Day 66 - to Napier

Today dawned bright and warm (not that we saw the dawn you understand!) so the summerwear was unpacked again - hurrah! 

All the better for the rest of the drive north into the Hawke's Bay region...

via a cute wetland bird sanctuary called (fittingly) PekaPeka (and remember it's in Hawke's Bay too...) with spooky red algae (?) growth but not too many birds - the light was very sharp though so the colour definition has been outstanding.

We stopped briefly in nearby Hastings

before heading to the main attraction : lovely lovely Napier.  

The area of Hawke's Bay was the victim of a 7.8 RS earthquake on 3 February 1931, razing many of the key buildings in Napier which was not far from the epicentre. When they were rebuilt, the then-modern Art Deco style was adopted, making the centre of Napier a showcase for Deco architecture...

  

I could go on (and probably will tomorrow!)  To end for now though, here's tonight's hotel...