Act 11
8
October 2008
8/10/08 Today we were in Moorea and from what we saw from the ship it is another very beautiful island. The waters are an amazing blue. We didn’t go ashore for too long and only wandered around the market that was set up and bought some more bottled water.
9/10/08
– 10/10/08 After
a relaxing sea day we arrived in Rarotonga, part of the Cook Islands. The waters around this island are the
most amazing blue we have ever seen.
Not sure if the colour will show in the photos but I sure do hope
so.
We
decided to hire a car and tour around the island. This was the best idea as we had a great
day. Lunch was at Trader Joe’s and
it was good and reasonably priced and the local brew was good
too.
After
lunch we did a little bit of shopping and then hopped back in the car and went
back around the island, in the opposite direction this time, stopping to take
pictures. It was a great day and
after dropping the car back they took us back to the pier.
On
the pier were some market stalls and there was one with black pearls so I have
treated myself to a couple of items at very reasonable prices in comparison to
the prices in French Polynesia.
It was a great day and it was good to be able to converse in English and also to be driving back on our side of the road.
11/10/08
– 12/10/08 Another very
restful sea day on our way to Pago Pago (Pahngo Pahngo). We went ashore and wandered through the
market that was set up near the pier before catching a taxi for an hour tour of
a little of the island.
Our
taxi dropped us at the Yacht Club where we had a couple of the local brew before
heading off to get some lunch. Part
way up the street to the restaurant the wheelchair caught the edge of an uneven
section and lost the rubber of one of the front wheels. Alas this curtailed ideas of lunch and
we got back to the ship as soon as we could so we could get maintenance to fix
the chair. (This is the second time this has happened.)
Maintenance
were very prompt and we were back ashore for a final look at the
market.
Pago Pago is another beautiful spot but then all of the islands have been very beautiful in their own unique way.
13/10/08
– 14/10/08 At 2am on
13/10 the clocks were set back an hour and also we moved forward a day, as we
have crossed the International Date Line, and Monday the 13th was no
more.
Thus passed another restful sea day although it was somewhat overcast and we did have some rain. Tomorrow we are in Suva.
15/10/08
We were in Suva today and I decided not to go ashore but to take the
chance to rest the knee a little.
Reg went ashore to get a few things and to have a little look around as
he has not been here before.
Tonight
we set sail for Auckland and the last leg of our Journey. Although sad that it is slowly drawing
to an end it will also be good to be back home as well.
16/10/08
– 18/10/08 Another two
wonderful sea days where we relaxed and did very little before arriving in
Auckland on 18th.
We
had booked a car so we could have a look around. As we left the ship we ran into Graham
and Jackie who ended up joining us for the day. We then headed off to the Avis
depot. Now this would normally have
been good but it ended up being up quite a hill which proved we should have
taken a cab as it was difficult to get me and the chair up the hill. But we made it in the
end.
Avis
ended up upgrading us to a brand new (only 19 klm on the clock) 4WD Hyundai
Tucson. Once settled in we headed
off for our first stop in Northcote as Reg wanted to revisit where he had spent
8 years growing up.
From
there we headed over to Devonport and went up to the top of a lookout which had
amazing views over the harbour and Auckland as well as views over the Hauraki
Gulf.
Absolutely stunning
scenery although it was very windy and quite cool. We have definitely left summer
behind.
After
our stop at the lookout we headed into Devonport for some lunch and found a
wonderful cafe which had excellent food.
Once we had finished lunch we headed back toward Auckland and the One
Tree Hill scenic lookout.
We
did get a little lost finding it but it was a great way to see a bit more of
Auckland and the view from the lookout was amazing. You could see 360 degree view of
Auckland and surrounds including the Waitemata and Manakau Harbours which empty
into the Pacific Ocean and the Tasman Sea.
It was truly fantastic but blowing a gale so much so that a little
swallow was having a lot of trouble trying to get off the
ground.
After
this we headed back to the city to return the car. Once this was done we headed back to the
wharf. Reg and I went off for a
little wander before stopping at a bar (next to Minus 5) for a cold beer for Reg
and a rum and coke for me. Yes they
had Bundy as well hoorah!
It
has been a great day and it was great to see a little of Auckland. The evening was spent quietly after
dinner in the Horizon Court.
19/10/08
– 20/10/08 Another very
restful sea day on our way to Wellington.
The ship arrived a little late due to strong winds. After docking we waited till the bulk of
the passengers had ventured ashore before we headed off the
ship.
The
wind was blowing up around 50 knots and it was freezing as well. At least I was freezing but Reg loved it
and while everyone else is rugged up he is in shorts and
tshirt.
We
caught a cab into Cuba Mall as we needed to get me a pair of crutches as I have
to return the ones Kathy lent us.
This accomplished Reg pushed me down to the Te Papa Museum which was not
too far away. Reg took lots of
photos of the race bike built by John Britten. This motorcycle was designed and built
in his “back yard”, it has many innovative features such as using the motor as
the frame, the motor was also designed and built by Britten, Reg was very
impressed by the quality of the alloy casting of the motor, the motorcycle has
legendary status among motorcycle racing enthusiasts of the world.
Oh
what a wonderful Museum we spent over 3 hours here just wandering around the
exhibits. We stopped for lunch and a tea and coffee, at the Museum cafe, during
our meanderings. I would highly
recommend this Museum apart from being free to the public (voluntary donation is
appreciated though) it houses a wonderful insight into the Maori people, their
journeys, life and culture.
After leaving the Museum we headed back to the ship. Once onboard we settled in the Patisserie for a warming coffee and watched the passing parade coming and going.
21/10/08
Today we arrived in Lyttleton, approx half hour drive from Christchurch,
where we had nothing really planned.
As we left the ship after 10am we were greeted at the bottom of the
gangway by a lady asking if we needed a wheelchair friendly taxi. They were also able to do a tour around
the area. So we opted for the tour
and we had a great one and half hours going up through the hills overlooking the
bay and the ocean, a drive through Christchurch and out to Brighton
Beach.
The
driver dropped us back in Lyttleton at the Royal Hotel where we had lunch. I had the Roast Lamb which came with
baked vegies and it was delicious and Reg had the Mixed Grill. Although we get baked meats on board
they don’t do baked vegies to go with them. So this was a real treat just like being
back home.
We
had organised for the driver to pick us up at a certain time and he dropped us
back at the ship where we had a well earned rest for a couple of
hours.
I
am walking a little better with the canes and actually was able to get up to
breakfast with them as well as to and from the cabin a couple of times. So at least there has finally been some
improvement but it has certainly taken it’s time.
Tomorrow we will be in Dunedin and then only a few days and we will be home.
22/10/08
This morning saw us arrive in Port Chalmers which is 30 minutes from
Dunedin. We were sharing the hire
of a van with Tanya & Kevin and Don & Sue. Tanya had organised this and the rental
company actually brought the van down to the Port which was a great time
saver.
Once
the van was organised we headed towards the Otago Peninsula which took us
through a little of Dunedin and out onto a very windy road around the
harbor. Oh what magnificent views
this is such a beautiful place. On
arriving at the Peninsula we went up to the top to Nature’s Wonders where we had
a coffee and a great chat with the owner of the spot. He was so knowledgeable and he runs a
number of tours (Princess uses his company) of the Peninsula and the penguins,
albatross and seals.
From
here we headed towards Larnach Castle and on our way we saw some seals swimming
very close to the shore which was wonderful. The Castle is halfway back to Dunedin
and up the top of a hil and it looked amazing from the road but as we had a
lunch reservation for 12.30pm we did not have enough time to go in for a
tour.
We
then drove back into Dunedin and up the steepest street in the world, Baldwin
St, which has a gradient of 1 in 2.86.
We
had a brewery tour booked at Speight’s Brewery for 2pm and we were having lunch
at in their Ale House. The lunch
was delicious and the brewery tour was very good. Unfortunately I could only do a small
section of the tour in the wheelchair but it was very informative and Reg and I
got to see the Board Room and the Staff Bar area which everyone else didn’t
see.
After
the tour we were all able to taste their beers and they were excellent. I really liked the Distinction Ale, then
their Gold Medal Ale followed by their Summit Ale. You could have as much as you wanted
within the 30 minutes that was allowed in the tour for the tastings. It was an excellent tour and we all
enjoyed the beer.
Once
our tour was finished it was time to head back to the Port to drop off the
car. On the way we went past the
railway station for some photos. It
is a beautiful old building.
We got back on board about 5.15pm after what had been a fantastic day.
23/10/08
It was my birthday today and we were scenic cruising in the
Fjordland. The scenery was
magnificent and it was a great way to spend a day.
There were 20 of us for dinner this night and a big thanks to Kevin for organising a cake for me. I was very spoilt with cards and lots of wonderful birthday wishes.
24/10/08
– 25/10/08 We are on our
final leg home and it was time to get the packing done. After 11 weeks we have certainly
accumulated a lot of stuff and the bags were definitely
bulging.
The seas remained calm with only 2.5m swells on 24/10 and on the 25/10 the sea was a millpond again. We certainly could not have asked for better weather during our trip. It has truly been remarkable.
26/10/08
We were up early this morning to see the harbor as we arrived. The ship was in through the Heads very
early around 4.30 am or so and we were up on deck around 5am.
As
the sun rose the harbour looked amazing and Reg has some great photos of the
Opera House and the Harbour Bridge.
Disembarkation
was very simple and we were off and at the airport in no time. Although we did have a little over 3
hours to wait for our flight it was very comfortable in the business class
lounge. We were so pleased we had
seats in business class as it made it much easier for me with this ‘wonky’ knee
and the Qantas staff was great.
There is definitely no
comparison between Qantas and their One World counterpart American
Airlines. Qantas wins hands down in
our opinion.
My
son Robert and his family and my daughter Kim met us at the airport and took us
home.
We
have had a great holiday from our tour of the US to a wonderful cruise but it is
good to get back home after being away for 11 weeks.
This
is my final written update but over the next few weeks we will be posting lots
of our pictures to the website so please feel free to have a
browse.
