On To Napier

In view of our interest in Art Deco, the next stop was Napier, up on the east coast, which bills itself as the Art Deco capital of the world. In 1931, a 7.8 earthquake killed 200, leveled the town, and the ensuing fire finished off anything that was not already destroyed. In a matter of seconds, the wetlands below the town rose 2 meters, the harbor drained, and it was all a changed place. The people of Napier vowed to rebuild, and, with national assistance, there was a completely new Napier by 1933, very much of it built in the prevailing Art Deco style. Napier's fortunes waned over the next decades, and there was never enough money nor interest to tear down the old Depression-era structures. Lucky for us! But there was far more to like about Napier than just its well-preserved architecture.

On the way out of Welly, on the west coast, Kapiti Island

Along the way, in Woodville, more Art Deco, and more
interesting collectibles shops

In Napier, another place that adorns its
boulevards with Norfolk Island Pines

Napier has two big beaches, this one, beyond the port,
swimmable; the other, the long sweep of Hawkes Bay,
definitely not for swimming (later post)

Next morning, we're exploring Napier's downtown streets

The old buildings now are prized and very well cared-for

Central square; we visited the Saturday farmers' market
adjoining it

The whole place reminded us of old Miami, specifically
Miracle Mile in Coral Gables, before the high-rises...

Every now and then, you look up, and there is a memorable
quote on the wall of some building

The streets are named after authors

And Art Deco is everywhere

Thus

Wellington Wrap-Up

Obviously, we like Wellington, and could have spent longer, but other places and sights beckoned. Below are a few miscellaneous pix and observations.

There's a national campaign on against over-inbibing, and nowhere more
conspicuous than in Wellington; with booze prices such as they are, it's hard
to see how anyone could afford to get drunk

We've had great Thai food in places all over...Bangkok, Koh Samui, Redwood City,
San Fran, Oxford, and now Wellington, at Phu Thai Esarn, a northern Thai restaurant
in downtown Welly

Some of the best and richest Thai flavors ever, pictured just the Tom Kha Gai and
green curry; my faith in restaurants at least briefly restored; incidentally, Thai
ingredients, e.g., kaffir lime leaves, galangol root, are available at larger
supermarkets  all over NZ; Thai restaurants easily dominate the Wellington scene,
although the guidebooks we use took no notice of them whatever; NZ cuisine,
bland and meats-and-potatoes a generation ago, is now fully international, with
particular emphasis on Asian

Interesting sculpture is all over the place

There are plenty of Victorian and Art Deco specimens around, but Wellington also
displays a great deal of interesting contemporary architecture; neat place!

Museum Of Wellington And The Sea

Lastly, I did the Museum of Wellington and the Sea, which covers Wellington history and its relationship with the sea and sea-faring, all in a beautiful historic port building.

Thus; all these museums are free, I might add

One floor is a sort of Wellington by the year, major developments, artifacts...

Container ships are the main trade now, since the 70s

Match-stick clipper

Diorama of the sinking of the Wahine, a ferry that ran aground and capsized at the
harbor mouth in 1968; of the 700 aboard, 50 perished; mental note for ship
captains: always order "abandon ship" before the list incapacitates half your
lifeboats as well as any movement on deck

Photo of the Wahine; all this transpired a few hundred meters off shore, was
captured on film and TV, in one of the Strait's most violent storms ever

Cook Strait shipwrecks

View of some of the museum

From Maori settlements near Wellington

1870 wedding gown

My sentiment exactly...

Dragon boat racing in Wellington, March 8-9

WOW At Te Papa

What really got our attention at Te Papa was a temporary exhibit from the World of Wearable-Art in Nelson, something we passed up while there, but now definitely on the list for our next visit. There is a museum there, but also an annual wearable art competition and show that attracts world-wide attention. Below are just a few pix from the Te Papa exhibit.

Wellington, 5

Our fifth day in Welly was a busy one: Te Papa Tongarewa (the national museum), a harbor walk, the Museum of Wellington and the Sea, a nice Thai dinner.

The New Zealand Festival was underway the whole time we
were in Wellington; there was so much else to do, we didn't
go to any of its many offerings, or its Fringe Festival...next
time

The downtown harbor-front is lined with
sculpture, historic buildings

And a Writers' Walk, displaying quotes from a dozen or
more prominent New Zealand writers

We spent a day at Te Papa Tongarewa, the
national museum, back in 2008, so gave it
just half a day this time

Many modern buildings in the complex, much high tech,
coverage of natural and cultural histories, the whole thing

I always like the social history stuff; in the 50s, New Zealand
mandated free dental care for all children; and the dentist
offices, with their pedal-operated drills, were known by the
children as "the murder house"

More social history...we conjecture Vicki's dad might have
been here in 1942, since he drove a landing craft for the 1st
Marine Division at Guadalcanal that August... 

Popular 40s board game

Still more social history

Some good Maori stuff

Although I think Auckland's collection is fuller

Wellington, 4

On our fourth day Wellington showed us some of the weather for which Windy Welly is renowned...gale-force, chilly winds, rain, sometimes heavy. All day. We stayed in mostly, Vicki researching and making arrangements for future travels, me blogging a little. (I think I have finally figured out our division of labor: she does the future; I do the past). I did go out briefly...to return a defective umbrella to the Kathmandu store!

Thus, from our motel