Best Things To Do In Napier
Napier is home to many fine wineries, fabulous restaurants, bars, and cafes. The boutique shops are a must-visit, as is the Sea Walls collection of magnificent murals painted on more than 50 walls around the city. Grab a map and walk or ride around the city to see them up close.
1. Simply Napier
With over 40 years of experience servicing the tourist industry, offering quality gifts, artworks, clothing, and mementos for tourists, travellers, and locals alike.
Our gift and souvenirs range is diverse and promotes New Zealand and our way of life. Our stores cater for travellers from overseas looking for mementos to take home that are a reminder of their stay in Aotearoa, or gifts for friends and family with a particular New Zealand flavour.
Be it artworks, skincare, toys, jewellery, exclusive clothing, New Zealand natural skincare ranges; Manuka Honey, Lanolin, Bee Venom products, and Rotorua Mud.
Source — Newzealand.com
2. Gannet Beach Adventures
Cape Kidnappers is home to the largest gannet colony in the world, with over 6,500 breeding couples making the pilgrimage to the Cape each year. Visitors can spend the day walking to the colony, but if you’re visiting with young children or you’d rather not work up a sweat, this off-road tour should solve your problems. Head out to the colony on a vintage tractor and trailer when the tide is low and enjoy the rugged Hawke’s Bay coastline along the way.
What To Expect
“Where else in the world can you jump on the back of a trailer and get towed along the beach by a 1949 Minneapolis-Moline tractor to a bird colony?” Established in 1952, Gannet Beach Adventures has a long history of providing tours on a spectacular stretch of the Hawke’s Bay coastline, from Clifton to Cape Kidnappers.
This unique, fun eco-experience tour involves travel with local experienced guides by vintage tractors and trailers on a comfortable four-hour adventure to the largest mainland gannet colony in the world. Departing on the days’ low tide, visitors travel by tractor and trailer along the majestically rugged coastline.
Photographic opportunities abound as stops are made throughout the journey giving visitors an insight into how nature’s forces have shaped this amazing area. Travelling through the Black Reef colony (one of two colonies we visit) visitors can almost touch the gannets in their natural environment, without even stepping off the trailer.
It was at this site in 1769 local Maori kidnapped a crew member off Captain Cook’s ship The Endeavour, the incident from which Cape Kidnappers gets its name. Continuing onto the Cape itself, an approximate 90-minute break enables visitors’ ample time to picnic, swim, or enjoy a scenic walk to the Plateau colony. Stunning views across Hawke's Bay from the top of the Cape grace many a visitor’s photo album.
Depending on the time of the season, visitors can witness new-born chicks, through to 4-month old gannets preparing for their first-ever flight, which will take them all the way to Australia. Our season runs from the end of September/beginning of October to the end of April and is suitable for all age groups with moderate fitness levels – ideal for families, schools, club get together, social outings, or corporate groups.
Departure times vary daily due to the low tide - check our schedule. No refreshments supplied but passengers are encouraged to bring their own. Pick-ups can be arranged from the accommodation but are at an additional cost, and needs to be pre-arranged.
Source — Viator.com
3. Screwed Wine Adventures
Want to experience the Hawke's Bay wine region in a whole new way? Screwed Wine Adventures is the fun and funky way to go about it! Come on, get Screwed!
Sample the highlights of the region. Spend the afternoon learning all about boutique wine and craft beer of the Hawke's Bay region. Relax in a fun environment while visiting 3 local wineries and then cleanse the palette at the end of the day with a Craft Beer tasting.
Wine tasting at 3 boutique wineries & beer tasting at a local craft brewery.
The Full Monty(Coming Soon)
An exciting full day of tasting around the region's top boutique wineries. then cleanse the palette at the end of the day with a refreshing Craft Beer tasting.
Wine tasting at 5 boutique wineries & beer tasting.
Source — Newzealand.com
4. The National Aquarium of NZ
Discover an exciting world above and below the water at the National Aquarium of New Zealand in Napier.
Visit Penguin Cove and watch the famous naughty and good Little Penguins feed and play. See sharks, stingrays and fish swimming over you in the 1.5 million litre oceanarium tunnel. Spot New Zealand’s native wildlife – the Kiwi and Tuatara.
Daily feeding times are 10.00 a.m. for the reef fish, 2 p.m. for the sharks and the Little Penguins at 9.30 a.m., 1.30 p.m., and 3.30 p.m.
Source — Nationalaquarium.co.nz
5. Te Mata Peak
Te Mata Peak is at the western boundary of the wine-producing Heretaunga Plains and stands nearly 400 metres above sea level. From the summit of the peak, you can enjoy panoramic views of the Ruahine, Kaweka, Maungaharuru Ranges, and Cape Kidnappers. The volcano Ruapehu, in the centre of Tongariro National Park, is also visible on a clear day.
The nature trails on Te Mata Peak are great for hikers and mountain bikers. It's an excellent cardio workout going up, but the huge views make the exertion totally worthwhile. Other hiking and biking trails in the Te Mata Trust Park lead through the forest and along limestone valleys.
The Te Mata hillscape has an amazing story to tell: Many centuries ago the people living in pa (fortified villages) on the Heretaunga Plains were under constant threat of war from the coastal tribes of Waimarama.
At a gathering in Pakipaki (near Hastings), a wise old woman (kuia) suggested that the leader of the Waimarama tribes, a giant named Te Mata, could be made to fall in love with Hinerakau - the daughter of a Pakipaki chief - and turn his thoughts from war to peace. This mission was quickly accomplished, and Te Mata fell under the spell of the beautifully Hinerakau.
However, the people of Heretaunga had not forgotten the past and wanted revenge. They demanded that Hinerakau make Te Mata prove his devotion by accomplishing seemingly impossible tasks. His last task was to bite through the hills between the coast and the plains so that people could come and go with greater ease.
Te Mata died while eating his way through the hills. His half-accomplished work can be seen in what is known as The Gap or Pari Karangaranga (echoing cliffs) and his prostrate body forms Te Mata Peak.
Source — Newzealand.com
6. Bluff Hill Walk
This coastal strip, lined with drawcard attractions and visitor accommodations, is another of the city's playgrounds.
From the Seamen's Welfare Centre, the wide concrete path sweeps past the surf life-saving clubrooms, meanders along a grassed and treed strip and then heads towards the National Aquarium.
This foreshore reserve, like the Marine Parade public gardens reserve, is a comparatively recent geological addition to the coastline.
The part was reclaimed after the 1931 earthquake when the rubble was deposited from the devastated inner city.
For those who want to see the city's sights, there are ample excuses for moving off the Pathway. Attractions include the Floral Clock, the Marine Parade Gardens, the Tom Parker Fountain, Napier's iconic Pania of the Reef sculpture, the Sound Shell and Colonnade, Par 2 golf, the Sunken Garden, an outdoor skating rink and finally, the National Aquarium itself.
Source — Napier.govt.nz
7. Marine Parade
A wonderful seawall trail that offers picturesque views of the incredible black sand beach, and waves rolling into the shore. You will find plenty of quaint shops, and a children’s playground and skate park here.
A nice place to unwind and feel the true New Zealand atmosphere walking along the shore. Of course, the heart of Marine Parade is the Tom Parker Fountain, with the very first initiation of the fountain on December 23, 1936.
This art deco marvel is also a display of beautiful color at night. The fountain brought joy to the locals following the Great Depression era, as well as the large earthquake of 1931, and is still a joy to watch and be mesmerized by.
Source — Trip101.com
8. Hawke's Bay
From Mahia in the north to Porangahau in the south, Hawke's Bay's 360 kilometres of coastline and beaches hug the vast Pacific Ocean.
Blessed with fertile soils and a warm temperate climate, Hawke's Bay's prosperity is founded on its land-based economy. With its thousands of acres of farms, orchards, and vineyards, along with the local industries that have grown up in support, there is a good reason why the region is held in such high regard as New Zealand's agricultural powerhouse, and why life here beats to a seasonal drum.
The forces of nature that gifted Hawke's Bay its most notable landmarks, including Lake Waikaremoana, Te Mata Peak and Cape Kidnappers, have also wreaked havoc on the local population to reshape and define the region we know today.
Most infamous is the Hawke's Bay Earthquake of 1931, an event that changed the cityscapes of Napier and Hastings and the lives of their inhabitants forever.
Source — Hawkesbaynz.com
9. Sunken Gardens
Formed in the 1960s, the Sunken Garden has been described as the Parade's 'hidden treasure' because, as it sits below the street level and offers a sense of serenity and separation from its urban surrounds.
In April 1967 a start was made on excavating the 30,000 cubic yard hole for the Sunken Gardens. Many interesting finds were made in the excavated earthquake rubble with reminders of long-gone cafes, hotels, and manufacturers, along with various objects and fittings.
The Gardens were opened in 1969 by Sir Lew Harris, who gave a generous donation in the form of the floating 'bio-morphic sculpture' in the pool.
You can find the Sunken Garden on Marine Parade, just along from the i-SITE information centre. There is no sign, but you can't miss it, situated between the road and the beach.
Source — Hawkesbaynz.com
10. Shine Falls
From Napier head east on the SH-2 and follow it for the next 43.5 km until you see a sing 'Shine Falls', where you need to turn left into Matahorua Rd. After 11 km turn left into Heays Access Rd. Follow this road for 6.5 km until you reach a DOC car park, on your left, with a picnic table, a shelter, and a toilet.
A walking 1.5-hours' return Shine Falls track leads to the base of the waterfall. The walk goes through the farmland and beneath towering sandstone bluffs. There are some uphill sections on the track as well as stream crossings, but they are all bridged and easy.
There is a picnic table near the waterfall, so you may have a rest and enjoy a spectacular 58-metre Shine Falls there. Return via the same track, or continue on to the track until you reach a car park on Pohiokura Road (roughly 45-60 minutes).
If you choose the last option, make sure you organize a mode of transport to pick you up from the end of the track.
Source — Waterfalls.co.nz
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