Napier, Hastings and Wellington

Napier and Hastings are small seaside towns just a few miles apart, both were completely destroyed by an earthquake in 1931.  According to our guidebook the towns were destroyed in two and a half minutes by the 7.8 earthquake, and in the weeks following the earthquake there were 525 aftershocks recorded.  When the towns were rebuilt the art deco style was at the height of popularity, and so, both of the towns are full of art deco buildings, squares, clock towers, light posts, sculptures, etc.  We spent an afternoon walking around the Napier and the next morning exploring Hastings.  Both of the towns were small and seemed pretty quiet, although the information center said it is quite busy in the summer months. In Napier there was a little museum called Opossum World, we had to walk in to check it out.  Apparently the opossum has caused lots of problems in New Zealand, taking over the habitat of native birds.  So, they created this museum to teach about the opossum (which looks quite different than the opossums we are used to in Texas and Louisiana).  The strangest thing about the shop is that they sell hats and gloves and sweaters made from opossum and merino wool - weird! 

Charles at Opossum World

After Hastings we made our way to Wellington.  As we were making our way South on the North Island we kept hearing people referring to the windy weather in Wellington and hearing references to “windy Wellington.”  We had no idea until we arrived how true those statements could be.  The day way arrived in Wellington the winds were gusting so hard that a flight from Auckland had two failed attempts at landing in Wellington and had to fly back to Auckland. Finally, on the third attempt the plane was able to land.  We arrived into the city in the late afternoon and had heard reports on the radio of roads being closed due to wind conditions.  Sure enough, we began seeing signs for road closures.  We were very thankful that the road that we needed to get to our campsite was not the one that was closed.  

We checked into our campsite and began getting ready to go into town.  We arrived in Wellington on Saturday, September 8th so that we could go to the All Blacks vs. Argentina rugby game.  Seeing the All Blacks play was high on Charles’ priority list and I was actually very excited to see the tribal dance they perform at the beginning of the game called the Haka. We took a taxi from our holiday park to the stadium and since we were about an hour and a half early we stopped into a pub to have a beer.  While inside the pub we met three kiwis, who were happy to share their love for rugby and the All Blacks with us.  Their names were Paul, George, and Shane and we chatted about the sport and about our travels on the North Island.  We love the kind kiwis we seem to meet everywhere we go!  After our beer we walked over to the stadium, trying not to fly away in the Wellington wind.  

About to walk into the game - windy Wellington

 

I should let Charles tell you about the rugby match, because he would probably be better at describing the level of excitement in the arena, but he’s out painting, so you’re stuck with my account….

The pre-game show was the Wellington International Ukelele Orchestra, they were quite entertaining!  After the ukulele band was wheeled off the field the teams marched out onto the field.  The game opened with the national anthems first Argentina and then New Zealand, both were beautiful and gave me chills to listen to, but it was particularly exciting when all the fans began to sing along to the New Zealand anthem.  The field was cleared and the teams took their places.  Now, the big event, the tribal dance was about to begin.  The All Blacks all huddled together facing the other team and began chanting and stomping.  Everyone in the stadium was standing and watching this famous ritual, it was very cool.  To watch the Haka from the game on YouTube click here.  Once the Haka ended the game began.   

Watching rugby live is very exciting, it’s like a watching a football game where there are constant fumbles and turnovers.  Someone has the ball and begins to run, then he is tackled and as he falls to the ground all the players around him pile on top, then he tosses the ball out to someone else, the person who receives the ball then runs as far as he can before he is tackled and the whole thing happens all over again.  There is also this thing they call a scrum, where both teams assemble in a half circle facing one another, then they all bend over and wrap their arms around one another and then lock head to head with the opposing team.  Once they are all locked into a circle a team member tosses the ball into the middle of the circle and both teams try to kick or push it to their team’s side.  Watching the game definitely gave me an appreciation of the physical nature of rugby – those guys were getting beat up!  I really should probably do more research on the rules, but from watching that’s about as much as I’ve figured out.  

Charles at the All Blacks game

 The game was close for the first half although the All Blacks didn’t score a touchdown (not sure if that’s what they call it) they were in the lead at half time due to field goals (again, no idea if that’s what it’s called when they kick the ball through the goal, but that’s what I’m calling it).  During half time the ukulele band came back out to perform a few songs and as the performance was wrapping up they set off some pyrotechnics.  I can’t call them fireworks, because it really seemed more like three small explosions in the center of the field.  As they went off I could feel heat blasting toward me and was a little concerned, until I realized that it was part of the half time show.  A few seconds later all the lights in the stadium went out.  Later we found out it had nothing to do with the pyrotechnics and was instead due to a power failure in the city.  It took about 20 minutes for the lights to come back on, then the game resumed.  In the end, the All Blacks won, the score was 21 -5.  It was very exciting when they scored the touchdowns, especially since it was on our end of the field.  Overall the game was lots of fun.  I was happy that we stayed dry and fairly warm during the game, despite the swirling rain and wind, and I was glad that we made sure an All Blacks game was part of our New Zealand itinerary.  

The Scrum

After the game we made our way out of the stadium with all of the other fans and found the bus stop so we could get back “home” to the Ark II.  It was about a 20 minute bus ride back from the city to our holiday park and we were happy to settle into our campervan and have a snack before bed. 

Sunday we woke up and took the bus into the city, stopped for coffee and breakfast at a café in Wellington, then made our way along the harbor to Te Papa, which is the National Museum of New Zealand.  The museum is massive, 5 floors of information, but we only covered 2 floors.  The 2nd floor is mainly focused on the geothermal activity in the world, the evolutionary history of New Zealand, explanations of the earthquake fault lines, interactive displays for kids on the layers of the earth and plate tectonics, animals and plants native to New Zealand, and much more.  Next we went to the 4th floor which covered information on the treaty between the British and the Maori tribes, the history of the settlement of New Zealand by both the Maori and Europeans.  

Walking along Wellington Harbour

After the museum we decided we would find Weta Studios, which is where the Lord of the Rings movies were made.  We took a bus out to Miramar and walked the few blocks to the studio, with the help of a lovely local who offered to walk us to the studio, because it was on his way home.  He explained to us that the studio has grown in popularity with tourists and that they even show a short movie to visitors telling about the studio and the work it does.  I told him I was surprised the studio was about 20 minutes outside of Wellington, and he explained that it was because the owner of Weta Studios started in Miramar and slowly bought up large chucks of the city around his original space.  We thanked our local guide and walked into the studio and had a look around.  There were props and sculptures from the movies and even some from other Peter Jackson films.  We watched the short informational film on the studios and were impressed at the artistic skill that makes up the Weta Studios.  It was well worth the stop.  

Charles and Gollum (Sméagol)

We rode the bus back into the city and strolled through the shopping area of Wellington.  I have been on a search for some New Zealand wool, I was hoping to buy a sweater or a hat, but can’t seem to find anything actually made here.  After asking around a bit, it seems that they don’t manufacture any wool here in New Zealand, it’s almost all exported to other countries.  So, I guess I’ll be returning without any wool.  After our failed shopping attempt we found an Irish Pub for an early dinner of fish and chips.  We walked into the pub and found an Irish band playing in the corner and dozens of people dancing around the bar.  We sat and enjoyed the music, a pint, and fish and chips while it started to rain outside.  We knew we had to catch the bus, but we still wanted to see a bit more of the city.  We walked back down the harbor, in the rain, and eventually made our way to the bus stop.  Unfortunately, the next bus wasn’t for another 30 minutes.  Instead of sitting in the bus stop, we decided to walk down to a pub and have a drink since it was only 6:30.  We went to Portlander, which is in a hotel, and ordered a glass of New Zealand Pinot Noir and a beer.  The bartender was Canadian and recognized our American accents.  We began chatting and he gave us lots of tips on things to do on the South Island.  We thanked him and went on our way to catch the bus back to the Ark II for the night. 

Monday morning we had to be checked in at the ferry terminal at 7:15 a.m., which meant we had to leave the holiday park at 6:45 a.m.  It was our earliest morning so far, but we made it and were checked in on time.  It took nearly an hour for us to board the ferry, but once we were on, it was a pretty calm ride across the Cook Straight.  

Getting onto the ferry