Em & M in New Zealand

<BODY BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#000000" LINK="#660000" VLINK="#000066" ALINK="#CCCC33"><TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="90%"> <TR><TD><IMG SRC="images/couple.JPG" ALT="The Happy Couple" WIDTH="240" HEIGHT="240" BORDER="0" HSPACE="10" VSPACE="0" ALIGN="RIGHT"><H2>Our Trip to Napier</H2><P>We <A HREF="depart_1.html">left Wanganui</A> on Friday afternoon, and it took us three hours to cross from the Tasman Sea to the Pacific Ocean. On the way, we got caught in a <A HREF="ontheroad_1.html">traffic jam</A> in Fielding, when a cow decided to take a stroll right down the center of main street. Next we drove through the stunning <A HREF="ontheroad_3.html">Manawatu Gorge</A> (the photos don't do it justice).</P> <P>We stayed at a lovely <A HREF="treeways_1.html">B & B/homestay</A> up on a bluff with a spectacular view overlooking the ocean. The hosts were lovely and the <A HREF="treeways_2.html">breakfasts</A> were very yummy, with fresh grapefruit, apples and avacados from their <A HREF="treeways_5.html">back garden</A>.</P> <P>Just down from the B & B is the Bluff Hill Overlook, which offers great views of the <A HREF="waterfront_11.html">port</A> and nearby countryside.</P> <P>Friday night was spent at a <A HREF="onthetown_4.html">nice restaurant</A> in town, followed by coffee at a coffee shop where two guys were playing guitar and singing. Good food and coffee shops with atmosphere are both lacking in Wanganui, so the evening was a real treat!</P> <P>On Saturday, <A HREF="onthetown_1.html">we went shopping</A> in downtown Napier and then drove north of Napier for the afternoon, where we walked along the beach and visited a <A HREF="vinyard_1.html">winery</A>. We also checked out some of the <A HREF="deco_1.html">art deco</A> architecture for which the town is so well known.</P> <P>Saturday night, we walked along the <A HREF="waterfront_8.html">waterfront</A> in town before going out for pizza and to a movie (Good Will Hunting--very good). </P> <P>Sunday morning, we went to the Napier museum, which had some interesting displays, including one on Maori artifacts/history; one on the big 1931 earthquake which destroyed the city and is the reason Napier now has so many art deco buildings; and one on dinosaurs, which was perhaps the most interesting to me because I guess I didn't realize there is a whole other world of dinosaurs which existed apart from the Tyrannasaurus Rex and Triceritops and all those other dinosaurs that roamed around North America. Not a single dinosaur shown in the exhibit rang a bell. In hindsight, it makes sense, really...different hemisphere, different side of the earth, different pre-historic creatures.</P> <P>Now we're back in Wanganui, listening to the blustering winds outside, and realizing that autumn has arrived.<BR><BR><B>*sigh*</B></P> <P></P> </TD> </TR> </TABLE> </BODY>