Napier, Duck-O, Here We Go!!!

Remember I said I was going to mix it up on this trip so here's a new adventure!!

I have never been on an amphibious vehicle before but there 's always a first time....

Say hello to my duck!

 

When the driver honked, he quacked!  So off we went to see Napier!

 

I LOVED this town and would live here in a minute over every other place I saw.  It is pretty, quaint and interesting.  An Earthquake destroyed it in 1931, raising the seabed 40 feet, literally lifting the city up and creating miles of beach.

 

 

 

 

It's a beautiful town with a pretty seafront......

 

 

 

 

The architecture is a quaint mixture of Victorian, beach side houses and Art Deco.  Most of the town was rebuilt during the height of the Art Deco period and it is reflected in the buildings and the culture.

 

 

The Art Deco influence is everywhere......

 

 

 

I love these buildings.......

 

 

The city celebrates their architecture once a year with a huge weekend party which happened to coincide with our visit.  Our guide said that if you didn't dress the part, you were the one who looked odd.  Check out the locals decked out with their clothes and cars.....

 

 

Then it was time to hit the water.  We entered the harbor and put out to sea.....

 

 

Before exiting the harbor we saw this outrigger the local Maoris use to train......

 

Then out to sea...

 

 

And back again.......

 

 

 

Then it was time to leave this lovely city.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wellington, The Storm Coast and Sheepdogs

Wellington is the capital of New Zealand and is a large city that houses their Parliament.

 

 

 

 

 

Once again they have some strange art.  I don;t know what these guys are pushing!

 

 

Many of the house are built on steep hills and the owners have their own cable cars.  The smallest is a chair lift, the largest for a vehicle for handicapped people.

 

 

 

We traveled along a very narrow road only accessible with permission.  It hugs the coast and is know for its rocky shoreline and beautiful views.

 

 

 

 

The shoreline is littered with driftwood.

 

And has not one but two lighthouses, the top one doesn't work!

 

The drive also offers some stunning views of the South Island in the distance.

 

We arrived at Pencarrow Lodge perched on the cliff where they had vineyards, New Zealand wine is becoming very popular and also raised sheep with the requisite sheepdogs.

 

The sheepdogs are specially trained.  One drives the sheep out and the other drives the sheep in.  It was actually fascinating that they could be trained to do this.

 

I have a renewed appreciation for our beaches since there are not as many or as large as we enjoy.

However, overall this is one stunning country!!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Akaroa and Lord of the Rings

Our next stop was Akaroa where we would go see where Lord of the Rings second movie was shot.

We had to use a tender to go ashore which was anew adventure for me although uneventful.

On our way to see the movie area we traveled through the Canterbury plain, a mainly farming area.

We stopped at a unique vacation area close to our final destination.  It is a vacation community completely off the grid.  The residents have to provide for all their needs and apparently it is a very popular place.

The views were stunning once again.

We traveled down the narrow track that had to be used for all the filming which must have been a nightmare although Peter Jackson arrived via helicopter.

Our guide for this area was the man who won two Oscars for sound mixing.  One was for Lord of the Rings and the other was for King Kong.  It was very interesting to hear about his Oscar experience.

He also brought along a local actor who was the body double for Gandolf in the film.  the elderly gentleman and our guide regaled us with many stories about the film.

We returned the beautiful little harbor from which we left after a full day of Lord of the Rings trivia!