Live - Standing Ovation from the Land Down Under - New Zealand, 11 Nights Feb. 2, 2020

[twangster]

Day 6 continued...

 

Today's excursion is Hawkes Bay Panorama through Royal.  I looked at external vendors but I managed to get this on sale through Royal so it was cheaper than an equivalent 3rd party excursion.   Our bus picked us up on the pier so no shuttle required.

 

Leaving the port area we see our first glimpse of a local beach.

 

 

We drove through town and our driver explained various things about the area.  This next photo shows an outdoor concert tent at the Mission Estate Winery where some big names are playing.  Sir Elton John performed last night and will be performing again on the 15th of February.  That gray tall structure is a stage facing the hillside and you can see people wandering the hillside cleaning up the trash from last night's performance.

 

 

Summer season and the rivers are dry so not a lot of water flowing at the moment.

 

 

More wineries.

 

 

This entire region is fertile farmland.  At one point this larger area was a plantation and this driveway was a tree lined entrance to the plantation house.  Now it's a public road.

 

 

We stopped at a fruit shop for a bathroom break and in case anyone wanted to buy some local fruit.   

 

 

 

[twangster]

No farmland is complete without some...

 

 

Did I mention this region has a lot of wineries?

 

 

 

 

We continued our drive in the countryside to the sights of Te Meta Peak range.

 

 

 

More rivers at low levels.

 

 

 

Beehives in the foreground.

 

 

Stunning views for a bus ride.

 

 

 

 

 

[twangster]

I'm really glad this tour took us out of the city to see the countryside.

 

 

In the far distance is the port area.

 

 

 

Lots of grape vines.

 

[twangster]

Driving back to the port area we drive along the coast for a few minutes.

 

 

Back into the city...

 

 

We had a choice to get off the bus in town and use the free cruise ship shuttle or to return to the port.  We had several hours and I wanted to explore the city a bit.

 

 

These buildings are called the Six Sisters.  A father wanted to keep his daughters close to home so he built each of them a house.  They survived the 1930's earthquake that struck the area and now they contain different businesses.

 

 

Earthquakes damaged or destroyed a lot of buildings in the 1930s.  Much of the town was rebuilt in the style of the era and so Napier is now known for its Art Deco architectural style.  They have embraced that by adding some vintage cars.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[twangster]

The beach front has a paved sidewalk or you can stroll on the pebbles of the beach.

 

 

 

 

 

 

It's a very nice area.

 

 

 

 

Time for a New Zealand beer...

 

 

The line for the cruise ship shuttle is right across the street and it was starting to build so I thought I'd wait it out with another beer and a bite to eat...

 

 

Some more pictures while I let some time pass.

 

 

 

Well I might as well jump in line.  Actually it went very fast.  They had three or four coaches boarding at the same time so it was only five or six minutes.

 

 

Back at the port where the buses dropped us off they had more cars on display.

 

 

As well as some live music from the era.

 

It was a pretty great day.  Everyone in Napier was very friendly and welcoming.  I could definitely see coming back in the future.

Edited February 8, 2020 by twangster

[twangster]

Back to the ship.  Somewhere along the way a guide mentioned that wood is a major export for New Zealand.  China is a large consumer.  The joke is that it goes away as trees and comes back as furniture made in China.

 

 

You can see why this is a technical port requiring tugs in and out.  We had to back into that sheltered area and reach the dock by the white buildings on the left.  

 

 

Sailing down the coast we had some great scenery as the evening passed.

 

 

 

[twangster]

The main theater tonight had a performance of 'Mercury Rising' by Steve Larkins.  This is a light hearted but strong tribute to Freddie Mercury.  

 

 

 

 

Steve Larkins is a local New Zealand entertainer. He brings a unique sense of wit to this tribute.

 

 

If you enjoy the music of Queen this is a must see performance.

 

 

 

[pink845]

Again, love your photos Twangster. Almost makes me wish we miss Dunedin too on Radiance in March.    

[twangster]

Day 7 - Wellington

 

Morning comes early but it's a beautiful dawn.

 

 

The city lights in the morning darkness reveal what a populous city Wellington is.

 

 

 

 

Our progress so far...

 

 

[twangster]

Royal excursion today - Wellington Panorama

 

Wellington is also a shuttle bus port.  You can't simply walk off the ship and wander into the city.  After meeting in the Royal Theater we boarded our tour bus directly.  As we were leaving the port an endless line of shuttle buses were arriving to carry guests without a Royal excursion into the city.

 

 

 

Our driver provided commentary as he drove around the city.   The road network was originally designed in London, England by individuals who had never been to Wellington, NZ.  They just laid out the roads like Wellington was flat which it isn't. 

 

Once it came to actually building the roads in Wellington they had to deal with hills that in some places were sharp cliff walls.  Back in the day it seemed logical to simply start and stop streets across these cliff faces.  Stairs or walkways were added for pedestrians.  In modern times though it presents a challenge for GPS where you can find yourself driving into a dead end that ends with stairs to the next section of road.  

 

Consequently it helps to know Wellington if you are going to drive around Wellington.

 

 

Our first stop is a botanical garden.

 

 

The centerpiece of this garden is the Lady Norwood Rose Garden.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Also featured is a small section dedicated to peace.

 

 

 

 

Here one will find the Hiroshima Stone.

 

 

The stone is from the former Hiroshima City Hall that was destroyed by the atomic bomb.

 

 

 

Edited February 9, 2020 by twangster

[twangster]

Our next stop was atop the Mount Victoria lookout.

 

 

 

 

A cricket pitch were Kiwi's train to kick some Aussie butt, or at least that's what our driver claimed.

 

 

South to Antarctica.  

 

 

 

 

Rear Admiral Richard Evelyn Byrd was an American naval office and known for his explorations of Antarctica.  

 

[M-H-B]

They filmed bits of Lord of the Rings on Mount Victoria. Hope your tour includes a stop in the Weta workshop, it’s very cool 🙂 

[perfect match]

Beautiful scenery! Glad I’m getting to sail along with you.

[iceh20]

Really enjoying your posts. Did Royal offer any Lord of the Rings excursions in Wellington?

[jmh2006]

Thank you for continuing to post your amazing and beautiful pictures!❤️

[pink845]

Radiance of the Seas also offers Wellington Panamora but also goes to the Te Papa Museum.  Did you go to that one as well on Ovation.  

[Oceansaway17]

So Twangster what has been your favorite port so far?????

 

Looks like Napier is very nice with old cars and buildings.

 

Dang my cruise in Nov on Majestic P doesn't go to Napier or Wellington but does Picton and Christchurch.

Guess I will have to jump on early release of Ovation for 2021. Only thing is the Nov  cruises for this year do more Auckland. 

I guess one has to go to Australia twice and try different itineraries or ships. But Napier caught my eye with sail in.

Oh and Anthem is clear now to sail.

[Tall-Cruiser]

@Twangster - I just read through your fantastic review. Your photos are phenomenal. Thanks for taking us along on a virtual cruise.     

[twangster]

Next stop was in the city so back down the hill with some more commentary  by our driver.

 

Wellington is known for its winds.  Today is a calm day by Wellington standards.  Our driver tells us sometimes this sidewalk can be challenging for pedestrians and even vehicles on the road can struggle in the winds. 

 

 

To maximize land use they have resorted to building houses on the steep hills but with no roads to the houses they have improvised and added private cable cars.  Ran out of milk?  Back in a jiffy after a cable car ride.  Don't want any visitors?  Cut the power to the cable car.  I'm guessing door to door salespeople don't do very well in Wellington.

 

 

Sand isn't natural here so they imported some to create a city beach.

 

 

 

Edited February 10, 2020 by twangster

[twangster]

Our next stop was the Museum of New Zealand.  This was unguided, we had an hour to self explore.

 

 

Free to enter but there is currently a Wonderland exhibit that has an additional charge.  The rest was free.

 

 

 

From the Endeavour.  

 

 

 

 

Kiwi birds.

 

 

This globe depicts the tectonic plates and one of them runs right through the middle of New Zealand.

 

 

Since the Caribbean has had some earthquakes recently here are the plates for that region.

 

 

[twangster]

The museum has an outdoor area called Bush City.

 

 

 

They have some cave simulations.

 

 

 

 

Outdoor walking paths lead to city views.

 

 

 

 

With time up it was time to re-group at the bus outside.

[twangster]

Our bus driver pointed out the two bus stops for the free cruise ship shuttle as we drove past them.  I use an app called Anchor that allows me to create way points that I can later call up and reference.  This app has been invaluable on this cruise with the city shuttle buses.  

 

As our driver told us about the bus stops I created anchor points for them.

 

 

[twangster]

Back to the ship where I jumped on the free shuttle bus back to downtown.

 

One of the cruise ship shuttle bus stops:

 

 

 

 

The Beehive as our driver called it.  This is where the New Zealand politicians work.

 

 

 

 

 

Very walkable and pedestrian friendly.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[twangster]

I saw more long boats racing in the harbor.

 

 

As I wandered along the waterfront I came across the starting line.

 

 

 

It's a very pleasant city to walk around.

 

 

In this area I found an underground craft market.

 

 

I also found the nest for the long boat participants.

 

 

 

 

 

Using my Anchor app I headed in the direction of the second bus stop.

 

 

 

[twangster]

Back on the ship here is the bus area for cruise ships at the port.  It's very well organized.

 

 

 

Did I mention trees are a major export for New Zealand?

 

 

Some views of the harbor from the ship.

 

 

Sail away and back into the Pacific.

 

 

 

I hit the motherload in the Windjammer tonight.  I used to painstakingly carve the skin off with a knife but I've learned there are a lot of nutrients in the skin so after a quick rinse... yum.

 

 

Temperature tonight for those keeping score.

 

 

Edited February 10, 2020 by twangster