Valentine's Day in Napier NZ

Napier is a seaport located in Hawke's Bay on the eastern coast of the north island. The city was rebuilt in art deco style  after an earthquake in 1931.  The port is a major container terminal with a constant flow of logging trucks with pine logs destined for Japan.

We arrived on the first day of the Art Deco Festival. The streets were filled with antique cars and people in period costumes to greet us.

The rubble from the earthquake was used to extend the land out along the waterfront and covered with grass.  Today there is a sunken garden, mini-putt golf course, playground, skateboard park and beautiful parkland along the edge of the harbour. 

We walked to the National Aquarium of New Zealand along the walkway lined with Norfolk Pines. We saw "Little Penguins" who had been rescued and searched for the elusive Kiwi but still only found a stuffed one.

The down town area was ideal for some souvenir shopping (grandchildren take note). Tomorrow is a day at sea as we make our way to the northern tip of the north island.

Wellington

Wellington, at the southern tip of the north island, is the capital city of New Zealand separated from the south island by Cook Strait.  The population of the city is about 200 000.  Our ship was moored at a working port where some of the buildings still show damage from the earthquake of 2015.  Free shuttle busses took us to the downtown core. Our guide yesterday recommended visiting Te Papa Tongarewa (The Museum of New Zealand) within walking distance of the tourist information booth downtown.

Entrance to the museum is free but we opted for a guided tour to make the most of our time here.  Our guide Tina was of mixed heritage - half Maori and half "Pakeha" - New Zealander of European origin.  Our tour began at the Waharoa - a carved gateway to a traditional Maori village. It was carved from a slab of totara wood 6.6 m (21 feet) long and 1.2 m (4 feet) wide by Neke Kapua of the Arawa people and his sons for the International Exhibition in Christchurch in 1906-07. The wood was originally dyed with red ochre. The eyes are abalone. TIna told us the creation story of the Maori. In the beginning there was a great void between Earth Mother and Sky Father. They lay together and children were created between still in the dark until a great demi-god cut the ties between earth and sky and the light flowed in.

One area of the museum was devoted to a tribute to the New Zealand soldiers who fought at Gallipoli, a disastrous campaign of World War 1 where 5800 allied soldiers died.

Throughout the museum are displays about the natural environment, geological past, and the  social history of New Zealand.  Te Papa was built as a tribute to biculturalism in the country. We were thankful to Tina for her insight into Maori culture and knowledge of the ties to the peoples of the South Pacific.