Moose on the Loose: Napier, Tuesday 14 Mar

Napier is a hard luck story. We almost did not make this stop because on Valentine's Day, Cyclone (hurricane) Gabielle hit this town and the surrounding area of the Hawkes Bay region pretty hard. The two rivers that run through here merged, and ravaged the area. Thousands were without power and the roads, bridges and infrastructure took a significant hit.

We arrived on the month anniversary, and while Napier itself looked OK, they still cannot get to the north and west by road, so the timber that fuels the port cannot get here. Thousands of vegetables that are exported out of the port are under the debris from the storm, and the area is reeling.

We had a wine tour scheduled, and, by convincing a local winery to open up for the ship's tours, we were able to go.

We went first to Mission, the oldest winery in New Zealand. It was operated by Marist monks until about 20 years ago, and still makes most of the sacramental wine for NZ.

driveway to winery

the tasting room

the vineyards

the back "lawn" of the winery

At the edge of the property is a natural amphitheater where they hold concerts. The one scheduled in February, featuring Sting, had to be cancelled. They are hoping that the Rod Stewart/Cyndi Lauper will go on as planned.

The second winery was Urban Winery, a local chardonnay producer. It was a very eclectic winery, very good at recycling (even the building is repurposed).

the winery

Urban Winery's cellar

a small barrel in the tasting room

ever need an idea for old sheep skins?

once a tobacco company,
now a winery!!

Napier was almost destroyed by an earthquake in 1931. When they rebuilt, art deco was the style, and the town embraced it. They have a big festival (usually) -- it was scheduled to begin the 19th of Feb and had to be cancelled because of the cyclone.

Napier has many examples of art deco buildings