Sydney to Auckland

Napier; Hawke's Bay

1.11.18 - 1.11.18 70 °F

Our adventure today was heading inland somewhat from Napier and Hawke's Bay to three of the local wineries. Napier is interesting because when it was leveled by the earthquake of 1931, the town was rebuilt in Art Deco style and the people have made the decision to maintain that theme!

Our first stop was the Mission Estate Winery, the oldest in New Zealand, and founded by the Marist monks. Mission's story begins with a group of French Missionaries. They sailed to New Zealand with little more than their faith, generations of wine making experience and a few precious vines. They established Mission Estate in 1851 founding New Zealand's oldest winery.

Our second stop was Abbey Cellars. Founded in 2002, it is located in the red metal triangle of Bridge Pa, Hawke’s Bay, on 13 hectares of silted red metal soils, now sits a single estate winery, proud to be making some of the best wine New Zealand has to offer.

Our last stop of the morning was Ngatawara Cellars. From its beginnings as the key pioneer of the Bridge Pa Triangle in Hawke's Bay, Ngatarawa has grown to become one of the region’s premiere wine producers with an enviable international reputation. Ngatarawa is widely acclaimed for its Bordeaux style red wines, Syrah, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and dessert wine.

After thoroughly enjoying the grape, we took a scenic ride back to the ship through the town and were met by a period jazz band that serenaded us as we headed to sea.