DAY 58 DAY 46 SERENITY

NAPIER, New Zealand

We enjoyed  a  pre dinner drink at Palm Court so we could watch the arrival.    At 4:45 PM Captain Birger spoke from the bridge and said the Pilot was running late and should arrive by 5:30 PM rather than 5:00 PM which would delay our arrival by around 30 minutes or more.

Anne Marie with Nat.

At one point we could see a vessel coming towards the ship and suspected it was the pilot boat and this was confirmed a minute or so later.

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We enjoyed dinner at Waterside and following are the dinner menus.

Anne Marie had a Mushroom Salad Entree and Keith had Tuna Tartare.  We both had salads and Red Snapper with Curry.  The entree had the right touch of spice for us. 

We had docked at Napier at 6:30 PM last evening.  Given the time of arrival we remained on board Serenity.

We slept well and began today as  we normally do with a workout  for Keith at the Fitness Center followed by breakfast in our room.

This is our fourth visit to this city.

Napier has a total population of 63,000 residents.  

The downtown area is a 10 minutes drive from thee port.

Napier is a coastal city.  The region is renowned for its wine-producing area of Hawke's Bay.

Major highlights include:

Hawkes Bay Museum is both museum and art gallery.

National Acquarium which has the largest display of aquatic life and New Zealand wildlife.

Acrt Deco Trust Building which has the look of thee Art Deco architecture which took hold in the city following the massive destruction of the city from the 1931 earthquake.

Botanical Gardens which have several walking tracks and includes the remnants of two historic well which were used 100+ years ago.

We have done tours in the past of Napier and the surrounding areas so we didn't plan a tour for today.  Instead we took the shuttle into town.  Today was the Art Deco Festival which included a parade.  Many people were decked out in attire appropriate for the Art Deco period.  

We have mentioned this previously but we very much enjoy New Zealand.  Each area has charm and character, the weather is terrific, there is so much beauty and the people are very nice.  

After returning to Serenity we enjoyed lunch at Marketplace.

Afterwards, Anne Marie walked and Keith played Paddle Tennis.  While Keith played Paddle Tennis he took a break to watch portions of an amazing flight show.  Vintage Aircraft flew overhead.   They did many maneuvers flying in formation and also flying solo and put on an amazing show.  Anne Marie saw this while walking outside and took a few photos.

Following is the daily Reflections Program.

Cheers,

​Anne Marie & Keith