Day #7 - New Zealand Travel Adventure (Rotorua to Napier, New Zealand)

Today we traveled from Rotorua to Napier, a distance of 219 kilometers. We left Rotorua and traveled south on Route 5 to Taupo, to see Huka Falls. 

We were going to drive to Tongarira National Park but the weather was overcast so there was little benefit in going to the peak of Mt. Tongarira. We wanted to go there because this mountain was featured in Lord of the Rings.

The Lord of the Rings

In autumn 2000, Tongariro National Park was home to the most sinister of the Lord of the Rings locations, Mordor, which is the strong hold of the dark Lord Sauron.  Mordor, is the great volcanic plateau filled with geological  wonders known as Gorgoroth.  Much of Frodo and Sam's journey into the land of Sauron was filmed on and around the Tongariro National Park. 

We turned south on Route 5 and headed to Napier, known as the Art Deco Capital of the World. It is easy to see why, as the majority of the buildings reflect that style from the early 1930’s. The reason for this was in 1931, there was a 7.8 earthquake that destroyed the majority of Napier along with a more southern city of Hastings. During this period of time, there was a lot of unemployment and the rebuilding effort employed many New Zealand workers. They rebuilt the city in two years.

Napier Band Shell

Lee the champion Cricket Player

Napier is a seasonal tourist community of about 18,000 permanent residents, but during their summer, there is a large influx of tourists. In February, they hold an Art Deco Festival that swells the city by 40,000 people. This attractive cities would be high on my list of places to revisit for a longer period of time.

We booked an overnight stay at the Country Hotel. This was a 5 star experience and for $299 NZD, this included a gourmet 3 course dinner for two and a cooked breakfast for two, free parking and internet. The meals were great and I would highly recommend this to any traveler. 

The special rate is not always available so you have to look online. Our room on the top floor included a terrace with table and chairs, a jacuzzi tube, and was immaculately furnished with antiques and a great bed.

Outside Balcony

This hotel is across from the New Zealand Wine Center. For $25 NZD pp, you can taste 6 wines, watch a movie on the various wine regions of New Zealand and experience their aroma room to learn to appreciate the various organic compounds that exist in the smelling of wines. We were given a coupon for 20% off of wine purchases and bough a bottle of  Gimlet Road 2013 Hawke’s Bay Cabernet/Merlot/Malbec blend. This wine for about $22 NZD is to die for. If you can find it in the USA, buy a bottle! :)

Following our dinner, we crashed early because we had a four hour drive in the morning to Wellington and the weather was predicted to be rainy.