Month: November 2019

The weather gods continued to cooperate as we sailed into the picturesque city of Tauranga by Dawn’s early light. Again, we opted to take a tour to learn about the history of the area and its agricultural products.

The first part of our tour today concentrated in the beginning of the settlement with a visit to the Elms/ Te Papa, one of New Zealand’s oldest heritage sites. You will see the mission house, which brought the Anglican Church and its clergy to the new town in 1838 by the Reverend Alfred Brown. . It’s still a fully functional gathering site today and can be hired out for special events, such as weddings.

For more information, go to theelms.org.nz.

The guides were all dressed in period costume, and our guide was very informative and perky. She showed us the house the family lived in, gave us a history of the family, and we saw the downstairs rooms of their living quarters, which remains today as it was in those early days.

The gardens developed over the years and were beautifully kept, as there were many outdoor receptions and gatherings among the early settlers. Once in the chapel, our guide explained the role that the first spiritual family played In the cultural and spiritual life of the early settlers.

As the settlement grew, several outbuildings were added, such as the kitchen and the sheds. The plants in the gardens were also used for medicinal purposes to safeguard the health of the early inhabitants.

My favorite little house on the property was the library, where we could see the writing desk and area where the minister prepared his sermons. The room even housed his old books. He could stay warm with the coal fire.

After leaving this interesting place, we drove over to other parts of the city where we went to a community center with an area for tea and kiwi fruit scones, then we were offered an opportunity to taste and purchase products made from kiwi fruit, from kiwi fruit chocolates to liqueur to remedies for constipation. The golden kiwi, not yet exported to the US, was very tasty and we were told we can expect to find it in our local supermarkets in a few years.

We stopped in another factory to learn about the bees of New Zealand and their production of manufacturing honey, and, again were offered a buying opportunity for products from skin cream to wound care and cough medicines.

The most interesting part of this tour of the kiwi was the visit to the kiwi orchard, where, under the fruit canopies, the owner explained how the kiwi fruit is formed and cultivated with the help of the honey bees.

As always, our time was limited and we were not able to stroll around the area near the ship after the tour, so we were unable to see the nearby seaside resorts, which were beautiful and extensive. We visited some rural areas so I was surprised to see that this is also a very prosperous area, with multimillion dollar homes fronting the sea and an extensive area for tourism.

The sailaway was quite lovely.

Our evening hours were spent packing, eating dinner, going to the main show, packing, visiting our favorite two groups, Lincoln Center and the billboard boys, packing, and setting out luggage before the witching hour of midnight. We finished out the evening at Billboard on board, where Anderson and Justin took requests. They’ll be on board for seven more weeks. If you take this cruise in the not-too- distant future, go see them!

We have brown luggage tags,which means we can leave the ship at 9:00-9:30. All we have to do is throw in our clothes and grab some food in the Lido and we are off to Aukland, our final destination.

It’s Friday morning and I have some free time before our excursion at noon. Yesterday we spent the morning in the charming, lovely seaside town of Napier, in the Hawkes Valley wine area, where a catastrophe lead to renewal.

The catastrophe was the earthquake in February of 1931 that was instrumental in wiping out a good portion of the city. The renewal was the choices that the city fathers made when they were forced to start over again: build the town in one unified style, Art Deco.

The inspiration for this style was the work of the architects in New York and other parts of America: Frank Lloyd Wright, Tiffany, Louis Sullivan and others who were influential during this period. Louis Hay was a prominent New Zealand architect who designed many of the buildings in Napier post-earthquake. Not only is the city center unified in this period of style, but the outlyng neighborhoods all have similar housing styles as well. Napier has the largest collection of Art Deco buildings outside Miami.

We left the ship and were on the bus at 8:15, where we were given a one-hour driving tour of the region, then we returned to the city center, and we went to the Art Deco Center, where we watched a film about the earthquake, saw the devastation and ultimate renewal. We spent some time in the fully equipped Art Deco shop – of course – then, with one of the volunteers, did a one-hour walking tour of the city center.

Here are some examples of the buildings we saw on our fun-filled, perfect-weather morning:

This building is not located downtown, but in the nearly Port of Ahuriri . The owner of the building, Gerhard Husheer, a German tobacco tycoon, saw his business destroyed in the earthquake. Fortunately, he still had funds and spared no expense; he hired Louis Hay to design the building for him, which is a combination of Art Deco geometry and art nouveau ornamentation. Between 1956 and 2001 the building was purchased by the Rothmans and is subsequently known as the Rothman building. .

Back in town, we saw the movie, spent a bit of time in the gift shop, and strolled downtown with our guide:

Art Deco Weekend is a major event in Napier , with more than 4,000 participants, celebrating the movement by dressing up in period clothes, bringing their vintage cars, dancing, dining and stepping back in time to the 1930s for three days. Doesn’t that sound like fun?!

All good things must come to an end, and, as our time was limited, we reluctantly headed back to the ship. As we sailed away, we watched “Rocket Man” on our TV – our second rock star biopic, since we saw ‘Bohemian Rhapsody” a few days ago. Since it was our first warm day, we also spent time at the pool where one of us went for her one hour swim and the other of us vegged out in the hot tub.

Sometimes my posts may sound a bit too upbeat. There are times when things do not go well and last night’s dinner in the “pay extra” Italian restaurant was one of those times. I love Italian food but the calamari appetizer was rubbery – sent it back – and the lobster ravioli was so smothered with oregano that I was coughing so I also sent it back! Fortunately I was offered a second Aperol Spritz – another drink for you to research- which helped to raise my spirits. My cassata dessert was fine. My sister had a similar experience with her choices. We survived. She definitely enjoyed her Irish coffee substitute.

Our evening entertainment varied: we sampled a little classical tunes, with music from the movies, Motown with BB King and the billboard boys, of course. The last big production number from the singers and dancers was a showstopper in more ways than one: this was their last performance after six and a months at sea. They were great and got a standing ovation. As usual, we finished off the evening with Anderson and Justin, the billboard boys.

I’d planned to finish off this post this morning but the best laid plans don’t always work out as I’d planned…we were off the ship all afternoon for a very nice tour of Tauranga, which included an extensive tour of the first mission house, then we went to sample some local products made from kiwi fruit and manuka honey, the two major exports of the country. We also enjoyed visiting with a kiwi producer at his farm.

I hope to give you more details of today’s excursion tonight or tomorrow but I’m not sure when. It will be a busy from now on.

We have to pack now because we’ll be kicked off the ship tomorrow by 9:30 AM. We will check into a hotel in Auckland then will meet a friend of my sister’s who will take us around a bit. We spend Saturday night at the hotel in Auckland then get on the plane Sunday, but not until the late evening, so we’ll have Sunday for touring the city as well. We get on the plane, fly for eight hours, arrive in Honolulu and it will be Sunday – again!

We’ll be in touch but I don’t know where or when. Hope you enjoyed the cruise!

Our bus driver / guide made this comment when we ended up in a difficult parking situation so I thought I’d include it here. How quaint and wholesome – as was the city itself!

We had wonderful weather for our tour of the city and gardens of Wellington, which is also filled with construction crews and roadblocks. New Zealand is building! Like Sydney and Christchurch, the city center is filled with skyscrapers but there are also gorgeous parks and landscapes throughout the city.

Our first stop was to the war memorial, honoring those who fought for New Zealand in various conflicts around the world.

We were dropped off in the bustling downtown area to take a cable car ride to the top of the city. Late spring is the perfect time to see the flowers here.

We got back on the ship late afternoon and shortly thereafter were underway once again.

I wanted to do research on my favorite drink, so when Happy Hour arrived, I asked the bartender to show me how to make the drink called Strawberry Dream. I was told it was a Holland America concoction.

Here are the directions:

Mash a piece of orange at the bottom of a glass.

Add vodka, lemon lemon mix, strawberry purée, and add ice. Shake. Add champagne. Garnish glass with a chunk of orange and pour.

We enjoyed the Lincoln Center stage group, then attended the main show, where a sand painter showed how to create his art. We concluded the evening sipping our drinks with the billboard boys. They were wild tonight! During a romantic song, Justin got silly, left his piano, and climbed on top of Anderson’s piano to serenade him. They’re so much fun – and so entertaining.

When we arrived back at the room, we were greeted by this towel animal. Can you identify it?

Our next stop is the Art Deco city of Napier, which had to be rebuilt after the 1931 earthquake. We have a tour that begins at 8:15 AM.

Our day did not start early today, which was a relief. We were able to have a leisurely breakfast and spend time up at the Lido, enjoying the views. We were docked next to a lumber mill.

We met the other participants on the gangway and got on buses for our afternoon excursion, which took us to the train station, where we boarded the Passchendaele Marlborough Flyer, a steam train that was built in 1915. It was named for the 1917 Battle of Passchendaele. It is now known as the moving World War I memorial.

It was a half hour ride to the town of Blenheim, the gateway to the Marlborough wine country, and we enjoyed a complimentary glass of wine as we travelled through the countryside.

Our final destination was THE WINE STATION, a tasting room where we paired our choice of wines with a very generous and delicious charcuterie platter. The servers weren’t quite ready for us so we waited a bit and chatted with the other participants.

The process was ingenious and high tech: there are no more ladies meandering among the crowds with bottles, offering tastes. Instead, we were each given a credit card loaded with $30, with tasting stations, delineated by vintage. We could choose the wine with the amount: there were three amounts, from two ounces to four ounces to six ounces. Depending on the cost of the wine, a two-ounce tasting varied between $2 and $4. Conveniently, bottles were placed beneath each tap – with price tags, of course.

It was fun to make a selection at the tasting station, then return to the table for food. It was all free-flowing, once we got the hang of it. I limited my tasting to Sauvignon blancs, my favorite vintage, and my sister tasted the reds. We each made a selection of one bottle which we will take back to Honolulu for Thanksgiving. It was all very scientific and serious – really!

We spent about an hour here, then boarded the train back to the ship.

Since we’re on the topic of alcohol, my favorite drink here on board ship is called Strawberry Dream, with many ingredients, including, of course, strawberries and Prosecco. I must find out how to make it.

We enjoyed a very funny Australian comedian tonight, two sets of the Lincoln Center group and a game called What Everybody Thinks, where we’re supposed to guess the most common answer to a question. I won! I didn’t win a prize, just the joy of knowing that I can predict the pulse of the populace. It’s a heady feeling.

Time for bed. Our tour of Wellington doesn’t begin until just after noon. Another sleep-in day!

Once again, we were up early to catch a tour. We decided to do Christchurch on our own, but still had to get there. It was a two-step process: first the tender, then the HAL bus.

We met in the World Stage, as usual, for our tender tickets. Weather was first described as “rain” and there was an early morning chill in the air, so I wore my rain jacket and hat from Tasmania which keeps me warm, and took my little umbrella.

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We landed in the quaint village of Akorara, which is a popular tourist spot in the good weather. There are lots of cute cottages and tons of flowers, which we will explore on the way back to the ship.

We got on our bus for the hour and a half ride into Christchurch, over beautiful scenic rolling hills filled with sheep and cows, water features and some magnificent views. The camera’s eye can’t capture the beauty of the scenes, especially while riding in the bus.

There are a few blurred shots but I’ll show you the best shots I could get, both going into town in the morning and returning in the afternoon. It was a spectacular Journey.

Here are two shots from our morning journey into town:

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Once in Christchurch we were left off at the impressive art museum.

It was cold on the bus so our first stop was to the museum cafe for cappuccino! We even had a bird visit, who must have been hungry or thirsty.

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Christchurch has been described as “the most English of cities outside England,” because of its history, geographical setting and architecture, but many of the wonderful buildings were destroyed in the earthquake. The crown jewel of the city, the magnificent cathedral, is still left in ruins today because neither the Anglican diocese nor the city fathers have been able to figure out what to do with it. It is left right now as a reminder of the ferocity of Mother Nature. It’s especially frightening for me to see this, since I have lived all my life in Earthquake Country.

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Many buildings were razed and replaced by parking lots which will be needed, as the new buildings will be high rises. There’s quite a bit of construction still going on in the central city area. Our bus driver described the hardships endured after the quakes, as the population had to scramble to find new housing. It was a terrible event.

Parts of the city, however, retain the original charm, with traditional park and river views mix with modern street art. The old mingles with the new.

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We stopped for lunch near the Bridge of Remembrance, which honored those soldiers who fought valiantly in the wars for New Zealand. We perused menus for about a block finally decided on this one. Our restaurant is called Original Sin- and with our order of blue cod fish n chips, my sister had a margarita and I enjoyed a glass of The Ned Sauvignon Blanc. The wine here is so much better than the New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs I get at home. The difference is noticeable .

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After lunch we had an hour of free time before getting on the bus, so we wandered through the arts center at the University of Canterbury, where we saw some lovely jewelry made by the students, a café and a fudge shop, where we succumbed to a few purchases. Has anyone ever had Hokey Pokey fudge ?

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We had an hour to examine the art work across the street from the arts center at our waiting spot, the museum . A man on the street who told my sister he was a chairman said to “see the chicken – man statue” – so we did. We spent a wonderful hour examining the works while the storm pounded on the rooftop! Don’t you love the chairs hanging from the ceiling? The admission was free and the staff was very friendly. Ironically, this modern glass structure not only survived the earthquake but served as the emergency command center directly after the harrowing event.

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We met the bus at 2:20 and made our way back. The only rain we had was during our time inside so we were lucky and there were times during the day when it was bright and sunny, as you can see by the photos .

I got a few nice afternoon images on our return and the bus was even able to stop once for the panoramic image of the entire area from the top of the highest hill.

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We came back to our quaint village to examine some of the holiday homes and gardens before getting back on the ship.

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We had such an ambitious and satisfying lunch that we skipped dinner entirely and devoted our evening to listening to music before heading off to bed a little earlier than usual, at about 10:30. We’d had two long days.

It’s now Tuesday and we go on an afternoon wine train. We are in the area of Picton. We will spend the afternoon eating and drinking.

It’s a rough life, but someone has to do it. We’re up for the challenge.

We awoke to sunshine as we sailed into Port Chalmers at 6:00 AM.

The weather was sunny and warm- 60s- and we caught a glimpse of the charming village of Port Chalmers before getting on the coach for our thirty minute drive to Dunedin to see the botanical gardens and a stately home. We also spent some free time in Dunedin for lunch and headed back on the shuttle to explore more of Port Chalmers before ending our day. We sailed out at 5:30.

Here are some photos:

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The stately home we visited was massive and impressive, with artifacts from all over the world. Much of the furnishings are original. It was built by hard-working enterprising Jewish immigrants who made their fortune in the furniture business. They gave back much to the artistic community of the growing town and when the family died out, the home was given to the city by the family, who maintains it to this day. Unfortunately, no photos were allowed inside.

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We were set free to wander after our tour and we found a charming local place on the main street called THE REEF, where my sister had seafood chowder and I had fried calamari. Both were fresh and delicious. We supplemented our food with a pairing of beer for her and my favorite Sauvignon Blanc for me. It was a wonderful lunch.

After some souvenir shopping, we headed back on the shuttle to explore Port Chalmers before getting back on the ship. I enjoyed the funky shops. There was lots of local color with pristine views of the water.

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Our sailaway was as beautiful as our sail in to this lovely part of the world, as we looked for albatross sightings.

Tomorrow: Christchurch. Another early day.

Time to sleep!

We landed in Melbourne in the morning. Since we were docked far from town, we decided to do a city tour. My sister was here in the 60s and didn’t recognize it. She remembers the city as being “very British.”

Downtown Melbourne is filled with skyscrapers and there is a lot of building going on. Streets were clogged and lanes were changed, much to the chagrin of Stewart, our coach driver. Our guide told us that seven years in a row, the city had won the world- wide title of “ most livable city, but lost its title this year to Vienna, Austria.

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We spent lots of time driving around town and I was impressed by the creative variety of the buildings as well as the city’s commitment to the arts. The center photo above is just a tiny part of an arts center. The opera house here gets more international bookings than the one in Sydney, because the Sydney Opera House is an intimate venue and doesn’t hold as many people. The Australian ballet building has a huge tower of a thin figure wearing a tutu.

We were told that people in Melbourne are “mad about sport” and we were driven by the Rod Laver tennis complex.

I took the picture of the ballet building from the 88th floor of the Eureka building – the Skydeck – which gives a panoramic tour of the city, a bit like the views seen at the Seattle space needle.

Since we were taking the tour on November 11, we were able to stop at the Shrine of Remembrance after the 11:00 AM ceremony. It is a huge park honoring those who served in all the battlegrounds, from Gallipoli to Afghanistan. There were individual memorials for each conflict, with an eternal flame to commemorate those lost in World War II. This is the entrance, with poppies. Many people were also wearing poppies on their shirts, as a symbol to remind us of the horrors of war, “ lest we forget.”

I was surprised that November 11 wasn’t a national holiday, as Veterans’ Day is at home, but was told that ANZAC Day is much more important, as it commemorates those from the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) . The date, April 25, was the date of the first wartime engagement, in Gallipoli, in World War I. Anzac Day honors all those who “served and died in all wars, conflicts and peacekeeping operations. “

Many school children were at the park with their teachers and we were told that all children wore uniforms, whether they be in public or private schools. Hats are also compulsory, as Australia has a large hole in the ozone layer.

We returned to the ship and rested, then prepared ourselves for evening entertainment. We’re enjoying the classical music of the Lincoln Center stage with four young and talented musicians and the dueling pianos who play Billboard hits. We play trivia. We go to the shows in the main showroom which have been excellent so far. We enjoy our balcony. Of course there’s the food as well. We went to the gala evening dinner in the main dining room and also drop by the Lido deck for breakfast. We indulged in room service breakfast the day we had a morning tour.

Today our tour to the wildlife refuges isn’t until the afternoon so we can take our time to wander into town.

I have lots of catching up to do. Today is Tuesday November 12.

We flew out of Honolulu Thursday-a lovely, smooth flight, thanks to Hawaiian Air, even though it was a day later than we’d originally scheduled because one of their planes was taken out of service, the one we were supposed to take Wednesday. We landed at Sydney Friday evening ten hours after our departure and took a taxi to our hotel.

Our only sightseeing option was a Saturday morning city tour, before our sail away in the afternoon which we booked online before we left..my sister spent ten days there but this was my first trip.

The weather was perfect – late spring with a hint of a breeze. We did a comprehensive tour that began with a guided walking tour of the area called The Rocks, which is where the city began. The quaint historical buildings have been repurposed into shops and restaurants. Parks and the gorgeous natural beauty of the city seem to coexist gracefully with skyscrapers and other high density buildings.

I was captivated by Bondi Beach, one of the world’s best surfing beaches. We found a cute café and settled in for a muffin, a cappuccino and some great people-watching before heading back to join our tour group. The ambiance reminded me a bit of Santa Cruz. We also drove around many of the architectural districts of the various neighborhoods of the city. The average price of a home in Sydney is $900,000.

Our last stop was the Sydney Opera House and we were scheduled for a tour. We didn’t realize it was an afternoon tour. Unfortunately we couldn’t do the tour and get to the ship on time. The paperwork indicated it would be at noon, not 2:00 pm. Oh, well. I comforted myself that I had done the architectural tour of the Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, another very unique edifice. We still had time to walk around and get up close and personal with this building.

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I urge you to spend as much extra time in Sydney as you can. There’s so much to see and do. Our guide was wonderful.

We’re allowed one bottle of wine each on board without having to pay corkage fees, so I got an Australian Sauvignon blanc called Catching Thieves and my sister got a Tasmanian Pinot noir to keep in our room..

We took a taxi back to the hotel and the driver waited for us to collect out luggage. Check in for the ship was fast with no lines since most people were waiting way before the 1:00 check in time to get into their rooms. We arrived in our upgraded veranda room by 2:00. It was a treat to hang out on our balcony and sail pass the beautiful harbors of Sydney. The life boats are our neighbors but it doesn’t obscure the view.

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We had the sail away from Sydney Saturday at 5:00 and continued on toward Melbourne. Day 2, Sunday, was a sea day. We needed to catch up on the time change, get some much-needed sleep and recharge our batteries. The waves were a bit rough but not too bad.

We were in Melbourne Monday, on Remembrance Day, November 11 and were able to see the Shrine of Remembrance, where veterans of all wars were honored on our Panoramic City tour. More of that will be mentioned in my next post.

Today is another much needed sea day.

Wednesday we’ll be in Hobart, Tasmania. It’s my birthday and we chose to see the Bonorong Wildlife Refuge, a non-profit organization that rehabilitates wounded native animals. We’re looking forward to this excursion.

I hope to post the day in Melbourne today at some point in between naps.

Questions? Be sure to ask. We’re enjoying both the ship and our itinerary.