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On February 6, we ported in Napier, New Zealand. This is the third time we have visited this city in the last few years. We decided not to leave the ship. Gail (finally) rested her feet and body after too many days of walking. Russell caught up on some work.
Napier is in the Hawke’s Bay area of the North Island. It is known for its local wines, as well as the art deco architecture throughout the city. If you want to know more about it, you can read about our 2020 visit here.
On February 7, we ported in Wellington, the southern tip of the North Island and New Zealand’s capital. Wellington is a wonderful walking city, with shopping districts and a beautiful wharf. It is also the center of New Zealand’s film-making industry, where Peter Jackson made his “Lord of the Rings” movies.
Again, we have been to Wellington several times before. You can read about our 2020 visit here:
Last year in 2023, the highlight of our Wellington stop was a visit to the Te Papa Museum. Peter Jackson’s company created an incredible and emotional exhibit about the Gallipoli campaign. During World War I, Australia and New Zealand forces tried to weaken the Ottoman Empire. The campaign failed, costing many lives, and is considered the birth of Australian and New Zealand nationalism. The two countries still celebrate Anzac Day.
The museum exhibit features gigantic representations of participants and their stories. It was supposed to be a temporary exhibit, but it was so successful it became a semi-permanent exhibit. (It is scheduled to close next year in 2025.) Gail was so moved that she had to leave the exhibit to collect herself.
This year, we did something completely different. We rode the Cable Car up a mountain to the Wellington Botanic Gardens, then walked back down to Lambton Quay. The gardens were beautiful, but another site on the way down took most of our time and attention.
Bolton Street Memorial Park is also known as Bolton Street Cemetery. This is Wellington’s oldest cemetery, dating back to 1840. Folks buried here include original settlers from the Victorian Era. The cemetery was intended to be non-denominational, so the deceased include Anglicans, Jews, Catholics, rich, poor, and Asians.
Significantly, in 1960 the city decided to build a motorway directly through the middle of the cemetery. Needless to say, this was hugely controversial. Ultimately, almost 4,000 bodies were exhumed to make way for the motorway, then reburied in a mass grave.
We spent several hours here, and could have spent hours more. As a genealogist, Gail was fascinated and moved by the stories that every headstone told.
Wellington was our last port in New Zealand. All of our stops have been on the North Island. Our itinerary called for us to make a scenic sail to the South Island, where we would see Milford Sound and Doubtful Sound. Unfortunately, the captain informed us that the sea conditions are too rough to visit the sounds. (The same thing happened last year.)
So we will skip the sounds and head directly to the Tasman Sea. We will spend five more days at sea before we arrive in Australia.
