Day 3 (08-Oct-2012) Wellington - Napier

In contrast to the sunny conditions experienced yesterday, dawn heralded arrival of thick clouds and downpours. Unperturbed, we departed 07:45hrs in the direction of Napier, via the stunning Hutt Valley. Mindful of the need to be in Te Awanga by 13:15hrs, we did not stop too often to film the ever changing landscapes. Suffice to say our spirits were lifted by clearing skies and stunning scenery, arriving just in time at Te Awanga for one of the most highly anticipated excursions of the holiday – a trip to see the world famous Gannet colonies at Cape Kidnappers!
 

This 4-hour excursion took us through very spectacular countryside that sits astride the Pacific and Indo-Australian tectonic plates. The bus actually stopped at the exact spot where the Pacific plate is being subducted below the Australasia plate – as evidenced by a sudden and dramatic discontinuity in the stratigraphy.  On 03-02-31 a 7.8 magnitude earthquake centered just 15km north of nearby Napier destroyed the city. Hundreds of more minor tremors occur every year in this region, acting as a constant reminder of the slow inexorable movement of these giant plates. This movement has also resulted in a very dramatic undulating topography, most of it unnavigable by any form of land transport.

And this is why the Gannet’s took up residence here, with the colonies positively thriving (growing at 2% per year). Indeed, new colonies had to be established to accommodate the growing population, with total of four colonies now situated at Cape Kidnappers. As the photos and video attest, they are beautiful birds, using their 2m wing span to master the skies. As with other large sea birds however, they have not mastered take-off or landing skills, resulting in some very comical collisions, summersaults, belly flops and bruised egos.

While we could have stayed hours watching these magnificent creatures, we had to be dragged away back to Te Awanga before dark. After picking up a few bottles of local grape to reflect on today’s proceedings we headed off to find our accommodation at a caravan park the other side of Napier. Once suitably imbibed, we headed into Napier to glimpse its famous Art Deco architecture. After the 1931 earthquake, the entire city centre was rebuilt in this style, which was popular at the time.