A day spent in Napier

Tuesday, April 28, 2015
Napier, North Island, New Zealand
 This morning we awoke to a bright, clear sunny day and this time it wasn't a dream. The sun was shining over the beach opposite our room and actually had a bit of sting to it, which meant the previously unbelievable, it was shorts weather! So, clad in shorts we ventured into the centre of Napier to checko the deco, as it were. For those unaware of the town's history, Napier was almost completely destroyed by an earthquake in the 1930's and had to be rebuilt, which it was, in the style of the times, Art Deco. It has been maintained in that style ever since.  And those who are appreciative of that architecture would not be disappointed. All along the roads and malls the buildings that house the retail stores are all maintained in the 30's trim and colours, and it does make for a very attractive streetscape. Obviously not everything is in the style, there are supermarkets and fast food outlets but in the main they are off the main city blocks so don't detract from the town centre. Blah, blah, blah .....sightseeing ......blah blah.... and then it was lunchtime. 
    After lunch, Jane decided it would be a good time to visit what is known here as a " dintast" . She said she had a tooth that needed attention, but I reckon she was just missing the whine of the drill and the smell of the autoclave. Anyway, the "dintast" repaired her tooth and afterwards we decided to take a walk along the beach opposite our hotel. I suppose beach is the correct topographical term, but in my books a beach has to have sand to be called a beach. Black pebbles do not a beach make! And bring it on Napierites ...... let's see you make a sandcastle out of a kazillion lucky stones. It was on our walk we saw another of Napier's attractions, albeit much lesser known, and it did in fact take some investigation from yours truly to discover it's history. It is a bronze statue of a naked woman with her arms held aloft, high atop a plinth surrounded at its base by a fountain. Far from being Art Deco, it is apparently a relatively modern piece that was put up by a committee of like minded citizens who were devotees of the post modernist school of art and architecture. This committee, led by a Mr Rex Fernly, had had enough of Art Deco and wanted the city updated . In a famous tirade in council chambers, Mr Fernly was reported as saying, " if I see another peach coloured chevron around here I'll spew!". He and his committee were outvoted but in a final act of dissention, commissioned a statue of the Polynesian goddess Audrey and had it placed along the beachside. Audrey is the goddess of Vulcanology and plate tectonics and it was designed to have her with her arms held high imploring the other gods to bring on another earthquake so Rex and his friends could start with a clean slate. Obviously it hasn't worked. The other lesser known theory I uncovered was that the statue is actually called "Catch it Greta" and was put up to inspire the New Zealand netball team's tilt at the 1974 world titles. Shame was that there were no world titles held that year nor did New Zealand have a team capable of playing. 
   It's back on the road tomorrow and hopefully another scenic route to our next destination, Auckland. Speak to you tomorrow.

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