Sun, Sea, Wine and Dolphins, Oh My!

Day 32, Grand World Voyage

Saturday, Feb. 4, 2023; Gisborne, New Zealand.

I make it a rule of thumb to first consider ship excursions on tender ports. Not a requirement, but being on an excursion does have the benefit of avoiding the wait for a tender if you want to leave the ship early. If the sea conditions deteriorate during the morning, you enhance the odds of getting off by being on an early tender. I remember hearing that happened one year at Easter Island.

Holland America does everything it can to help passengers get safely on and off the tenders. Even those with walkers and scooters can usually get on the tenders if the swells aren’t too bad.

We had a short day in Gisborne, New Zealand, today, so I opted for a winery tour. Both local wineries were generous with their tastings and pours, so it was a good thing we moved at a leisurely pace, with a city tour between the two stops.

Our bus driver was a retired high school principal who gave us a good description of the town, the surrounding area and the lifestyle. Gisborne claims the first sunrise each day, as it is the most easterly in New Zealand and just west of the International Date Line. Like many of the islands in the South Pacific, it was visited by Capt. James Cook.

This area of New Zealand is surrounded by mountains, with a large fertile valley between them and the sea.

It’s famous for its zucchini squash, which is harvested and shipped to Japan. We also saw other vegetable crops, cows, horses and, of course, sheep. Tall hedges help protect the crops from the fierce wind.

This is one of the top three wine regions of New Zealand, so the vineyards stretched out on both sides of the road.

At Matawhero we sampled five different wines. I should have bought a bottle of the Pinot Gris there, as it ended up being my favorite of the day. We are allowed to bring a bottle back from ship wine tours without paying the $20 corkage fee.

The second stop at Bushmere Estates brought another four tastings, but we were welcome to try one of the half-dozen other varieties. At both vineyards bottles ranged from $24 to $26, which seemed very reasonable to me. Of course, I had to get the MINI Cooper in the photo, being the proud owner of two when the new models first came to the United States 20 years ago.

To the north of town is a long stretch of beach known for good surfing. We saw a number of beach cottages being replaced with larger “McMansions,” just like in many popular places.

Schools here teach English and Māori, and students have the option of attending Māori immersion schools if they want. The outskirts of town are filled with agricultural supply businesses, and we passed the local stock-car track and fairgrounds. It reminded me of many small towns around the U.S. Midwest.

Once we weighed anchor and left midafternoon, my sisters and I were enjoying our adjoining balconies when Elaine noticed dolphins swimming just off our port side. (She is always the first one to see deer alongside the highway at dusk back at home.) She grabbed a photo before they disappeared.