Napier

After Rotorua we headed further south to Napier.  On the way we stopped at Lake Taupo.  It’s hard to pick out but Mt. Doom from Lord of the Rings ins in the background. 

 

 

Heading southeast to Napier we drove through some beautiful farm land.  Here’s just one picture. 

This city was devastated in 1931 when it was struck by an earthquake. It was pretty much destroyed. When the rebuilding process started they selected an art deco theme. Many of the buildings in town are designed this way. It was neat to see. We also lucked out when we visited because they were having a antique car show so not only did we get to see the cool buildings we also got to see these neat cars with the drivers dressed in 1920-30 attire. It was cool. Here’s a few pictures

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They actually had Christmas decorations!! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

While walking around the stores in town Hannah and I came across this sign. 

 

 

 

Not sure who they were calling but both Nich and Hannah needed to use the phone. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The beach was as beautiful as others in the country.The interesting thing about this beach is that it had black rocks and sand.  Matt and Nicholas held a rock skipping contest.

 

After walking around the city for a while we went up to bluff street where you could get a good look at the city and also the port.  Just our luck we ran into the same cruise ship we had seen previously in two other cities. 

 

 

 

Part of the beach and the city from the overlook. 

 

 

 

The next town south of Napier is Hastings.  This little town actually had two wards and a branch.  This is the biggest church we’ve seen since leaving the States.