Day 20 Lake Tutira to Napier 44km
Amazing how much easier a hill is with fresh legs. We got to the top, looked at each other, agreed it must be one of those mean double dip hills where you think you've got to the top only to go down a bit and then up again. But it wasn't. So we cruised into Napier at 9am with the whole day to enjoy and explore. We'd booked into a backpackers with a central location to enhance our experience. Napier is a beautiful town nestled into Hawke's Bay with a town beach and proper seafront. Completely destroyed in an earthquake in 1931, in the midst of the depression, with lots of willing workers, it was substantially rebuilt in two years in the Art Deco style. Still a very classy look. We had a delicious meal out and sat on the balcony at the backpackers watching a glorious sunset. Bliss. Until 10pm. Napier, it turns out, is a party town. And they partied, loud and long into the night. "Reminds me of Uganda" I said. "Except at least there aren't any dogs" Mark correctly replied. So here we are, Sunday morning, bleary eyed and crotchety. But the sun is shining and we plan a tour of some wineries before wending our way slowly to Wellington. I think we'll stay just slightly out of the city centre just in case....