Cape Kidnappers

Conrad took Anneke and Lukas on a 4-5 hour walk along the beach towards Cape Kidnappers.  The name comes from an attempt to kidnap one of Captain Cook's servants by the Maori in 1769.  Gorgeous coastline that is home to the largest mainland colony of gannets. They're all out to sea at this time of year though so they didn't see any but the views were worth it.

Napier - Art Deco capital of NZ

We're staying in Napier right now and have been keeping our eyes open for the Art Deco architecture that it's known for.  The city was demolished in the 1931 earthquake and the ensuing fires.  When it was rebuilt they decided to build a cost efficient, simple, and strong city.  It was only later that the style was labeled as Art Deco.

Having fun in the gift shop...

Te Mata Peak

We drove up Te Mata Peak this week.  It's the highest peak in the area with absolutely gorgeous 360 degree views!  The beautiful sunny day helped :)

 

 

Exploring the playgrounds and scenery around Napier

We're moving into winter here in New Zealand.  Of course not winter like we know it but it's definitely getting cooler and the deciduous trees leaves are almost all down.  Gorgeous colours at the park we found on our drive the other day though!

 

Turkeys :)

We saw this old carved tree stump at the end of someone's driveway.

Feeling like Kiwis playing a bit of rugby :)

This park is right along the ocean!  A beautiful place to sit and listen to the waves while the kids play.

Although the beach itself is just as much of a playground...

National Aquarium of New Zealand

We went to the Aquarium here in Napier last week.  We got to walk under the sharks, sting rays and lots of other fish.

Watching the diver feed the fish and put on a bit of a show for the kids.

We never did see penguins in the wild but this was pretty neat.  All of them are either injured or born in captivity but are native to NZ.