Happy New Year! From Napier New Zealand!

Wish you all a happy and healthy year 2023!

A photo that I took in 2014 in Auckland. It’s not a good photo. It’s blur.
I was with my friends in Auckland, New Zealand. Every new year, fireworks come out from Sky Tower like this.

Yes, that’s Sky Tower in Auckland. No, I couldn’t go there this time, like I said in my previous post. I just finished my self-isolation on 31 December 2022. This photo was taken in 2014. That was the year I went to Auckland for my friend’s wedding.

I read on the news that in some towns or cities in New Zealand, the residents complain about the fireworks because the fireworks scare their livestock. That’s true. You can usually hear dogs bark when someone starts the fireworks here. The dogs are scared of that because it sounds like thunder. Poor doggies. I wonder if New Zealand will, like other countries, use drones instead of fireworks.

I didn’t post too many photos of Napier in my last blog, so I am going to post some more now. 🙂

Napier is a wine region in New Zealand. You can find many vineyards here. Some of them are only like 10 minutes away from the suburb centre. Mission Estate Winery is one of them. They are not in the countryside.

Mission Estate Winery. Why is there a cross at the top of the building?

The estate of Mission Estate Winery used to be a seminary. The French priests came to Napier as missionaries in 1800’s. This building was originally somewhere close to the shore of Napier. However, after the earthquake in 1931, the priests realized it probably wasn’t a good site for the seminary so they moved the entire building to the current site which is on a hill. Years later, it was turned into this winery. The rooms have now been converted into dining rooms.

It is quite a famous estate. Singers like Elton John and Robbie Williams(? I think), have performed here. The Winery invite famous singers to hold a concert every year.

Inside Mission Estate Winery, you can find religious related decorations.
The church at Mission Wine Estate Winery. It has now been converted into a function room. Many weddings have been held here.
This room has been converted into a dining room. I wonder what the purpose of this room was.
Wine cellar inside Mission Estate Winery

How about the catholic churches in Napier now? Let’s take a look.

St. Mary’s Church in Napier
St. Patrick’s Church in Napier

St. Patrick’s Church is in the CBD of Napier.

And the church is somewhere close to here. Napier CBD is small. You can walk from point A to point B quite quickly.
Hey, little kid, who are you waving to?
Oh, I see, this lady and her dog.

I really enjoy the walk around city – if I have nothing to do or if I am not in a hurry, like catching the bus. Well, actually, before the bus comes, I like to stroll along Marine Parade.

The road on the way to Marine Parade
The Art Deco buildings along the shore
Six Sisters – 6 Art Deco buildings
Along Marine Parade. I don’t know what this architecture is called.
But I know what this one is called – Soundshell
If you continue to walk along the beach, this is what you can see.
Along the beach. Let’s see what you can see on the edge.
Quite a nice architecture
This is what you can see.
The waves are coming!

If you are lucky, you can spot a little train.

It says Kiwi Rail on the train. What does it carry? Goods, I believe. It can’t be for humans.

If you are interested, there is an aquarium along the beach.

Hello, fish!
A turtle
You can also see some performance inside the aquarium.

If you drive up to the north, you will reach Ahuriri.

This is the best place to catch the sunset. But it was too cold for me so my hands were a bit shaky and so it looks blur.
Guess where I took this photo? Outside the public toilet. 😀
Around 15 minutes away from the CBD, you will reach a suburb called Taradale. This is the Taradale clock tower.
If you really want to get away from Napier city, you can drive to one of the beaches nearby.
On the way to the beach…
Waimarama Beach. It is around 1 hour away from Napier City.

That’s all for now. I will explore more of this place, slowly.

I am slowly recovering from COVID.

P.S. Thanks to those who drove me around to explore the place. You know who you are. 🙂 Also thanks to Eastern Institute of Technology who organised the tour to different places around Napier.

1 January 2023

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