Year 2 – Day 179, Monday, October 24, 2022. Day 36 of our 1/2 world trip. We pulled into Napier, New Zealand this morning.
We are the first cruise ship to come to this port since the cruises closed for covid. It is sunny but cool and windy. I sat on the balcony and the smell of wood filled the air.
It made me homesick. Smelling lumber has been a large part of my life. The smell of lumber and the warm sun had me contemplating my life today. “We are very fortunate to be able to do this trip. Actually, the more time I spend doing different things, the more I realize that we all are fortunate in what we are currently doing in our life. It is your attitude and love of living that makes everyday a living the dream day.” Interesting that the Hawkes Bay port where we docked used to be under water until the 1931 earthquake. As we departed the ship, we were entertained by a local singing group
and sniffed by dogs. We were then greeted by a group of vintage attired men and women with antique vehicles as we walked to the shuttle buses. It was awesome.
This is a working port, and you are not allowed to walk in the port area. We had to take shuttle buses to the town.
I was amazed at the houses sitting up on the cliffs. Imagine the view from those houses. It must be breathtaking.
My observation about New Zealand people is that they tend to be louder and not as friendly as the Australians. The streets are very clean, but they drive on the wrong side of the road. The Australians on board say they drive on the right side of the road. Today is Labor Day. Lots of shops are closed and the port is not operating. Logs are a quarter of Napier exports. We saw many trucks heading to the port filled with logs like this one.
The Port of Napier Ltd is fully owned by the Hawke’s Bay Regional Council. The port operates eight berths, servicing a combination of logs, wood products, oil, fertilizer, containers, live animals, cement and cruise vessels. Pania Reef is a substantial reef slightly offshore from the port entrance requiring specific navigation for larger ships. Therefore, the port operates two modern tugs – Te Mata and Ahuriri which showcase advances in technology with their maneuverability and reliability. Hawke’s Bay cargo imported or exported through the port is biased towards wood products and horticultural produce. Log exports currently are approximately a quarter of the total volume handled by the port, with the additional volumes of timber, pulp and wood chips making up a very successful forestry exportation. We walked around town.
The vegetation is lovely,
the water views outrageous,
and the Bird of Paradise flowers are gorgeous.
I loved this car with an advertisement for hosting Vintage events. What a cool idea.
We then spent a few hours in the National Aquarium of New Zealand.
Being from the United States I have never seen a restroom sign that read Toilets before.
Beside viewing the tanks with the different species of water creatures. They also had posters educating you with some unique facts.
The inside rock waterfall wall was really nice.
We even got to watch some divers cleaning the tanks.
There we saw the Kiwi bird in a dark habitat since it is nocturnal. The aquarium breeds the brown kiwi. The Kiwi is an endangered species. It is only native to the country of New Zealand and is a unique and curious bird that cannot fly. It has loose, hair-like feathers, strong legs and no tail. The kiwi is the national icon of New Zealand and the unofficial national emblem. New Zealanders have been called ‘Kiwis’ since the nickname was bestowed by Australian soldiers in the First World War.
We are now 8,174 miles from home, and we have sailed 4,389 nautical miles since we left Honolulu. In the evening back on the ship our dinner was fun as usual. We love our dinner mates,
and the food was interesting.
Look at how my group of towel animals is multiplying!
To view the complete year 2 daily diary – Click here: https://deestimes.com/living-the-dream-year-2-may-1-2022-april-30-2023/
To view more information about New Zealand – Click here: https://deestimes.com/ports/
To view more information about Ovation of the Seas – Click here: https://deestimes.com/ovation-of-the-seas/
Today’s product recommendations are traveling essentials. 1) Luggage hand cart – we love this cart for easy rolling for easy cruise carry-on bags. Even when you can’t go to your room right away this is so easy to walk around the ship with. Here’s the link https://amzn.to/3s37EOw
2) This large toiletry bag is the best. Steve has the black and I have the pink. We both absolutely love them. Here’s the link https://amzn.to/3v1p6ok and picture
