Napier
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Todays port is Napier, located on Hawke's Bay on the eastern coast of the North Island. The day was beautiful and the seas flat, and when we neared the seaport our Captain turned the ship around and we docked reversing backwards into our berth!!! Rather spectacular and we were amazed to see the piles of timber stacked up on the dock waiting to be loaded onto ships and transport elsewhere. A lovely touch was the welcome by the Historical Society and the showing of the many vintage cars that were parked on the dock.. Time to walk into the bottom of Napier and see a statue of Pania in a beautiful park! According to local Maori legend, Pania lived under the sea. She left her sea family and married a chief on the mainland, Karitoki. When Karitoki was away in battle she was called back to her family under the sea. When she tried to return to land once more, the Maori Lord of the sea, in his anger turned her in to a rocky shelf - Pania Reef. The legend of Te Pania lives on in this impressive bronze statue. Also referred to as the Napier Statue, located right next to the Tom Parker Fountain.
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Now a visit to the City of Napier town area, with its magnificent historical buildings and streets. Interestingly there was Wine Street, amazing statues, lots of lovely shops and cafes and many dedications to the Earthquake of 1931. The cities of Napier and Hastings were devastated by New Zealand's deadliest earthquake. At least 256 people died in the magnitude 7.8 'quake - 161 in Napier, 93 in Hastings and two in Wairoa. Many thousands required medical treatment. It was interesting to see that buildings today are being built to withstand events such as this today .Loved the many murals around the city especially the ones on the amenities block near the beach!!
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Now its time to farewell Napier and once back on board it was great to see the tourist train pulling in with passengers who had had a great ride back to the ship. Unfortunately all good things come to an end and soon we were off in the beautiful blue waters, guided by the powerful tugs that seem to do lots of spins to say farewell to Napier. How clever and an end to a wonderful day!
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