Napier

The ship docked at dawn... We arose soon after, went down to breakfast and having fortified ourselves, went downstairs, disembarked, and waited in a proper queue for the shuttle into town... Tina had arraigned a architectural walking tour on line.

The World is docked next to us... In this case the World is not a planet, but instead an exclusive cruise ship, with the cabins being owned by the ship's passengers, much like one owns a condominium. (but with much higher home owner's association fees... ). The World is just a bit smaller than the Volendam, but while we carry 14 lifeboats and tenders for roughly 1,400 passengers, the World carries only 4... Much of the talk aboard centers on the World, how much it costs, and what it would be like to be aboard... Surprisingly, most of our passengers say they don't think they would like to sail aboard the world, preferring our ship instead...

Returning to the dock, and the line waiting for the shuttle into town... A shuttle arived, and confusion has broken out, as a ship's tour crowded onto the shuttle... Beyond issues of line jumping (they were not in line with us, we're they?) people alternately assumed that they (we) had mistakenly boarded a tour bus instead of a shuttle, or alternately, the tour folks were more confused than we were and were soon to be bitterly disappointed when their pre-arraigned tour of a winery and Lord of the Rings sites became a short ride downtown... In fact, they were on a ship arraigned walking tour of the Art Deco buildings of Napier starting from the I-center...

This is the most commercial touist centric stop so far... The loo at the "information center" cost $.20 (NZ). There are Duck tours, Tricycle tours (V8 powered three wheel motor cycles), wine tours, both escorted and virtual...

We opted for the Art Deco walking tour offered by the Art Deco Trust... We had booked in advance... Napier was wiped out by an earthquake in in 1931, raising the entire town several meters, and starting a fire that destroyed everything that survived the quake... being the early 1930's, Art Deco was the style of choice, along with a bit of mission revival and Prairie style (so long Frank Lloyd Wright...) so the downtown is an Art Deco paradise... The town recognizes this, and efforts art made to maintain and preserve the buildings. The town seems to celebrate its heritage with people dressed in 1930's clothing small jazz bands and lots of antique cars to be found... Of course, following local cruise ship tradition, their was a group of bag-pipers performing as well.

We met our guide from the Art Deco Trust at the I-center downtown... (I-Center being NZ for visitor's information center)... Then worked our way from on end of town to the other... the tour ending at the Art Deco center... T and I worked our way bck through town, towards the waterfront, checking out stores, and stoping a couple of times at cafes... The second and last time at a cafe across from the I-center, and the return shuttle, with wifi, live music, to wait until the last shuttle or nearly so...

Back aboard, we found a table outside at the stern and watched as we sailed out, headed north... Meanwhile, at the pool, the crew were being trained, launching a life-raft in the pool, turning right side up, and floating about in their survival suits... Watching, I am comfortable in the knowlage that should our ship hit a reef, overturn and sink we know we will be safe, at least if the ship and reef are in a swimming pool...

The eastern coast of New Zealand is off to port... It is a rough coast, with inlets and islands, most likely explored and named by Captain Cook...

P.S. Yes, Napier had a log and wood chip dock... located just beyond the World