The city of Napier was nearly destroyed by a huge earthquake on February 3, 1931. Naturally, they rebuilt much of it in the prevailing style of the day: Art Deco. And in 1985, they created an Art Deco Trust, which helps to preserve, protect, and promote Napier’s Art Deco heritage.

Every year, they hold an Art Deco Festival, complete with vintage cars, air shows, music of the 1930s, and thousands of visitors, quite a few of whom cosplay the weekend – and our visit today coincided with the festival.

We saw part of the airshow while we were waiting for our shuttle bus into town.

Our bus dropped us at the War Memorial Centre; we went across the street for a delicious lunch at the Portside Bar, then walked over to the Marine Parade Gardens to look at the festival. Our first stop was the Tom Parker Fountain, done up in proper Art Deco style.

Diane and I wandered around the town taking in the scene.

Clyde Square was used as a temporary shopping area after the earthquake; today, it’s a popular gathering place just outside the main shopping area. It boasts a fountain with impressive water lillies.

We returned to Marine Parade Gardens by way of Emerson Street.

There were many vintage cars and trucks in town for the festival. Some had been imported from countries where people drive on the right side of the road, like this vintage Texaco fuel truck with South Carolina plates.

You could make a small donation to ride up and down the street in one of the vintage cars…or in this steam-driven people mover.

There were a couple of biplanes chasing each other above the coastline; I don’t think they were carrying passengers.

We walked out to the Viewing Platform to enjoy the beach and ocean views, then took a bus back to the ship.

Ralph Harris was the headliner for the evening’s entertainment; he was very, very funny; his show ended just in time for us to enjoy the last of the sunset.

We sailed into Tauranga this morning and took off on our first ship’s excursion of this trip, a few hours at Te Pa Tu near Rotorua. The drive took us past new suburbs, logging areas, and lots of kiwifruit fields – this one grows golden kiwifruit (you can tell by the way the plants are trained to grow in a triangular pattern).

Te Pa Tu is owned and operated by the Tauhara North No. 2 Trust, which is an extended Maōri family operation; they help preserve the Maōri culture and teach visitors about it.

Each bus had to elect a chief to exchange greetings with the chief of the family; one of the women of the tribe briefed our chief on the protocol to be followed.

The warriors came out and showed their weapons, and then the whole family shouted a challenge to our chiefs.

But peace held, and the chiefs exchanged gestures of mutual respect, including handshakes and the touching of noses.

We visited four houses of learning, where they taught us about the meaning and history of their body markings, some games, and even how to perform a haka.

The family performed some traditional songs (and even a little Elvis) and then we shared lunch.

It was interesting to see some of the traditional buildings fitted out with power, plumbing, and the like. I don’t know if the family actually lives at Te-Pa-Tu or if it’s strictly used for shows and education.

One of the hazards of living near Rotorua is the high sulfur content of the air and the occasional hot mud pond that appears out of nowhere.

Our ship was docked near Mount Maunganui; Diane and I took a walk along the beach and went up a short distance on one of the mountain tracks.

New Zealand takes tsunami preparation seriously.

We walked back to the ship along the main Maunganui beach before returning by way of the commercial district.

We sailed away from Tauranga a bit before 7pm; I’m glad we got a chance to see a few aspects of the area, but I know we missed a lot!