Our Place: Water way to see the sights

In "Our Place", reporters go to a location in the region, stay for two hours and observe. Caitlin Nobes joined the tourists to enjoy a trip on the amphibious Wine Country Duck.
After nine months in sunny Hawke's Bay I'm far from a native, but not quite a tourist either so I wasn't sure what to expect when I jumped on board the Wine Country Duck.
I've seen it often as it loops Napier and had a giggle at the tourists' heads peering above painted duck bodies so it seemed fair to take my turn being giggled at.
The bus is almost full when I hop on board, and my hopes of travelling incognito are ruined when our tour guide George introduces me to the crowd.
It's a Kiwi trip this time, with people from Auckland, Wanganui, Palmerston North. Sometimes cruise ship visitors fill the seats and I wonder if they get the same jokes about Aussies and Americans that made us laugh.
I'm sitting behind Aucklanders Warren and Lisa, who have stopped to visit family on their way to Wellington with their son and daughter. They've been here often, but are trying something new - and hoping George can answer the questions their kids keep asking.
And if the young ones were expecting a drone lecture about long-dead local legends they're bound to be disappointed. George has put his musical talent to good use with a song about the earthquake. Like folk songs of yore it is informative and moving. Most of it is information I knew but told in this form the story packs more emotional punch.
The drive through town has one clear message: remember to look up. Little details are easy to miss and the best bits are often above eye-level.
As we approach Ahuriri I suddenly remember the whole point of the Duck - it goes into the water! It is quite a thrill to just drive on into the ocean, and the Beach Boys start playing as soon as we're floating.
We're given permission to stand up once we're settled on the water and we all start leaning out windows and pointing out landmarks. Napier Girls' High School and the old hospital rule their respective hills.
One passenger makes his way down the bus (boat?) to chat about how long I've been at the paper, where I'm from.
Ross grew up in Hawke's Bay but has lived in Perth since 1985. He and his daughter are visiting his mother in Hastings a few weeks shy of her birthday.
His mother was born in Canada, so we have something in common, but she's been here since the 1940s so I've got another 50 years to go before I've been here as long.
Stories about Captain Cook, the earthquake, and woolsheds add to the historic feel that Ahuriri already has.
We pop out briefly to tour West Quay and then back in the water to make friends with local boaties.
A woman in a small sailboat plays back and forth across our wake and another makes turns so tight she's lying most of the way out of her boat to keep it balanced.
Back around the hill and down Tennyson Street we learn about early businesses, old fire stations and a bit more deco before we finish back at the information centre.
Warren and Lisa's daughter sums it up nicely: "Awesome."
I've got friends coming to visit early this year and I'm already planning to fit the Duck into our schedule.
I might be playing at local, but I still have plenty to learn about the history of my new home.
"Our Place" is an occasional series which runs when space permits in Hawke's Bay Today.