Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
ated cycle trails encircle Napier, Hastings and the coastline, with landscape, water
and wine themes. Pick up the Hawke's Bay Trailsbrochure from the i-SITE or on-
line.
Napier itself is very cycle friendly, particularly along Marine Pde where you'll find
Pde; bike hire per half-/full day $35/50, tandems $70/90; 9am-5pm)
renting comfortable
bikes - including tandems for those willing to risk divorce.
8793;
www.hawkesbaymtb.co.nz
;
3-week permit $10)
for a whole lot of fun in the forest: see
the website or call for directions. Hire mountain bikes from
Pedal Power
OFFLINE MAP
(
06-844 9771;
www.pedalpower.co.nz
; 340 Gloucester St, Taradale; half-/full day
8am-5.30pm Mon-Fri, 9am-3pm Sat, 10am-3pm Sun)
, just out of the city centre
from $30/60;
in Taradale.
Given the conducive climate, terrain and multitudinous tracks, it's no surprise
that numerous cycle companies pedal fully geared-up tours around the Bay, with
winery visits near mandatory. Operators include the following:
Bike About Tours
(
06-845 4836;
www.bikeabouttours.co.nz
;
tours half-/full day from
$35/45)
Bike D'Vine
( 06-833 6697;
www.bikedevine.com
; tours adult/child from $35/15)
On Yer Bike Winery Tours
(
06-650 4627;
www.onyerbikehb.co.nz
; full day with/
without lunch $60/50)
Takaro Trails
( 06-835 9030;
www.takarotrails.co.nz
;
day rides from $40, 3-/5-day rides
incl accommodation from $479/899)
History
The area has been settled since around the 12th century and was known to Maori as
Ahuriri. By the time James Cook eyeballed it in October 1769, Ngati Kahungunu was the
dominant tribe, controlling the coast to Wellington.
In the 1830s whalers malingered around Ahuriri, establishing a trading base in 1839.
By the 1850s the Crown had purchased - by often dubious means - 1.4 million acres of
Hawke's Bay land, leaving Ngati Kahungunu with less than 4000 acres. The town of
Napier was planned in 1854 and obsequiously named after the British general and colo-
nial administrator Charles Napier.
At 10.46am on 3 February 1931, the city was levelled by a catastrophic earthquake
(7.9 on the Richter scale). Fatalities in Napier and nearby Hastings numbered 258. Napi-
