{"id":222,"date":"2009-09-17T11:41:01","date_gmt":"2009-09-17T11:41:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/michaelandpamstravels.com\/?p=222"},"modified":"2020-07-28T18:30:45","modified_gmt":"2020-07-28T08:30:45","slug":"napier-to-tauranga-nz","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/michaelandpamstravels.com\/?p=222","title":{"rendered":"Napier to Tauranga. NZ \ud83c\uddf3\ud83c\uddff"},"content":{"rendered":"

We arrive in the small port of Napier. \u00a0We cannot see the town from the dock, only hundred of logs and the usual containers stored along the dock. \u00a0As we disembark we see a line of vintage cars dockside, their owners dressed in the period of the cars. \u00a0This will all become clear once we reach town. \u00a0A shuttle bus had us around the hill and into Napier in 10 minutes or so. \u00a0We walk up the street into the main square.<\/p>\n

\"Napier<\/a>
Napier Town Square, NZ. 2009<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

At first glance the whole town has an Art Deco look and feel about it. \u00a0Napier is spotless, all the building are well maintained, following the same theme, painted in contrasting pastel palet. \u00a0We where both quite taken with the place. \u00a0We find the tourist information and see the story of Napier in a diorama on the wall. \u00a0The whole place was flattened in a catastrophic earthquake in 1931. \u00a0We walk up to the local museum and get the whole story of death and destruction but also the rebuilding of the whole town, based on the Art Deco look. \u00a0The historic vehicles on the dock all make sense now. \u00a0As usual we enjoy a coffee and wander through a couple of antique shops.<\/p>\n

\"Masonic<\/a>
Masonic Hotel, Napier NZ. 2009 it follows the classic ‘art deco’ look that is Napier.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We eventually catch the bus back to the ship, having enjoyed a memorable day in Napier.<\/p>\n\n

We awake to a new day and a new port, Tauranga. \u00a0This was the only port on the cruise we actually did a bit of pre-planning for. \u00a0We have been quite happy with our decision not to do any of the ships ‘excursions’ and just take it as it comes. \u00a0However the ships itinerary stated Rotorua (Tauranga), well a quick look at the map shows there no where near each other. \u00a0So we arranged to hire a small car for the day as this was still significantly cheaper than an excursion. \u00a0Looking at the travelling distances we thought a side trip to Lake Taupo may also be possible.<\/p>\n

\"Mauri<\/a>
Mauri Tribal Pole, Rotorua NZ. 2009<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Following disembarkation we pick up the rental and where on our way to Rotorua. \u00a0An easy drive later we are there, we park in the Main Street and head for a coffee. \u00a0As we head back to the car we note the strong sulphur smell lingering in the air. \u00a0I supposed the locals must be used to it. \u00a0Anyway off again we follow the signs to the tourist center and park. \u00a0It seems you cannot just walk through the place you must visit the Mauri Cultural Center first, so off we go. A Mauri guide shows us through the various displays in the exhibition. \u00a0She talks about Mauri customs and traditions. \u00a0We then walk through the field of boiling mud pots and steaming waters.<\/p>\n

\"Field<\/a>
Field of steaming vents, Rotorua, NZ 2009.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Sulphur<\/a>
Sulphur cascade, Rotorua, NZ. 2009<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Bubbling mud and a nasty smell can only hold your attention for so long and where on our way to Lake Taupo. \u00a0It’s less than an hours drive, we pass a thermal power station and several areas where steam can be seen drifting from the ground on our way. \u00a0As we drive over a rise, we enter Taupo township and see Lake Taupo with the twin snow covered volcano in the distance further beyond. \u00a0Without seeking to overstate the obvious, I think it’s one of the most beautiful vistas I have ever seen. \u00a0Anyway we lunch on the verandah of a pub adjacent the lake, then head west to continue our sight seeing.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Lake<\/a>
Lake Taupo, NZ. 2009<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It is mid-afternoon as we wind our way across to the west coast of the North Island. \u00a0We pass some avocado farms then we start to wind down hill toward the sea. \u00a0Slowing for the odd hamlet, this area seem very quiet and a little isolated. \u00a0The scenery is well worth the drive as we head north following the coast around bays and headlands. \u00a0We pass several traditional Mauri buildings with large carved poles and canoes. \u00a0Time is passing now and when we reach Otorohanga we turn north east a head back to Tauranga, getting a little worried about returning the car and getting back to the ship in time.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Mauri<\/a>
Mauri long house near Hauturu, NZ. 2009<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Needless to say we made it back with a comfortable 15 minutes to spare. \u00a0Something of an adventure tail to share with our dining companions that evening.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Michael and Pam<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We arrive in the small port of Napier. \u00a0We cannot see the town from the dock, only hundred of logs and the usual containers stored along the dock. \u00a0As we disembark we see a line of vintage cars dockside, their owners dressed in the period of the cars. \u00a0This will all become clear once we […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":249,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[67],"class_list":{"0":"post-222","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-zealand","8":"tag-cruising","9":"czr-hentry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/michaelandpamstravels.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/222","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/michaelandpamstravels.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/michaelandpamstravels.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michaelandpamstravels.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michaelandpamstravels.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=222"}],"version-history":[{"count":27,"href":"https:\/\/michaelandpamstravels.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/222\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23356,"href":"https:\/\/michaelandpamstravels.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/222\/revisions\/23356"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michaelandpamstravels.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/249"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/michaelandpamstravels.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=222"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michaelandpamstravels.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=222"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michaelandpamstravels.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=222"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}