Friday, Mar 8th, Napier, New Zealand

Greetings!

Shortly after cleaning up the breakfast dishes, Susan Gibson felt the ground under her old Bluff Hill Victorian home begin to move around under her feet.  For two minutes, she struggled to make her way to the front door by bracing herself against the undulating walls.  By the time she got outside, she could see the town below had flattened, and smoke was rising from Hastings Street.  In the distance, she could see water rushing over the seawall into the Pacific.  When it was over, her town rose over two meters, and 2230 hectares of lagoon disappeared in the Feb 3rd, 1931 earthquake.

Napier was rebuilt during the mid-1930's, when Art Deco was the fashion.  Today, the town has one of the finest collections of Art Deco buildings in the world.  Our guide, Denise, treated us to a very detailed tour of the results of that rebuild.  A life-long resident of the town, she was able to provide the stories of the successive owners, and the many lives of each building.  We entered several of them, and were able to imagine life during the wars in this south Pacific isle.

She also paid great attention to our safety, as she led the group in and around the streets of Napier.  One of New Zealand's best characteristics isn't that pedestrians have the right of way, and she made sure we watched for cars as we listened.

To see all of the photos taken today, click on:
Friday, Mar 8th, Napier, New Zealand.