Part 6 – A detour and a national holiday

Waking up in the middle of the Kaweka forest park was pretty nice but we were looking forward to some good coffee again. Thus, we headed the rest of the way to Napier. Napier is the art deco capital of NZ as the photos will also tell you. More by accident than planning, we fell into the museum next to the waterfront. (No.3 saw the museum and wanted to go in. Really. I promise.) It was great with a treasure hunt “find these items in our museum” and an absolutely stunning exhibition of Sandy Adsett’s works.

Afterwards we just enjoyed the city. Pizza for lunch was another recommendation by the Lonely Planet, we all enjoyed it thoroughly. I home schooled a little in a park. It works out okay so far, No. 3 does do a lot of work and I am quite proud, actually.

Due to lovely advice by the staff of the museum, we decided to stay overnight in the city so that we could spend Waitangi Day, a national holiday in NZ, in Napier. So in the afternoon, the kids got a lot of beach time.

Thursday February 6th was Waitangi Day. At 9am we attended the official part of the celebrations with a hikoi and a haka powhiri. To be mindful of the setting, we didn’t take any pictures. It was my third haka powhiri and the first for Flo and the kids…very impressive every time. I also teared up a little.

The local iwi Ngati Kahungunu did its own thing though…politics in New Zealand are about as turbulent as they are in the rest of the world (on a smaller scale but very emotional). So we joined them for a great celebration of the day at the sports field: There was music, food, lots of food and free rides for the kids.

When we left, the kids complained as they were having so much fun! However, we had planned a great stop at Te Paerahi beach. Beach is a win, no matter what came before. Due to the great success, we had another BBQ in the evening.

Great spot for a breakfast
No. 3 is creating his “NZ bush” art work
Out of the woods and back on the high way
Waipunga Falls alongside the road
Waipunga Falls close up
Snap shot while driving
but it was pretty anyway
and all of the sudden, we were in the clouds!
Napier beach shenanigans
A great place to stand atop!
The museum No. 3 really wanted to see
Museum item hunt
…so we played dress-up!
Absolutely stunning works by Sandy Adsett
It’s the Art Deco capital of NZ
Iconic building
…but that was good for the kids!
or maybe angry bird?
Another iconic fascade
In the best setting! (Please note: The AoE chooses all her own clothing for the day)
in a pond
There is another sculpture on the other side of the road of his mother waving back
They work really well with the Art Deco going on
Still a great place to be
with Timmy in the background
Nice views are pretty awesome
The celebrations of Ngati Kahungunu, the local iwi
Both kids weren’t tall enough to ride on their own
This is a lot of people already (in NZ) and it’s still before lunch!
A free ride in a pirate boat swing
AoE got scared and couldn’t be seen for much of the ride
The same group was also part of the haka powhiri this morning
Performance on stage Part II
A cooldown for the masses at the Sports Field
The beach at the east coast of the North Island where we freedom camped (below Napier, down towards the Wairarapa)
…is the best time
Jumping for joy
These ponchos are very handy. We decided to buy some here instead of flying ours halfway across the globe
So happy!
with the BBQ grill that simply came with Timmy
Flo even got the carpet out XD