Napier

Why Napier:

After three days in Wellington, it was time to begin the road trip north back towards the Auckland airport. 

While my original plan was to drive to the town of National Park to hike the Tongariro Alpine Crossing on Christmas Day, the weather gods had other plans. It was forecasted to rain 40 mm (almost 2 inches) during the day with strong winds which caused the national park authorities to close the hike. Luckily, I was able to reschedule for the 26^th which was supposed to have better weather. That day, I was planned to stay in Taupo, only 75 minutes from National Park so I could still day trip Tongariro without too much extra effort. 

Now with no need to stay in the National Park tonight, I called up Jane from the Traveler´s Century Club who was going to be in the town of Napier for a few weeks and had a free place to stay. After checking in, I was told that I could stay with her tonight. 

December 24, 2024: An Unexpected Day

I spent the morning at the Zealandia bird sanctuary before heading north on the four-hour drive to Napier. 

Roads in New Zealand are in perfect shape. The driving is also extremely orderly. Speed limits on the major roads are 100 km/hour, among the slowest I have seen in the developed world. People actually adhere to the speed limits. I was told that going even just 1 km/hour over the speed limit could result in a ticket (the limit is the limit). While I did not notice them, there are apparently speed cameras all along major roads.

The scenery in rural New Zealand is rolling green hills. Theoretically there are lots of sheep (5 for every human), but I didn´t see that many. 2 hours in, I stopped at a grocery store to purchase snacks for the next few days because grocery stores close on Christmas. 

For lunch, I stopped at the Tui Brewery in rural Mangatainoka. The brewery, founded in 1889, produces one of New Zealand´s most popular brews. The mainline Tui beer is advertised as an “East India Pale Ale” aka an IPA but in reality is a normal lager. While the beer was…well beer, the food was delicious and the vibes were great. I missed the 11am tour, but was still able to wander the premises. 

It took 2 more hours of driving to reach Napier, the main town in Hawkes Bay. Hawkes Bay is the North Island´s main wine region and is known as an upscale destination. 

Given that New Zealand is known for its wine, I definitely wanted to visit a winery. It turned out that there were two near Jane´s house. After striking out at Mission where I was rudely shooed away (don´t go there), I then headed over to Church Road Winery. Founded in 1897, Church Road Winery is one of the oldest and most prestigious in the region. The tasting room (known in New Zealand as the “cellar door”) was wood paneled and decorated with wine barrels. It reminded me of a giant barn.

The tastings ranged from $15-75. I was told that they were too busy to do a tasting, but instead I could buy a glass or bottle (why didn´t they offer this at Mission?!). I took my glass outside to the lawn and basked in the environs. So beautiful!

I then drove the 5 minutes to meet Jane. Jane is from Napier and still has plenty of family around, but now lives in New York. Well, she technically lives in New York but actually travels nearly full time and has been to 150 countries including many repeat visits. Goals indeed! She was in Napier to house-sit and dog-sit for her sister who is in Houston.

For dinner, Jane made sausages in the air fryer for dinner. She claims to be a terrible cook, but the sausages were far better than anything I could whip up. Exhausted from the lack of sleep, the long drive and probably the alcohol too, I went to bed early. This was my first time sleeping in my own room in nearly a week.

December 25, 2023: Napier 

I slept for 10 hours straight and woke up a new person. After eating breakfast with Jane, I headed off to explore the city center of Napier. 

Napier is a most unusual town. In 1931, it was destroyed by an earthquake. The townspeople decided to rebuild in the architecture style of the day: Art Deco. It is considered one of the two best-preserved Art Deco towns in the world along with South Beach, Miami Beach. 

Since it was Christmas Day, everything was closed by law. But luckily, the building exteriors cannot close. So I spent the morning wandering the impressive town center without cars or people. 

In addition to the buildings, the beach/waterfront is very pretty too. The meager national aquarium is here but was closed for Christmas. 

On the way out, I stopped on Bluff Hill for a sweeping view of the region. I then got in my car and drove to Taupo. 

Final Thoughts:

While not part of my original plan, I am very glad I went to Napier. It is just remote enough to be off the path of most international travelers despite being popular for kiwis. The highlights are obviously the wine and the Art Deco town. A full day or two half-days are probably the minimum amount of time to see both but I can definitely see why people would stay longer to explore more wineries, do some rural tourism activities and chill by the beach.