New Zealand

New Zealand

We had smooth sailing to reach New Zealand, and enroute enjoyed the Krew Kapers show again and dinner with the Cruise and Assistant Cruise Directors, Dana and Jamie Logan.  These two are wonderful people and so suited to their work.  We got to know them during our 2009 World Cruise as they were onboard in that capacity then.   Krew Kapers is always our favorite show since the crew puts it on and it’s full of heart.  It’s their time to shine, to do whatever they  want  - sing, dance, belly dance, folk dance,  etc.  Some of them are really excellent but everything is just fun, for them and guests.  We have a great picture from the show of our current butler, Bish, and our butler, Ryan, from 2009.   It’s also part of the Captain’s Farewell Party for those guests leaving the ship, but the show always makes it a special evening.

Belly dancer - server in main dining room

Massimiliano  Server in La Veranda--beautiful voice!

Bish in front, Ryan to his left

We were thrilled to be back in Bay of Islands, one of our favorite places in the whole world.  Last visit we took a helicopter ride over the Bay and surrounding countryside and thought it was a fabulous way to see the whole area – vineyards, golf courses, gorgeous coastline and the many beautiful and varied  islands within the Bay.   This visit we took a catamaran sail through all the islands and it was wonderful perspective as well.   We meandered slowly in, out, and around the small rugged islands, hugging the shorelines for really close-up looks at cliffs, caves and small bays.  We went out to the furthest point of the peninsula where most of the big game fish are caught and the rugged coastline ends where some jagged rocky islets have broken off.   In one of these, an opening has formed all the way through it and our captain took the catamaran all the way through – it didn’t seem like it would fit!  They can’t always take the boat through so we were very lucky that the seas were calm enough to allow it.

After, we caught a ferry from Paihia to go over to Russell, something we’ve talked about doing again for …. 8 years!  Not just because Russell is so quaint but because of the Hokey Pokey ice cream!!!!!!!!    Boy, we have waited a long time and come a long way for it, and it didn’t disappoint.  Creamy vanilla ice cream with pieces of real honeycomb laced through it.  It was just as delicious as we remembered, for sure. We even found the same ice cream parlor where we had it the first time!   And, oh yeah, Russell was just as picturesque.  We ate fish and chips at the historic Duke of Marlborough Hotel and walked around the tiny town which for a short time was the capitol of New Zealand.  It was a beautiful warm day and an idyllic setting.  We passed a lovely afternoon and then returned to the ship, discussing ways we might be able to replicate Hokey Pokey at home.   Can you freeze a honeycomb?  We’ll let you know….

After, we caught a ferry from Paihia to go over to Russell, something we’ve talked about doing again for …. 8 years!  Not just because Russell is so quaint but because of the Hokey Pokey ice cream!!!!!!!!    Boy, we have waited a long time and come a long way for it, and it didn’t disappoint.  Creamy vanilla ice cream with pieces of real honeycomb laced through it.  It was just as delicious as we remembered, for sure. We even found the same ice cream parlor where we had it the first time!   And, oh yeah, Russell was just as picturesque.  We ate fish and chips at the historic Duke of Marlborough Hotel and walked around the tiny town which for a short time was the capitol of New Zealand.  It was a beautiful warm day and an idyllic setting.  We passed a lovely afternoon and then returned to the ship, discussing ways we might be able to replicate Hokey Pokey at home.   Can you freeze a honeycomb?  We’ll let you know….

Beach at Russell

Oldest Church in NZ

Main street of Russell

Relic ( phone booth, not Al)

Auckland – City of Sails!   Docked right at the bottom of downtown, we could easily walk off the ship and get to all the main sites, which we did in the afternoon.    But initially, we took a drive around the old port section of the city which is now being aggressively rehabilitated into condos, nice office buildings, shops and restaurants.  It’s well on its way to being Auckland’s next ‘it’ area.   Crossing the harbour via the ‘coat hanger’ bridge (it looks like one),  we arrived in Devonport.  It has a distinctive flavor – historic and charming with lots of old homes and villas that have all been restored, most built out of the native Kauri tree wood which has weathered the years very, very well.  We went up 2 volcanic cones for views of the small community, but mostly for the view over the bay to Auckland  -  spectacular! The North Head volcano served as a strategic military fortification guarding the bay , and there were a few cannon around, including a “disappearing”  gun.  It had a mighty recoil after being fired, which sent it underground where it could be safely reloaded for the next round.   We got dropped off in the waterfront area and had lunch returning to Auckland on the ferry afterwards.  Then we walked all around downtown and into the America’s Cup yachting area where there are lots of café’s and the NZ yachts that have been in that race.

Auckland Skyline

Auckland Customs House

Home in Devonport

Devonport

Devonport

Disappearing Gun

Next port was Tauranga, from which we were able to go (finally!) to Rotorua, the NZ version of Yellowstone National Park.  While it will never replace Yellowstone as a great geo thermal  region,  Te Puia was even better than we thought it would be.  And we have now seen all 3  ‘Old Faithfuls’ of the world!  Who has a list like that!  Te Puia  is on Maori tribal land and they have done an excellent job of fixing it up for tourism. Because of that, we had a traditional Maori welcome ceremony and various dances which showed the fierceness of the warlike Maoris, with all the rolling eye movements and protruding tongues, meant to scare their enemies away and avoid a fight altogether ( The All Black New Zealand rugby team uses these same tactics before a game). Good thing their enemies mostly  were paying attention, otherwise they risked losing and then the Maoris would eat them.   It was performed in a traditional tribal meeting house decorated with lots of kauri wood carvings and Maori symbols. 

The Old Faithful geyser was erupting when we finally got into the thermal area, so that was good.  There were mudpots, steaming fumaroles, blue thermal pools,  and geysers all around the area.  In fact the thermal area is so large that there are several large spas, and numerous hotels have their own warm springs for guests to bathe in.  Interesting area, for sure. 

Along the drive to Rotorua, we passed through a fertile agricultural area where avocado and kiwi fruits are grown.  The orchards are protected by 25 foot high hedges of various trees to protect the crop trees from strong cold winds from Australia that easily penetrate the ‘neck’ of the North Island.  Also in that region are vast hillside acres planted with Monterrey Pines that are grown for export.  Timber is the #1 industry of NZ after tourism. They’re planted very densely and the lower branches of the trees are trimmed off so they will grow straighter and taller.  Underneath grow giant tree ferns which are themselves very beautiful, but here they fill in the spaces under the pines, making the forests really dark and ethereal.   BTW, when in NZ, always say you’re eating a kiwi fruit, not just a kiwi, or the locals might get the wrong idea!

Tauranga itself is a vacation spot with numerous lovely beaches and plenty of hotels and condos.  We were very surprised at how different its coast is from the rugged cliffs we have seen.  It was new and nice and very well kept! 

Maori Meeting House

Scaring the Enemy!

Yellowstone Cap at NZ Old Faithful!

Old Faithful

Blue Thermal Pool

Mudpots

Tauranga

Napier is known as an Art Deco enclave.  Almost every original structure was damaged or destroyed in a strong earthquake in 1931.  At the time of rebuilding, the Art Deco style was the rage in US and Europe, so the new constructions were made in that design.  It’s very unique.  Some of the suburbs from that era and the small city center are almost entirely Art Deco, and Napier promotes it very heavily.  We just missed a big annual Art Deco festival there.  People come from all over for the event and there’s a parade of antique cars and lots of costumed shopkeepers and other participants.  There are lots of antique cars around that are available for day tours of the area.  It was really fun and different!  And OPOSSUM WORLD is there!  No  - we are not making this up! Opossums are  terrible pests around NZ, so in trying to eliminate them, some enterprising forward thinkers have come up with hats, gloves, scarves, sweaters, etc. out of the fur.   Opossum World has it all!  It even has real stuffed opossums displayed around the shop wearing little dresses and suits, and at the back of the store there is a display of stuffed opossums living in their natural habitat (unclothed), as well as a trapper’s cabin and a trapper!  It’s just an amazing place!  (Not to mention really really really really creepy).   There’s also a beautiful rocky beach down in front of the town with turquoise waves crashing in.  That was really really really pretty! 

What can I say

By now we had arrived on the South Island and the capitol city of Wellington.  Our drive around the city took us past Parliament (nicknamed The Beehive) and lots of government office buildings.  We rode a short cable car up to Kelburn for views of Wellington, then stopped at a small but very nice Botanic Garden and greenhouse, and finally went to the top of Mt. Victoria for great 360 views of the city, the coastline and bays all around.  Some of the expensive residential areas are on such steep hills that the city has given home- owners permission to build their garages down on street level and install their own one-passenger cable car to take them up to the house.  Wonder how much that would cost!  We got dropped off in the city center and walked all around for a while, then had lunch in a restaurant that had sort of a Mexican /Texan/NZ type menu.  Kind of an odd choice, but good, and after a while we even noticed that there was a flag of Texas hanging – vertically rather than horizontally, but we didn’t hold it against them.

Akaroa is a small French community left over from early  discovery and claiming days.  The British won the area from the French but allowed them to have this very tiny section of land where they started their settlement.  French is still spoken in some of the shops and the town still has some of the quaint historic buildings remaining. 

Anyway, we took off for a long day into the rugged high country near the Southern Alps, across the huge agricultural Canterbury Plain, eventually arriving at Rubicon Station for a jetboat ride(yeah!) and 4x4 trek.  The jetboat was as fantastic as the one we took in 2009 on the the Shotover River near Queenstown.  The only difference was that the Waimak River Gorge isn’t quite as narrow as the Shotover Gorge, but the ride was every bit as fast and thrilling.   The water was turquoise and the gorge very steep and so beautiful!  The boat only needs 4 inches of water even when fully loaded, and we were fully loaded if you can catch my meaning.  We skimmed close to the rocky outcroppings and raced around shoals and spun in 360 degree circles.  It was a blast!  Got a little soaked but, believe me, no one minded.  It was really really fun.  Definitely go out of your way for a jetboat ride, you won’t be sorry!

We rode a 4x4 vehicle called a Unimog for our trek across the Station (or Run or Ranch, whatever you want to call it).  Unimogs were intended as troop transports, but proved unsatisfactory, so have been re-purposed for rough country adventures, such as this one.  We slogged up and down and all over the place, stopping to enjoy a great view of the river on which we had just been jetboating, eventually arriving at a high lookout toward Mt. Torlesse and the distant Alps.  Beautiful!  It was a really really great day.  Anytime we can take a jetboat ride will always be a great day!

Our final port in NZ was Dunedin where we took a train ride through the Taeri River Gorge.  We sat across from each other with a small table in between and watched the scenery slide by.  We passed the largest and most successful race horse farm in NZ and some small suburbs of Dunedin before the landscape began to rise into the river gorge.  Shortly before we left Al had read that we should sit on the right side of the train for the best scenery, and it was true.  We followed along the river, and while the tracks slowly gained elevation, the scenery rose faster.  The rocky cliffs are made of shist, dark jagged horizontal layers.  There’s a huge sheep station along the top of all the cliffs and we saw several ‘mobs of sheep’,  as the conductor described them, but more amazing  to us were the one or two or three sheep  out alone perched on high inaccessible outcroppings.  We wondered how they could even get there and if they would ever get back to the top!  We made several stops for pictures, then,  at the top of the gorge we all got off while they brought the two engines around to the opposite end for the trip back to Dunedin.  We stopped at the beautiful Dunedin train station for a quick photo and returned to the ship.  We enjoyed this day very much.

The finale for NZ was a slow all-afternoon cruise of Milford Sound.  It’s really a fjord because of the narrowness of the inlet and the steepness of the mountains that rise straight up out of the water.  There are several beautiful waterfalls, and the Captain stopped the ship in front of one of the big ones. He slowly maneuvered to and fro so anyone watching from their suite would see it no matter which side they were on.  Most people were up on deck and we were outside for the whole 4 ½ hours.  The ship waited briefly at the end for the guests who had taken the overland trip to Queenstown (a trip we had taken in 2009 to see some of the interior mountains including Mt. Cook) to tender out and board the ship.  At that point he motored us out of the Sound into the infamously rough Tasman Sea.

After such a lovely day, we prepared for a bad night, but by going at almost top speed the Captain was able to keep the ship between two fronts, one from the south and one from the north, and we had an amazingly smooth crossing.  Just 3 weeks ago, the Regent ship Voyager had such high seas crossing the Tasman that a wave crashed through a couple of windows into the main restaurant.  Our previous crossing of the Tasman Sea was through the worst seas we have ever experienced.   We were exceedingly lucky and very grateful!

On to Australia!