Stepping back in time ….
DAY 1 – To Napier
We left Rotorua this morning on our way to our next stop on the east coast in Napier. The weather hasn’t been too bad the last few days – a bit of cloud and a few showers of rain here and there but some sunshine interspersed along the way. The geothermal activity of the area is not confined to Rotorua and our first stop for the day was Orakei Korako Cave & Geothermal Park, really much closer to Taupo.
This probably turned out to be more of my expectations of what this type of scenery would be like – although in many ways this had been largely influenced by what we had seen elsewhere in places like Yellowstone National Park in the US. The access to the area is from one side of the Waikato River and from the visitor centre you look across the river to the steaming hot waters of the park cascading into the river. A barge takes you across the river to the walking trails which then give you access to walk amongst the pools and spouts on a system of boardwalks.
The colours of the hot springs were certainly more in keeping with what we had previously experienced – the yellow and pink fringes caused by the bacteria which lives in the hot/warm water. We walked the boardwalks – which included an area of active mud pots and a cave with eerie puffs of smoke rising from the bottom – and then made our way back to be collected by the little barge again.
Next stop was the Aratiata Rapids. These stem from the regular release of water from the Aratiata Power Station dam on the Waikato River. At 10am, 12 and 2pm each day (an extra at 4pm in summer) the dam gates are opened releasing a stunning flow of water into the dormant pools below, which then spectacularly fill the rapids further below for a short period of time. This was also another “Lord of the Rings” location as the scene used for the Desolation of Smaug where the dwarves jump into barrels and escape down a raging river !
A little closer to Taupo we stopped at Huka Falls. These are more rapids than falls and it is a bit difficult to get the perspective in the photos. The best aspect seems to be from the lake below and there are boats we had noticed at the other end of the lake near Aratiata Rapids that do tours up to these falls. We then drove on and stopped for a walk around in Lake Taupo.
It is pretty touristy but laid out very nicely with walking and bike tracks along the lake. The town was reasonably busy as we walked around the block.
It was then mainly driving on to Napier. The scenery changed quite markedly and whilst there remained some cattle farming along the way it became quite mountainous in parts with heavy pine forests. The area was established as rehabilitation of the original natural forest areas after heavy logging and stripping for farmland in the earlier years – late 1800’s / early 1900’s – left the area very barren.
We made a brief stop at Waipunga Falls along the way. The Waipunga River wound its way through the mountains as we crossed it a number of times on the way.
We arrived in Napier late afternoon and are settled into the Scenic Hotel Te Pania, right on the oceanfront for the next two nights. Napier is famed for its Art Deco architecture which resulted from a devastating earthquake in 1931. It has been New Zealand’s worst natural disaster in terms of deaths and 256 people died and the area generally was devastated. The re-building process took on the fashionable Art Deco style at the time and today is said to be one of the finest collections in the world.
We had dinner in one of these rebuilt buildings, the Masonic Hotel. It lays claim to visitors such as Queen Elizabeth and Mark Twain but had us tonight instead. Another lovely meal here – Adrienne had a risotto and I had a Cambodian curry. On the way back to the hotel we found that the fountain in the park was now putting on a light and dance show.
DAY 2 – Around Napier
Our day 2 started a bit overcast again and the forecast was for a bit of drizzle but clearer in the afternoon. After breakfast we wandered across town where we planned to do the Art Deco walking tour. We booked our tickets and then wandered the small market setup near the park while we waited for the tour to start.
There was only 6 on the tour – all Aussies – and the first part was a quick presentation which showed the change in the landscape around Napier pre and post the earthquake. Before it was almost mainly little land islands amongst lakes however when the earthquake hit the land pushed up about 2.7 metres in some areas – and what was once a large lake is now the area where the airport is located ! Next was a small film showing some archive footage of before and after the quake and the rebuilding process.
From here, our guide Sue walked us around the town showing us the various styles of the Art Deco buildings which shot up during the rebuild and telling stories about the changes due to the quake. All in all a good tour.
We then walked back to the hotel to collect the car and headed out of town to take in Te Mata Peak. It is south of Napier and looks back across what is the major vineyard area of Hawkes Bay toward Napier. The views are pretty stunning in all directions and it is a popular hang-gliding takeoff point.
Heading back to Napier we decided to try and find lunch at one of the wineries. The first we tried was closed but not too far away we found Shed 530 Estate which was pretty popular. The area had been hit hard by wind and flooding caused by Cyclone Gabrielle in early 2023 and it has only been up and running again since late 2024. We shared a nice pizza and tried a nice white wine variety – Albarino – which is originally from Spain however they have found the grapes adapted well to the area. A very nice, light drop.
Back to Napier and we made a last stop at the Museum just down the street which has a great exhibition about the 1931 earthquake. We sat for some time just listening to survivors talking about their memories of the earthquake and watching the interspersed photos and footage – most very elderly now and only children or young adults at the time. By now it was late afternoon and getting quite windy so we went back to the hotel to put our feet up for a bit and then had a light dinner in the hotel restaurant.
With its Art Deco focus Napier is a unique place and well worth a stop.
