Following breakfast guests will take the scenic drive from Taupo to Cape Kidnappers (3hrs 15 mins including stops). On arrival we will enjoy a light lunch prior to golf.
SIGHTSEEING: Napier is located in Hawke’s Bay on the eastern coast of the North Island. It has a population of 60,000 and together with its sister city Hastings, is referred to as one of “The Bay Cities.” Its exceptional concentration of 1930s Art Deco architecture is symptomatic of the city having been razed by the 1931 Hawke’s Bay earthquake. Make a pilgrimage to Pania of the Reef, a statue of a figure of Māori mythology, and one of the most photographed tourist attractions in the country. Take a guided walk around the city, or visit the gannet colony at Cape Kidnappers.
Enjoy Napier on your own or via Azamara Shore Excursions®.
Overnight: At Sea
In Napier you can visit Pania of the Reef (one of the most photographed tourist attractions in the country), take a guided city walk, explore Cape Kidnappers or enjoy the day wine tasting at local vineyards.
The earthquake that struck Napier at 10:46 am on February 3, 1931, was—at 7.8 on the Richter scale—the largest quake ever recorded in New Zealand. The coastline was wrenched upward several feet. Almost all the town's brick buildings collapsed; many people were killed on the footpaths as they rushed outside. The quake triggered fires throughout town, and with water mains shattered, little could be done to stop the blazes that devoured the remaining wooden structures. Only a few buildings survived (the Public Service Building with its neoclassical pillars is one), and the death toll was well over 100.The surviving townspeople set up tents and cookhouses in Nelson Park, and then tackled the city's reconstruction at a remarkable pace. In the rush to rebuild, Napier went mad for art deco, the bold, geometric style that had burst on the global design scene in 1925. Now a walk through the art deco district, concentrated between Emerson, Herschell, Dalton, and Browning streets, is a stylistic immersion. The decorative elements are often above the ground floors, so keep your eyes up.