Napier - Art Deco wonderland.Jul 03 '02 (Updated Jan 22 '03) Write an essay on this topic.The Bottom Line Napier is slightly off the beaten track but well worth the detour. As a kid we used to have a few family holidays in Napier. I always thought it was an old fashioned sort of place and rather boring but at least it had Marineland, it’s one saving grace from a kids point of view. I have driven through Napier many times since but always enroute to somewhere else. Last weekend, we decided to break a long road journey with an overnight stay here, it was strange seeing it again through adult eyes. History It was 10:46 am, Tuesday February 3rd 1931, when one of the most devastating earthquakes in New Zealand history struck the Napier district. It measured 7.8 on the richter scale and lasted 2.5 minutes and totally demolished the city. The city eventually faced the task of rebuilding and a new city was built from scratch. The 30’s era was the very distinctive Art Deco Period in architecture and the city is practically entirely caught in the 30’s time warp. It really is quite a novelty to see so many Art Deco buildings in the one city and so, the marvel that is Napier came to pass. Attractions ART DECO. Each February the city celebrates with the Brebner Print Art Deco Weekend. It’s just an excuse for a bit of a party really and the streets come alive with jazz bands and revellers. For 4 days in the third week of Feb, you will be able to indulge in all your wildest art deco fantasies. They hold vintage car shows, vintage aeroplane shows, the works. McDonalds have celebrated the Art Deco theme as well by opening a McDonalds McDeco Restaurant … well, what can you say. If you are keen to explore the Art Deco theme further you can take one of the many guided walking tours, or if you would prefer, pick up a self-guided map (NZ $2.50) from the visitors centre or Museum and tour in your own time. Even if you don’t take an actual tour, you can’t help but notice the many buildings around the city. The beachfront promenade is a tribute to Deco and is definitely worth a look. MARINELAND. I used to love coming here when I was a kid and watch the dolphin and sea lion show, the best part of all were the underwater viewing tanks. In my memories of Marineland it was huge and fantastic. I was somewhat disillusioned to see that it is actually a teeny tiny place with a small grandstand for watching the performances. Marineland has daily tours where you can touch and feed the dolphins and they even have ‘swimming with the dolphins’ tours. Along with dolphins and sea lions Marinelands greatest asset is as a wild animal shelter. Injured seabirds and seals are nursed and re-habilitated here. You can take the Penguin tour and meet and learn about the native Yellow Eyed Penguin. These penguins are all wild penguins that were bought here because of injury. They release as many of the wild animals as they can but some need to stay permanently if their injuries are too bad. Various other birds and seals are treated here as well so you never know who or what you will meet when you visit. They still have the regular dolphin and sea lion show as well with two shows daily at 10:30am and 2:00pm. General admission is (NZ) $9 adult and $4 child but the best bet is to get a family pass, this covers two adults and two children for (NZ) $21 or (US) $8.60 The Dolphin tour is (NZ) $15 adult, $7 a child and the dolphin swim is $40 per person. I would have loved to have visited this time but the weather was shocking. It was a miserable winter scene, pouring with rain, grey sky and bleak. We headed next door to the Aquarium instead, at least that was indoors. AQUARIUM I had visited the aquarium as a kid but it was less than inspiring. I was glad to see a lot of work has been put in here and now it is worth coming to. They have some great displays of fish from all around the world as well as what you would see around New Zealand shores. My one gripe is there was a lack of information about some of the exhibits. It makes it a bit pointless when you don’t know what you are looking at. Example: there were two mounted sharks that you could walk around, touch, check out their teeth etc, obviously different varieties but absolutely no information on what they were. I knew one was a Mako by the shape of its nose but what was the other one? If you time your visit right you will be there for the hand feeding, we missed out by half an hour but luckily for us, there were a few bits of fish (?) lying around the floor and some brave teenager decided he was going to feed the sting rays with the leftovers. The rays gathered around as he dropped the food in and we got to see some great belly views as they came up to the glass. They are absolutely gorgeous, I didn’t realise they were so cute. They were bobbing at the surface like begging puppies. The added bonus to this aquarium is the fact that they have a special exhibit for Kiwi and Tuatara. These two creatures are unique to New Zealand and seldom seen in the wild. The tuatara is a big lizard which is claimed to be the last living dinosaur. Like most big lizards they don’t move much and you start wondering if they are real …….. The kiwi on the other hand was very active, being nocturnal birds, it was in a dark walk through tunnel. It was easy to spot though and was busy searching for food in the soil. I was surprised they only had the one bird in such a huge exhibit, maybe the others were at the back behind the undergrowth. The last exhibit you pass through is the walk through tunnel. This is great with a huge variety of fish from sharks, rays, and all sorts of fish and shellfish found in New Zealand waters. I was wondering about them all living together like that, I wondered if they have ever lost any fish to a hungry shark. They all seemed to cohabit very nicely and there was plenty of rock cover for the little fellas to hide if they had to. Admission – Adult - $12 Child up to 14 -$6 Visiting hours – Summer - 9am – 9pm Winter - 9am – 5pm Feeding time- 10 am, 2 pm. VISITORS CENTRE If you do visit Napier, head straight to the visitors center which is right on the beachfront promenade. Here you will find everthing you need to know about the city and region. I'm sure you will find something fun to do while you are here. Accomodations There are plenty of choices here. You will have no problems finding somewhere to suit your budget with a wide range of motels & hotels to choose from. These range in price from NZ $50 - $ 180. Backpacker’s accommodations are available at the Napier YHA, or Archies Bunker for $15 - $25 per person or check out the motor camps. tourist info Population - 54,6000 Climate -Summer temps ~ 20 C 㪻 C (68 F 㫷 F) Winter temps ~ average 15 C (59 F ) Travelling times/distances- Auckland ~ 5-6 hours – 433 kilometres Rotorua ~ 2 1/2 ï hours – 143 kilometres Wellington ~ 4 hours – 321 kilometres =============================== More reviews. New Zealand - http://www.epinions.com/content_53045333636 Gisborne, Poverty Bay - http://www.epinions.com/content_47243038340 Taupo - http://www.epinions.com/content_71503941252  |
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