Ferry to the South Island today! Thank goodness the weather has cleared. There were some storms the last few days with winds that affected the ferries, making it difficult to dock!

We had a 2 hour wait to board the ferry, but at least we were close to the head of the line!

As we swung between an island and West Head of the South Island, a camera glitch makes it look like we were speeding! The crossing did seem to go faster than our last trip!

We landed at Picton and drove to our B&B for the night. We settled in and then went for a walk to downtown before another rain storm.

The palm trees at the Picton waterfront were lit up with some holiday colors in the deepening light and gathering storm clouds.

We accompanied Sam to get some farm fresh eggs nearby!

Free range chickens make ….

Depending on which hemisphere you are in! It is Summer Solstice here in the Antipodes, “down under”! We got up early to catch the sunrise on the ‘longest day of the year’ (most hours of daylight in the 24 hour day). We drove up to Te Mata Peak, the highest point around, to see the sunrise.

Beautiful sunrise over Hawkes Bay.

Sunrise illuminating the flank of Te Mata Peak.

We continued our tour of Art Deco architecture today, walking around the CBD with all the other tourists and Christmas shoppers!

There are so many examples of the Art Deco style it is overwhelming!

You are allowed to enter the lobbies or vestibules in several of the buildings to see the interior details.

The lines are so clean and the motifs so angular. Napier has so many examples of this style because the February 1931 earthquake and resulting fires destroyed most of the town’s central business district. The town was quick to begin rebuilding soon after so most of the business district was rebuilt between 1932 to 1939! A drive to renovate and restore the iconic architecture was begun in 1983 when several buildings were slated for demolition. The community rallied and the process is ongoing. There are several buildings that still need TLC but Napier has turned the destruction and rebuilding due to a tragic earthquake into a tourist mecca through foresight and dedication to preserving their legacy!