The Niceties of Napier

Art Deco toilets

Napier Sunset (looking north)

A meaningful piece of big gaudy artwork.

The cat with the short tail

Bustling intersection in Napier

I arrived in Napier two nights ago via New Zealand Air (a lovely airline, for anyone interested in traveling on it). The Christchurch airport was a bastion of security. They asked if there was matches and/or a lighter in my bag (and that was it -- no checking of photo ID for them!).

I arrived at my hostel (the Stables Lodge) and was immediately questioned as to why I flew in -- seems that not many people fly into Napier. This being my first hostel post-Dad, I took the cheapest one available (something I'm sure to happen many more times). Luckily (and not suprisingly), it was quite nice. There are murals all over the walls in the common rooms, and the place is just as ridiculously art deco as the rest of the town. The room I stayed in was bright purple with stars and moons painted on the ceiling. My favorite part has to be the cats running around the place -- one kitten and one with an abnormaly short tail (see above).

Yesterday I spent most of the day walking along the Marine Parade, which is a walkway that streches along the beach from just north of town to well south of it. I tried to get to the end, but I tired myself out and had to stop and read some of the Fellowship before I could carry on.

Along the pathway there was a big, gaudy piece of art work, so I decided to check it out, see if it had any meaning. I figured it was just a big, gaudy piece of artwork, but no, it had a purpose. The point on the horizon splitting the difference between the stone and the big circle is where the sun rose on the morning of the new millenium. Pretty cool (at least I thought).

Anyways, after a snack of a flat white (coffee with milk) and chips (french fries), which is the snack (as opposed to breakfast) of champions, went out to the beach to watch the sunset. At first I thought it would be a disappointment, since the beach faces east, but I was wrong. Instead of paraphrasing, I'll take it straight from Journal: there is a mist coming in off the ocean - only visible up the beach (right now), as opposed to where I'm sitting. The moon has come out -- half-full, and waxing. The sky beyond the Mahia Penninsula [which is northward] is pink and lavendar, growing brighter as one's eye travels west. The sky, ocean, and even the pebbly gray beach seem to match the hues of the town - bright and pastel simaltaneously. Quite serene. And peaceful. The pink and lavendar are now spreading, from north and south - it looks like they will meet out over the ocean, above the horizon. Their fingers, streching out in wisps, just met. And as the sun sinks lower they are getting brighter and higher up in the sky. And now it's beginning to fade, from the South first. In the north the light is reflected off of the clouds, making them the brightest pinks that are left. The mist coming in off the ocean is more obvious now - I feel touches of it on my face. The pinks and lavendars are fading away - only hugging the bluff now.

That's when the cold won out and I started back towards the hostel. On the way I saw one of the many art deco toilets. Art deco is funny.

I'm off to my first farm stay this afternoon, then down to Wellington next weekend.