Napier - February 3 to 9, 2007

Napier is an interesting town located on the east coast of the North Island in Hawke's Bay. It's primary claim to fame is the art deco appearance of a number of its buildings. While we found the look rather novel for New Zealand, it was a bit unimpressive after been to Miami a few times. Also in the immediate area are the towns of Hastings and Havelock North. We stayed at Fairley Motor Lodge which was one of the better run places on our trip.

We played golf on three different courses: the Hastings Golf Club, the Napier Golf Club and Maraenui Golf Club. The Hastings Golf Club was probably the best conditioned of all of the clubs we played in New Zealand and the only one to challenge our NZGA affiliation (we managed to convince the Pro to give us the local rates though). We tried to get back there again but couldn't get a decent tee time.

We took a bus tour to Cape Kidnappers which is famous for its Gannet Colony and for Cape Kidnappers Golf Course. The public rate on Cape Kidnappers was $400, which made it playable only for the very rich or foolish; even our NZGA rate would only have taken it down to $225 (cart extra). The views from the Gannet Colony were spectacular, and we took lots of pictures of the birds and scenery. The trip up to the peak was scary--the bus seemed to cling to some very tight one-lane roads and went through some tough and winding stretches. But it was a very memorable day trip and we highly recommend it to anyone who might be in the area.

Next stop: The Farmstay