Off to Art Deco in Napier

Today is our biggest driving day as we head from Wellington to Napier + allegedly 4hours or so of driving.

We decide to have breakfast on the road and Haley’s phone skills find us a cute little cafe in Upper Hut that seems to be a converted church hall. They have bowls of coffee which we find very exciting. There is mince on toast on the menu - which I think is cute - but none of us order it.

Our other mission is to go to a wildlife park on the way that promises a white kiwi. We had been going to go to Zealandia in Wellington - but it only promised us sounds of the birds. We wanted to see them.

The wildlife park is about halfway - but it turns out to be tricky to find on our various electronic navigation devices so we end up resorting to entering the latitude and longitude into the Navman. Which seems to navigate us through some interesting backroads where the only other traffic is a guy on his lawnmower and the occasional tractor..

We pass through Greytown - which one prettiest town. And looks full of interesting shops and such - but also PACKED with people. There are lots of people snapping photos - we wonder if Eminem - who is in town for a concert - has popped out for a visit.

When we reach the wildlife sanctuary it is lovely. We get to see lots of birds and most importantly the white kiwi. Kiwis are bigger than I thought. And I can see why they are appealing - something about the way they move I think.

We have a lovely time there then get back on the road to Napier. We arrive at around 5  - just after all the shops are shut. This could be a good thing for my bank balance. The way into town seems not very deco at all - but the center of town is lovely.

The bay is also spectacular. I am intrigued by the beach - which is all round grey pebbles.

Oddly - because it was difficult to find accommodation the town feels dead. But we do manage a wander along the shore and through the Art Deco buildings.

Then we go to the supermarket on the way home and end up spending way more than we meant to buying chili sauce. There seem to be a lot more varieties here than in Australia.

I can see a real theme of chili sauce and coffee emerging in this trip...