Day 54 Wellington, New Zealand

Today was pretty frigid sailing into Wellington. The strong winds were pretty brutal… tough to shoot photos. Once we docked the conditions improved. My heritage walk worked out pretty well. We saw some of the old historic areas and went through some of the side streets and out of the way places. The visit to Old St Paul’s church was a bit awkward since there was a funeral… we quickly departed. Once again, the gardens here were fabulous. I even ran into Ron & Wil while I was on my tour. Once the tour was over, I took the cable car up to the top of the hills overlooking Wellington. I then toured around the city a bit before returning to the ship. Tomorrow we are in Napier, New Zealand. I will be going something a bit different, looking at wildlife. Here is my tour: Cape Kidnappers Station & Gannet Safari--- Begin your excursion with a drive down Napier’s beautiful Marine Parade with its stand of Norfolk pines. Continue along the Hawke’s Bay coast to Cape Kidnappers Station. From there, the unpaved road crosses rolling pastures, riverbeds and gullies. You will stop just a few yards from the gannet colony at Cape Kidnappers, affording a close up look of the birds. The gannet is a member of the booby family, recognized by the distinctive black eye marking and a pale gold crown. The birds arrive here in the latter part of July; the chicks hatch in late November and December. Migration begins again in March. You will see gannets swooping and diving into the sea for food, while others preen themselves or perform the dance of the recognition ritual. Cape Kidnappers is one of only two known mainland gannet colonies in the world. Following your gannet-watching experience, you will head to Cape Kidnappers Station for refreshments. Then begin your journey back to Napier with an orientation drive through the art deco district en route to the ship.