FLASHBACK: Napier the land of Art Deco

Napier is a town that was destroyed by an earthquake in the 1930s and then completely rebuilt over the course of that decade. Cam and I
had an awesome stay there overnight that included overnight at a former prison turned into a hostel.

This is a shot off a park near the beach. The arch was built as a gateway into the downtown area. We had some dinner at a surfer bar just on the street you can see through the arch. I got to see some wicked cool waves crashing, a bit scary.

The evening hours were quite around town. While Cam was near the fountain taking this beautiful photo, a few other kids walked by. I was tempted to just drive off, but I didn't (he he he, it would have been funny, but not to C).

The sleeping in the prison was quite daunting. When we arrived it was dark, so it we didn't get to check out the rest of the prison save for our room, the kitchen, and the showers/bathroom. I'm extremely glad I only saw those few bits because some of the rooms that included interpretation were a bit much.


The entry gate (see photo) was the most inviting part. We were told that tours started at 9 AM and visited the shower room (occupied or not). As guests, we were to plan accordingly (that was one fast shower for me). There was a lot of graffiti from former inmates (adolescents, aborigines, males, females). Of course, there was the typical noises in a jail: unexplainable voices, banging of doors slamming shut, whirling wind outside in the courtyard. But the absolute freakiest part was a demon mannequin all red & black standing in a dark corner of a cell that you turned the light on after walking into it. He was creepy!

I'm really into head cut outs, and this just was the best photo op after our stay.