Napier (18.01.16)

Did I mention that in Singapore we didn't see a garage, of course this is important to Steve as he likes to compare fuel prices wherever we go, but we are certain they must have been there, just hidden from view, or else how could they have run all the vehicles on the road.  Now in New Zealand we travelled 135km from Lake Taupo to Napier and didn't see a garage, not because they were hidden but because there just wasn't one.  As Davy and Marilyn can testify sometimes Steve runs the car on petrol fumes and he has been known to pass by a garage, even though desperate for fuel,  because it's on the wrong side of the road! However even he couldn't ignore the fact that we needed to make sure we had enough fuel before we started out. Thank goodness that there were a couple of warning signs telling us there were no garages on this route. side

What we did find was an isolated cafe/diner on the  of the road. Picture the scene - dark clouds, raining cats and dogs, isolated cafe with flickering 'open' sign, (Alfred Hitchcock's film Psycho and Bates Motel comes to mind). Steve and I approach with trepidation but desperate for the loo couldn't put off stopping any longer. The door creaked and groaned as we opened it to be greeted by a perfectly normal looking woman who graciously served us with lunch but did she have any sadistic thoughts behind her bright smile.  Seriuosly it was like something out of a film set where we stop for a coffee and then get run off the road by the next truck never to be seen again!

What can I say about Napier - not a lot really. Perfectly nice city but not a lot going on. It's known for its Art Deco buildings, some of which survived the eartquake in 1931 and others that have been built more recently in the art deco style. There is a celebration of its heritage and everything art deco every year sometime in February and consequently there are quite a few shops selling clothes and artefacts from the era. We purchased a brochure from the Art Deco Centre, where all the volunteers dress in keeping with the theme, and went on a walking tour of the buildings. Must be a big thing in the area because there were a couple of coach tours there and vintage cars on display.