Napier - a highlight of New Zealand

Napier is an ocean lover's dream. The city is set right on the South Pacific Ocean, and offers a beautiful beach that is perfect for strolling in the sun. This area of New Zealand is the sunniest part of the country, and the locals know how to enjoy the outdoors. For aquatic fans, this area also offers the National Aquarium, Marineland, and the Seahorse Farm, all fairly close to the downtown area.

Napier is also a common destination for wine lovers. Hawke's Bay is well known around the country for its fantastic wines, and many wineries open their doors for tastings and fine dining.

Art Deco architecture may be the biggest draw for Napier. Following a devastating earthquake in 1931, the city took advantage of that era's style, and many buildings have been well preserved. Each February, the Art Deco festival transports the city back to that age with vintage cars, clothing, and more.

Finally, another attractive feature of Napier is that many tourists have not yet discovered this charming city. Unlike cities such as Rotarua and Taupo, which are full of chain hotels and restaurants, Napier has retained a unique character and ambience.

Quick Tips:

The best time to visit Napier may be in the summer (approximately November through February), when you can best enjoy the sun and beaches. As mentioned previously, the summer tourist crush is not as noticeable here as in other cities, so you can enjoy the attractions in relative peace.

If you have a limited time in New Zealand and want to see as many places as possible, Napier could be visited in just a day or two, or of course longer if you want to hit all the sights. You can soak up the essence of the place in a short time, however, before moving along.

Best Way To Get Around:

Napier is small enough that you can easily walk around the downtown area and the beach. Public transportation is very limited. A bus service provides transportation to some of the outer suburbs and Hastings, the other city in the area, but these buses generally run only once an hour or less. Taxis are available through Napier Taxi (local phone 835-7777). Driving is not really necessary if you plan to stay within the city. However, a car can be useful if you would like to see some sights outside of Napier proper, such as Waipatiki Beach, which is about a 45 minute drive to the north. However, visitors should remember that New Zealanders drive on the left side of the street, an undertaking that can be intimidating at first for tourists.

Best Things Nearby:
The holiday park is reasonably close to downtown, so you have access to many shops, restaurants, and attractions. There is a pool at the park, but it is also close to the Onekawa Aquatic Centre on Maadi Road, which has several different indoor and outdoor pools.

Best Things About the Resort:
The facilities are excellent, and the cabins, kitchen, and bathrooms were very clean. The staff was friendly and helpful, too.

Resort Experience:
Kennedy Park is located about a mile outside of the downtown Napier area, but is still far within the city limits, and the downtown can be reached in about 20 minutes on foot. This is a huge facility with a range of accommodation options, ranging from simple campsites to cabins with personal kitchens and bathrooms. Prices range from about NZ$12 to $150, so there is something for everyone's budget. This holiday park had very good facilities, more extensive than most in the country. There is a swimming pool, restaurant, lounge, common kitchen, playground, and more. They also have a good information service, and can answer your questions about local attractions, and even book activities for you. It might be a good idea to make reservations ahead of time, if possible, because it was quite crowded when I was there. This is probably not so important if you have your own tent, but if you are hoping for a cabin, call ahead.

• Campground Type: Private
• Campsite Type: Cabin
• Price Range: $20 - $30
• Cleanliness: Excellent
• Campground Facilities: Excellent
• Recreational Facilities: Excellent
• Campsite Satisfaction: Excellent
• Family Friendliness: Excellent
• Service: Excellent

The Gin Trap is a popular bar located right on the Napier Harbour. Its location provides choice views of sailboats, the sea, and if your timing is right, a beautiful New Zealand sunset. While this is a great place just for drinks, it´s also a good option for dining because of its varied menu. There are two main eating options. One is to order food from the bar. This more affordable option gives you the choice of burgers, fries, sandwiches, and of course, fish and chips. Prices start at about NZ$7. For a classier dining atmosphere, you can sit in the restaurant section, which is romantically lit with white Christmas lights and candles. Although it is just off the bar area, this is a much quieter section, and the atmosphere is quite different. The menu offers a variety of choices, including fresh fish, pasta, chicken, beef, and New Zealand lamb. A couple of daily specials may also be available. Prices here are higher, on average about NZ$25 for a meal, but the food is very good and well presented. To accompany your meal, you can choose a glass of local wine to round out the Hawke´s Bay experience.

The Hawke's Bay A & P Show is held each spring on Labour Day weekend. This is sort of the equivalent of a 4H State Fair in the United States. The show in itself is fun, and it provides a good glimpse into local culture. There is a section with amusement park rides, your basic carnival food, a huge arts and crafts area, farm animals, and more. Entertainment goes on continuously, both at the large arena and at smaller venues throughout the show grounds. Many of the events included animals, such as horseback riding and sheep sheering, but others, such as the Xena Warriors, were unique to New Zealand! The show goes on from Thursday to Saturday. Thursday is often crowded with school groups. Most people are off work on Friday since this is the provincial holiday for Hawke's Bay, so expect a bigger crowd both then and on Saturday. This is a very family-friendly event, but is fun for adults, too.

Waipatiki Beach is, in my opinion, the most beautiful beach in Hawke's Bay. It is about a 45-minute drive from Napier, the last 20 minutes on a narrow, winding gravel road. Perhaps because of this, the beach is rarely crowded. There is a small parking lot at the end of the road, and then you have a very short walk to the beach. There is a small sandy area where most visitors stay. The current here is very strong, so swimming is not recommended. Surfers, however, seem to favor this particular spot.

The sandy area of the beach is flanked by cliffs, and a small path provides access to the more remote sections of the beach. The path winds along the cliffs, and if you wish to get closer to the water, there are spots where it is safe to walk down to the water. The farther you get from the parking lot, the fewer people you will see, if you encounter any at all. This makes for a peaceful, relaxing retreat.

Waipatiki Beach is supposedly a good spot for finding paua shells. Paua is a type of mussel with a beautiful, almost holographic shell. Paua is commonly eaten, and the shell is made into jewelry and various souvenirs. On my trip to the beach, I found only a small piece of a shell. When talking to locals later that day, they said that only five years ago, that beach would have had hundreds of the shells, but due to over-fishing, the numbers have severely dwindled. Still, your best bet to find a shell is after a storm, when the rough tide may have washed some empty shells up on to the beach. Aside from paua, though, there are thousands of other shells in all shapes, colors, and sizes, especially if you walk along the cliffs for a mile or so.

Tongoio Scenic Reserve is about 20 minutes outside of Napier in the direction of Gisborne. When driving, you will very suddenly come across the sign, so look carefully on your right side. There is a small parking lot with some nearby picnic tables and shelters, and an explanatory sign about the reserve at the beginning of the path.

For the first 20 minutes of so, you walk along a bubbling stream through a thick forest (although the path is well-defined and fairly wide). Soon after, you veer off to the left and hear the sounds of rushing water. As you come around a corner, you catch your first glimpse of Te Ana Falls, which is the shorter but more forceful of the two waterfalls in the park. The water falls into a small pool that would be a lovely spot for a swim in warm weather. There are also several boulders that provide a good base for a picnic or a place to sit and look at the falls.

From there, you return to the path and head uphill for another 20 minutes to reach an overlook that provides a view of Tongoio Falls across a valley. This waterfall is impressive for its height. You can see the water starting to fall very high on the hill, but the force is soft enough that it mostly just runs down the side of the cliff. Still, though, this is another impressive sight, and the overlook is set amongst beautiful nature.

The two waterfalls are the highlights of the park. However, if you wish to take a longer hike, you can continue walking on the trail all the way to White Pine Bush Scenic Reserve. This takes another hour, so your round-trip walk will be three to four hours. The longer hike passes through a native white pine forest and provides nice scenery, but after the excitement of seeing the waterfalls, I found the end of the long hike to be somewhat anticlimactic. Still, I would recommend this walk on a nice day.

There are two cinemas in town. Cinema 4 shows all the current mainstream movies, about 10 at a time. The other cinema, Century Cinema, is found in the same building as the Hawke's Bay Museum. This theater shows more artistic or independent films, so it offers a good alternative if you have had your fill of standard Hollywood fare. The movies shown at Century Cinema grace a very large screen in a huge theater, supposedly with the best sound system in the Hawke's Bay area. Century Cinema shows movies from many different countries, and some are in the original language with English subtitles. Special events also take place here, like the recent Italian Film Festival, which showed many award-winning Italian films over the course of a week. Movie schedules can be found in the Hawke's Bay Today newspaper, by visiting the theater on Herschell St., or online at http://www.centurycinema.co.nz