iSite Withdrawl

It's hard to feel anything but happy when you wake up to the sound of crashing waves, stick your head out the door, and see this:

86 Esplanade, Napier, New Zealand

After relaxing and enjoying this view for a bit, we set out to find another image that was becoming familiar to us.  If you're traveling in New Zealand, it only takes a day or two before you come to recognize the familiar i-SITE logo:

 

i-SITEs are the national tourist information centers in New Zealand.  Every town we drove through (remember, there weren't that many) on the South Island had one.  If, at any point, we were looking for an activity, or a map, or an answer, or a bathroom - we'd head for an i-SITE.  We suggest you do the same if you're traveling in NZ.  They'll even help you make activity and hotel reservations quickly & efficiently (at least for the former; we didn't test the latter).


Napier was probably we'd driven into where the i-SITE wasn't the first thing we spotted when we came into town.  The previous night we'd headed directly for the Beach Retreat without a stop at the city center.  


So, with Friday set aside for resting and exploring, we figured we'd drive into Napier proper to check out the i-SITE - and, of course, whatever else seemed interesting.


I found my first interesting thing moments after we parked the car: Napier Skate Park.  Enclosed by tall cement walls, we could only peer in through some small openings at eye level.  Inside, there were ramps, jumps, and all sorts of other things skateboarders might want to skate on/over/around/through.  Kids with skateboards and scooters were zooming all over the place, speeding down ramps, over jumps (including rows of their friends lying on the ground), and back up again - yet another example of the awesomeness that can happen in a no-fault country.  Their skill and speed were mesmerizing - I could have stood there and watched them for an hour. I wish I had a photo, but I always feel awkward taking photos of other people without permission - especially kids.  So, no photos.


Eventually we made it to the i-SITE, where I exclaimed, "Ohh!!!  They have an aquarium!!!"  It was just down the road, and Kee-Min, always a willing conspirator in my science excursions, agreed to a trip.


First, we poked around the older, cobblestone streets of Napier for a while.  In some places, the streets had been closed to traffic, and we were free to wander mindlessly, crossing back and forth without a care.  I *love* when cities do this.  


We changed some money. [I have no idea why some banks will charge a $15 fee for changing Traveler's Checks, and others will charge 5 cents.  No lie.]  We used half of said money to buy a few greeting cards.  Well, not quite half, but DUDE - a standard greeting card runs ~$7-8, apiece.  Note for next time: BYOC!  This part of Napier wasn't much different from what you'd see wandering around a similar area in the US: eateries, banks, clothing stores, a couple of touristy shops, and even a Bed Bath & Beyond:

We're still unclear about whether or not this is related to BB&B in the US.
Obviously, the sign is different, but the products and target market appear similar
Uncle Steve, are you reading this??

By that time, we were feeling munchy, so grabbed 2 pies (Maharaja and Tendulkar) at Jesters, a New Zealand/Australia pie chain.  They were acceptable, but not nearly as good as the ones we had in Queenstown.  Then, we popped next door to Cappadonna, a small cafe that had received decent reviews for their desserts and coffee.  Admittedly, their baked goods looked scrumptious, but we opted for affogatos: espresso poured over vanilla ice cream.  This, I can assure you, this is as delicious as it sounds - and Cappadonna didn't disappoint.

I was so distracted by deliciousness
 that I forgot to take a photo until it was nearly gone.

And finally, it was time for...THE AQUARIUM!

Apparently, I found the lettering fascinating.

I was psyched.  Even getting caught by a Megalodon immediately after buying our tickets didn't dampen my enthusiasm.  

You can't make this stuff up.

After a narrow escape, we ventured into the exhibits.  Overall, I would give the Napier Aquarium a 2.5 out of 5 stars for a small-city aquarium.  It's no Camden Aquarium, that's for sure.  Some of the exhibits had been reorganized, but the accompanying explanatory literature hadn't been (text and exhibit didn't match).  Additionally, some of the written explanations were downright poor, and I was tempted to submit a suggested rewrite on the spot.  But they did have some exhibits on local species, there were plenty of kids running around having fun.  And we had fun, too - and passed an enjoyable 2.5 hours exploring the underwater world.

For example, I learned all about cichlids.  There are >1300 cichlid species (probably many more), and we got to see quite a few examples of the ovophile species.  Male ovophiles ("mouth brooders") have some pretty clever body markings to facilitate their reproductive success.  Female cichlids lay their eggs, then proceed to pick up the eggs in their mouths.  The males of these species have distinctive spots at the back of their anal fins that the females sometimes mistake for eggs.  Males release sperm in response to contact with that section of their anal fin.  Thus, sperm are released at a time and place with a high probability of egg fertilization.  I particularly enjoyed being able to identify the males and females based on anal fin spots - it's the first time I've ever been able to gender a fish!!  Fish don't like photos, so no aquarium pictures - but you can Google search cichlid images, if you're interested.


Photos of not-real-fish, though, were OK.  So I snapped this one, to trigger flashbacks to Intro Bio among my Biologist friends out there:

Pop quiz, anyone?

I won't detail every fish we saw - but suffice to say that the Napier Aquarium was a reasonable way to pass the afternoon.  Inspired by all this aquatic life, I wanted to walk back to our car along the beach.  

And just one more, before we headed back for dinner & family time...

 <3