The weather was a bit overcast this morning but still warm and no rain forecast until late this afternoon.  So our plan to rent bikes and see Napier and the surrounding area using yet more leg power was on.

We collected the bikes around 10am and cycled up to the aquarium for a warm up before heading back in the opposite direction towards Ahuriri and beyond. We also had a map detailing where 43 murals were and thought we’d see how many we could find along the route.

It is so set up for cycling here, lovely flat wide cycle paths and not many people using them.

After a couple of hours we were feeling peckish so stopped at the Thirsty Whale on West Quay for some late breakfast and a pint. Then back into the centre of Napier to return the bikes via a few more murals having cycled just over 15 miles. 

We went into the Art Deco Centre to watch an interesting film about the 1931 earthquake and the subsequent rebuilding of the town which apparently only took 22 months.

As the weather was still holding we decided to head on up to Bluff Hill Lookout (now on foot) on the outskirts of Napier. A tough climb, past houses perched precariously on the hillside and via the pretty Sturm’s Gully, eventually rewarded us with a good view of where we’d cycled this morning as well as thousands of logs being loaded onto cargo ships in the port below.

Back to the hotel it was time for a well earned nap for me and a run along the front for Dave.

After showering and changing for dinner we headed out to the Good George Taphouse for a bite to eat.

A long drive ahead of us tomorrow after covering around 204 km (126 miles) getting from Ohakune to Napier.