New Zealand – Day 15 – Wednesday, March 8th, 2017

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+18 Cloudy, light winds, terrible weather.

Okay, maybe not terrible not but we were lucky on this trip as the area of Coromandel continues to see rain and lots of water as does Auckland and points north.

Napier is an art deco village and a neat stopover.  Napier was almost totally destroyed in the 1931 earthquake, causing a massive rebuilding program throughout the ’30s, resulting in a vibrant city known as the Art Deco capital of the world.

Lots of shops on streets designed for people but also handle cars. On the day we arrived there was also a cruise ship in port.  It was fun watching the tourists from the cruise ship not paying attention and get honked at while standing in the middle of the road. Some even tripped over curbs that fit the art deco decor. Restored buildings from earlier earthquakes and fires were obvious all around the streets we walked.

To get a general understanding of how the cruise ship passengers are “viewed” on a stop in the shop Kathmandu. This company is very much like Mountain Equipment Coop (MEC) at home. The first questions and comments when we walked in the door set the tone but included the phrase “are you from the cruise ship?” when we answered no our contact immediately changed how he communicated with us. We are now “customers” and were offered all sorts of warm communication.

We actually stayed in a town called Havelock North which was quite unique, lots of restaurants all around us none being your standard North American fast food places. At the motel, we were warned that we wouldn’t be able to get into most restaurants unless we already had reservations. It proved to be true but we did eventually get into an excellent restaurant and enjoyed pizza at Alessandro’s. Not enough time to explore but our short walk revealed the potential.

We are now into wine country and following the Classic Wine Trail which we will follow to Wellington and then on to the South Island.