We sure did not expect to see such a beautiful view of Gisborne as the Zuiderdam entered Taranganui-a-kiwa or Poverty Bay early this morning. What was unusual to us was the color of the water in this bay because it resembled the tropical waters of French Polynesia. This is what Captain Cook saw when he made landfall in Gisborne in 1769, along with Young Nick, the surgeon's assistant who was first to spot land. They even named the entrance Young Nick's Head in his honor.
Unlike the last two ports, this one was a tender port with the ship at anchor instead of docked. It was also a short day here with all aboard at 2:30pm. Too bad, because this was our first visit here, and we sure could have spent more time in town. It turned out to be a gorgeous day weatherwise. Despite the shorter time, there were several tours here. A visit to a winery was $100, a ride on their steam train was $150, or a tour of a 2100 acre homestead ran $160. More reasonable excursions included a bike ride for $130, or a tour of their arboretum for $100. A popular tour was a walking excursion through town with three different stops for tastings. That ran $120. Later on, we heard that the tastings included some of the local wines and beers. One of our friends said the walk got harder and harder, so the tour operator called for a minivan to drive the guests from pub to pub. Only a few of the ladies took advantage of that.
We stayed on the ship until close to 11am, then proceeded down to the tender platform. It surprised us to see the boat bobbing up and down so much since it looked so calm from our room. Many helping hands got us onboard safely. The ride took at least 15 minutes or more, and ended up in a channel to the dock. That's where we found two nice information gals that were handing out excellent area and street maps. We asked where the main walking street was, and also inquired if there was a special pizza place they could recommend. One of the girls whipped out her cell phone, and called to check a favorite restaurant they liked, but found out they only opened at 4pm. They said there was a Domino's or a Pizza Hut……or we could stop at a place called The Rivers, which they said was good food and beer. We promised to look for it.
On our way towards the main street, we passed Greg and Heo already heading back to the ship. Having been here before, they covered the territory quickly. So we hiked up Gladstone Road taking photos of all of the historic buildings that lined both sides of the street. They have mostly been converted to small shops and boutiques and cafes. In the center of the shopping and business district stood the tall art deco clock that was built in 1934. It was right on time as the chimes went off at high noon.
Since we were not shopping for anything today, we went down a side street where we saw a river. Turns out there are three rivers that converge in town. The Taruheru, Waimata, and Turanganui rivers meet at Marine Park. We came upon one of these rivers after passing a nice McDonalds on the way. They were in full swing because it was lunch time. We made our way to the river trail where many bikers passed us. We are so used to hearing "on your left" that it is hard to remember everything is opposite here. The bikers pass on your right instead.
We located the area where the Farmers Market was in progress. It was a small one, but the produce was really nice. In addition, they sold honey and local wines. There were a few food vans and places where the locals could eat. Across the road, we also found the rose gardens and a craft market. Heo had said to stop and see it, even though it was "girly" stuff. He was correct, as most of the handmade items appealed to the ladies. Something that appealed to the fellows had to be the Mexican food truck serving spicy food. Sure smelled good.
It was a good time to head back and find that restaurant on the corner. It was called The Rivers, an appropriate name. We went inside and found it resembled an Irish pub. Checking a menu we saw they had some nice appetizers and draft beer. They must have had a shortage of wait staff, so we needed to go to the bar and order drinks. Eventually a waiter came and took our order of nachos to share. A plate arrived full of beans, cheese, hamburger, avocado, tomatoes and chopped onions which was piled on top of nacho chips. It has been ages since we shared this treat. Went well with Stella beers. We did add a slice of decadent chocolate cake with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Our time was limited, so we had to leave to catch one of the last tender boats.
This time the boat was full but left the pier right after we boarded. Getting back on board was interesting as the swells were still strong. Once again, many helping hands got us off safely. Back in our room, we watched as the last of the tenders were loaded back onboard. The anchor was pulled up, and we left the bay around 3:30pm.
We had an invitation to a private President's Club Get-Together to "catch the officers, release our queries, and shoot the breeze" from 4:30 to 5:30pm in the Gallery Bar. By the time we arrived, the room was full of guests, drinks in hand, and firing away those questions of the officers that attended. Within seconds, Twinkle brought our drinks and a round of canapies were passed around. We joined Maja, the guest relations manager, as well as the staff captain, Folkert, and the purser. We had a very nice visit with them, and did get many answers to our questions. Henk stopped by quickly and made sure we were fine since he has not seen us out and about too much. That is due to the fact we are enjoying the comfort and convenience of our room. We also thanked him for seeing that the traffic mirrors were installed on the promenade deck as we suggested last fall. He agreed that for safety reasons, it was an easy fix. Even though the officers left by 5:30pm, many of us stayed visiting for a while. It is seldom we see all of our group in one place. We did hear through the grapevine that another similar party was happening in the Crow's Nest at 6:30pm for the Neptune suite folks.
All of our tablemates were back tonight sharing stories of the day. The menu had even more different items such as sliced tenderloin, cobia fish, another type of duck, pot roast, and the always available chicken or salmon. Everyone seemed pleased with their choices, except for Barb who ordered only appetizers. She was feeling a bit under the weather tonight, and we sure hope she is not getting a cold or something else. Tomorrow is her birthday…..80 something, and she needs to be OK for the birthday cake.
Wellington will be our stop for Sunday, and it looks like it may be a windy one, according to Captain Friso.
Bill & Mary Ann
