A long drive today to Napier. We passed forests, gorges and fertile farmland with lots of cattle and sheep. We stopped at Taupo on lake of same name. The lake is the largest in New Zealand. The waters were a turquoise blue. We had lunch and a walk by the lake then moved on to Napier.

Napier in Hawkes Bay was destroyed by earthquake and fire in 1931 destroying all the buildings and killing many people.
From this disaster the new town arose. The town was rebuilt in Art Deco style.
These buildings remain today making the town look almost like a film set. The local inhabitants are proud of their town. Many shops sell period furniture and dresses etc. The museum and art shops also reflect the period.

We stayed in the Masonic Hotel. The Queen stayed there in 1954 on her Coronation tour of the Commonwealth. There was a picture of her on the balcony outside our room. The hotel dcoration also celebrated the Art Deco style. We went for a walk along the prom. I imagined that that was what Brighton in the 30s would have been like. We drove up to a point above the town where we had views of Hawkes Bay and the Port. On the way back we looked in on some gardens. The flowers, agapanthus, roses, geraniums etc were very colourful and the garden was full of butterflies.
Back to the hotel for a very good meal in the Art Deco Emporium which was part of the hotel.