Napier

Travel Advice for Seniors: Napier

Napier has an interesting history and is definitely worth a place on your itinerary. It is situated on the North Island of New Zealand and is on Hawke’s Bay. The interesting part is that it was completely destroyed and rebuilt after an earthquake in 1930 and was rebuilt in Art Deco style.

Another natural disaster hit Napier in 2023. It was in the path of Cyclone Gabrielle, which caused extensive damage to the areas around Napier, particularly the agricultural areas. For the curious, a cyclone is the same as a hurricane, the only difference is the geographical area that they occur. Hurricanes are in the North Atlantic and Northeast Pacific, while cyclones are in the South Pacific and Indian Ocean.

As mentioned, Napier is a major wine-producing region which is part of the reason we were visiting! Hawkes Bay is home to award-winning red wines, Chardonnay, and aromatic whites.

The city itself is a lovely place to stroll, checking out the fantastic Art Deco architecture. It is everywhere in the downtown area and there are several Art Deco shops that sell retro items as well as offer car rides in Packards! There is also a very nice waterfront promenade and park that is tree-lined and perfect for an afternoon walk.

Before I forget, I wanted to mention that by wonderful coincidence, we happened to be in New Zealand during the Rugby World Cup. Rugby is HUGE in New Zealand and their national team is the All Blacks, as their uniforms are all black. We had to get up at 8am to watch the games, and yes, there were people drinking beer and celebrating at that time, however, we grabbed an Irish Coffee and settled in. We were able to watch a couple of the games including the final loss by an edge to South Africa.

Interestingly, the New Zealand team is comprised of several Māori and part of their pre-game ritual is to do a haka, which is a type of traditional Māori presentation or dance which is designed challenges opponent, shows cultural pride and gets the team psyched. We love happy coincidences like this!

So, back to Napier and one of the main reasons we were there…wine! Hawkes Bay is a well-known area for wine production of all types, but particularly whites. We went on a food and wine tour, which was outstanding and one of our favorite things to do. After visiting a few wineries and hearing about what makes wines from this area so unique, we also stopped by a Farmer’s market which proved to be a very enjoyable time. Napier is also known for its produce, and we were able to pick up some nice fruit, honey and other items unique to the area.

We closed out our visit to Napier with a stop by the Ocean Spa. Heated pools, expansive view of the bay. Very nice! Bring your own bathing suit.

We enjoyed our stop in Napier before heading back into the big city…Wellington was our next stop.

Where we stayed: Art Deco Masonic Hotel. Nice hotel, centrally located.  There was a bar downstairs where you could get a coffee and breakfast. Rooms good and in Deco style.

How we got there: InterCity Coach (Bus) Rotorua to Napier. Then chauffeur from the bus stop to hotel. This was part of a four-week private tour through New Zealand. We began in Auckland and ended in Queenstown.

General Accessibility Information: Major tourist sights, hotels and transportation in most major cities are accessible. Further, some parks or parts of parks are accessible. Call in advance to verify and make specialty arrangements.See our sections on specialty apps and accessible travel for more on accessibility assistance.