27-FEB-2006
at sea
Feb. 26
A nice quiet day, nothing on the schedule but my massage. We wandered around checking out the ship, spent some time reading, and then went to dinner. We requested second seating for dinner, but arrived to find we had something they call "Anytime Dining". We can go to any of four dining rooms whenever we want, the only problem would be if there was no room. I made reservations for the tonight, since it's formal night. We also got our portrait taken, hope it turns out ok. Mike and I haven't had a nice picture together since he was in high school and they took pictures at the Mother-Son breakfasts.
The shows aren't Mike's thing, and after a while they all seem pretty much the same from ship to ship, so we decided to skip tonight's show and call it an early night.
26-FEB-2006
Walhalla
Feb. 27
Our first port is Melbourne, so since we spent some time there earlier Mike and I choose a tour that goes up into the mountains to the east, where we haven't been. Our tour bills itself as a 4WD tour of ghost towns and the mining area from Victoria's gold rush of the late 1800s.
It's an absolute blast! There really isn't much to see of the mines and ghost towns, as most were dismantled and the bush has taken over. But the drive is pretty incredible, we're definitely off the beaten track and doing some real four wheeling - crossing rivers, climbing steep hills, and following what can only be call a bush track. Lunch at Walhalla is excellent, Cornish pasties and meat pies at the hotel which was rebuilt about 10 years ago after a fire. Walhalla was the richest Australian gold town, with a population of about 4000 at it's height. Now, permanent population is a grand total of 9. If you include tourists, there are a few more people around, but it's still a pretty quiet place. Only a couple of the old buildings have survived, but there's a lot of history here.
On the bus on the way back to the ship, our tour guide has what she calls a "Mintie quiz". It turns out that Minties are a chewy Australian lolly (candy to us), and anybody that answers a question right gets a Mintie. The delivery system is the best part of the game - she tosses the Mintie to the winner, so we have Minties flying all over the bus. The rules are that you can't answer another question until you finish your Mintie, we find out that it takes most of the way back into Melbourne to actually finish one of these treats!
Back to the ship, watch the sail out, clean up, and head off to dinner. So far all four dining rooms have had the same menu and no crowds. Only the buffet is packed. So we'll give the anytime dining a try, it does give us a lot of flexibility. But the menu doesn't really appeal tonight, so we decide to give the Italian restaurant a try. Wow, Mike decides this is a good time to try things - he actually tries prawns, caviar, prosciutto, calamari, and lobster, then sea bass for his main course and tiramisu for dessert. He likes everything except the caviar. I have langoustines for my main course, beautifully presented whole ones, but an exercise to get the meat out. We have a window table and watch the sunset as we eat.
Tomorrow's another day at sea, time to rest up for a full day after that in Tasmania.
27-FEB-2006
at sea
Feb. 28
Didn’t wake up until after 9AM! A leisurely breakfast, and off to the port lecture on Hobart. My first real disappointment of the trip, this lecturer was really bad. The lecture only lasted half an hour, he had no visual aids, and he read most of his talk. He barely covered the basics, I had already learned all that he said and more from our previous tour guides and from other passengers on the ship. I’ve met so many really interesting and helpful people, and shared info on California in return for lots of down under info.
After lunch, some quiet time for reading on the balcony, and off to the Jacuzzi for a while. Then time to get ready for dinner and guess what, a little internet time.
28-FEB-2006
Tasmania
Mar. 1
Our tour here was billed as "the Wonders of Tasmania" and sure enough, we're seeing lots of wonders. We started at an animal sanctuary where all of the animals have been rescued, many when their mothers became road kill. If possible, the animals are released into the wild when they are old enough. Not only could we see these animals close up, but we were able to touch many of them. The baby wombat, Patsy, was adorable and loved people. We were told that when she is older, she'd become solitary and shy. We were also able to pet the koala, a kangaroo, a joey (baby kangaroo), and a possum. They were carrying the joey around in a pillowcase! The possums here are not like our possums at home, here they have a lot of fur and brushy tail. We saw, but could not touch, Tasmanian devils. Their ears literally turn red when they are angry!
Next stop was a national park, and a walk to see a lovely waterfall. We passed by a spot in the creek where a family of platypuses lived, but they weren't out. Then off to a sheep farm for a demonstration of handling the sheep with dogs, and shearing. And an incredible barbequed steak lunch.
at sea
Mar. 2 & 3
It's a good thing I have a couple of days to rest up. I'm exhausted after yesterday's tour. It's very hard to keep food from becoming the focus on days at sea! I tried the Jacuzzi, now that is the life.
04-MAR-2006
Milford Sound to Queenstown
Mar. 4
A group of about 50 of us left the ship in Milford Sound for our overland tour. Thirty of us, including Mike and myself, will be spending the night in Queenstown and rejoining the ship the next day in Dunedin. The other twenty have another day, and will rejoin the ship in Christchurch.
They took us from the ship to the head of the sound in a small launch, where we boarded the buses. Milford Sound is an incredibly beautiful fjord, surrounded by mountains, with waterfalls everywhere. The area is a rainforest, very, very green. Our bus trip took us from the head of the sound, up into the mountains - with lots of stops for scenery and photos - and around the end of a chain of mountains into Queenstown. Although at one point we were only 54km from Queenstown as the crow flies, the driving distance was about 240km.
At one point we went through a tunnel that gained 100 feet of elevation inside the tunnel. It's one way, so there were traffic lights on either side, with about a 15 minute wait for a turn.
We stopped for lunch by Lake Te Anou, where Mike and I were able to take a helicopter ride. We were able to land on top one of the mountains. Most of the peaks were shrouded in clouds, this simply had to be one of the most amazing things I've done. It was one of those little helicopters which is basically a plastic bubble, so we could see in literally every direction, the arm of the lake below us, and the mountain peaks all around us. It had snowed in the mountains the night before, so there was a light dusting on the peaks. It was close to freezing at the top, but I hardly noticed the cold at all, it was so beautiful.
We got into the hotel about 4:30, so I took a short nap before dinner. At 8PM we boarded the steamship TS Earnslow for our cruise to dinner. This boat was built in 1912, and is still in original condition. Stokers fire up the engines just like they did years ago. She was originally the only access to Queenstown for numerous farms and small towns around the lake. Today, she is still the shortest way from Queenstown to the farm we visited for dinner. An hour by boat, or a 4-5 hour drive over unpaved roads.
After dinner, another sheep herding and shearing demo. This dog was trained to take commands by whistle, so the farmer and the dog could communicate after dark, or if they were separated on a hillside. The sheep graze in the high country, and are brought down for the winter. They use a helicopter to go up after the sheep, then driving them down the mountain. In the spring they reverse the process.
On the cruise back, we had a sing-a-long, arriving back at the hotel tired but happy just a little after midnight.
04-MAR-2006
Queenstown to Dunedin
Mar. 5
At least we didn't have to start at dawn like the Christchurch group did! We boarded our bus at 9:30AM to continue our trip. We stopped to see bungee jumping, but on Sunday morning, no one was jumping. Can't say it appeal to me. Several of the others tried to talk Mike into it, but since no one offered to pay (it was $240 for one jump!) he passed.
We drove past sheep farms, dairy farms, and - deer farms. Apparently deer farming is becoming very big here. I must say that the South Island of New Zealand is lovely, I could easily spend more time there.
We started the morning with beautiful sunshine, if a bit cool. Throughout the day, the clouds built and the wind got stronger and stronger. By the time we rejoined the ship in Dunedin, it was howling. The bagpipes played to send us off, they pulled the gangway, and then the Captain announced the winds were too strong, so it would was too dangerous to attempt the channel out of the harbor then. He gave a two hour window during which we would still be able to make Christchurch on time. At 8PM, he announced that we would be spending the night in Dunedin, and skipping Christchurch. What a shame, but I was tired enough from the overland trip that I didn't really mind. I think Mike was pretty disappointed because he had been looking forward to a jet boat ride in Christchurch. On the other hand, the idea of experiencing rough weather was pretty exciting, too. We are wondering what the group that was supposed to rejoin the ship in Christchurch will do. We'll have to try and find one of them in Tauranga and find out how they fared.
at sea
Mar. 6 & 7
Very quiet days, although the sea has been rough and we had pretty much constant Force 9 winds, which are strong gale force winds. The temperature was in the 50s most of the time, although by Tues. afternoon it had risen to the low 70s. Not very appealing conditions for sitting out on deck, or even in the Jacuzzi! Last night, there was the big party and dessert buffet by the pool. Even though the pool has a low wall around it, water was sloshing out all over the deck, and on the people around it. Our cabin, being about as far forward as possible (there are three cabins past us) was really moving, as the ship rose over a wave the bow would fall back into the water with a tremendous THUMP. We thought about going out on our balcony this morning, but everything is coated in a layer of salt.
Today was the cooking demonstration. The Princess executive chef is on board, doing his inspection of the ship, so he did the demonstration. It was fun to watch him, and I definitely learned a few easy ways to garnish foods! Also, an easy pesto dish and veal oscar. Then a tour of the galley, it looked very much like the galleys on the other ships we've been on. All stainless steel, and separate areas for every type of food. And, of course, huge.
Tomorrow we're in Tauranga, our last day. Then we head for Auckland where we'll disembark in the morning. It's been a fun cruise, I'm sorry to see it end even if I am looking forward to a great weekend with Mary and her roommate Lindsey.
08-MAR-2006
Tauranga
Mar 8
We woke to a lovely day before boarding the busses and leaving for the Waimangu Volocanic Valley. We drove through miles and miles of kiwifruit orchards. Did you know that kiwifruit grows on a vine, similar to grapes? It's harvested once a year and kept in cold storage to be shipped throughout the world.
We drove through the town of Rotorua on our way to the volcanic reserve, so Mike and I noted where out hotel was for Saturday night. Since this is an active thermal area, the aroma of sulphur wafted all around us. We went to the Waimangu Vocanic Reserve, one of several in the area. The last eruption here was in 1917, the last major eruption in 1886, so this is really a new (geologically) area.
We were met a the entrance to the park by a Maori party, who were rather frightening at first. We were told not to dare even smile during the welcome, as that would be insulting - and the last tourist to do that, a few weeks ago, got head-butted by a Maori warrior. They did a Maori dance and sang some Maori songs, and laid a fern branch on the ground in front of our group. Then it was our turn. We had chosen a "chief" from our group, and a song to sing. Our chief gave a thank you for the welcome speech, and then our group sang. We were real creative with our song, someone suggested "You are my sunshine", so that's what we did. And two of those big, fierce Maori warriors couldn't keep from smiling at us!
Then onto a little bus for our tour of the reserve. First a boat ride on a lake in the old crater for a close up look at the lakeshore, then a short walk around Frypan lake and up to the Inferno. Steam everywhere, mudpots, etc. Not a place to stray off the path! And, since this is essentially a rain forest area, tree ferns and other lush growth. It was like stepping back in time into the forest primeval. One almost expected a giant moa to pop out!
But instead, it was our Maori friends who popped out. Now they entertained us with friendly dances and even a love song by one of the women. Also, some participation - they taught the men the Haka, the Maori war dance. I think Mike actually enjoyed it, and I got a few pictures of him with one of the warriors.
The Maori party joined us for lunch, very pleasant ladies and gentlemen with lovely Kiwi (sounds a lot like British) accents. It seemed so strange to hear such cultured voices from these fiercely painted warriors!
After lunch, we visited a small animal sanctuary where we saw lots of birds, and saw how trout were raised. They also had a kiwi house, so we did get to see the famous bird. Two of them, tucked away into tight balls in the corner of their enclosures, sound asleep. Oh, well, apparently few New Zealanders have seen active kiwis either!
Back to the ship, We almost at the end of the cruise, we need to be packed and have our bags outside our cabin door before we go to sleep tonight.
08-MAR-2006
Auckland
Mar 9
We're here! And, sure enough, our hotel is close to the ship, just like I asked for. Close enough to almost lean out and touch it. Once we got off the ship, claimed our bags - what a nightmare, the baggage claim area is just about the right size for one of those little commuter airplanes, not a 3000-passenger ship - and managed to get back out the door, the hotel was just a few steps away. A good thing, I was exhausted after fighting the crowds to get in and out of the baggage hall. Mary met us at the hotel, and we went exploring and had lunch at a nearby pub. We were right in the middle of the big AUckland Boat Show in the harbour. The boats were actually moored, what a nice way to have a boat show instead of in a convention hall.
Then, while Mary went off to class, Mike and I took a short city tour to get a feel for AUckland. It's a nice city, built on a bunch of dormant volcanoes, and only a few kilometers across - from the Pacific Ocean to the Tasman Sea.
Mary's roommate Lindsey joined us, we watch our ship sail out of sight, and went off to a local pub for dinner.
HOME, SWEET HOME!
Mar. 14
Mike and I got in last night, too tired today to even think. More later, and I'll try to get some pictures posted in my pbase gallery. But for now, rest and sleep!
Getting caught up is hard . . .
Apr. 12
And here it is, almost a month later, and I'm just now getting enough energy to work on my photos! I really will get some posted, I promise!