Napier Art Deco festival. It definitely has the wow factor.

Saturday afternoon, 36 degrees in the shade and the streets of Napier were swinging to the sound of jazz. Gents in boaters and braces, ladies in elegant tea dresses and cheeky flapper outfits, all with a backdrop of the art deco architecture of Napier – it really was like stepping back in time.

There are so many things to see and do during the festival – some events are free, some are ticketed, but whatever you have on your itinerary, it’s going to be a blast.

I had grand plans of visiting the Art Deco sale, having some dancing lessons, watching a 1920s movie at the outdoor cinema and doing a walking tour of the city. However, partly due to the heat and partly due to being so overwhelmed by the sights and sounds, we didn’t do half of what we thought.

However, we saw the parade of 250 beautiful classic cars (some of which were worth NZ$1 million), people dancing in the streets, old war planes flying over the beach and steam engines chugging up and down the streets.

One of the best aspects of it all was meeting such great people. We got chatting to Vic and Jan from Napier in the bar of the old Masonic Hotel and although we had already booked and paid for a holiday park, they offered us their driveway and use of their bathroom for free, as well as having a full on BBQ. We still have their address so we’ll be in touch.

We also have new friends in Melbourne – Pete and David. We met these guys at a bus stop waiting to go into the town and over the next couple of days had a great time. More on the Sunday afternoon Gatsby picnic in the next blog!