Dec 17, 2009 - Volendam, Holland America - Napier, NZ

Up early today to start getting ready to get the group together…. Early breakfast, then up to the Ocean Bar to meet the group. As they arrived we checked them all in and gave them their sticker for the bus. We started out with 33 people and ended up with a total of 21 actually going on the private excursion. We were picked up by a nice older gentleman named Gray who took us first on a city tour. Napier is a small, quaint city which was rebuilt after 1931 earthquake where the whole city was rebuilt into a classic Art Deco Architecture. It’s all mixed in between different buildings throughout the whole city. Right near Napier is where Cape Kidnappers is located which is one of the most famous places for golf. Very expensive location, but absolutely beautiful. Another very nice area is Hawkes Bay where award winning wines are corked. As we toured the city looking at everything, we were slowly heading out of town toward Hastings. Just outside of the city we stopped at a local farmhouse which was the homestead of Tom and Joann Lowery. Called the Okawa Station.  We visited their private home, and acres and acres of gardens, trees, cows, horses, sheep, and more… as they walked us around the property and told us about their family history and explained the gardens. As we stopped in a little hothouse and were able to pick some raspberries and strawberries, humm, delicious. Sweet and tasty. We then walked up to the house and Joann had breakfast sandwiches, coffee cake, lemon cakes, fruit cakes and more along with coffee, tea and homemade lemonade. It was delicious. Well, it was time to move on to our next destination. Well, needless to say, it was nearly impossible to get the group rounded up and back on the bus. No one wanted to leave… I had to push…. Finally we headed to the Alpha Domus Winery. This is a very, very small winery in Hastings. They do send some of their wines to the US under the name of Pilot. Their desert wine (sweet) was very good. We were welcomed with open arms and given 4 wines to taste, then we got an opportunity to tour the vineyards, and the collecting vats. Some bought wine, and then we headed back to the ship because we had to debark from Napier at 2:00 pm today. Too early… we really wanted more time in this beautiful little town to walk around, but, it didn’t happen. Another weird thing happened that evening while on the ship… Apparently we are now having engine problems, because as we depart out of Napier we only have 1 prop now instead of 2. Therefore we have to go extra slow as we head out to Tauranga (Rotorua). As we went to dinner we also found out that there is a problem with the air conditioner too… And guess what.. it’s formal night… What a pain, but we’ll just relax and enjoy dinner. After that we found out it was the last Slot tournament on the ship too. Peggy just had to try it again to see if she could make the finals. Well, it didn’t work out. She didn’t win anything….. We headed out to bed…. Another day bites the dust….. In the end all my clients LOVED the private excursion and had a wonderful time.