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NPE-S18 | Luxury 11 passenger van | from 6.00 hrs - 11 persons
Book one of our 11 passenger luxury passenger vans and see the beauty of Napier while treating yourself to some of the best wine around. Your private guide will look after you throughout the day and make sure you see just what you want, at your pace.
NPE-S16 | Luxury Mercedes Sprinter | from 6.00 hrs - 10 persons
Book one of our luxury 16 passenger minivans and enjoy the sights of Napier and Hawkes Bay in comfort. Your own guide will look after you throughout the day and make sure you see just what you want, at your pace.
Famous for its Art Deco architecture, Napier sits at the heart of the Hawkes Bay wine region. Devastated in 1931 by Earthquake and a subsequent fire, the city was rebuilt in the architectural style of the day, Art Deco.
Try some of New Zealand's best wines at the numerous wineries surrounding the city, or take a tour to the Gannet Colony at Cape Kidnappers, there are plenty of options. Check out our standard small group tours or for private tours see the Signature Class range of options.
Napier [Ahuriri in Maori] is located in Hawke's Bay on the eastern coast of the North Island. The population is about 58,800 [June 2012 estimate].
Napier is the largest wool centre in the Southern Hemisphere and is the largest producer of apples, pears, and stone fruit in New Zealand. Napier has also become an important grape and wine production area.
Napier is a popular tourist city, with a unique concentration of 1930s Art Deco architecture. It also has one of the most photographed tourist attractions in the country, a statue on Marine Parade called Pania of the Reef. Thousands of people flock to Napier every February for the Art Deco Weekend event, a celebration of its Art Deco heritage and history.
The first European to see the future site of Napier was Captain James Cook, who sailed down the east coast in October 1769. He commented: "On each side of this bluff head is a low, narrow sand or stone beach, between these beaches and the mainland is a pretty large lake of salt water I suppose." The site was subsequently visited and later settled by European traders, whalers and missionaries. By the 1850s, farmers and hotel-keepers arrived.
The Crown purchased the Ahuriri block (including the site of Napier) in 1851. It was decided to place a planned town here, its streets and avenues were laid out, and the new town named for Sir Charles Napier, a military leader during the "Battle of Meeanee" fought in the province of Sindh, India. Mr.
On 3 February 1931, most of Napier was levelled by an earthquake. The collapses of buildings and the ensuing fires killed 256 people. The centre of the town was destroyed by the earthquake. Some 4000 hectares of today's Napier were undersea before the earthquake raised it above sea level. Although a few Art Deco buildings were replaced with contemporary structures during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, most of the centre remained intact for long enough to become recognised as architecturally important, and beginning in the 1990s it had been protected and restored. Napier and the area of South Beach, Miami, Florida, are considered to be the two best-preserved Art Deco towns.
Beginning in 2007, Napier was nominated as a World Heritage Site with UNESCO. This is the first cultural site in New Zealand to be so nominated.
Can I walk into the city from the port?
You are not allowed to walk out of the port for health and safety reasons, instead the local council provides a shuttle bus service that drops you outside the Napier i-site on Marine Parade. These buses run throughout the day.
Why do the ships stop in Napier for such a short time?
Many of the ships are only in port for 6 or 7 hours, this is because the previous or next port of call is Tauranga, which means ships have to sail around the East Cape of New Zealand, and with the ships aiming to minimise fuel costs, their slow speed and the distance means they are only in port for a short time.
Which winery should I visit, there are so many?
Its really down to your preferences, the historic Mission winery is always popular but gets very busy with cruise ships own large groups. There are many other high grade wineries such as Church Road, Craggy Range, Black Barn or Elephant Hill, best option is to book a wine tour with a local expert, we have some listed here.
