Napier, New Zealand

Napier is a seaside city of about 67,500 people on the eastern coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is known for its sunny climate and Art Deco architecture. It is the center of the largest wool area in the Southern Hemisphere and, “it has the primary export seaport for northeastern New Zealand – which is the largest producer of apples, pears, and stone fruit in New Zealand. The Hawke’s Bay wine region is now the second largest in New Zealand after Marlborough.” – Wikipedia

As you can see from this video, the beach is not made of sand, but of black stones.

“On 3 February 1931, most of Napier and nearby Hastings were levelled by an earthquake. The collapse of buildings and the ensuing fires killed 256 people. Some 4000 hectares (almost 10,000 acres) of today’s Napier were undersea before the earthquake raised it above sea level.” – Wikipedia

“The centre of Napier, destroyed by the earthquake, was rebuilt in the Art Deco style popular in the 1930s.” – Wikipedia

“Napier and the area of South Beach, Miami, Florida, are considered to be the two best-preserved Art Deco towns (with the town of Miami Beach, Florida, being mostly decorated in the somewhat later Streamline Moderne style of Art Deco).” – Wikipedia

We also saw several beautiful murals around town painted on more modern buildings, not the Art Deco ones in the center of town.

We drove about 30 minutes south to nearby Cape Kidnappers. “Cape Kidnappers is an outstanding bird-watching destination, with dramatic coastal views and gannets.” – 100% Pure New Zealand

We came to see the gannet colony, not because we are bird-watchers, but because it was recommended to us when we were up in Auckland. Often, when a local suggests something, it is often something more unusual and/or interesting. Gannet Safaris Overland is the only tour company that has access to the private land where the gannet colony lives.

It is a 3 hour, somewhat bumpy, round-trip tour. The tour operator will tell you all about the area, the farming, and, in our case, the trees (he really liked the trees, which we didn’t find interesting at all. But, hey, to each his own).

We had about 45 minutes to wander around the top of the cliff next to the gannets. They completely ignored us but we definitely stayed behind the little chain that separated us – These birds were large with long, pointy beaks. And there were so many of them!

“Australasian gannets are beautiful big seabirds – snowy white, with a golden head, and black-tipped wings that reach 2 metres (6 feet) across. They live in colonies around the coasts of New Zealand and southern Australia, and their numbers are growing. They can live for 30 years.” – Te Ara-The Encyclopedia of New Zealand

“The four colonies here at Cape Kidnappers are the largest on mainland New Zealand, An estimated 10,000 live in this Plateau Colony with 4700 birds in the Saddle Colony below the lighthouse.” – Sign at the Cape

Gannets are monogamous and mate for life. They lay a single egg in April or May and incubate it for about 6-7 weeks. “They share both incubation duties and the responsibility of rearing the chick.” – Sign at the Cape

“Paired gannets rub their beaks and necks together, preen head feathers, bow.and call to each other. These displays are performed during courtship and when a partner returns home to its nest site.” – Sign at the Cape

I also read that they are very romantic and often give each other flowers or grass stems as gifts. You can see a pair of gannets rubbing their beaks in the video below. You can also see the chain that separated us from the colony.

“In 1897 a £2000 lantern was purchased for Cape Kidnappers but was not installed as other sites were deemed higher priority. In 1945 there were plans to move the Napier lighthouse out to the Cape but it was decomissioned before anything could be done. This light beacon was finally installed in 1963.” – Sign at the Cape

“The Aluminium tower was installed in 1963, standing 4 metres high and 112 metres above sea level. The light flashes twice every 15 seconds and can be seen for 8 nautical miles (14 kilometers or 8 1/2 miles)” – Sign on the lighthouse

“The soft sandstone cliffs are prone to erosion; in the early 1900s two of the outlying islands extending from the cape (shown in this photo above) dissolved into the sea.” – Sign at the Cape

“Gannets are known for diving from great heights to catch fish. They can reach speeds of up to 60 mph (almost 100 kph) when they hit the water. They have air sacs under their skin that act like bubble wrap, cushioning the impact with the water when they dive.” – Wikipedia

“A chick will live at this colony for about 15 weeks. In that time its appearance will change dramatically; from its black ‘naked’ birth state to a white fluffy month-old chick and then, by 3 months, it will have become a grey and speckled juvenile.” – Sign at the Cape

You can see fluffy white chicks and young birds who have become grey and speckled juveniles in the video below.

While these birds were interesting to watch, we really aren’t bird watchers. And, what nobody mentions when you sign up for a tour like this, is that having this many birds clustered together can be a smelly affair. So, if you decide to go, maybe bring a mask. It was really, really smelly.

And, lucky for us, the wind was blowing very hard across the birds and right towards us.

We noticed a seagull hanging out among the gannets. This picture gives a good perspective of how large the gannets are compared to a full-sized seagull.

We were provided with tea, coffee and cookies while up here. I’m pretty sure the seagull was hanging around for one of the cookies. He saw me filming and came straight towards me.

Here is one more video (I took way too many! Did I mention we were up here for 45 minutes?!?) before we head on to our next adventure.