Hello and welcome to this week’s edition of the mrlukeniktravels blog from Napier, New Zealand. As I write there is rain beating on the windows and rumbles of thunder in the distance. The sun doesn’t shine all the time. Hopefully the ball from the nearby table-tennis game fails to make a guest appearance on the laptop keyboard!
Napier is a city located in centre of the Hawke’s Bay coastline on the North Island’s east coast. The beaches here are incredibly long and wide with the waters of the Pacific Ocean breaking on the foreshore. The city itself is built in the Art Decco style, the result of an enforced redesign after it was destroyed by an earthquake in 1931. As a result the city has a very different look to the others I have visited in New Zealand so far. Unlike Rotorua and Taupo, geothermal activity is not visible at the surface here but the bay views make up for that.
The view along the bay in the morning sunshine.
Whilst in Napier I have paid a visit to the National Aquarium of New Zealand. A great way to spend a morning on an otherwise wet, dreary day. It also meant another crossing-paths with kiwis. Unlike in Whangarei these kiwis were very active, feeding calling and running around. When calling they pull their heads back not unlike a cockerel crowing. Well they are birds after all! This pair were also fully grown adults, not maturing adolescents. The other highlight of the trip were the Little Penguins- that being their species and size. All of the animals were rescued and unsuitable for release back into the wild. I suppose, considering their waterproof coat, that it was raining especially hard.
The MVP and LVP of the penguin enclosure. Timmy, however, was also penguin of the year!
In common with penguins, I am hoping to do some more outdoor swimming come the start of next month. The 1st December marks the start of the summer season meaning beach lifeguards will be on duty. The water is still quite cold though! Keeping fit and exercise is an important part of travelling long-term. Just like in ‘normal’ life cheeks need reddening and muscles exerted. In practice this means using trails, public parks and open spaces to keep fit. Most of the time joining gyms isn’t worth it or quite expensive with joining fees and so on. Plus there are only so many gym inductions one person can handle before descent into madness! At the moment, I am just aiming to maintain cardio-vascular fitness and some muscle tone. When I either stop moving for a while or return home then I can progress from that. I am also aware that entering a new decade is not that far in future….
Somewhere not to run: the viewing walkway in the oceanarium.
A discovery I have made this week is RFID (Radio-Frequency Identification) blocking envelopes. These can help protect Contactless/PayWave cards and passports from remote hacking. Whilst the jury is out on their effectiveness, I considered a $17NZD investment to be a low-risk investment. Keeping personal information, well personal, is an extra consideration whilst on the road. Physical item security, as well as technological considerations like unsecured Wifi hotspots, are of high priority. I try to minimise the risk of items, or my identity, disappearing. Simple steps like using padlocks and utilising a hostel safe are good precautions. Similarly, using and updating firewalls, anti-virus and password software is simple and effective. Of course not everybody is a thief but taking precautions is still one of the best countermeasures.
Koi Carp: usually well protected due to their high value. In New Zealand they are an invasive species and very much not wanted!
That is all for this week from Napier and Hawke’s Bay. Next week I shall have crossed the North Island and be on the west coast’s Tasman Sea. As always, until then I have a Twitter feed @mrlukeniktravel for up-to-the-minute progress. For pictorial updates I have an Instagram feed which can be found at @mrlukeniktravels. Hopefully the weather will improve over there too! Until then, as always, stay safe and travel on!
Even the street signs here in Napier have a very Art Decco feel!
N.B. MVP = Most Valuable Person, LVP = Least Valuable Person, or perhaps in this instance Penguin!