The 92-room luxury liner Le Laperouse was a spectacular sight anchored off Whakatāne this week. Photo / Whakatane Beacon
The 92-room luxury liner Le Laperouse was a spectacular sight anchored off Whakatāne this week. Photo / Whakatane Beacon
The sun and red carpet were out for tourists who came ashore from the first international cruise ship to visit Whakatāne’s shores on Sunday.
The 92-room luxury liner Le Laperouse, carrying 156 passengers and belonging to French luxury cruise company Ponant, was a spectacular sight at anchor – and many locals gathered at The Heads to view it.
A tender vessel, accompanied by Whakatāne Coastguard, brought many of the passengers ashore from the ship. They disembarked at Otuawhaki Wharf, outside the Whakatāne i-Site, where tourism operators were waiting to entice the tourists on their tours.
American couple Barbara and Stephen Crane, from The Bahamas and Florida, were delighted to visit New Zealand and Whakatāne for the first time.
“So many people have said how wonderful it is and how beautiful. We have travelled to a lot of places but neither of us have ever been here,” Barbara said.
The couple boarded in Lyttleton and said their cruise had been amazing.
The couple were still deciding what to do for the day and were visiting the stands at the iSite to see their options.
“I have to say that the hospitality in New Zealand, because we come from a hospitality area, is extraordinary,” Stephen said.
Barbara said: “Everyone has been so friendly. In Napier we did a bike and wine tour. We love the people here, so friendly.”
“We came with high expectations because our friends who had visited here spoke so highly of it and we are finding that some of this is exceeding our expectations,” Stephen said.
The couple also visited the fjords in the South Island.
“We are just loving the variety of the different spots.”
Australians Noelene and Roger Buchanan said they had visited New Zealand previously to play in ukulele concerts, including in Ōpōtiki, and were happy to be back on holiday.
“We have been on the ship since Hobart, spent five days from there to Lyttleton, then nine days around New Zealand,” Roger said.
They were also deciding what to do for the day.
About 45 passengers were whisked by bus to Rotorua, where they visited Te Puia geothermal park.
Another 20 opted to go on an Ōhope Scenic Tour, while six went on the Tio Ōhiwa Harbour cruise and three went on White Island flights.
A tender vessel brought many of the passengers ashore from the ship. Photo / Whakatane Beacon
Richard Hamer from the Whakatane District Council was waiting to take the guests on a scenic tour to Kohi Pt lookout, Ōhope Village, Ōhope Wharfside and other places, including the golf course for any keen golfers. A cultural tour was also on offer.
Whakatāne deputy mayor Lesley Immink and councillor Andrew Iles were guests of the captain for lunch aboard the ship.
“It was really wonderful, we had a lovely welcome, even though it was quite breezy and swelly out there and a bit hard getting off and on the tender, the captain was there with the quartermasters and the staff and they took us up to the front bar of the deck and we had bubbles as a welcome. Then we had an exchange of the plaque.”
It is traditional when a ship stops at a new port to exchange plaques. The councillors presented the captain with a plaque depicting tieke, the saddleback bird, and the captain presented the councillors with a stone ornament with an etching of the ship.
Immink said the ship visit was a bit of a test for Whakatāne.
“The boat was due to go to Tauranga but they had two other cruise ships in there.
“The smaller luxury cruise boats do like to go to the smaller ports .... and so it was a bit of a test to see how the logistics work. We have had a lot of really good learning,” she said.
“Hopefully, this is just the beginning for these boutique cruise liners who want to come into ports like Whakatāne,” Iles said.
With Tauranga experiencing a bumper cruise ship season, Whakatāne is open to taking the overflow.
After their excursions ashore, the international visitors were treated to a market at the iSite and “taste Whakatane“ experience, sampling local berries, oysters and other seafood.
The ship sailed to Auckland that night and returned the next day with new passengers.
