Dec 4, 2025 Between Napier and Hastings
We’ve been staying in Clive, about a 15 minute drive south of Napier, and 15 minutes north of Hastings, since Nov. 30. We will be here until Dec. 22, at a wonderful Airbnb cottage just a few blocks from the ocean. I can’t say ‘beach’ because the oceanfront along Hawke’s Bay here is not ‘beachy’, the shoreline is pebbles and cobbles and the surf is dangerous with steep drop-offs, strong undertows and unpredictable powerful waves! The hosts here provide us use of bicycles to ride the trails along the waterfront, and we took advantage for exploratory rides.
We discovered that though beautiful, the wind along the waterfront bicycle trails is usually strong, in one direction at least!
We also did some exploring by car!
We drove up to Te Mata Peak to get a 360 degree view of the area. Napier is on the point of land in the left of the picture.
We also drove into Napier and up onto Bluff Hill for a view of the port below. Bluff Hill was almost completely surrounded by water prior to the devastating 1931 earthquake that leveled the brick-built center of the city and raised the seabed enough to drain the water from around the hill as well as the marshes to the north and east of the hill.
Looking down on the Port of Napier with loads of pine logs ready for shipping to the far east. The logs are from pine plantations established in the early 1900’s after the native forest was extensively logged. Occasionally a cruise ship is docked at the port!