Our next port was the city of Napier, the “Art Deco City.”
During the morning hours, the two-lane street into the city center was packed with tourist shuttles, public buses, city and commercial utility trucks. The sidewalks were dense with picture-taking tourists and a variety of hawkers representing retail shops or selling tour options.
One personal observation that was puzzling: Today, though I was on the far side of the world, I felt so comfortable here. We were so far from home, yet I felt at home.
The city celebrates being frozen in time, harkening back to a major change in its history. In 1931, a major earthquake totally destroyed the city. The only fire truck was crushed at the start, and the city burned for three days.
The quake uplifted the region three meters and added 7,000 acres of real estate. The architect hired to rebuild the city studied under Frank Lloyd Wright, so, the architectural and vehicular motif is of the 1930s, thus, the Art Deco City.
On our 3+ hour city tour, our driver said it currently costs $280,000-350,000 for a small house. A little beach house will set you back $1 million.
At our first stop, the Silky Oak Chocolates factory and store was small and welcoming with free samples.
They not only had good chocolate, but clever sayings.
The next stop, at which we could have spent much more time, was the Arataki Honey Visitor Centre.
http://www.aratakihoneyhb.co.nz/
It had a sizable, honey-themed gift store, a modest, interactive bee museum, and two sampling tables of honey. It is the largest operation of its kind in the southern hemisphere.
At the end of our day’s tour, which was around 4 p.m. Sunday, the street scene was the polar opposite of the morning hours. The city center was almost a ghost town: few pedestrians were to be seen; all hawkers gone; almost every shop closed.
This reminded me of Ketchikan, Alaska. Then, when our ship docked, the city was bustling. When we pulled away away from the dock, every shop in sight was closing. Ah, the life of a tourist town.
https://www.yelp.com/search?find_desc=Things%20to%20Do&find_loc=napier%2C%20New%20Zealand
[Note: For the curious, the final post of this blog will be dated Dec. 16th.]
This Olde Traveloger 
Thanks, David, for helping us “see the world” through your adventures. Appreciate it!
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Thanks for your really kind comment, Dennis!
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