Monday 18th February

We had a lovely sail out from Auckland yesterday passed lots of islands. A Maori group performed on board last night which was really good. Overnight and this morning we have sailed down the east coast of New Zealand's north island. This afternoon we have arrived at Napier. Napier is in Hawke's Bay and it has a long seafront. From a distance the beach looks like is is made of ash but it is in fact made of grey pebbles. The town is famous for its Art Deco buildings. They were built after the town was destroyed in an earthquake in 1931. It has been a very cloudy day up until now but the sun is just starting to peep through so it is getting warmer. We have just been to the gardens in Clive Square. They were full of the English bedding plants but planted under huge palm trees!