Two of our very best days of the entire cruise were spent on Friday, the 13th and Saturday, the 14th. These were the special days that we left the ship and went with a New Zealand couple to their home overnight.
Last year on our Mediterranean cruise, I happened to notice some people on the other side of the bus one row ahead of us on a tour bus in Dubrovnik, Croatia looking at their New Zealand passports. With what was clearly a brilliant deduction on my part, I asked them if they were from New Zealand! When they confirmed my suspicion, we told them that we were going to be visiting New Zealand in November 2009. We chatted briefly and agreed to meet them for lunch on the ship one day so we could show them our Australia and New Zealand itinerary. They gave us suggestions as to what we might want to see. We exchanged email addresses and stayed in touch from time to time through the year. Then several months ago, we received an email telling us that they lived between our ports in Napier and Tauranga and indicating that they could either come down to Napier and spend the day, do the same in Tauranga, or they could pick us up in Napier, take us to their home near Gisborne, NZ, and we could say overnight with them and they could return us in time to get back on the ship in Tauranga. Needless to say, we jumped at that wonderful and generous offer.
We were to meet Brian and Margaret Amor at about 9:30 but since we didn’t know the logistics of the port, we just said that we would come out beyond security, meet them when they arrived, and then bring them on board before we picked up our things and took them out to their car. We decided to leave the ship about 9:00 in case they were early and also to check out the logistics of how we were to meet them. When we went out, we were told that they could probably drive to the inner security check and park since they had approval to board the ship. However, we weren’t sure if they would ask if they could drive past the outer security perimeter so we tried to determine how we could be sure they weren’t sitting outside the farther gate while we waited inside the inner gate. So it was decided that Barb would wait inside the gate and I would take the shuttle bus to the outer gate. When I went to the shuttle bus to tell the driver my needs, he said I could walk to the outer gate in 5 minutes. So I trudged back and asked the security officer if I could walk to the outer gate. No, I couldn’t be on foot in that area but he had another couple he had to transport to the outer gate and I could ride out with him to wait. When I got out there, a car had driven up and was explaining to security what they wanted to do. It was Brian and Margaret! Perfect timing for a change! So they were given approval to drive farther in where they cleared ship security by letting the ship keep their passports until they departed and by having their names checked on the guest roster. After a quick tour of our stateroom and ship, we were on our way with them.
They gave us a quick tour of Napier on Hawke’s Bay in the renowned wine producing area of New Zealand. Napier had been destroyed by a devastating earthquake in 1931 and was rebuilt on the Art Deco architecture style beginning in 1932. Napier and South Beach in Miami are regarded as the two best preserved Art Deco communities in the world. Following a look at the Paila statue on the beach and the sunken gardens, we were in the car to head for their home in Gisborne. Shortly after we began, we noted a sign saying “Gisborne 213”, meaning we were 213 or a little more than 125 miles from their home. We drove over great roads (are you listening, Illinois politicians?) and through beautiful terrain with sheep and cattle dotting the landscape. It was a reminder of all the sheep we have seen in Wales and Scotland. After a break for lunch, we set out for Gisborne.
When Brian turned down the road toward home, Margaret suggested he give us a tour of the town first as it would save time later. Our first stop was for Barb to shop. We had been kept so busy, neither of us had had a moment to do any shopping in New Zealand. It turned out to be a store with good quality items at reasonable prices (the latter we realized when comparing them with similar products in other stores). They knew the proprietor on a first name basis so we wandered, looking for items distinctive to New Zealand to purchase. One interesting refrigerator magnet said “Gisborne, where the sun shines first.” It seems that their city of Gisborne is the first city west of the International Dateline. There are some hills small islands which sees daylight first, but Gisborne is the first city to start the new day. Right now, with their Daylight Savings Time and back home, now being on Standard Time, New Zealand is 19 hours ahead of Chicago. We still have a hard time remembering that time is figured by adding 5 hours to what our time is and subtracting a day. Thus, when it’s 4 PM in New Zealand, it’s 9 PM the previous day in Chicago!
The next stop was a surprise for us. They were showing us their business enterprise. We drove behind a building and were greeted by a sign saying “Amor’s Eggs”. We found they distribute all of their area with eggs. Brian called it a “small operation” as they “only” had 30,000 chickens – but enough to supply Gisborne and environs with their eggs. They don’t ship beyond their local area. While they deliver eggs to businesses, individuals can walk in (as several did while we were there) and purchase eggs for their family. Margaret does the accounting for the office and she introduced us to their daughter-in-law who runs the distribution end. In the next door building, Brian runs his mash manufacturing business. He explained that virtually every part of the chicken is utilized and they supply their chickens with the feed made there After a chicken is killed, the bones are ground to fine particles for later use. He also runs the business that sells the maize from the farm as well as mash to merchants and the general public. We thoroughly enjoyed that informative stop.
Next they took us to the harbor where some smaller cruise ships have docked. Even some Holland America ships have been there when other ports have been filled. We saw the monument to Captain James Cook, who first touched land in New Zealand right there in Gisborne. A few minutes later, we were on a hill above the harbor looking at another statue now called “The Imposter.” It was another statue of James Cook which was long thought to mark the spot where Cook had made landfall but later it was determined that the site we saw first was really the correct location.
Shortly afterwards, we were headed a little out of Gisborne to their home on a large approximately 100 acre farm. We drove past orchards of persimmons and oranges to their lovely home. As we have said previously, this could easily be an American home. After we brought in our overnight bags, Margaret worked on dinner, while Brian gave us a ride through their orchards. He explained that one son now runs the orchards and the other son, who lives on separate property near town runs the poultry farm (more on that later). In addition to the persimmons and oranges of various kinds, there are also kiwis, avocados, limes, and more. There are beehives in several areas which promotes the pollination.
Their son’s home adjoins the property as well and when we drove over there, we could see the sheep timidly viewing the strangers who were looking at them. Most of the sheep were in another paddock but we did see the few that were still behind the home. Brian took us over to see the pigs that came out of the barn to watch us watching them. As you know, Barb loves animals and nothing pleases her more than the opportunity to hold the cute little ones. Every chance she had in Australia, she held a koala and earlier in the week she bonded with a lamb she held. So I suggested she might see about holding the darling pig but she turned the suggestion down flat. Here was this little 75 pound pig looking up at her longingly, just wanting to be cuddled. Its curly tail was wagging (I didn’t know pigs wagged their tails) and standing with its front hooves in its food bowl (after first walking in a bit of mud), Barb still refused using the excuse that her shoulder surgery last January precluded her from holding such a heavy, but cute young pig. I told her THAT was a first – an animal she didn’t want to hold! I should have had our cousin, Dawn, to help her since she likes pigs and has worked with them, but alas, Dawn was probably in southern Illinois. Barb also used the feeble excuse that pigs don’t like to be handled and one has to grab one front and the opposite back leg if they were to be picked up. But I just knew that this particular pig would have let her hold it but since Barb still refused, I can only speculate.
When we returned home, we walked through the family gardens of beautiful spring flowers. About that time, we began to feel raindrops after a wonderful day with clear blue skies. It was a perfect time for the rain as we were going in for dinner and it was nearly time for sunset. Margaret had prepared an sumptuous dinner of “chook” (that’s a chicken who is beyond her days of laying eggs, but the meat is good if pickled and well-cooked), peas, tender cauliflower with a tasty cream sauce, carrots picked after we got back from Napier, and potatoes. Margaret said that regrettably they had had to buy the potatoes in the store but everything else was raised right there on the farm. Last fall’s (remember it’s springtime in New Zealand) potatoes had been eaten and they had to buy potatoes until their new crop was available. The dinner was outstanding and, despite the fact that the ship’s food is excellent, it was a wonderful change of pace. For dessert we had an absolutely huge serving of apple sponge with a choice of a special cream sauce, milk, and/or ice cream! As we ended dinner, the sun was trying to come out despite the rain, and sure enough we saw the rainbow in their garden.
Before going to bed, Brian and Margaret asked if we wanted to sleep in and get a late start or leave about 8 AM and have a leisure drive to Tauranga to catch the ship. If we left about 8, there would be time for some sightseeing. We opted for the latter, choosing to make the most of our opportunity to see whatever we could while on our visit. After the Friday evening rain, Saturday dawned bright and sunny and remained that way the entire day. It was the best day weather-wise from start to finish of any day in New Zealand.
First we went to their poultry farm full of 30,000 clucking hens doing what hens are “paid” to do. Brian commented that some feel that the enclosures are wrong but he commented that they are well fed and that when it’s cool, they get more heat and when it’s too warm, they get cool. They get to know their neighbors and are quite contented as we noticed as we watched the rows and rows of chickens. Scott and Margaret’s son and grandson do most of the work and while we were there, the conveyor belts were turned on and the eggs that had rolled into trays moved along and were sent for personal inspection and removal of cracked or damaged eggs before being put automatically into boxes dependent on the size of the egg. The cartons were automated as well, moving into place as each carton for each size was filled. Never having seen a poultry farm in operation, we found this necessary task fascinating. And, oh, Barb got to hold one of the happy hens and both posed for pictures.
Upon leaving Gisborne, we cut across a peninsula, avoiding a much longer trip around it and providing a chance to travel the length of the scenic Waioeka Gorge. We stopped off at a scenic rest area near the bottom of the gorge and walked down to the riverbed before enjoying a homegrown kiwi as a morning snack. After making the trek across the picturesque gorge, we stopped in a town of Opotiki for an early lunch. We marveled at the beauty of the terrain and, as well, enjoyed seeing the cattle and sheep which made the landscape even better. I must say that virtually without exception, there was no area in the two days we were with Brian and Margaret that was not beautiful. We reached the other side of the peninsula and went through several attractive beach resorts before arriving at Ohope where they have their beach house. Across the road but over a breakwall is the Bay of Plenty and not far behind them is where the boat launch is located. Thus, swimming and boating are available for those that wish to take advantage. We saw some beautiful new homes that had been constructed and a thriving downtown area to service residents, both permanent and seasonal.
As we came closer to Tauranga, we made one last stop at Kiwi360, a visitor center that gave tours of the kiwi orchards and of course had the large gift shop which featured many kiwi related products both edible and nonedible (shirts, jewelry, etc.). We both made a few purchases, taking advantage of the fact that we didn’t have a tour guide telling us we had 15 minutes or so before we had to jump back on the bus. I might say that having those two days with a private tour and tour guides were so wonderful. Where there was a good scenic picture, Brian would slow down and stop if traffic permitted unlike a bus which had a schedule to maintain.
Soon we were within sight of our ship again docked in Tauranga. While Brian wasn’t exactly sure where the ship would be, he drove right to it as though he did. What excellent tour guides Brian and Margaret were! They had planned the itinerary for us and had the timeframes nearly exact on both days. We appreciated beyond words how much effort they expended on our behalf to show us their beautiful native country. As much as we have liked our shore excursions, having friends show us the sights in areas they knew well was a wonderful once in a lifetime opportunity. We thank them from the bottoms of our hearts.
After we said our good-byes and took last pictures, we were reunited with the Amsterdam. However I took advantage of the fact that the ship sailed an hour later than expected, so I hopped off the ship again for a photo walk along the shore. Tauranga was a picturesque setting for the port and we found that Tauranga was the biggest export port in all New Zealand because of the fruits, especially kiwi that is grown nearby (Auckland is the biggest import port.)
While we enjoyed all of New Zealand, these were our two favorite days! But then it was on to Auckland and Bay of Islands at the far north of New Zealand.
Chuck
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