Author Archives: bettesbatson

Napier is a city on Hawke’s Bay on the eastern side of the north island of New Zealand. The entire city was rebuilt in the Art Deco style following an earthquake in 1931. These buildings are the best collection of Art Deco buildings on the planet. Our guide, Jan, wanted to know if there were any people from Miami (should have asked about Miami Beach) where there is a very large collection of Art Deco buildings. The area is a big wine producing area. Our tour was to see the world’s largest colony of gannets – a sleek, White Sea bird known for its diving fish catching technique.

Napier is a major shipping port for lumber. Before Covid, 3 million tons of lumber went from this port. It is starting to get back to those numbers now.

The 1931 earthquake destroyed not only Napier, but the town of Hastings too. The towns are about 7 miles apart. The earthquake raised the land along the shoreline, adding 1,000s of feet of land. The wooden buildings in the town mostly survived, but any that were built of masonry did not. It took only 2 years for the city to rebuild. Although the buildings were built in the Art deco style, it was not until 1960, that they realized what a treasure they had and preservation began then. Our guide told us that in a few weeks they would have a huge art deco festival, with people dressing up in clothes from the 30s, old cars, parades and old plane flyovers.

We drove through a few small towns to get to the entrance to the gannet area. We had to drive through privately owned land. The family had owned this property for 6 generations. They have sold some and currently only manage 2,000 acres. They have recently added a golf course and high end hotel, about $4,800NZD a night. They still farm, raise cattle and timber.

The gannet colony on Cape Kidnappers is the largest that can be easily accessed. There are about 20,000 birds in the area. There were 3 different sites we could see, 2 down below the cliffs, and one on the top of the cliff. The males return in July and August and start to dig a bowl shape to start the nest. When the females return, the males will use seaweed to drape around them as part of the mating. The new birds are hatched in November and December and by April the birds leave. We saw adults, some of the younger chicks which were white fuzzy birds and the juveniles which were speckled. Our guide told us that the juveniles would be fledging in the next month or so. These birds feed only on fish and dive deep, up to 100 feet, to capture their food. The first flight the birds make take them to Tasmania and other islands off the coast of Australia. When they leave they stay at sea or in the air until they return to nest in New Zealand.

We also learned why the place is called Cape Kidnappers. Apparently when Captain Cook landed in this area around 1769, he had a dark skinned cabin boy that the Māori thought had been “kidnapped” and rescued him. When they found out he was with the ship willingly he was returned but the waters were named Cape Kidnappers.

It was really a very interesting day.

Today we were transferred from our hotel to our cruise ship in the morning. Because of New Zealand’s strict biodiversity laws we had lots of questions to answer and forms to show.

We boarded the ship and had lunch and then waited for our cabin to be ready. Once we got to our room, only 2 of our bags were there. Our tracker said the other bag was at a different terminal and we were concerned because there was another cruise ship leaving from that terminal. Fortunately, by the time we unpacked and got all of our clothing and stuff put away the last bag showed up. It was the one we had filled with all the things like body wash, shampoo, extra deodorants and things like that. With this trip being over 30 days, we needed extra of everything we normally bring.

We are now truly ready to get going.

Lots of views of our home away from home.

We started this adventure on January 8 flying from Fort Myers to Houston and then on to Auckland, New Zealand. We had fortunately booked our hotel for a day prior so our room was available as soon as we got to the hotel and although we had slept on the long flight, we were tired and slept for about 3 hours.

We went out to walk to a large park near our hotel called The Domain. It was extremely hot and humid and after seeing the duck pond came back to the hotel. There was a museum in the park, but we did not have the energy to go to it.

We spent the afternoon watching American football games, that is the royal we, really only Bob watched. Had a lovely dinner in the hotel bar, my pulled brisket burger with 2 different sauces was supposedly the best in Auckland, and I have to admit it was very good.

The hotel was full of Jehova Witnesses who were having their worldwide annual convention in Auckland. They were all friendly, wore costumes and, sort of like at Disney, had lanyards full of pins. There were over 3,000 in the city and our hotel was hosting about 500. All the ones we spoke to were from the United States.

We tried to stay awake until 9:30, to hopefully get onto New Zealand time, but failed. An early to bed it was.

As you can guess from the title to this post, we are going to be covering lots of ground in the next few weeks. Stay tuned.

Our last 2 ports of call were Quebec City and then Montreal. In Quebec we had hired a private guide for a walking tour. His name was Guy (pronounced Gee) and he was wonderful. His guiding was more like having a conversation with a friend so I took very few notes. I also took very few photos. We walked on the boardwalk near the Chateau Frontenac and heard about how the city was formed.

We saw several churches, heard stories about early people who started schools for the Native People and the French communities. We heard about first the French coming and then the British. We saw the Plains of Abraham where a big battle was fought, that only lasted 10 minutes but had great impact in the development of the United States. He explained how the conflict between the French and British actually led to the establishment of our country.

We walked for 2.5 hours and then enjoyed a local lunch with him.

In Montreal, we just grabbed a map and wandered. It turned into a hot day and we needed to pack to leave. Some photos of what we saw.

The last small town we visited was Saguenay. Unfortunately the weather was foggy and rainy so we did not see the beautiful scenery as we sailed in or out of the fjord and river named Saguenay. I had been here in September on a cruise and a post about Saguenay can be found at bsbat.wordpress.com.

Saguenay is the largest city in area in Quebec. It is the merger of 7 cities about 15 years ago. They could not agree on what to call the combined city so they took the name of the fjord, river and national park. The population of the area is about 125,000.

The bay is called (in native language) Aha Bay which means dead end. In 1996 there were many days of rain which caused the dams to overflow and flood the town, washing away homes, roads and other infrastructure.

Our tour was about craftsmen in the area. Our first stop was at a glass blower’s studio. He did 2 pieces while we watched. One was a ball with an intricate inner design and the second was a hummingbird. We then had time to shop in his gallery. He had been doing this for 35 years.

Our second stop was at a fromagerie. The family had been in the cheese making business for 39 years. It started as a side business for the family when they made excess cheese and sold it to neighbors. The current business employs 125 people and they produce cheese 7 days a week, 24 hours a day. They produce cheddar cheeses and we got to taste 6 types. Their store was packed with locals buying cheese.

Our last stop was at an alpaca farm, where they raise alpacas and then use the wool to make products. We saw a movie about alpacas, where they originated and how their wool is different from sheep and other animals. They had pretty products for sale, but who needs more wool items when you live in Florida.

Some facts we learned about the area:

1. The area was settled in the late 1600s for fur trade.
2. The tides range up to 9 feet from low to high tide.
3. The bay freezes in the winter and when the ice is 12 inches thick people put ice houses out to fish through the ice, or as our guide said to drink beer. They actually create streets on the ice and the city plows them so you can drive to your ice house.
4. The Price family ( these folks were mentioned in many of the places we stopped) arrived and developed pulp mills, built dams for power.
5. The industrialist Arthur Vining Davis came to the area developing a planned city called Arvida ( first 2 letters of his names), aluminum production, dams and other infrastructure. In 1926 he had the largest aluminum plant in the world.
6. Surprisingly there were many above ground swimming pools at private homes we passed.
7. The town has a large military base. It is part of NORAD and they always have a F18 fighter jet ready to lift off in no more than 5 minutes.
8. 95% of the population only speak French.
9. The fjord is 60 miles long and has both fresh and salt water. At points it is 1,000 feet deep and the cliffs rise 1,000 feet on either side.
10. Daycare costs $8.10 per child per day!
11. The town has 2 colleges, one for pilot training and one for media training.

The next town we went to in Newfoundland was Corner Brook. Corner Brook became a city in 1956 and has a current population of 20,000. The area population is around 40,000. The city is surrounded by mountains and they are part of the Appalachian Mountain belt. Most people are employed by the hospital system or the pulp and paper mill. There are 3 college campuses in the area.

The Humber River runs along the edge of town and is fished for the Atlantic salmon. Atlantic salmon are multi year salmon, they do not die after they spawn. Our first stop was to see The Man in the Mountain, a face in the side of the mountain. Fortunately our guide had a photo to show us where to look to see the face. Once you see it, it is easy to see, but trying to look on your own is not easy to find it.

Our next stop was at the Marble Mountain Ski area to see the Heritage Tree. It is 50 feet tall and carved with many designs telling the story of the area from the oldest of times. It was erected during Canada’s centennial.

We then went to the Captain James Cook Monument. In 1767, the famous British explorer and cartographer surveyed the Bay of Islands and was the first to map the area. His maps were so accurate that they were used until the 20th century. He also sailed the world and mapped many other areas.

Our final stop in Corner Brook was at the Margaret Bowater Park. The park is an oasis in the center of the city with playgrounds, walking/hiking trails and a natural swimming pool made by damming the river that runs through the park. It was donated to the city by Sir Edward Bowater who owned the paper mill and named for his daughter.

Our next small city was Sept-Íles which is in the province of Quebec. It was named by Jacques Cartier, a French explorer. The main source of industry is iron, either the manufacture of or the transportation of. Because of this they built a huge seaport and the town grew quickly because of all the work done in building that and then for the production of iron products. The population of the city is about 28,000. The town of Sept-Íles did not get electricity until 1947.

Our tour centered on the combining of the Native people and the explorers from France and then England. The Native people were either Innu or Inuit. They used the rivers in the area to travel between their summer homes along the river and their winter homes in the mountains.

We stopped at a garden/park along the river to see what the landscape was like.

Then we went to the museum that told the story of how the Native People lived. We saw representations of how each season was used in their lives. There was also a movie that showed them hunting for caribou and then using their skills to use every part of the animal. We saw fishing techniques and finally a meeting of various families that occurs each spring when they come down from the mountains and camp by the rivers. Our guide in the museum was a young man who was interesting to listen to. After his talk, I asked if there were many who still lived in the traditional ways and he said no, not many. It is sad that this way will be lost, but the schools in the area teach the native languages so that part of the culture will not be lost.

Our last stop was at the recreation of the Old Trading Post. In 1673, the French came to the area and established a series of trading posts in this area, calling it New France. Eventually the French were conquered by the British around 1759. These posts were all part of the Hudson Bay Company, which actually closed down this year. The trading was beneficial to both the Europeans and the Native People. The Native people were able to trade their furs, the beaver being the most valuable fur, and getting in return tools made with iron, like hatchets, knives, cooking pots and even foods. The furs were highly coveted in Europe by the rich for their extravagant clothing, hats and shoes.

At the entrance to the port where our ship was anchored was this metal sculpture of a whale. It was filled with plastic goods, to encourage people to be more careful of the oceans, rivers and other waterways.

The day started with bright sun and warmish temperatures. We had an excursion to go to L’Anse aux Meadows National Historic Park. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is believed to be the first European settlement in North America.

Saint Anthony is on the northern tip of the island part of Newfoundland. It is part of the Viking Trail. It is also famous for having huge icebergs floating in the bays and harbors and there is a big festival in June to celebrate their arrival. We did not see any icebergs on our visit.

We learned about Dr. Wilfred Grenfell, who came to this area in the early part of the 19th century. He built hospitals, schools and orphanages to help the poor native Inuit and European settlers. There was a museum dedicated to him and what he did to help build the community.

The town of Saint Anthony has a population of 2,000. It used to be a fishing village, but with different rules and regulations fishing has been pushed aside as the main way to earn a living. Now the hospital is the largest employer. There are over 100,000 moose in Newfoundland. People hunt them as well as caribou, black bears and seals. When hunted all parts of the animal is used. The hunting is not for sport.

Along the roadside were huge piles of cut wood. We learned that many people in this area use wood stoves for warmth and even cooking. They can get a permit to cut wood for $25 and people are respectful of the already cut wood and don’t take it.

As we drove, there were many coves and lakes.

When we reach the park, we were able to walk through seeing the remains of the original Viking settlement. There were some structures that had been recreated.

We then boarded our school bus (no fancy coaches here) and drove about 3 minutes to a locally sponsored site called, Norstead. It was a site that had reenactment of Viking times. There was a Viking boat replica. Various buildings with a blacksmith, weavers, potters and even ax throwing.

As you can see from the photos, we had a lovely sunny day, but very windy.