to taste some delicious wines that don’t get into the supermarkets.

It was on the Magic Bus for the last time the following morning for our journey to Mount Maunganui. As most people had done most of the stops on the way down the North Island, it was more or less a straight

Xmas Home

Yep, Christmas in a shed!!!

journey through. On arrival, the hostel informed us that they had no room for us in the main building but we had a room in a house just a short walk round the corner, along with the driver. We weren’t too disappointed, especially when we arrived at the place to find ourselves sharing a three bedroom apartment with the driver and he went out almost as soon as we arrived and didn’t come back until late in the evening. What total luxury having the place almost to ourselves. Apparently the view from the top of Mount Maunganui is great, but the thought of another mountain wasn’t appealing, so we settled instead for a stroll around the town and along the beach. Apparently some bright sparks had decided it would be good for surfing tourism to construct a false reef, only to find later that it created a dangerous undercurrent and because of this it would soon be demolished according to our reliable source - nice one. Only an overnight stop in Mount Maunganui in order that we could pick up a hire car and head for our Christmas destination - Whitianga in the Coromandel.

The following day we started

Lonely Bay

Little slice of paradise

the drive up to Whitianga (Wh pronounced ‘F’), which turned out to be a deceptively long way so we didn’t really have time to stop and admire the scenery. On arrival at our hostel, Turtle Cove, we were surprised, to say the least, that we appeared to be sleeping the next few nights in a shed in the car park and not only that the nearest toilet/shower was in another shed across the car park. Slightly disappointed, but determined to make the best of it, we realised that the space inside was actually larger than some of the other rooms we had stayed in on the trip so far, however it did get extremely hot as you would expect from a tin shed. To quell some of our misgivings about our choice for the festive period, we headed out to ascertain which beach we would go to on Christmas day. We headed slightly north of the town to have a look at Simpsons Beach, Kuaotunu, Rings Beach, Matarangi, Whangapoua and New Chums Beach.

The following day, Christmas Eve, we headed south of Whitianga to have a look at Lonely Bay, Cooks Beach and Cathedral Cove. We spent an hour

Cathedral Cove

Impressive

or so basking on Lonely Bay, which was relatively quiet and very picturesque, although the sand was quite coarse. Unfortunately the water was really cold - too cold for me to venture in but Chris gave it a good go. We then made our way down to Cathedral Cove, which involved about a 20 minute walk, and was much more popular. Here the beach had an archway from one sandy beach to another which you could walk through, although it seems that some of it is starting to crumble away. The water was crystal clear (albeit cold) and we felt it was necessary to lay for a bit and soak up the ambience as well as the rays. To be quite truthful, while Cathedral Cove is a stunning piece of geology it just shows how lucky Dorset is because the archway at Durdle Door and the Jurassic coast are equally as stunning. Easy to forget sometimes.

Christmas Day, and what a scorcher. We had decided that our destination today was going to be Matarangi Beach and, equipped with our lunch of smoked ham sandwiches, mince pies and Christmas cake, we headed off for a day of sunbathing and swimming.

Xmas Beach

Not a bad location to scoff the Mince Pies

Not a bad way to spend Christmas Day. It turned out to be a great day, the beach was almost deserted and the water, although still cold, was clear and inviting when the sun became too hot. We spent the whole day trying to build up the tan again and exhausted we headed back to the hostel where the owners had said they would prepare Christmas Dinner for everyone who was staying. The evening turned out to be better than we had anticipated and after filling ourselves with a lovely dinner and numerous desserts we found ourselves deep in conversation with a couple of German travellers, who were now residents in Melbourne. Boxing Day turned out to be more of the same - sun, sand, sea and lunch on a gorgeous sun kissed beach. Tough life.

Our final leg of the journey was upon us and we headed back to Auckland for a few days. We did a slight detour in order to walk along the Karangahake Gorge Historic Walkway which we had heard from several sources was worth a look. The walk is along the old Paeroa to Waihi railway line, constructed between 1900 and 1905, which follows,

Karangahake Gorge

Nice walk, dark tunnel

for the most part, the Ohinemuri River and begins with negotiating a slightly eerie 1km long partially lit tunnel which challenges the senses once it becomes difficult to see clearly. The area was once mined for gold and with the introduction of cyanide in 1889 to extract gold from the quartz the levels of gold rose dramatically. It was so successful that output from the Karangahake quartz mines in 1909 accounted for 60% of gold produced in New Zealand. Evidence of this mining can be seen along the walk and the Victoria Battery site, once considered one of the most advanced facilities of its type in the country, and where 800 tonnes of ore was crushed each day, now stands as a derelict and ghostly memorial to the past. The return journey was about 3 hours so halfway, at the Waikino Station Cafe, we decided that a delicious fruit tart was well deserved.

We arrived back in Auckland later in the day and back to Aileen’s for a chance to meet up with family again for a final goodbye. A fantastic BBQ with Hilary and Peter at their lovely home and a fish and chip supper with Aileen was

Xmas Day 2009

Not a wooly hat in sight

a good ending to the trip. It was lovely to have met Chris’ NZ relations and we hope to meet them again in the not too distant future.

Well as we say goodbye NZ we have a few final thoughts. The best thing, that’s easy, as we said in part one it’s family, the chance to make and rekindle ties that are too long ignored. The second best thing is the people that we’ve met on our travels around the country, too numerous to mention but too memorable to ignore. But without doubt New Zealand itself bewitched us, the landscape never failed to fascinate, captivate and enthral us with its rolling countryside, beautiful beaches, glaciers and mountains. The new mountains, twisted and buckled, that constantly remind you of the extreme energies that created these masterpieces, the bubbling lakes and pools that keep you wondering if the next cataclysmic event is just around the corner. We experienced so many wow moments (as you might have noticed) that will remain with us forever. When we were planning the trip we had high hopes for New Zealand and all we can say is that it exceeded our wildest dreams. We will be