Art Deco

Lee and I joined Jo and the Trebes tribe for a trip to Napier, to take part in the Napier Art Deco festival. Steve and Marianne Trebes (John's nephew and his wife) had very graciously and bravely invited all of us to stay with them in Clive, a few kilometers from Napier.

It was a family affair, as John's sister Billie, his sister Tricia and her husband David from Australia were also attending. And since we had two cars and space for one more on the trip, Billie's friend Tuppy rode down and back with us, as she has family in Hastings. So, it was a party of 8 from Hamilton to Napier!

Our first stop was for coffee in Tirau. Our second stop was for lunch at Lake Taupo, then on to Napier! Napier is located on the west coast of the north island, about 4 hours from Hamilton.

Napier was hit by a huge earthquake in 1931, and when they rebuilt, all of the buildings were in the art deco style. New buildings added since also have the art deco architecture and it's a beautiful little seaside town. Each year they have the week-long art deco festival. Everyone gets into the spirit with dress from the period, as well as old cars, machinery, etc. It's very difficult to get accommodation anywhere near Napier, so we were very fortunate to be invited, and were very much looking forward to it.

We arrived at Steve and Marianne's about 5:00 pm, and were greeted by Marianne and baby Leo (16 mos.), who reached out his arms to all of us, to be held! Steve got home about 5:30, and we had a fabulous dinner. With 7 of us, and 3 of them, that meant 10 for dinner! The weather was gorgeous and we were able to eat outside. After dinner, and while Leo was getting ready for bed, we walked with Steve down to the beach where he and Marianne got married. It felt really good to be going for a walk after dinner and all those hours in the car!

Friday we got up, had coffee/tea and breakfast and headed into Napier, but didn't dress up. There were old cars everywhere, and people dressed up from the 30s. We went to an antique faire, with vendors from all over New Zealand, which was really fun. We spent the day in Napier, enjoyed a lovely picnic lunch by the sea, and arrived back at Steve and Marianne's about 6:00.

Marianne had prepared a wonderful spaghetti feed for us, complete with salad and garlic bread - yummy!

Saturday morning we all got in our art deco duds, including Marianne and Steve, who were riding their vintage motor bikes in the parade! A good friend came over to stay with Leo, and off we went!
The parade was fabulous - I've never seen so many vintage cars in my life! The array of art deco clothing was amazing, too - we even saw a couple dressed up in 1930's wool bathing costumes - must have been itchy! The guys looked fabulous in their vests and hats, and all of us ladies had great fun with all of our accessories. We got photographed a lot! It was really easy and fun to get into the spirit of the day!

There was tons of entertainment - singing, bands, etc. There were costume contests (we didn't enter any) and just general merriment! We all went to lunch together, and Tricia summed it up best when she said that attending art deco weekend should be compulsory every year! There's no doubt that we'll be doing it again, it was such a blast!

Saturday night we all went out to dinner, most of us in costume. For some reason, Billie and John left the 30's and returned to the 21st century, but we let them come to dinner, anyway!

What an amazing event! Thank you Steve, Marianne and Leo, for making it possible!

First stop on our journey to Napier - Tirau! From left to right we have John, me, David, Tricia, Jo, Billie and Tuppy.

One our walk to the beach after dinner on Thursday night - you can see the ocean waves in the background. Same cast of characters, with the addition of Steve on the left.

The Trebes tribe! John, Billie, Tricia and Steve

As we were walking through the field to get to the beach, we came across this sign!

After our picnic lunch on Friday. It was a little cool on Friday, but gorgeous on Saturday.

Tricia, David and Jo took a tour on the tractor, around Napier. Billie, John, Lee and I toured some of the art deco buildings in Napier.

Tricia and David.

Art Deco Saturday! That's Marianne in her vintage motorbike outfit. And yes, those are teddy bears on Lee's vest!

Lee and I. We had a great, shady spot to watch the parade.

Me, Jo and Billie, looking very "art deco"!

Here we all are!

And again, with one of the many vintage cars.

Steve, John and Billie. Steve is wearing a vintage 1920's leather riding coat!

Steve and Marianne with their bikes, as the parade was about to start.

Note Marianne's goggles!

More of us!

Some nice person took this shot of the 7 of us.

The guys! Aren't they handsome??

Here come Steve and Marianne in the parade!

Marianne and Steve at lunch

This is an amazing, street-legal, 3 wheeled vehicle!

John and Jo with the delivery bike.

Ready for dinner! Yes, I had a dinner outfit, too! : )

Here we are at dinner - Billie and John are at the end of the table, as they were out of character! The restaurant was great, and the food was fabulous!

Tricia and John

Tricia and David

The end of the evening and a wonderful day!

Our week in Hamilton

After all of our activities and experiences on the south island, we were ready to head back to Hamilton for a little R&R with friends there!


We spent a couple of days with laundry, haircuts and getting my toes done!


John graciously ferried us around for our various activities, and we took the bus to the local mall one day, where John met us for lunch.


On Friday, John, Lee and I visited the Operatic Society, where they rent costumes, to get all outfitted for the upcoming Art Deco weekend in Napier. It was great fun, and I decided that you never outgrow your desire to play "dress up"! We all found great 20's/30's wear, so we were all set for Napier.


We hung out with Bryan and Peter on Sunday. We went to the dahlia show at Hamilton Gardens, dropped in for a visit with Peter's Mum, Verna, and since we were driving right past Dianne and Adrian's, we popped in there for a short visit, too. Then to the grocery store, where Bryan and Lee got a kilo of green-lipped mussels! They both love them! Peter and I - not so much, so we got something else. It was a lovely warm, summer evening and we were able to sit outside after dinner with a glass of wine. Life is good!


Sunday was Valentines Day, and we celebrated by meeting Dianne and Adrian at the Italian garden for a picnic dinner! It was fabulous, and great fun!


While we were in the south island, Bryan's Mum's house sold, so we went to Matamata with Bryan on Monday to help move some household goods. He hooked up the trailer and away we went. Zoe was all organized, with everything ready for the garage sale, and we helped move things to the garage. Her friend Joan was taking Zoe's dining set and two living room chairs, so we loaded those in the trailer to deliver to Joan in Cambridge. It was great to be able to help, since we were going to miss the main moving event while we were in Napier.


Tuesday and Wednesday were relaxing days - we organized for Napier, and just generally took it easy.


Thursday morning, Jo came to collect us for our next adventure! Napier, here we come!

This little lake is located in Hamilton Gardens. There were a bunch of radio-controlled boat enthusiasts sailing!

More sailing boats! There was a huge battleship, but he was parked at the edge of the lake.

Great shot of dahlia with butterfly that Lee took at Bryan and Peters!

At the Dahlia show at Hamilton Gardens

Dahlia pictures from the competition.

The Italian garden at Hamilton Gardens, on Valentines day.

Here's our table, all nicely set for dinner!

Cheers! Happy Valentines Day!

Joan, with the two chairs from Zoe. An interesting tidbit of information on Joan - she was a Hobbit in the filming of "Lord of the Rings"! She has great albums of information and memorabilia of the experience!

Our last day at Queenstown & Walter Peak Station

Tuesday was our last day in Queenstown, and Lee and I visited Walter Peak High Country Farm, a sheep station across Lake Wakatipu.



To get there, we sailed on the TSS Earnslaw, a vintage steamship. The Earnslaw was built in 1912 in Dunedin, NZ, then dismantled and transported by rail to Kingston at the lake's southern tip for reassembly and launching. The Earnslaw has since served the remote farming communities, and her working roles have included cargo ship, livestock carrier, passenger transporter and pleasure steamer.



It was a 30 minute sail from Queenstown to Walter Peak, and although the weather was overcast when we left, the sun came out as we sailed across Lake Wakatipu. While at Walter Peak we saw alpaca and merino sheep, red deer, red long-haired Scottish cattle and the sheep dogs at work. Our tour guide also sheared a sheep! This poor sheep was rolled into every which way during the shearing, although she must have been used to it, as she didn't struggle. When he was done, the sheep was shorn, and the wool was all in one piece! It was pretty amazing! We then saw the raw wool being spun into yarn, and learned that the wool isn't cleaned until it's spun and in the yank - who knew?? You could sure feel the lanolin in the wool, which is why it was perfect for farmers and fishermen - wool sweaters never get wet all the way through, hence, neither does the wearer!



Our tour included tea in the parlor of the guest house. There were scones, piklets (little pancakes, served with butter and jam) coffee and tea. We were able to visit with the other guests, as well as the people who work there. We toured the grounds and the beautiful gardens, and saw the family home, which has roof tiles from Versaille that came over on the Earnslaw in 1912 as well!



We were at Walter Peak Station till about 3:00, at which time we headed back to Queenstown. Craig and Stephen met the steamer, and we decided that it was "beer-o'clock", so we headed off to the pub for a beer. That beer led to another one, and we just enjoyed sitting outside in the sun and people watching.



We had dinner at a lovely restaurant that overlooked the pedestrian mall. It was delicious, and a perfect way to end our last day at Queenstown.



After that, we headed back to the apartment to do some organizing for our trip back to Auckland the next morning. We had to check out by 10:00 am, which we did. We had some time to stop at a mall by the airport before we turned the car in, as well. Then, it was off to the airport! Only to learn that our flight had been delayed by nearly two hours. The weather in Queenstown had turned foggy and overcast - apparently we were taking the good weather with us!



We arrived in Auckland, where John picked us up and took us back to Hamilton.



It was a FABULOUS time in Queenstown!! We'll definitely make a return trip - it is so beautiful, and there is so much to see and do!!

Thanks, Craig and Stephen, for all your driving, and knowing the things that we shouldn't miss!






The TSS Earnslaw steamer, at dock in Queenstown. I watched them load tons of coal into the hold before we sailed.



Queenstown, getting further away, as we sailed to Walter Peak



Coming into Walter Peak



This shorn sheep in front is an Alpaca



Isn't he cute??



This big, woolly guy is a Merino - their wool brings high prices.



Here are the red Scottish cattle that the dog rounded up and brought in. Both the cows and bulls have horns, and they are short-legged. They are raised for meat.



Here's our tour guide with the dog that rounded up the cattle.



This is the family home at Walter Peak, with it's tile roof



This is the house where we had tea. There is also a restaurant there. The gardens were just beautiful



Where tea was served. It was very yummy! Our tour group was a real UN - there were people from Russia, Japan, US, Australia, Canada, Holland and China. In fact, as you walked around Queenstown, you could hear many different languages being spoken.





Looking out on Lake Wakatipu from Walter Peak



We got a kick out of this - there was a large rock on a rope hanging next to this sign. The rock was dry!



A view of the dock.



Here come the sheep - on the run!



Here's the poor ewe - getting shorn! You should have seen some of the positions he put her in!



More shearing!!



All done!



And there on the table, all in one piece, is her wool!



And here it is, being spun into yarn.



Leaving Walter Peak - all of the people were on the deck, waving to us as we left.



Heading back to Queenstown



The steamship in action!



Back in Queenstown, we visited the little stone church where Bryan's nephew will be married in July. Lee wrote them a message in the guest book.



Inside the church



Craig and I at 'beer o'clock'!



And Craig and Lee, toasting a fabulous trip!



The morning we were leaving Queenstown, this is what we woke up to - time to leave!


At the airport, waiting for the flight to Auckland.