It’s Friday morning and I have some free time before our excursion at noon. Yesterday we spent the morning in the charming, lovely seaside town of Napier, in the Hawkes Valley wine area, where a catastrophe lead to renewal.
The catastrophe was the earthquake in February of 1931 that was instrumental in wiping out a good portion of the city. The renewal was the choices that the city fathers made when they were forced to start over again: build the town in one unified style, Art Deco.
The inspiration for this style was the work of the architects in New York and other parts of America: Frank Lloyd Wright, Tiffany, Louis Sullivan and others who were influential during this period. Louis Hay was a prominent New Zealand architect who designed many of the buildings in Napier post-earthquake. Not only is the city center unified in this period of style, but the outlyng neighborhoods all have similar housing styles as well. Napier has the largest collection of Art Deco buildings outside Miami.
We left the ship and were on the bus at 8:15, where we were given a one-hour driving tour of the region, then we returned to the city center, and we went to the Art Deco Center, where we watched a film about the earthquake, saw the devastation and ultimate renewal. We spent some time in the fully equipped Art Deco shop – of course – then, with one of the volunteers, did a one-hour walking tour of the city center.
Here are some examples of the buildings we saw on our fun-filled, perfect-weather morning:
This building is not located downtown, but in the nearly Port of Ahuriri . The owner of the building, Gerhard Husheer, a German tobacco tycoon, saw his business destroyed in the earthquake. Fortunately, he still had funds and spared no expense; he hired Louis Hay to design the building for him, which is a combination of Art Deco geometry and art nouveau ornamentation. Between 1956 and 2001 the building was purchased by the Rothmans and is subsequently known as the Rothman building. .
Back in town, we saw the movie, spent a bit of time in the gift shop, and strolled downtown with our guide:
Art Deco Weekend is a major event in Napier , with more than 4,000 participants, celebrating the movement by dressing up in period clothes, bringing their vintage cars, dancing, dining and stepping back in time to the 1930s for three days. Doesn’t that sound like fun?!
All good things must come to an end, and, as our time was limited, we reluctantly headed back to the ship. As we sailed away, we watched “Rocket Man” on our TV – our second rock star biopic, since we saw ‘Bohemian Rhapsody” a few days ago. Since it was our first warm day, we also spent time at the pool where one of us went for her one hour swim and the other of us vegged out in the hot tub.
Sometimes my posts may sound a bit too upbeat. There are times when things do not go well and last night’s dinner in the “pay extra” Italian restaurant was one of those times. I love Italian food but the calamari appetizer was rubbery – sent it back – and the lobster ravioli was so smothered with oregano that I was coughing so I also sent it back! Fortunately I was offered a second Aperol Spritz – another drink for you to research- which helped to raise my spirits. My cassata dessert was fine. My sister had a similar experience with her choices. We survived. She definitely enjoyed her Irish coffee substitute.
Our evening entertainment varied: we sampled a little classical tunes, with music from the movies, Motown with BB King and the billboard boys, of course. The last big production number from the singers and dancers was a showstopper in more ways than one: this was their last performance after six and a months at sea. They were great and got a standing ovation. As usual, we finished off the evening with Anderson and Justin, the billboard boys.
I’d planned to finish off this post this morning but the best laid plans don’t always work out as I’d planned…we were off the ship all afternoon for a very nice tour of Tauranga, which included an extensive tour of the first mission house, then we went to sample some local products made from kiwi fruit and manuka honey, the two major exports of the country. We also enjoyed visiting with a kiwi producer at his farm.
I hope to give you more details of today’s excursion tonight or tomorrow but I’m not sure when. It will be a busy from now on.
We have to pack now because we’ll be kicked off the ship tomorrow by 9:30 AM. We will check into a hotel in Auckland then will meet a friend of my sister’s who will take us around a bit. We spend Saturday night at the hotel in Auckland then get on the plane Sunday, but not until the late evening, so we’ll have Sunday for touring the city as well. We get on the plane, fly for eight hours, arrive in Honolulu and it will be Sunday – again!
We’ll be in touch but I don’t know where or when. Hope you enjoyed the cruise!