Today the queues are a little more bearable and also more efficiently managed and our shuttle buses deliver us to a Visitors centre situated adjacent to the foreshore. The town of Napier has endured an earthquake just four weeks ago but at first glance you wouldn’t know it. Outside the town environs, I believe roads and bridges are still being replaced, but all is calm and welcoming in town. As we turn our backs to the beach and head into town, the streets are bustling and its as if we’d travelled 100 years back in time. It occurs to me that the town of Napier has a Phoenix-like ability to rise from its ashes, each time becoming something more beautiful.
This town is an elegant reminder of the Gatsby era. Napier is sometimes referred to as the “Nice of the Pacific”. The main street is fringed with elegant Art Deco buildings which were rebuilt after a devastating earthquake occurred in the 1931 Hawkes Bay Area and destroyed the town. That particular earthquake measured 7.8 on Richter scale and struck at 10.47 a.m. on 3rd February. Many buildings in Central Napier and Hastings collapsed and in terms of loss of life (at least 256), it remains the worst civic disaster to have occurred in New Zealand to this day.
Many thousands of people flock to Napier every February for the “Tremains Art Deco Weekend event” - a celebration of its Art Deco heritage and history. Today an elegant vehicle now restored to its former glory sits overlooking the beach. It’s driver is dressed in old fashioned garb and his little white poodle-mix sits in her own box in the passenger seat. She is dressed as dogs of yesteryear were also dressed - in nothing but the fur they were born with! The driver tells us that she is 16 years old but like the town buildings, there is little sign of the age she is here and now. As the driver starts his engine, exhaust odours of not so long ago of burnt petrol and oil are obvious from the older engine. We forget the differences between our modern fuel efficient engines today and those of yesteryear.
This town is an elegant reminder of the Gatsby era. Napier is sometimes referred to as the “Nice of the Pacific”. The main street is fringed with elegant Art Deco buildings which were rebuilt after a devastating earthquake occurred in the 1931 Hawkes Bay Area and destroyed the town. That particular earthquake measured 7.8 on Richter scale and struck at 10.47 a.m. on 3rd February. Many buildings in Central Napier and Hastings collapsed and in terms of loss of life (at least 256), it remains the worst civic disaster to have occurred in New Zealand to this day.
Many thousands of people flock to Napier every February for the “Tremains Art Deco Weekend event” - a celebration of its Art Deco heritage and history. Today an elegant vehicle now restored to its former glory sits overlooking the beach. It’s driver is dressed in old fashioned garb and his little white poodle-mix sits in her own box in the passenger seat. She is dressed as dogs of yesteryear were also dressed - in nothing but the fur they were born with! The driver tells us that she is 16 years old but like the town buildings, there is little sign of the age she is here and now. As the driver starts his engine, exhaust odours of not so long ago of burnt petrol and oil are obvious from the older engine. We forget the differences between our modern fuel efficient engines today and those of yesteryear.
Fire broke out in Napier’s business district shortly after this earthquake. Once the town reservoir was emptied, firefighters were powerless to continue to fight the flames. The flames guttered almost 11 blocks of central Napier, killing people who were still trapped following the earthquake.
Then, as now, the disaster ultimately had some positive outcomes: the 2.7 metre uplift drained much of the Ahuriri lagoon, making land available into the future for farms, light industry, additional housing and also the Napier airport. As a result of the devastation much of central Napier was rebuilt in the Art Deco style popular at the time. Not envisioned at the time was that eventually tourists would be attracted to this elegant and resilient town to view the beauty of a superseded architectural style.
The style of Art Deco was not a single style but a collection of different and sometimes contradictory styles. In architecture, Art Deco was the successor to and reaction against Art Nouveau, a style which flourished in Europe between 1895 and 1900. The principle was that aspects of geometric elements, forms, motifs and their variations were in contrast with the undulating Art Nouveau style, so popular scant years earlier. The various simple geometric shapes like triangles and squares are the basis of all compositional arrangements. Most buildings along the main street of Napier have a different but no less beautiful treatment whether it be in construction via the structure of the building or just in decoration via the patterns painted upon the facades.
We walk the whole street and find a not surprisingly elegant park with fountain and lily pond enhanced by beautiful, brightly planted garden beds. The only acknowledgement of modern times, was the Wi Fi spot in the gardens where instead of a spot where little birds gathered for worms, people stand staring at their phones gathering to download their recent emails. The sharp contrast is jarring, but such is life in the traveller’s struggle to keep contact with the world they have come from as well as appreciating the world they are visiting.
Then, as now, the disaster ultimately had some positive outcomes: the 2.7 metre uplift drained much of the Ahuriri lagoon, making land available into the future for farms, light industry, additional housing and also the Napier airport. As a result of the devastation much of central Napier was rebuilt in the Art Deco style popular at the time. Not envisioned at the time was that eventually tourists would be attracted to this elegant and resilient town to view the beauty of a superseded architectural style.
The style of Art Deco was not a single style but a collection of different and sometimes contradictory styles. In architecture, Art Deco was the successor to and reaction against Art Nouveau, a style which flourished in Europe between 1895 and 1900. The principle was that aspects of geometric elements, forms, motifs and their variations were in contrast with the undulating Art Nouveau style, so popular scant years earlier. The various simple geometric shapes like triangles and squares are the basis of all compositional arrangements. Most buildings along the main street of Napier have a different but no less beautiful treatment whether it be in construction via the structure of the building or just in decoration via the patterns painted upon the facades.
We walk the whole street and find a not surprisingly elegant park with fountain and lily pond enhanced by beautiful, brightly planted garden beds. The only acknowledgement of modern times, was the Wi Fi spot in the gardens where instead of a spot where little birds gathered for worms, people stand staring at their phones gathering to download their recent emails. The sharp contrast is jarring, but such is life in the traveller’s struggle to keep contact with the world they have come from as well as appreciating the world they are visiting.
It was however the beach which captured our attention when we return towards our shuttle buses. Here the beach is framed by elegant 1930’s concrete archways and windows which frame the changing waters washing into shore. Everything is as it should seem, with palms softening the captured visions beyond - all except for one thing which doesn’t seem to fit. There is no sand on this beach - no blinding, bleach white sand like you might see on a Gold Coast beach. The foreshore of this beach is made up of black, smooth stones and pieces of pumice-stone - a timely reminder that this whole area is volcanic and well supplied by lava production underneath these beaches. A sign warning of Tsunami protection is another timely reminder of future events which need to be respected and prepared for. New Zealand is located above the “Alpine Fault“ which is a visible on-land boundary of the colliding Pacific and Australian Plates. The Alpine Fault is one of the largest sources of seismic hazards in Aotearoa New Zealand. Historically, when this fault ruptures, it produces an earthquake of about magnitude 8.0. The largest city within the highest-risk zone is the nation’s capital, Wellington, followed by Napier then Hastings. All these cities have experienced severe earthquakes since European settlement. About 14,000 earthquakes occur in and around the country each year of which between 150 and 200 are big enough to be felt. The country is located on the edge of a zone of intense seismic activity known as the “Pacific Ring of Fire”. This borders the Pacific Plate and includes many of the world’s greatest seismic and hot spots, including Indonesia, Japan, California, Peru and Chile. Although life continues as it always has, not all is as it seems under the surface. We are soon to find this replicated in our evening meals.
Wonders of Wonderland
Not all is what it seems in this world and for this young Alice, never a truer phrase was said. We recently had an opportunity to go along to the specialty restaurant on board Quantum of the Seas called “Wonderland”.
Initially we thought that we probably had to imagine the fare provided there because the menu put into our willing hands had a blank surface. The Imagining would come later though. When you’re hungry, a blank menu isn’t something that you want to see. But perhaps there was something on it, if only we could wet a paintbrush and swipe it over the spot where the fare to be served was written. Just like our colouring books of old - you know those ones where a wet paintbrush livens the colour on the page - and what was invisible before is now perfectly seen.
You might think all would be ‘smooth sailing’ after this, but if so, you’d be wrong. It is one thing to be able to see what you are going to eat and convert the written description to your tastebud imaginations, but when it is served to you, you will need to recognise it as well! Never before in my life can I say that I have been served tomato soup in a test tube. I’m not much of a fan of tomato soup at the best of times, but when it is served thus and also is completely transparent in colour, it is difficult for the mind to wrap around the fact that your tastebuds are telling you something which is not supported by your eyes. The small lump of cream atop the test tube which you are expected to sip your soup through is supposed to have Basil flavouring. I’m really not sure to this point, what I actually sipped!
At the outset, I must confess to not being a very experimental eater. Blame a childhood where chutney was considered poison on our family dinner table. Salt and pepper and tomato sauce were the full extent of the flavour sensations enjoyed at our family dinner time. So from the culinary delights of meat and three vegetable beginnings, you can possibly imagine how far I am away from that which is served at a Wonderland table.
And if you thought that test tube tomato soup was strange, then the next little surprise for us lab rats is boiled egg halves with the yolk centres reimagined and served on a nest of something edible which could have been vermicelli or fine noodles. The lid covering the platter of eggs is lifted to reveal these early chickens peering at us through the smoke trapped under the glass dome. Next on the agenda is a plate of vegetables which looks like a mud pie but where you can even eat the soil. The meat looks a bit more like something I might have eaten before but it is surrounded by little spots of fluid which could be liquid carrots and cherry tomatoes, but I’m really not sure to this day.
Not all is what it seems in this world and for this young Alice, never a truer phrase was said. We recently had an opportunity to go along to the specialty restaurant on board Quantum of the Seas called “Wonderland”.
Initially we thought that we probably had to imagine the fare provided there because the menu put into our willing hands had a blank surface. The Imagining would come later though. When you’re hungry, a blank menu isn’t something that you want to see. But perhaps there was something on it, if only we could wet a paintbrush and swipe it over the spot where the fare to be served was written. Just like our colouring books of old - you know those ones where a wet paintbrush livens the colour on the page - and what was invisible before is now perfectly seen.
You might think all would be ‘smooth sailing’ after this, but if so, you’d be wrong. It is one thing to be able to see what you are going to eat and convert the written description to your tastebud imaginations, but when it is served to you, you will need to recognise it as well! Never before in my life can I say that I have been served tomato soup in a test tube. I’m not much of a fan of tomato soup at the best of times, but when it is served thus and also is completely transparent in colour, it is difficult for the mind to wrap around the fact that your tastebuds are telling you something which is not supported by your eyes. The small lump of cream atop the test tube which you are expected to sip your soup through is supposed to have Basil flavouring. I’m really not sure to this point, what I actually sipped!
At the outset, I must confess to not being a very experimental eater. Blame a childhood where chutney was considered poison on our family dinner table. Salt and pepper and tomato sauce were the full extent of the flavour sensations enjoyed at our family dinner time. So from the culinary delights of meat and three vegetable beginnings, you can possibly imagine how far I am away from that which is served at a Wonderland table.
And if you thought that test tube tomato soup was strange, then the next little surprise for us lab rats is boiled egg halves with the yolk centres reimagined and served on a nest of something edible which could have been vermicelli or fine noodles. The lid covering the platter of eggs is lifted to reveal these early chickens peering at us through the smoke trapped under the glass dome. Next on the agenda is a plate of vegetables which looks like a mud pie but where you can even eat the soil. The meat looks a bit more like something I might have eaten before but it is surrounded by little spots of fluid which could be liquid carrots and cherry tomatoes, but I’m really not sure to this day.
Dessert is a chocolate ball which has a sauce which is poured over it, which eventually breaks down the surface. The ball opens to reveal other delicacies inside together with this mushroom which is made up of meringue and other sweet crunchy bits under the red spotted top. I left the restaurant with a full belly, but also with a full mind. Not everything looks as it should taste or indeed tastes as it looks. Not everything served to you is as it appears superficially, once you delve below the surface. Not every person who seems to have a stern exterior, is as spicy as they first appear like a test tube of tomato soup; rather their personalities can be as intensely interesting as a reimagined egg when revealed through a smoky plate. Perhaps a menu describing people is always invisible to us until you apply the wet paintbrush of our curiosity to their exterior?
Maybe we are all clear test-tubes of possibility and perhaps we should avoid applying our own home spun preconceptions to what we expect to find from what we initially see?
Maybe we are all clear test-tubes of possibility and perhaps we should avoid applying our own home spun preconceptions to what we expect to find from what we initially see?