Napier

We made it to Napier! Unlike most New Zealand towns we've seen so far that are flat and pretty unattractive (despite the surrounding scenery), Napier so far is a very quaint town.  Most of the rest of New Zealand doesn't care too much about cohesive or attractive architecture, except for Dunedin on the South Island (I'm told)--and the towns are actually not much to look at--at least the downtown area. But Napier is different. It was leveled by an earthquake back in the 1930s I think and the whole town was rebuilt rather quickly in the art deco style. This has made for a more attractive town and our hostel is on a nice pedestrian street with lots of cafes, shops, and bars. The coffee house with free internet is right next door! I will post some pictures when I take some. But I did forget to include this nice panorama that John took the other day, so I will post it for your viewing pleasure:

 Our last night in Wellington, though, turned out quite pleasant. After meeting up with our American friend, Mark (from Maine), on Courtenay Place (a very popular spot) in Wellington, we had a nice chat for a while and then we all decided to go grab some dinner. Having been there before, Mark showed us a couple of popular streets with lots of restaurants and bars. We settled on a nice, inexpensive Malaysian place for dinner and afterwards went for delicious gelato! It was nice to see a familiar face and have good conversation with a fellow American. It was a great night and we hope to keep in touch with Mark on our travels as he has been very generous with tips and advice!


Before we left Wellington this morning, we caught the front page article in the Dominion Post about how, because of demands from an actors union, there is all this debate about whether or not the Hobbit movie will be filmed in New Zealand. Apparently, Australia has been trying to attract the producers with even greater tax incentives than what New Zealand has offered--but I'm sure everyone hopes it will stay here--fans and Kiwis alike--so keep your fingers crossed!


Our plans now are to hang around Napier and the Hawkes Bay area for the week. Then, as of Nov. 1st we, will be staying at and working for the B&B/vineyard of Neil and Sarah Smith--old friends of John's parents from Luxembourg. They have graciously offered to host us for a week while letting us search the area for the seasonal work opportunities that are plentiful this time of year. We are now in the wine country of NZ so hopefully we will have some nice places to explore in the coming week! And so far, Napier seems like a very nice town!


P.S. I keep forgetting to post our NZ phone numbers on here in case we need to be reached in an emergency/immediately. They are:


John: 64 022 060 9197
Kristin: 64 022 694 2047