Category: New Zealand

Down Under: Art Deco Central

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ART DECO IN NAPIER

An earthquake and fires destroyed the town of Napier in 1931. The central business district was completely leveled and many people were without homes. The impetus to rebuild was strong and within about two years, new buildings were up and businesses active again. It was a monumental effort and the city took advantage of the prevailing architecture of the time and decorated their new buildings in the Art Deco style. Simple block shapes for the most part, the windows and roof lines of the buildings have arrows and scallops or arches adorning them and are frequently painted in Necco wafer colors. Here and there is the occasional Spanish (rounded ceramic roof tiles) or Maori element making for variety and less adherence to purity.

 

The rain finally stopped (for the most part) on Monday afternoon and we had a good long stroll around the town looking at the architecture and walking the arched Marine Parade. But first we stopped in the Art Deco Center where a very determined woman was determined that we wouldn’t depart without having done a tour or a short film or both! Pleasant and informative, she was definitely on a mission.

Some years ago, but not initially, Napier realized that its architecture was a gem and made it the ideal way to bring tourists to town. Each February, around the anniversary of the earthquake, they hold an Art Deco Festival and participants dress in period clothing, ride in vintage cars, and attend dinners, take guided walks and do all sorts of fun things. Our Auckland airport driver had told us she attended every other year. To answer the unasked question, we stayed at the center and watched the earthquake film (lots of archival footage), which was preceded by a 10-minute introduction by that purposeful woman.

  

We stayed downtown for dinner at the Emporium, the restaurant in the Masonic Hotel, one of the two classical hotels. The other being the County Hotel. Having eaten several multi-course meals in Waiheke, we opted for a selection of nibbles and smaller plates. Prawn toasts and maple almonds with smoked paprika followed by beef rendang (a dry beef curry with fried curry leaves and served with a few cute little square pillow of rice), and then some Whitestone blue cheese which was accompanied by bread sticks, wafer crackers, a few walnuts, and a fruit paste. Not exactly the most balanced meal, but what we felt like eating. For lunch (and breakfast), we dined in our hotel restaurant, Milk and Honey, and were very pleased with the variety. Lunch of chicken salad was especially good. It wasn’t like American chicken salad, but had some chunks of roasted thigh meat topped with greens, celeriac, and some crunchy little nuts in a tasty dressing.

All photos ©JWFarrington (some rights reserved).  Header photo is the colonnade beyond the Marine Parade in Napier.

 

 

Down Under: On to Napier

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WAIHEKE—LAST DAY

For our last day in Waiheke, we decided to hire the local guide, Chris, recommended by both Jen and Jack at The Boatshed and the New Jersey couple we met our first night. The weather was cloudy and cool, but not raining when Chris arrived at 10:00 am wearing a straw hat, shorts and just a shirt to our long pants and fleece jackets. Low key and personable, around 60, he’s an affable island resident born and bred.  He spent his earlier career in high end real estate, having sold land and homes to several millionaires and billionaires. He pointed out their homes as we went around a more residential section of the island.  

We saw Blackpool Beach and an area where the godwits (small brownish birds) come back to each spring from Siberia. There was a line of them along the beach. As an aside, I saw a peacock on a fence rail on the dirt road the other day, and I’ve identified a white and black swallow-sized bird flitting into the bushes as an Australian magpie.

On the recommendation of our NJ acquaintances, we asked to visit Gabriella Lewenz’s studio.  She lives in a grand Italian villa style home with a small vegetable and flower garden. Her studio is in one wing of the house and she warmly greeted us there.  Originally from Greece, she has lived here for twenty years. Having had exhibits of her work in museums in Boston and elsewhere, she now prefers to show just at her studio and interact that way with potential purchasers.

Shimmering Seas (saatchiart.com)

The art is abstract washes of color and some of it looks misty and others feel like sunset colors. I liked her use of mauve tones and one large piece called “Marsh Land” was two-third soft green topped by soft coral on the top.

Chris also took us by the outside of a Maori meeting house (very strict guidelines and a lengthy orientation required before one can enter so we didn’t) and then to see the local arts complex—adult learning center, small art gallery, small cinema, and their public library. Apparently, the arts community is quite active.  

The island is also marked by walking tracks including one that’s 100 km in length and every year there is a free walking festival in November.

 

We spent two hours with Chris, learned a lot, and then had him drop us off in the middle of town, Oneroa, for lunch. We ate Thai food at the Red Crab and found their green chicken curry and lamb massaman curry just right.

After a quiet afternoon back at the inn packing and reading in the main  area, our last dinner at The Boatshed was the best one of the three.    A demitasse of scampi soup followed by grilled haloumi with grapes and herbs to start; then at the table, swordfish carpaccio with a smear of avocado mousse and micro herbs followed by two loin lamb chops served over a pea purée with an asparagus spear and some roast potatoes. The swordfish and the lamb were exquisite! Dessert was panna cotta with an intense berry sorbet.

ON TO NAPIER

Heavy rain and blustery wind swept into Waiheke late in the day and it stormed all night long. Almost felt like we would be washed away. Woke up to no rain and a bay that that was somewhat calmer. Jack indulged us with an early breakfast of tea and toast and then kindly drove us to the wharf to catch the 9:00 am ferry back to Auckland. A bit rocking and rolling as we left the dock, but then the crossing was fairly smooth. As our itinerary indicated, we were met at the dock by a chatty driver, a primary school teacher for 30 years whose specialty was science. She was engaging and we learned a bit about Napier and even got a restaurant recommendation on the half hour ride to the airport.

Light rain had returned and we scurried inside the terminal building to check our bags and get printed boarding passes. New Zealand has much more of a DIY approach to check-in. You start at a standalone kiosk (yes, we have those at home too), key in your confirmation number, confirm the number of bags you want to check, and then wait for both (here’s the difference) your boarding passes and your baggage tags to print. Then you put the tag on the bag—instructions are on the reverse side, but it isn’t quite as easy as the US ticketing agents make it look. On one bag, the adhesive didn’t line up exactly, and on the other, the destination airport code was slightly mussed up. Then you take the bags over to the belt, and again, you put them on the belt a certain way while an airline staff person stands there giving direction.

Bags taken care of, we wandered over to the Air New Zealand Regional Lounge. All gates are accessed from this lounge, but you have to wait until your flight is listed on the board at the desk with the notation “Boarding” after it. There is no security line, no scanning of carry-on luggage!  At the appointed time, you line up and then swipe your boarding pass at the kiosk where an attendant stands and then walk through glass doors and down a blue-lined corridor to the correct gate number.  You wait there, and when the automatic door swings open, you walk on the tarmac to the waiting plane.  We never had to show any ID at any point!  Our 12:15 flight was delayed in boarding by about half an hour and it was about an hour late taking off. Flight time to Napier was a short 40 minutes.

Rain in Napier and gray skies. We thought we would be staying downtown in the heart of the Art Deco buildings for which this small city is known, but instead we are on the edge of town beachside in the Ahuriri district. Unfortunately, it is too far to walk to town. And even if you wanted to, the options are a main road passing by a tank farm or over a hill (volcanic, I think) that separates this part of the town from the main drag (so not really an option). We took a cab over and wandered about for a short time. It being late Sunday afternoon, the streets were empty, and it was generally too gray to get good photos except for this one in the lobby of the Masonic Hotel. 

We had had no lunch and being starved, cabbed it back to our neighborhood for an early dinner at Three Doors Up. At this inviting bistro, we tucked into some Parmesan sea salt toast and mixed olives to start followed by the daily fish special—grouper with carrots and broccoli for C.P. and salmon with a salad for me. Both came with dauphinoise potatoes, and both were delicious!

 

Heavy rain this morning and expected to continue all day. Not conducive to walking around so we will stay put at the hotel until perhaps it lets up.

 

Notes:  Header photo of an elegant Waiheke property.  Photos ©JWFarrington (some rights reserved) except for Blackpool Beach (bookabach.co.nz) and the painting by Lewenz.

 

 

Down Under: Waiheke Island

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LAST DINNER IN AUCKLAND

On our last evening in Auckland, we dined at Hugo’s Bistro, a cozy new place (only opened four months ago) in “lawyers’ alley.” Wait staff was exceedingly friendly and the vibe was lively. The menu includes some tasty-looking mains, as they dub entrees, but we opted for small plates. We tried their fries with mayonnaise (perfectly fine, but I preferred the skinnier ones at Occidental) along with the lamb meatballs (in a spicy tomato sauce), roasted red and green peppers stuffed with chevre with chopped almonds, and the salt cod fritters served with a saffron aioli. Everything was wonderfully delicious! And the NZ pinot noir was the perfect accompaniment. Like so many restaurants in this city, they offer all-day dining, everything from breakfast and coffee to lunch and dinner in a casual relaxing space. At dinner, there was an extended family group celebrating a toddler’s second birthday.

INFORMALITY

New Zealand is a friendly place and informality rules.  I’m beginning to get accustomed to this aspect of the culture. The welcome letter at our Auckland hotel was addressed, “Dear G…. and J….,” and when we disembarked from the ferry at Waiheke, the sign the driver meeting us held read simply, “Gxxxx Gxxx.” At our inn, Jen greeted us, introduced herself and immediately called us by first names. A reservation for lunch was also made in first names. On the street, people will say hello warmly when you least expect it.

WAIHEKE ISLAND

A number of islands sit in the Hauraki Gulf off Auckland and Fullers provides ferry service to many of them, Waiheke being one. It’s a 30-40 minute crossing and the water was very calm with some patches of sunlight along the way.  Waiheke is hilly and green, almost mountainous, and popular as a getaway place. Its year round population is 8,000, but that swells in the summer when folks come to enjoy their bach (pronounced “batch”), what we in upstate New York would call a summer cottage or camp on the lake. Waiheke is home to a number of wineries and a small town called Oneroa.

We’re staying at The Boatshed, a picturesque and charming inn looking down on a small sandy beach a short distance from the town.  

Each room has a peaked ceiling with wires and other accoutrements to make you feel as if you are in a shed for storing boats.  Jen was warm and bubbly in her welcome, poured us each a glass of wine, showed us around, and then said John would be happy to fix us a simple lunch. It was my kind of simple lunch: slices of ham, a bit of blue cheese and a wedge of a mild one, a piece of smoked salmon, some olives, a few grilled asparagus spears with pine nuts and parmesan, and a small salad of cherry tomatoes and mozzarella. All that plus good bread and more wine.

After lunch, we walked to town. It’s basically one main street with a grocery store, a few restaurants and cafes, some gift and souvenir shops, a gelato stand doing a brisk business with school kids on holiday, plus a housewares store, a medical center, a couple of real estate offices, and some design and jewelry shops. It felt a bit like Sedona or Eureka, California to us. I think we’d quickly run out of acitivities to occupy us.

FOOD IN WAIHEKE

The Boatshed is proving to be a culinary delight as well as being a very comfortable place to stay. Breakfast one morning consisted of almond croissants, several loaves of whole wheat and other kinds of bread for slicing, yogurt, fresh fruit, and an array of stewed fruits, compotes and jams. This was just the cold or continental part of the meal! When the chef arrived, he offered to make us each an asparagus and goat cheese omelet. We opted for one omelet to share which was very tasty!

At our first dinner, there was only one other couple from New Jersey. Roughly our age and very pleasant. They have several grandchildren and we talked about that and our destinations in New Zealand, etc. He and his son manage apartment buildings and she is a pediatrician. Dinner was a set menu with the first two courses served while we sat before the fire: smoked salmon with a bit of celeriac salad on top and then a rye cracker with a lovely wedge of cheese and some fresh thyme. We were at two separate tables for dinner and the rest of the meal was a lovely tomato saffron soup with pieces of langoustine and a whole one adorning it, followed by tender slice of pork loin over barley and roast carrots all nicely seasoned. Dessert was an oval of vanilla mouse with fresh strawberries and a small bit of chocolate ice cream. The herbs and most of the vegetables come from the inn’s extensive garden.

TOURING 

We ventured out to see some of the island in a moke or small Jeep. They drive on the left here so the Chief Penguin bravely took up the challenge. As soon as we left, we went through several downpours making me regret not having an umbrella and wondering if our entire day would be soggy. Distances are small and we arrived at the winery the hotel had booked for lunch only to discover that they were closed, or so we thought, based on a closed sign we read through the heavy rain.  

It was too early for lunch anyway so we set our personal GPS (with the detailed NZ maps we’d purchased) and decided to go to the other side of the island (east side) via the loop road to Man O’ War Vineyards on the bay of the same name. Much of that road is a dirt road and it was muddy and dotted with occasional ruts, but the views were gorgeous. Luckily, the Jeep had 4-wheel drive!

By the time we reached the winery, the sun had come out. The women working the tasting room were very welcoming, said we’d picked a good time of year to visit, and quickly offered to pour any of their wines to taste.  We sipped several of them and decided that this was the perfect place for lunch. The Shared Platter for Two sounded about right. We decamped to the porch with our wine to await the arrival of the platter and had a pleasant chat with several other couples. 

On the return trip, we stopped off at Batch Winery which has a fabulous location on a hillside with several dining rooms and a terrace. Here we just looked—no food or drink.

Header photo:  Vines at Batch Winery

Note:  All photos ©JWFarrington (some rights reserved)

 

 

Down Under: Auckland Pt. 2

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AUCKLAND DAY 2

Last evening we had a very early bite to eat at the Occidental Belgian Beer Café, a rustic dark wood place with a long bar and lots of low and high tables. The menu had many options for mussels (green-lipped ones very popular here) with a variety of sauces, and of course, Belgian frites with mayonnaise plus a selection of small plates and mains. Being quite zonked by this point, we decided on the mixed olives with feta cubes (deliciously spiced), chicken croquettes, and, of course, a cone of fries, accompanied by some NZ wines.

Our boutique hotel is charming with just 25 rooms and a zippy décor with brightly colored furniture and a carpet with wide bright stripes. The staff is exceedingly pleasant and helpful and our room quiet.

But the wi-fi speed is abysmally slow so we’ve become part of the café culture.

This morning we sat in the lovely, spacious, and quite elegant Gloria Jean’s near the University of Auckland; we returned after lunch for more coffee and tea and more good wi-fi. For the record, we went back to the Occidental for lunch–this time smoked salmon for the Chief Penguin and their Caesar salad with chicken for me.

The Auckland Art Gallery is at the top of a hill near Albert Park and combines a beautiful old building with great detailing with a new sleek contemporary addition. In some ways, seeing the building was as impressive and enjoyable as viewing the art. We checked out the gallery of Maori portraits of tribal chieftains all painted by one man, Charles Frederick Goldie, and found them fascinating,    

We also toured another exhibit, “Paris and the Future of Art” with works by artists from around the world including a couple with Kiwi connections. I particularly liked Duncan Grant’s portrait of a pregnant Vanessa Bell and New Zealand painter Gretchen Albrecht’s “Dervish” in strong red and orange.

John Nixon’s simple bold graphics were the focus of an exhibit in the new building and they were exhibited on walls painted in the deep bright bold colors he employed in his paintings.  

Header photo is of the flower clock in Albert Park.  In 1994 the Chief Penguin’s parents spent 7 week’s in New Zealand and Australia.  His father kept a journal and so we know they looked at this clock too then.

All photos by JWFarrington except The Occidental (from their website)