Wellington
February 14, 2025
Napier
February 15, 2025
This excursion began with a scenic drive along Oriental Bay then inland to the top of Mt. Victoria. Then a drive by New Zealand's Parliament, which has been meeting since 1865. Then a stop at the Wellington Botanic Garden that houses the award-winning Lady Norwood Rose Garden, followed by a stop at Old St. Paul's Cathedral. Although no longer a parish church, it remains consecrated and is a well-loved venue for special events.
Napier is known as the "Art Deco City" and the weekend we were there was the annual Art Deco Festival, including an air show. Destroyed in the early 1930s following a major earthquake, Napier was rebuilt and the new buildings reflected the style of the times: innovative geometric shapes, Spanish mission, Art Deco, and some incorporated, unique Maori motifs. The ongoing festival limited our drive around town but we did see the picturesque Marine Parade sea walk, and the Spirit of Napier sculpture (which represents Napier rising from the ashes of the devastating earthquake), and Hawke's Bay. We ended with a visit to the National Aquarium of New Zealand.
We were supposed to stop in Tauranga on February 16th, but weather prevented our pulling into port so we had an extra day at sea.
Auckland
February 17, 2025
Auckland is known as the City of Sails. We chose to do the Hop On Hop Off Explorer for our excursion (so not too many photos as the bus windows were wet from the rain). Among the highlights were the Auckland Museum, displaying a fine collection of Maori and Pacific artifacts; SkyCity, a casino and entertainment complex; the charming shops and cafés of Parnell Village; New Zealand's most famous aquarium, Sea Life Kelly Tarlton's; downtown Auckland; and Newmarket, Auckland's premier fashion district.
Tauranga
February 18, 2025
Surprise! Once again the weather prevented the scheduled port stop at Bay of Island, so instead, the Captain chose to go back to Tauranga since things were better there. We had no excursion so just wandered around the town a bit. Beautiful clouds after the morning's rain and later a colorful sunset from the ship.
No more port stops on this cruise, just spent the next 3 days at sea returning to Sydney. Still a fun cruise even with the schedule changes and missing out on the Bay of Islands!
