Port guide: Napier, New Zealand

If you’re after one of those undemanding and unhurried cruise days in a pretty place, then this laid-back little city delivers.

Who goes there

A whole gamut of cruise companies from budget to luxury sends ships big and small to Napier, among them Carnival, Holland America Line, Oceania, Regent Seven Seas, Royal Caribbean, Scenic, Silversea, Viking and many more. Most are on cruises around New Zealand that originate in Auckland or Australia.

Sail on in

Napier Port, New Zealand.Credit: Getty Images

You’ll be thrilled with the beautiful port settings on a New Zealand cruise but, alas, Napier isn’t one of them, so for a change you might want to enjoy the full breakfast buffet rather than pace the deck. Hawke’s Bay is too expansive on the sail in to provide anything but distant squints at land and, up close, you arrive at a small work-a-day port too small to provide much action or excitement.

Berth rites

Ships dock just over a kilometre north of the city in a commercial port piled with timber for export. It has no cruise facilities and no pedestrian exit, so you’ll have to hop on the shuttle into town, where you’ll be deposited outside the friendly tourist office. Everything else is in walking distance; there are good bus and taxi services if you want to get further afield.

Going ashore

Pastel pitstop... art deco Napier.Credit: Getty Images

Napier is a showcase of art deco architecture, with more than 140 buildings, built after a devastating 1931 earthquake, giving the city centre a remarkably uniform style. If you happen to sail in during February, the Art Deco Festival features jazz, vintage cars and special events. It’s well worth heading to MTG Hawke’s Bay for its museum exhibits on Maori heritage, earthquakes and local history. You can also tour Napier Prison for stories of ghosts and infamous jailbirds.

Don’t miss

The National Aquarium of New Zealand on the waterfront, a short walk along Marine Parade from the town centre, has a splendid collection of creatures to admire in tanks and from see-through tunnels underwater. You can see tuataras (a species of lizard), little penguins and kiwis too. If you have children, they’ll love the hands-on displays and 2.30pm feeding time.

Get active

Napier is compact, but its seashore promenades are a good place for a run. You can keep going for kilometres beyond down if you head south. Ahuriri Estuary Walking Track runs four kilometres in a loop, and you can birdwatch as you go: get there on a short bus ride, or add another few kilometres through town onto your running route.

Best bites

Elephant Hill winery.

The degustation menu at three-hatted chef Jeremy Rameka’s Pacifica Restaurant is a brilliant showcase of contemporary New Zealand cuisine. For a more informal meal, head to Central Fire Station Bistro for delicious French and Italian-influenced dishes such as sweet corn dumplings, gnocchi with gorgonzola, and beef sirloin in a rich shiitake bordelaise sauce. Wine lovers should get beyond town to investigate the region’s Chardonnay, Syrah and Merlot-Cabernet blends at any of 70 cellar doors, including New Zealand’s oldest winery Mission Estate, prestigious Te Mata Estate, and scenic Elephant Hill.

Further afield

Napier is centred on fertile farmland, orchards and river valleys and sits in the middle of the Hawke’s Bay wine region, with many excursions focused on cellar doors or local chocolate and honey producers. Nearby Cape Kidnappers is renowned both for golf and one of the world’s largest gannet colonies, a remarkable sight as the wide-winged birds swoop and screech. From the top of Te Mata, spectacular views unfold over the landscape and Napier’s twin town Hastings. If you’re interested in Maori history, head to Hakikino Conservation Reserve.