Editorial: Dockside visit a windfall

The Ovation of The Seas cruise ship dwarfs all in its wake. Photo Duncan Brown

Napier Port welcomes about 50 cruise ships each year - and yesterday was a red-letter day for shipspotting.

Enthusiasts atop Bluff Hill had prime position in fine weather to glimpse the palatial Ovation of the Seas. The ostentatious name aside, this is one impressive boat.

From Bluff lookout, the 348m (the RMS Titanic was 270m) of iron makes the tug boats alongside look like krill next to a humpback, and the logs lining the port tiny cinnamon sticks.

As we've mentioned in our story today a muster of passengers (about 4000) disembarked, most of whom were seeing Napier for the first time. That's roughly the population of Waipukurau in Central Hawke's Bay.

Personally I think the sheer weight of tourist volume is not known by many. But if you live in Napier, like me, you realise what a big deal this is.

It's also something to be rather proud of. A friend of mine originally from New Plymouth said she was amazed at the frequency of visits here - compared with the handful of stops in Taranaki. Wine trumps milk, it seems.

It's a privilege and a windfall to be a destination. (Which I what I remind myself with when I'm stuck behind cruise ship buses).

The wonderful thing to contemplate is that shipping was one of the city's first colonial enterprises - and hence there's something amazing when you consider the tenure of an early industry which extends - and indeed thrives - right up until now.