We arrived in Napier by night, and took a walk by the water front and in the town centre. Napier is renowned for being the Art Deco Capitol of NZ. The streets and architecture resembling what we'd imagine the USA to be in the 30's. Lovely and quaint.

Napier had us back on track with 'chasing the sun'. The sun making it feel as if we're on holiday again! We witnessed a half marathon taking place, the lack of spectator support shocking, with people jogging alone! But then again we're comparing to the masses at home in London. A reminder of the population in NZ. We took a walk to Bluff Hill, the summit providing a nice panoramic of Hawks Bay on the East Shore.

Napier is a lovely place to catch up on laundry, sit outside in the sun, kick back, and watch the world go by over a cheese scone and tea, so that's what we did!

We met an older gentleman named Paul at our hostel. An interesting man, a converted monk. People's narratives on their journeys have been all varied, but Paul's story truly inspirational. S discovered be carful what you wish for, as a conversation about trekking resulted in Paul and S going for a walk in the morning! S thoroughly enjoyed the scenic 2 hour hill walking with the remarkable Paul who uses this track as he's in training for hiking the Alps.

The sun has been inviting us to stay in Napier longer, alas due to limited time, Lake Taupo beckons...