I’m talking about Cyclone Gabrielle, which is already being felt in Auckland. We are further south in Napier, where the effects are expected to be less, though still significant rain and wind. Nothing to panic about, though we were told that some locals are stocking up on everything from bottled water to toilet paper. I’m pretty sure that’s an over-reaction. It better be, because for the next two days we are glamping. Pretty luxurious, but it’s still a tent. At the edge of a cyclone. I’ll let you know how it turns out…

Today we drove from Gisborne to Napier, successfully dodging the rain pretty much the whole way. The scenery was nearly as stunning (and the road nearly as terrifying) as yesterday, but we arrived unscathed. Napier is another town known for Art Deco architecture, courtesy of the same earthquake that hit Gisborne a century ago. Here are some examples.

Gisborne has a number of interesting sculptures along the waterfront.

And as always, fascinating trees unlike anything I’ve ever seen before.

We finished the day with a walk along the beach. The waterfront is lovely in Napier, but it isn’t really a beach for walking barefoot through the surf. More stony than sandy, with a steep falloff and strong currents. So even if it wasn’t for Gabrielle, we would have been sticking to the paved path along the shore. But it was still a lovely way to end the day.