New Zealand Ports

[Plant]

We'll be in the following ports. Where can we easily walk from the port to "town" and sightseeing? Are there any "must not miss" sights?

 

Wellington

Napier

Tauranga

Auckland

 

Thanks!

[ozziepost]

Wellington and Auckland ports are within easy walking distance inti the town centres. Because Napier is a working port you are not allowed to walk to the gate instead a shuttle will be provided into the town centre. I'm not a hundred per cent certain about Tauranga as we have done ship excursions into the thermal areas from that port although I think the town centre is within walking distance from the wharf.

 

 

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[Opua Kiwi]

Wellington : Mandatory shuttle to town due to recent earthquake damage;

 

Napier: Mandatory shuttle to town due to a working port;

 

Tauranga: docked right at Mount Maunganui, the lovely seaside town on the other side of the harbour from Tauranga. Easy walk to both harbour side beach and ocean side beach.

 

Auckland: docked right downtown.

Edited January 21, 2017 by Opua Kiwi

[SF]

Besides the above ports (Rotorua/Tauranga and Wellington) our cruise will also be visiting

Bay of Islands

Akaroa

Dunedin

 

And even though this thread is originally about New Zealand ports we will also be visiting Melbourne, Australia

 

Any thoughts or information on these ports? Are these ports easy to explore on your own or are tours suggested? We are trying to plan our trip to make sure we get the most of our visit and would appreciate any help in deciding which ports to do on our own and which ports to take tours in.

[Opua Kiwi]

Bay Of Islands : Tender to Waitangi, free shuttle or pleasant 20 min walk to Paihia. Tours available there, or catch the passenger ferry to visit Russell.

 

Akaroa: Tender right to the village. 90 minute scenic drive to Christchurch. Local tours available at the wharf

 

Dunedin: Docked at Port Chalmers 20 minute drive to Dunedin. Local public buses available but they don't run that frequently. Local shuttles are provided and far more convenient. NZD 15 return payable direct at the bus. Apparently some cruise lines charge onboard for the ticket but that just makes it a bit more expensive.

[SF]

Thank you for all the information and the good suggestions.

[Plant]

Thank you to those who answered my question!

SF, you might want to post your question separately to get the best answers. Our cruise isn't going to the port's you named.

[TLCOhio]

We'll be in the following ports. Where can we easily walk from the port to "town" and sightseeing? Are there any "must not miss" sights?

Wellington

Napier

Tauranga

Auckland

Thanks!

 

Appreciate these DIY interests/desires and agree that Auckland and Wellington are the best, most likely places for walking from the port to "town". To reach, in the other two ports, and maybe for Wellington and Auckland, what we would view as the "best" might be requiring more "logistics" to get there and back, efficiently and quickly. If you only traveled in the Caribbean on previously cruises, it might be harder to appreciate that the options and potentials are different in and around Australia and New Zealand.

 

Trade-offs? Do you just want easy to walk round and see quickly? Or, seek the most memorable and unique places in and around these NZ ports? What's your priority, budget flexibility, etc.??

 

Tell us more! What do you most like to do and explore? History? Shopping? Culture? Nature? Food? Arts? Architecture? Music? Wildlife? Scenic countrysides? Being more "aggressive" in doing more? Or, more relaxed and laid-back? How flexible is your budget? Spending more sometimes does allow you to see and experience more and in these very "special" locations.

 

From my live/blog connected below, you can see more specific options and details. Since there is so much offered in these many postings, here is a quick short-cut: Page 29, post #571, has an index to find pictures, locations/port specifics. Page 29, post #569, has where we stayed, tour providers/contacts, etc.

 

Below are a few of my visuals to highlight some places we enjoyed. Added questions? Happy to share more.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Enjoyed a 14-day, Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Sydney to Auckland adventure, getting a big sampling for the wonders of "down under” before and after this cruise. Go to:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974139

for more info and many pictures of these amazing sights in this great part of the world. Now at 167,671 views for this posting.

 

 

While at Cape Kidnappers near Napier, NZ, we arranged a private, three-course, gourmet lunch at the exclusive resort here that overlooked both the Pacific Ocean and the famed golf course ranked as the 22nd best in the world. Here are members of our 14-person, Central Ohio group enjoying this scenic and dramatic setting and the beautiful weather this day. I used my 10-20mm wide-angle lens to capture this shot.:

 

 

 

Here is one of the famed gannets from Cape Kidnappers near Napier along the eastern NZ coast. This is just one small sampling of many large groups of these super cute birds that we saw here as they were nesting.:

 

 

 

We started out our day in Wellington by hooking up with an excellent cab driver for a mini-tour and introduction to this city. This included first going up to Mount Victoria for a great overview of the city and seeing many sights around town. Here is an overview for this city from this great location on a wonderful weather day. We could also the residential structures that climb up the hills all around this great, scenic harbor. And, we had a view of the Wellington airport where the top movie/computer operations for Peter Jackson and James Cameron are working their magic for future film releases. Wellington is now the center for this type of film production in the world. There was also a closer view of the Te Papa museum shown below from this vantage point.:

 

 

 

This is Old St. Paul's church in Wellington. It is the former cathedral in the Diocese of Wellington for the Anglican Church. As an example of 19th-century Gothic Revival architecture, they adapted to colonial conditions and materials. It is at 34 Mulgrave Street, close to the New Zealand Parliament. Its construction was completed in June 1866. After a significant battle to prevent its demolition, Old St. Paul's was purchased by the New Zealand Government in 1967 and restored. Although not a parish church, it remains consecrated and is a popular for weddings, funerals and other services. It is constructed from native NZ timbers. The interior has been likened to the upturned hull of an Elizabethan galleon with its exposed curving trusses and roof sacking. The flags displayed in the nave include the Royal Navy, NZ Merchant Navy and US Marine Corps. Many of our Marines were stationed in Wellington during World War II. My wife is in yellow walking down the center aisle as she absorb the building details. This was a very important and "moving" site to experience. :

 

 

 

 

In Rotorua in the late 1800's they planted a massive grove of redwood trees from California as a test site. These trees (and the pines from Monterey) grow at a rate about three times faster than in their native areas. Karen from our Central Ohio group is shown here enjoying these redwoods and giving some sense for their size and height after only about a hundred years of growth. These redwood grew well, but the quality of the wood was not as successful as they got from the pines. Log production of these pines is now one of NZ's most successful crops in their fertile soils helped by this volcanic enrichment.:

 

 

 

At Te Puia near Rotorua in northern New Zealand during the Tauranga port stop, this Maori performance starts its ceremonies outside and then we entered the Wahiao Meeting House. Fortunately (with some skill), I was in a prime front row seat to be able to get great pictures, video, etc. Plus, experience the quality for how these members share these cultural traditions.: