I couldn't get back to sleep after waking up at 3am so I got a nice, early start on a beautiful, sunny day. I drove into the city center in search of the visitors center and Art Deco. I found both. The Art Deco is all over the city but it's mostly downtown. Almost every part of the streets and buildings in this area reflect the 1930's. The buildings were decked out in this style, as were the street signs, the lamp posts, and the streets were lined with big palm trees. I loved it, so colorful and different, and from such an iconic era. I was almost living in a real life Great Gatsby world. I also found a few more of the big and bold murals in alleyways. I checked out the park and the beach too. I walked around for a while, taking pictures until my meter ran up.
Next, I went to the National Aquarium of New Zealand. Around the entire building, there were massive, detailed paintings of ocean life. Falling more in love with this town. I first went through the East Coast Exhibit which included South American fish, Australian water dragon, American alligator, and tropical fish. It also had two kiwi birds which I was really excited about because I had yet to see the rare creatures! They're nocturnal so their exhibit was dark and the glass they were behind was soundproof. They were very fast! Scurrying around their cage. And they're big! Flightless, nocturnal birds and who lay huge eggs compared to their size. The two in the case were playing and running around it was so cool.
The aquarium kept getting better because next I saw penguins! They were super cute and splashing around in the water. Hopefully we'll be able to see wild ones on the South Island. I also saw a sea turtle, it was much bigger than I imagined one would be. I saw a lot of eels and a giant squid. The oceanarium was most likely my favorite. You walked through a tunnel and sharks, stingrays, and many other kinds of fish were all around you. You could really see how they maneuver and look at them from all different angles.
I left Napier, headed south and stopped at the Silky Oak Chocolate Factory. I tried a few samples then bought a square of mango chocolate fudge and a hazelnut truffle for later. I had a late lunch at their cafe. The kumara and bacon melt came with an amazing salad, which I didn't expect and it was all delicious.
So Napier, as well as Hastings, has SO many wineries and vineyards. It was hard to choose which one to go to but I heard good things about Craggy Range located in Havlock North. The drive out there was so pretty. All the vineyards, rolling green hills, and scenery was breathtaking. As you drive onto the estate, there's a bridge, a pond, a few massive buildings, and a big parking lot all in front of one of their vineyards. This place was beautiful. Clean, modern, and very high class. They restaurant was off to the left but I entered the building in the center to check out the cellar door (which is just what they call the tasting area, I think). The interior was gorgeous as well. I went up to the counter and sampled seven of their wines. The lady who was displaying the wines and pouring me samples was from Texas. She told me about the company, which has an interesting story and is fairly new in the industry. They are attempting to try out a new kind of wine which is a mixture of three, it is in limited quantities and they just want to see if the new flavor takes in the market. The Pinot Gris was light and tasty so I purchased a bottle. I walked around the grounds a little bit and sat by the garden in the sunshine. I didn't want to leave this great place.
But I did and made my way to Clifton, which is a small town near Cape Kidnappers. This cape is where Captain Cook and his men aboard the Endeavor got into a scuffle with the Maori natives. As the story goes, the natives kidnapped one of the cabin boys and once he escaped them and came back on board, they shot two of the natives and wounded one. I drove as far as I could but the cliffs were still a good distance away, but they were sure pretty and monstrous even from afar.
I then drove around Hastings for a little bit and headed back to Napier. The cheaper campgrounds were over an hour away so I decided to just stay at the same holiday park as last night since it was right in town and was a decent price. I cracked open my bottle of wino and enjoyed brie and meat sticks with it. I waited around for the slight buzz to wear off before I drove into town and up the hill to get a better view of the sunset.
