Napier and Hawke Bay

Arriving at Napier around 1.30pm,  We found our way to Parkside Lodge, which is where we would be staying for the next three nights. It is a very nice place - homely with a retro style. It has the cleanest kitchen for guests to use that I think I have ever seen. There is a proper coffee machine,  and you can grind the beans and pretend to be a Barista any time you feel like it - for free! There is a real record player in the hall near the kitchen,  with a selection of vinyl records to play.  Great! It also has excellent free wifi.

I am writing this on Friday 13th Feb. The time is nearly 8.00pm and we have been in Napier all day. 

We don't feel hungry yet because we had a large lunch about 1.30pm - and it's taking a while to get over it.  We found a place that does gluten free pizza - K had one.  It was a bit big, so she didn't finish it.  We brought a few slices back!

Napier is known as the 'Art Deco Capital' of New Zealand.  The city was mostly destroyed by an earthquake in Feb 1931. It was rebuilt mostly in Art Deco style. It has some lovely buildings.  It seems that many of them have shops underneath that detract from the attractiveness of the decor,  but I suppose that's commerce. There is also a very long beach and beautiful blue sea.

We had a good wander around and admired the buildings and vintage cars that you could ride in.  Some of the locals were dressed in period costume - especially near the Art Deco Shop.  There is the annual celebration next weekend (18th - 20th) - but we will be in Wellington then.

Tokaanu Thermal Walk

Leaving our excellent accommodation at Huka Falls Resort, we headed for Napier - our next port of call.  We took a slow drive,  stopping at several places on the way.  One such stop was this thermal walk.  There were also thermal baths in this location,  but we decided to give these a miss.

After Rotorua they were a little tame - but still interesting. 

Turangi

Whilst waiting for the Skydive to happen we decided to venture down the side of Lake Taupo to visit the town of Turangi,  and also to have a look at the volcanoes which are down that end in Tongariro National Park.

We found a track leading up to one of the walks that you can do past the volcanoes.  We weren't adequately prepared however, as this had been a 'spur of the moment' thing.  To do the walks properly takes many hours.  We saw a lot of people,  some looking fairly worn out - I guess that they were the ones half way through the walk.

We ended up in Turangi for lunch and found a great retro café called the Pink Cadillac. K had a gluten free toastie, and I had a BLT sandwich.  Both very good.  The coffees were good also.  A gang of greedy sparrows were being really cheeky and landing on an uncleared table to sample the remains of the toastie that was left.

We left the area and headed back to Taupo to see about the Skydive - and it was on!

Huka Falls Resort, Taupo

We are staying at this place whilst in Taupo. Excellent resort with featured New Zealand style lodges to stay in.  Crisp white sheets,  really hot shower,  clean and comfy.  What more could you want? 

I have taken quite a few pictures off of my phone - so this means that I can't put them up from here.  I will have to borrow K's tablet to do a bit of blogging - they are all on there now. 

Here are a few pictures of Huka Falls - about three minutes from where we are staying.  

Lake Taupo Airport - Day Two

Well,  didn't get to do the Skydive yesterday because of wind.  Back today - waited a while.  K got dressed and ready - now they have just decided that they can't go again.  Rescheduled for 4.20pm. We'll see.

I'm updating this because she actually did it!  We turned up again at 4 and the weather had changed enough to allow the jumps to go ahead.  Wow!  Then it's was a bit like a production line - all the people who had been waiting were contacted and came in or were collected. It suddenly became very busy.  She was fine.  We have had fizzy to celebrate the achievement. 

Lake Taupo - Skydiving Special

At this very moment we are sitting in the reception of Taupo Tandem Skydive waiting to see if the wind drops enough to allow K to make her jump from 15000 feet. The plane took off with one group,  but had to return because of the wind. Notice that there's no mention of my jump - that's cos I'm not doing one :)

We could be here a while - and it may not happen at all.  I'm pretty sure that I've just seen the german guy who jumped with my son years ago when he did this. 

Rotorua - More Pictures

We spent quite a while wandering around Rotorua - here are some photos.