Rosewood Cape Kidnappers, Napier, North Island, New Zealand, photograph # 1 — Cape Kidnappers [Mãori: Te Kauwae-a-Māui] is an extraordinary sandstone headland to the east of Hastings in Hawke’s Bay; the Rosewood/Robertson Lodges Cape Kidnappers Resort is a unique luxury resort with one of the world’s leading golf courses
With a friend from the ship, we got a ride from another (former) Resident of the ship, who lives in Napier (and Wellington) to the Rosewood/Robertson Lodges Cape Kidnappers Resort (and Golf Course). To the east of Hawke’s Bay wine country in the North Island, Rosewood Cape Kidnappers sits on a stunning 6,000-acre peninsula, with unforgettable vistas of the vast Pacific Ocean. The resort sits atop rolling hills edged by dramatic cliffs commanding vast ocean views, and an ever-present horizon. Home to a working farm, this unique luxury resort also boasts one of the world’s leading golf courses and is a sanctuary for some of New Zealand’s most precious flora and fauna. We enjoyed a tour of the property and an outstanding three-course luncheon with New Zealand wines.
Cape Kidnappers [Mãori: Te Kauwae-a-Māui] is an extraordinary sandstone headland to the east of Hastings in Hawke’s Bay. It was named by Captain James Cook (sailing on the HMB Endeavour) after an attempt by local Māori to abduct one of his crew. The cape is home to the largest and most accessible gannet [large white seabirds with yellowish heads, black-tipped wings and long bills, closely related to boobies] colony in the world.
Rosewood Cape Kidnappers, Napier, North Island, New Zealand, photograph # 2 – gardens at the entrance to the resort’s main building (with lounges, a dining room and 4 guest rooms)Rosewood Cape Kidnappers, Napier, North Island, New Zealand, photograph # 3 – the front entrance to the resort
Rosewood Cape Kidnappers, Napier, North Island, New Zealand, photograph # 4 – a detail of one of the two storm doors at the entrance to the resort’s main buildingRosewood Cape Kidnappers, Napier, North Island, New Zealand, photograph # 5 – these two-bedroom villas are some of the guest rooms at the resortvRosewood Cape Kidnappers, Napier, North Island, New Zealand, photograph # 6 – the Hawke’s Bay-facing side of the resort, with the main dining room on the right, behind the giant sliding glass doors, affording a marvelous view while dining of the golf course (below) and Hawkes BayRosewood Cape Kidnappers, Napier, North Island, New Zealand, photograph # 7 – the view of Cape Kidnappers’ rolling hills and Hawke’s Bay from the resort’s main building
Hawke’s Bay, occupying New Zealand’s North Island eastern flank, unfurls a tapestry of diverse landscapes, from mountain ranges and pastoral hills to coastal and inland plains. Ascend the legendary Te Mata Peak, standing 400 meters [1,312 feet] above sea level, by foot, cycle, or vehicle for a breathtaking panorama of the region. Boasting a climate akin to Bordeaux, Hawke’s Bay also ranks among New Zealand’s oldest and largest wine growing areas. Many of its vineyards gracefully adorn the undulating hills and valleys encompassing the principal cities of Napier and Hastings.
Rosewood Cape Kidnappers, Napier, North Island, New Zealand, photograph # 8 — the world-renowned Cape Kidnappers Golf Course offers holes unlike anywhere else in the world, nestled in a ridge-and-valley landscape with arresting sea views
With cliff-edge fairways perched high above sea level and with surface that remains firm and fast, the world-renowned Cape Kidnappers Golf Course offers holes unlike anywhere else in the world. Celebrated as a modern marvel since its completion in 2004, this remarkable Tom Doak course, nestled in a ridge-and-valley landscape with arresting sea views, perches gracefully atop dramatic cliffs. While every hole has a spectacular view of Hawkes Bay, some golfers play cautiously alongside deep ravines as others intimidate golfers with deep cliff-top bunkers and sheer drop-offs. Cape Kidnappers Golf Course is located below the Rosewood/Robertson Lodges Cape Kidnappers Resort south of Napier on the hills just above the actual Cape Kidnappers Point (“where coastal serenity meets gourmet dining and golf”).
Rosewood Cape Kidnappers, Napier, North Island, New Zealand, photograph # 9 – the view of the Cape Kidnappers Golf Course directly below the resort’s dining room, along with Hawke’s Bay in the distance
For additional information on Napier and the Hawke’s Bay region, please see our blog posts from 2017:
Parliament Buildings, Wellington, North Island, New Zealand, photograph # 1 – on Parliament Hill, dating back to the late 1800s, the newest addition to the Parliament Buildings is the “Beehive” (also known as the Executive Wing), an iconic executive office wing that opened in 1977
We had the opportunity to sign up online for a complimentary 70-minute tour of the New Zealand (NZ) Parliament Buildings. As the photographs below show, we went through the three main buildings and saw the highlights of each building. One interesting thing to understand about the NZ Parliament (we got a 10 minute introductory movie that explained a lot about the buildings and the process of making new laws in New Zeeland) is that the legislature is unicameral – that is, there is only one legislative body, not two (like the United States Congress with the House of Representatives and the Senate, or the United Kingdom with the House of Commons and the House of Lords). In the NZ Parliament, there is only one chamber — the House of Representatives (the Lower House) — which, since 1951, is the only representative body in Parliament. [Note that between 1853 and 1950, the NZ Parliament also had the Legislative Council (the Upper House) – a bicameral system.] Also, the government works under a parliamentary system, with multiple competing parties; the government is formed by a coalition of the leading parties who then face the “opposition”.
“New Zealand Parliament Buildings (Mãoi: Ngā whare Paremata) house the New Zealand parliament and are on a 45,000 square metre site at the northern end of Lambton Quay, Wellington. From north to south, they are the Parliamentary Library building (1899); the Edwardian neoclassical-style Parliament House (1922); the executive wing, called “The Beehive” (1977); and Bowen House (in use since 1991). Currently, an additional building for housing Members of Parliament is under construction, which is expected to be completed in 2026. Whilst most of the individual buildings are outstanding for different reasons, the overall setting that has been achieved ‘has little aesthetic or architectural coherence’.” — Wikipedia
Parliament Buildings, Wellington, North Island, New Zealand, photograph # 2 – a Select Committee’s (dealing with Mãori affairs) hearing room that was decorated in the Mãori-style – it is the one hearing room so decorated and is quite stunning
Parliament Buildings, Wellington, North Island, New Zealand, photograph # 3 – details of the Select Committee’s hearing room that was decorated in the Mãori-style
Parliament Buildings, Wellington, North Island, New Zealand, photograph # 4 – the oldest of the Parliament Buildings, the Parliamentary Library, standing to the north of Parliament House, was opened in 1899
“The [Parliamentary Library] was designed in Gothic Revival style and was fire resistant, being constructed of masonry. The third story of the design was not built, to save money. It had an iron fire-door separating the library from the main entrance section. This saved the library from the fire of 1907, which destroyed the rest of the timber parliament buildings. Along with Parliament House, the library was strengthened and refurbished in the 1990s. This included recreating Gothic elements of the roof including ironwork, turrets and finials. It still houses Parliament’s library. The building is registered with Heritage New Zealand.” — Wikipedia
Parliament Buildings, Wellington, North Island, New Zealand, photograph # 5 – a staircase in the Gothic Revival-style Parliamentary Library building (1899)
Interesting fact about voting (suffrage): New Zealand was the world’s first self-governing country to allow women to vote, passing legislation (the “Electoral Act”) in 1893 that opened voting to women in the country. “In most other democracies – including Britain and the United States – women did not win the right to the vote until after the First World War. New Zealand’s world leadership in women’s suffrage became a central part of our image as a trail-blazing ‘social laboratory’. That achievement was the result of years of effort by suffrage campaigners, led by Kate Sheppard. In 1891, 1892 and 1893 they compiled a series of massive petitions calling on Parliament to grant the vote to women. In recent years Sheppard’s contribution to New Zealand’s history has been acknowledged on the [New Zealand] $10 note.” — https://nzhistory.govt.nz/politics/womens-suffrage
Parliament Buildings, Wellington, North Island, New Zealand, photograph # 6 – the Members’ reading room in the Gothic Revival-style Parliamentary Library building; the room was rebuilt as part of the refurbishment work in the 1990sParliament Buildings, Wellington, North Island, New Zealand, photograph # 7 – the old Parliament House was destroyed by fire in 1907; this newer Neoclassical stone building was still unfinished in 1918 when Parliament moved in; the building was completed in 1922
Parliament Buildings, Wellington, North Island, New Zealand, photograph # 8 – a former outdoor space between sections of the Parliament Building was refurbished as an interior space (through the addition of a glass roof) in the 1990s
Parliament Buildings, Wellington, North Island, New Zealand, photograph # 9 – a “peephole” view of the above new interior space in the Parliament Building [photograph # 7], from a window in the Parliamentary LibraryParliament Buildings, Wellington, North Island, New Zealand, photograph # 10 — the House of Representatives Debating Chamber in Parliament House; the government members sit on the left side of the photograph (to the right of the seated Speaker of the House of Representative, in the center of the chamber), with the opposition seated on the opposite sideParliament Buildings, Wellington, North Island, New Zealand, photograph # 11 – the center seat for the Speaker of the House of Representative in the House of Representatives Debating Chamber in Parliament HouseParliament Buildings, Wellington, North Island, New Zealand, photograph # 12 – windows and wall decorations in the Banquet Ball of Parliament HouseParliament Buildings, Wellington, North Island, New Zealand, photograph # 13 – the Legislative Council room in Parliament House that was “retired” in 1951 when the NZ Parliament went unicameral and discontinued the Legislative Council
Parliament Buildings, Wellington, North Island, New Zealand, photograph # 14 – architectural details (elevator) in Parliament House
Parliament Buildings, Wellington, North Island, New Zealand, photograph # 15 — architectural details (skylight and stairs) in Parliament House
Museum of New Zealand (Te Papa Tongarewa), Wellington, North Island, New Zealand, photograph # 1 – opened on February 14, 1998, Te Papa Tongarewa (usually known as “Te Papa”), the (national) Museum of New Zealand, tells the story of the country’s diverse art and visual culture, with a large section on the history and culture of the native New Zealanders, the Mãori peoplev
We walked along the Wellington waterfront a little north of Wellington Central (the CBD, or Central Business District) to a strikingly modern large building that houses Te Papa Tongarewa (usually known as “Te Papa”), the (national) Museum of New Zealand. Packed with national treasures, the museum is the most visited museum in Oceania. Its six stories of exhibitions showcase aspects of the country’s diverse art and visual culture, with a large section on the history and culture of the native New Zealanders, the Mãori people.
Te Papa Tongarewa means “container of treasures”. The museum presents the treasures of Aotearoa New Zealand’s land and people, and their stories are told authoritatively and passionately. The museum is built on a unique bicultural partnership that recognizes and celebrates Mãori as tangata whenua – the original people of the land.
Te Papa Tongarewa (Museum of New Zealand) tells the full story of the country, through collections and exhibitions on the art, science, and natural history of New Zealand. It was “created in 1992 when the National Art Gallery and the National Museum merged under a parliamentary act. The name Te Papa Tongarewa translates to “our container of treasured things and people that spring from mother earth here in New Zealand” in Māori… The Te Papa in the 21st century comprises five major collections, focusing on art, history, Mãori taonga (cultural treasures), Pacific cultures, and natural history. The art collection specializes in New Zealand and international painting, sculpture, prints, watercolours, drawings, and photographs; the history division focuses on New Zealand’s cultural heritage but also includes items from Asia, Australia, Africa, and the Americas, notably relics of James Cook; the Māori taonga section contains taonga, including artifacts and carvings; the Pacific cultures unit comprises historical and contemporary objects from the Pacific Islands; and the natural history collection houses plant and animal specimens.” — www.britannica.com/topic/National-Museum-of-New-Zealand
Museum of New Zealand (Te Papa Tongarewa), Wellington, North Island, New Zealand, photograph # 2 – waka taua (war canoe) named Teremoe, 1820s – 1840s?, by an unknown maker, Te Ãti hau Nui a Pãpãrangi, made from tõtaera woodMuseum of New Zealand (Te Papa Tongarewa), Wellington, North Island, New Zealand, photograph # 3 – the waka (war canoe) exhibition was curated and created by Te Rawhitiroa Bosch alongside the waka community; all photos are by Te Rawhitiroa Bosch (unless otherwise noted in the exhibition)
Museum of New Zealand (Te Papa Tongarewa), Wellington, North Island, New Zealand, photograph # 4 – Billy Harrison (1994-), Ngãti Kahu, Te Rarawa, Muriwhenua: Ngã Hoe – Te Waka o Tamarēreti (The Paddles – The Canoe of Tamarēreto) 2020; rewarewa, kauri, totara, and pũriri wood; acrylic paint
“Billy Harrison carved these 10 hoe (paddles) to represent Te Waka o Tamarēreti – a series of stars and clusters used in traditional navigation. Each of the first nine hoe corresponds with a verse of the karakia (incantation) on the wall at your left. The tenth hoe represents Hekenukumai – a star named after the master navigator and carver Hekenukumai Busby, who died in 2019. Hoe were primarily used to paddle waka, but they were also weapons and a symbol of journeying. They were highly valued, and often carved and adorned with kõwhaiwhai patterns.” – signage at Museum of New Zealand (Te Papa Tongarewa)
Museum of New Zealand (Te Papa Tongarewa), Wellington, North Island, New Zealand, photograph # 5 – Poupou, wall carving; carved by Mauriora Kingi Tūhourangi and Ngãti Raukawa iwi (tribes); made of wood
In Māori, iwi roughly means ‘people’ or ‘nation’, and is often translated as “tribe”, or “a confederation of tribes”. The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language and is typically pluralized as such in English.
Museum of New Zealand (Te Papa Tongarewa), Wellington, North Island, New Zealand, photograph # 6 – carved Mãori “totem poles”
Museum of New Zealand (Te Papa Tongarewa), Wellington, North Island, New Zealand, photograph # 7 – Rongomaraeroa, a modern marae — marae are used for hui (meetings), āhuareka (celebrations), tangi (funerals), educational workshops and other important tribal events; a marae incorporates a wharenui (carved meeting house), a marae ātea (an open space in front), a wharekai (a dining hall and cooking area), and a toilet and shower block
The Rongomaraeroa marae offers a singular experience within Te Papa and is also unique within Aotearoa; it is Te Papa’s response to the challenge of creating an authentic yet inclusive marae for the 21st century. The name of the pictured marae is Te Hono ki Hawaiki, which means the link with the ancestral homelands. The carvings depict the ancestors who make this living link.
Museum of New Zealand (Te Papa Tongarewa), Wellington, North Island, New Zealand, photograph # 8 – the signage on this waka (war canoe) says “Touch with aroha – care and respect”
Te Aurere Iti (the name of the waka — war canoe — pictured above) is a one-third scale replica of the waka hourua Te Aurere, built by master navigator. Hekenukumai Busby. He made the replica for Te Papa’s opening – to inspire connections to our ancestor and their voyages, now and into the future. The waka (war canoe) is made of tõtara wood (hull), muka fibre (sails and ropes), and sennit (coconut-husk fibre cord) – purchased by the Museum of New Zealand (Te Papa Tongarewa) in 1997.
Although we did not take any photographs in the newest temporary exhibition (opened in April 2024), Gallipoli: The Scale of Our War, we found it very educational and realistic in telling the story of the first World War I battles fought by the combined Australian and New Zealand army forces (known as “ANZAC”), from 19 February 1915 to 9 January 1916. The battles were all fought along the waterfront of the Dardanelles, a little south of Istanbul (Constantinople), with the objective of creating a passage through the Dardanelles by taking control of the Ottoman Straits and then exposing Constantinople to naval battleship gunfire. The heaviest fighting in Gallipoli was from May, with the landing at Anzac Cove, to the summer of 1915, with horrific losses (for New Zealand) in the Battle of Chunuk Bair in August, among others. For readers not familiar with this horrific series of battles, the campaign was a disaster for the ANZAC forces — with approximately 250,000 casualties — who were beaten by the local Turks (defending their homeland). The Turks had joined sides earlier in World War I with the Germans against the Entente powers, Britain (and its Commonwealth nations), France and the Russian Empire.
“The campaign became the basis for the Turkish War of Independence and the declaration of the Republic of Turkey in 1923, with Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, who rose to prominence as a commander at Gallipoli, as founder and president. The campaign is often considered to be the beginning of Australian and New Zealand national consciousness. The anniversary of the landings, 25 April, is known as ANZAC Day, the most significant commemoration of military casualties and veterans in the two countries, surpassing Remembrance Day (Armistice Day).” — Wikipedia
“Gallipoli: The Scale of Our War combines the world of museums with the world-class creative artistry of Weta Workshop to immerse you in the eight-month Gallipoli campaign. The ground-breaking exhibition tells the story through the eyes and words of eight ordinary New Zealanders who found themselves in extraordinary circumstances. Each is captured frozen in a moment of time on a monumental scale – 2.4 times human size. The giant sculptures took a staggering 24,000 hours to create, and countless hours were spent researching their rich histories. Cutting-edge technology was also used to create 3-D maps and projections, miniatures, models, dioramas, and a range of interactive experiences that bring New Zealand’s Gallipoli story to life. In total, 2,779 Kiwis lost their lives on Gallipoli, and many others were scarred forever. Gallipoli: The Scale of Our War takes you to the core of this defining event.” — www.tepapa.govt.nz/visit/exhibitions/gallipoli-scale-our-war
Wellington, North Island, New Zealand, photograph # 1 – looking down Customhouse Quay in Wellington Central (the CDB, or Central Business District); the city is the capital of New Zealand, sitting near the North Island’s southernmost point on the Cook Strait
From Christchurch, on New Zealand’s South Island, we sailed overnight to reach Wellington. Wellington, the capital of New Zealand, sits near the North Island’s southernmost point on the Cook Strait. A compact city, it encompasses a waterfront promenade, sandy beaches, a working harbor and colorful timber houses on surrounding hills. From Lambton Quay, the iconic red Wellington Cable Car heads to the Wellington Botanic Gardens. Strong winds through the Cook Strait give it the nickname “Windy Wellington” (also, it is known as the world’s windiest city).
Wellington, North Island, New Zealand, photograph # 2 – walking down Lady Elizabeth Lane on Queens Wharf, on the waterfront, in the heart of Wellington Central (the CDB, or Central Business District)Wellington, North Island, New Zealand, photograph # 3 – high-rise office buildings in Wellington Central (the CDB, or Central Business District); ANZ (Bank) is the Australia-New Zealand Bank — it is Australia’s second-largest bank by assets and fourth-largest bank by market capitalization
Wellington “includes the cities of Wellington (the national capital) and Lower Hutt, Upper Hutt, Porirua, and Masterton. The broad Hutt River valley, once the locale of dairy farms and market gardens, has absorbed much of Wellington city’s urban expansion since the 1950s. There is still much open farmland to the north, however.” — www.britannica.com/place/Wellington-region-North-Island-New-Zealand
Wellington, North Island, New Zealand, photograph # 4 – the Dockside Restaurant is located on Queens Wharf with beautiful views of the bay; a large group of us from our ship celebrated a friend’s birthday there with an excellent meal (mostly fish and seafood)Wellington, North Island, New Zealand, photograph # 5 – Queens Wharf, with the Wellington Museum in the light blue building (with one bright orange wall panel) in the center of the photographWellington, North Island, New Zealand, photograph # 6 – we enjoyed seafood and a Madagascar mud crab at the Crab Shack for lunch with friends and the next night had an excellent fish and seafood dinner at the adjacent Shed 5 Restaurant
Wellington, North Island, New Zealand, photograph # 7 – beyond the Museum of New Zealand (Te Papa Tongarewa) are the sailboats in front of Clyde Quay Wharf, completed in 2014, is a luxury residential development with retail and office spaces at wharf level
Where in the world is Riccardo? 