Napier – Wine and Art Deco

I had time for one destination between Taupo and Wellington. During the planning stages of my trip, I’d heard little about Napier except for its reputation for wine, so I wasn’t particularly drawn to it.

When I found out my chosen bus line (the cheap and efficient Naked Bus) didn’t go from Taupo to the west coast without some serious backtracking, I decided Napier was my best bet.

Napier has a very distinct character, and the history behind it is interesting. The city was devastated by a massive earthquake in 1931. Nearly all of its European-style brick buildings were shaken to pieces. With the world in the grips of the Great Depression, Napier suddenly had a lot of construction projects on its hands.

The rebuilding effort brought the community together and gave it a spirit of progress it had never experienced. They chose the roaring twenties style of Art Deco, to commemorate its new-found vitality and modernness. Much of the city looks like the set of a gangster movie.

I stayed at the Criterion Art Deco, a 1930s hotel converted to a hostel. It was like stepping back in time.

I only had two nights and one full day to spend there, and I wish I’d had more. The weather was beautiful. Both evenings, my hostel comrades and I sat on the balcony, drank wine and watched two incredible sunsets. I wonder if they get them every day in Napier.

I tried to pack as much in my day as possible. I began with a guided walking tour, then I set out on my own. I visited the National Aquarium, which was great, but struck me as a little too small to be “National.” I walked around taking pictures, and found as much beauty of the botanical kind as the architectural.

Napier went too quickly. Three nights is about the minimum to really see some portion of a city, two was more of a tease than anything. So two quick nights and I was off to the nation’s capital.