akaroa and christchurch.

Our first of two stops on the south island of New Zealand was the beautiful harbour of Akaroa, which is about an hour and a half drive from Christchurch, the largest city on the south island.  Akaroa is a small town of only about 570 permanent residents, but is a popular tourist spot due to a large population of Hector dolphins, which are the world's smallest and rarest dolphin.  There is also a huge colony of albatross located near the entrance to the harbour, which we were able to glimpse from the ship as we sailed away.

we had to take tender boats from the ship to the dock - fun!

Akaroa.

Before we planned our trip I was a bit concerned that we wouldn't have much to do in Akaroa due to its small size, so Candice and I decided to purchase an excursion to Christchurch.  The bus ride to Christchurch was beautiful, as it traveled up through the surrounding hills and featured incredible views of the harbour.  I should also mention that Akaroa Harbour is an extinct volcanic crater, so as you can imagine I was loving it!  The ride was long though, so we were glad when the bus finally arrived in Christchurch for our brief tour.  The driver showed us a few interesting and significant locations on our way to the Botanic Gardens, most of which had to do with the aftermath of the 2010 through 2012 earthquakes.  We were then dropped off and told we had a little over an hour to explore before we had to be back on the bus for our next stop.  So Candice and I grabbed our city map and headed off to make the most of it!

view of the harbour (and our ship) from the bus

surrounding hills

Christchurch Botanic Gardens

Our first stop was the Christchurch Cathedral, which was built between 1864 and 1904 and which was damaged extensively during the February 2011 earthquake.  The most prominent feature of the church, a 207-foot high spire, was completely destroyed during this earthquake, and most of the other portions of the church were damaged.  It was a very sad reminder of the over 1,000 buildings in the CBD (one third of all the buildings in the city) that were demolished following the earthquakes, with several hundred additional buildings that are unsafe and have yet to be demolished.  Despite this incredible loss, there were many beautiful new art installations and memorials built around the church and throughout the city, and we were very moved by the constant message that Christchurch is growing and rebuilding.

Christchurch Cathedral

Flag Wall art installation at Cathedral Square

Bridge of Remembrance

punting (boating) along the Avon river

After visiting the Christchurch Cathedral and seeing much of the demolition of the city, we paid a visit to the Cardboard Cathedral, which is a transitional church built following the earthquakes for the community of the original Christchurch Cathedral.  As the name suggests, it is made primarily of cardboard, but also includes recycled shipping containers forming the walls.  It is quite a striking and beautiful cathedral, especially considering the relative simplicity of the design and building materials.  

Cardboard Cathedral

inside the cathedral

Across the street from the Cardboard Cathedral we visited a temporary art memorial of 185 empty white chairs that symbolises the 185 people who were killed in the February 2011 earthquake.

Another recently built area that we wanted to see was the Re:START container mall, which is an outdoor mall made entirely out of shipping containers.  There were banks, cafes, clothing stores, and many different shops in the mall, and each container was painted in different colours either corresponding to the business or simply to draw the customers eye.

some of the sculptures from the summer's "Christchurch Stands Tall" fibreglass giraffe art project

Sadly that was all the time we had in Christchurch city, before we were whisked off to the second part of our tour, the International Antarctic Centre.  Christchurch is the departure point for many expeditions and serves as the major base for New Zealand, Italian and US Antarctic programs.  As Christchurch was accumulating so much gear and equipment from these expeditions, they decided to build a museum and visitor centre, which also provides base facilities for ongoing and upcoming expeditions.  

Upon our arrival at the centre, we were immediately thrown into Hagglunds, which are these awesome track driven all-terrain vehicles that are still used today during expeditions.  The driver had us strap in and then drove us to an obstacle course where he proceeded to demonstrate the abilities of the Hagglund, such as climbing 45-degree inclines, going over crevasses, and floating and propelling through water.  It was quite the fun thrill ride, and a great start to our tour!

Hagglund-riding

Next we were taken into an Antarctic storm simulator, where most of us had jackets on, but one volunteer had to endure it in just a t-shirt.  It was definitely cold, but we were only in the simulator for a couple minutes so it wasn't too intense.  We then saw some adorable little blue penguins, which are the smallest species of penguin in the world, and experienced a 4-D Antarctic Expedition movie (which is where your seat vibrates and they spray you with water).  By that point we were starving so had some lunch at the cafe, which prevented us from exploring more of the museum, but like I said it was a bit of a rushed day.

bundled up inside the storm simulator

blue penguins

Now that we've been through the process once, I think we both agree that we would choose to stay in Akaroa next time.  We were very glad to see Christchurch and spend a bit of time exploring the city, but unfortunately the distance between the harbour and the city made our day very rushed.  The long travel distance wasn't always necessary, but the former port the cruise ships used to dock at in Lyttelton Harbour was damaged in the 2011 earthquake, so they now anchor in Akaroa.  Perhaps they'll change locations again when the port is repaired, but it would also be a shame if future cruisers had to miss out on the spectacular beauty of Akaroa and the native wildlife found throughout the volcanic harbour.

BK

wellington.

enjoying a coffee by the Wellington waterfront

Our last stop on the North Island of New Zealand was a visit to Wellington, the capital city known by the locals as Windy Wellington, and also referred to as cultural capital of New Zealand and the "coolest little capital in the world."  As for the windy designation, Candice and I were very underwhelmed.  There was a nice seabreeze throughout our time in the city, but it was quite comfortable.  Our neighbourhood in Melbourne has a significant windstorm on a weekly basis, with gale force winds not uncommon, so we were expecting a bit more.  However, I can attest that Wellington is the coolest little capital I've been too, and one of the more beautiful cities I have yet visited.

Like all of the places we visited on our cruise, we had not done any prior research on things to see and do in Wellington, so after walking into the city from the ship we headed towards the first interesting building we could see.  This turned out to be the Parliament building, which was surrounded by other beautiful government buildings and a huge cathedral.  

Parliament and other government buildings

We then made our way back towards the waterfront which has a long promenade that we spent the rest of the morning walking along.  The water was a striking aquamarine colour and the city is surrounded by rolling hills, which we both appreciate as it allows for great pictures from the water and great pictures of the water from the hills.

The CBD has a few nice parks and fountains, and a lively area around Cuba Street, which is a pedestrian only street with fun shops, cafes and street performers. We had lunch here at a Kiwi kebab cafe that was quite yummy, then made our way to the Wellington Cable Car.  

whimsical Bucket Fountain

all the informational street signs featured unique sculptures

It took only a couple minutes to get to the top of the hill, which features excellent views of the city and water, as well as a fun little cable car museum.  After enjoying the views, we took a beautiful walking path back down to the city through the Botanic Gardens and a 100-year old cemetery.

inside the cable car

cable car heading back to the heart of the city

Botanic gardens

old cemetary

After spending a day in Wellington it seems to Candice and I that it should be called "the biggest little earthquake capital in the world."  Wellington is built on a significant active fault line and experiences multiple large earthquakes every year, with some locals informing us that there are small earthquakes felt on almost a daily basis that no one even bothers to report.  Candice and I are pretty convinced we felt a small earthquake or two in our few hours in Wellington, though the ground was swaying quite a bit for me from being at sea so I can't be certain.  I looked up a website that tracks earthquakes in that area which indicated there were 172 earthquakes in the past month, or 5 to 6 per day, so there's a good chance it wasn't just me swaying!

One of the main highlights of Wellington that we didn't visit is called Te Papa (meaning Our Place) and is the national museum and art gallery of New Zealand.  We had initially planned to spend some time there, but with the weather being so nice and our limited amount of time in the city, we decided to explore as much as we could.  Plus it's always nice having a reason to visit again.

BK

napier.

Our ship docked in the city of Napier at noon, on another day of amazing weather. We had to take a complimentary shuttle bus to the main city, as the dock was near a busy and remote construction area.

our view from the ship

Located in Hawke's Bay, Napier is known for its Art Deco vibe. After a devastating 7.8 earthquake in 1931, the city was rebuilt with the current fashionable architecture of the time - think "the Great Gatsby" and the Jazz Age. The Art Deco style incorporates symmetrical patterns, geometric shapes, and pastel colours - and as a bonus, this architectural style is a lot more earthquake-friendly.

decorative tiles around the city, with Art Deco patterns

informational display of pictures from before the 1931 earthquake

The main city area is pretty small - popular attractions include a museum, Deco Centre, and the National Aquarium of New Zealand. We didn't visit any of these things, as we decided it was a perfect day to explore the area by foot and just enjoy the scenery.

We walked around the main town, grabbed an iced coffee and visited some local shops to browse Art Deco-period clothes and art. We took a stroll along the water, then found a little passageway in a surrounding neighbourhood that lead to a zig-zagging path with a steep incline. There, we discovered a little viewing platform to see the town from afar!

view of Napier from the platform

Millenium Sculpture by the water

We also wandered by a high school, where we observed signposts that featured both the English and Maori words for school buildings. One thing we've noticed about New Zealand in general is that they seem very intentional about incorporating the native culture, which is awesome.

We headed back into the city and took pictures of sculptures, fountains, Art Deco buildings, and festive holiday deco-rations (sorry, couldn't help myself!). There were even some people dressed up in Art Deco flair, posing by the antique cars -which anyone was able to hire/rent for a leisurely drive around the city!

Art-Deco-con!

the Heritage Fountain featuring symbols representing Hawke's Bay

heading into the city. note the Art Deco Sbux.

"A Wave in Time" sculpture, modeled after the daughter of one of Napier's architects

awesome artwork on the side of a building

Tom Parker fountain

Pania of the Reef statue

Clive Square

Waiapu Anglican Cathedral of St. John

As we headed back to the ship, we were greeted by a 30's style jazz band, putting on a delightful performance near a display of more antique cars. 

fun 30's-style jazz band performing outside the ship

Without visiting any of the museum/aquarium attractions, there wasn't a whole lot to do - but we definitely enjoyed our time of exploring Napier, enjoying the beautiful architecture and artwork. 

CK