Napier

Destroyed by earthquake in 1931 and re-built in Art Deco style, Napier is a very neat and elegant town.

The long beachfront is of black volcanic sand and the sea not suitable for swimming but I remembered a tip from a resident of Napier we happened to meet on our Danube River trip in the summer, who told us there was a small sandy beach on the east side of the port. It is extremely hot today so we found the bay and had a nice swim in the ocean.