Down Under: On the Road to Wellington

DRIVING SOUTH TO WELLINGTON On Wednesday, we left Napier and drove south to Wellington. A distance of about 280 km and estimated to take 4 hours or so. The main routes here are practically all two-lane roads so you always have traffic coming toward you. The first hour of the trip was challenging for the …

Down Under: Around Hawke’s Bay

TOURING THE HAWKE’S BAY REGION The sun came out, finally, and we were happy. This was the day for our photography tour with a professional photographer. At 8:00 am, Richard Brimer, the photographer, and Edward from Long Island Guides picked us up. We were expecting only Richard, but Edward did the driving and was more …

Down Under: Art Deco Central

ART DECO IN NAPIER An earthquake and fires destroyed the town of Napier in 1931. The central business district was completely leveled and many people were without homes. The impetus to rebuild was strong and within about two years, new buildings were up and businesses active again. It was a monumental effort and the city …

Down Under: On to Napier

WAIHEKE—LAST DAY For our last day in Waiheke, we decided to hire the local guide, Chris, recommended by both Jen and Jack at The Boatshed and the New Jersey couple we met our first night. The weather was cloudy and cool, but not raining when Chris arrived at 10:00 am wearing a straw hat, shorts …