Woke up around 08:00 to a bright sunny day, temperature about 15.
Went for a walk around Napier, a small town that was severely damaged by an earthquake in 1931 and had to be rebuilt. Since it was during the Art Deco period, most of the buildings were rebuilt in this style and are really well maintained and look amazing. Stopped for breakfast (bacon and eggs) and wandered around a bit before jumping in the car and driving to Taupo – there aren’t many roads here so navigating is easy. The drive took about 2.5 hours through some nice scenery, although the South Island is more spectacular. Found the motel easily enough, dumped the gear then went for lunch. I had a chicken and cranberry pie with mash, Song had calamari, both nice. The waitress was from Maidstone in Kent, England; all of the service staff here are from overseas – we’ve had Irish, Australian, German, Chinese, Dutch and English. Hopped back in the car and drove 10 minutes to the Haku Falls, and took some photos. The falls weren’t particularly spectacular but worth seeing.
Drove back to the motel and just chilled.
Didn’t need dinner.
Tomorrow we drive to Rotorua and will partake of the hot springs.
