Napier, the details (first half)

Hi there! Its been a while! I have been loving Wellington so much that internet hasn't exactly been #1 on my list o' things to do, but I figured I'd better get a move-on while I still have access to the cheap internet here. Here's whats up with Napier (my stop before coming here to Wellington): It was a bit hard getting used to being in a city again after spending so much time in the outdoors. I didn't know quite what to do with myself, surrounded by all those buildings and people. So I went for a walk down Marine Parade, the walkway along the ocean coast. I figured it was a beautiful evening, so I'd walk to the end. Well, as I'd been walking for over an hour to the south and it was getting to be 8:00 and I was getting tired, but not being one to give up easily once I've set my mind to a goal, I decided to ask some passing walkers how far it was to the far end. They laughed and pointed to a big factory off in the distance and told me that it went all the way down there and that I'd be lucky if I made it down there before dark, much less all the way home. I figured I'd better turn around and start heading back and leave my goal of reaching the end for another day (and maybe with a bike).

The next day, I headed down to the info center and was helped by a very nice woman named Rae. I bought a brochure on the Art Deco walk around Napier, which is known to be the best example of a town built almost entirely in Art Deco style after most of the town was destroyed by an earthquake in 1931. It took quite a while, because I kept finding all these cute little galleries and shops to browse through en route. One of them was a natural foods store, where I got all sorts of yummy groceries later that night. Has anyone ever had dried strawberries? They are like candy! I also got to talk to my sister that evening, which was GREAT! Meredith, I love you!!!!!


The next day, I went to explore the neighboring towns of Havelock North and Hastings. I had heard that they have an organic farmer's market in Havelock North that I wanted to check out. Turns out, its only on Saturdays, but there was an excellent bakery in town which made the trip worthwhile. I got some excellent Sunflower Honey Wholemeal Bread and a "dinky donut" filled with whipped cream. I LOVE anything with whipped cream, so that was quite exciting. Plus, it was just the right size, since those big ol' donuts are just a bit much. I guess I like my donuts dinky! I also went up to Te Mata Peak, above the town. They had some beautiful views and hiking trails. I had a nice picnic lunch with my bread and some local organic cheese that I'd bought at a gourmet Italian Deli in town.

I made a special stop in Hastings as well, on the recommendation of Rae, from the info center. She was very patient answering my big line of questions about things in and around Napier: weather? Gannet colony? film processing? .... When I got to the question of whether there wa sa good icecream place around, her eyes lit up and I knew I'd found a fellow ice cream lover, not just a patient visitors center attendant. She told me about Rush Munroe's Ice Cream place here in Hastings, where she used to come asa girl. They sell it elsewhere, but this is the place to come for selection and the true home. Well, how on earth could I pass that up??? My walk from my parking place to the spot where she'd marked a big X on my map for ice cream was a bit worrisome. I parked next to a a Carpet Discounters and continued to walk past the Seafood Corner (serving kippers, and fish and chips), the Big Save Furniture (Open 7 Days), Big Noise Car Audio ('nuf said), United Video, an under construction service station, Bull and Hodgins Ltd. Engineering Supplies, and a Pak & Save (discount grocery store). I was starting to get a bit disheartened by this point, wondering if the icecream place had moved or she'd been somehow mistaken. I continued past Derek Tonge's quality used cars and ah-ha! I say the welcome sign for Rush Monroe's 100% Natural Ice Cream! Sittin' there in the courtyard licking my cone of chocolate nut (a variety of nuts PLUS chocolate chips), I was able to forget about the 'harrowing' experience of getting here!