NEW ZEALAND .... at last

After 6 days at sea, we finally got to New Zealand.  Fiji, where we were supposed to be, was being blasted by 300 km/h winds and huge storm surges.  It is much calmer weather here.

Our ship anchored in the Bay of Islands harbour and we tendered in to shore.  The Bay of Islands is at the northern most part of New Zealand.  This is a maritime mecca sprinkled with 150 islands, ranging from boulders extending above the waterline to populated islands of 50 acres or more. We tendered in to Paihaia, a small town that has been here since 1834.  

Interestingly enough, after 6 days at sea, the first thing we did was book an island cruise that would take us to the Hole in the Rock and dolphin sighting.  The cruise started in Russell, a quaint Victorian town across the harbour from Paihaia.  This town has attractive nineteenth century homes circling the small waterfront area.  There were some incredible flowers and huge trees that we found fascinating.  We spent about two hours wandering bout the town, having a local lunch, before boarding the tour boat.  During lunch, we sat beside an older gentleman from St. Catherines who lives here full-time.  His son and family from Niagara-on-the-Lake were visiting. 

This is a New Zealand Christmas Tree in bloom

John beside a big old fig tree

A Granny in a big old tree

 

The tour boat took us out into the bay to see a lot of the incredibly rugged islands. 

To get to the Hole in the Rock, a local tourist attraction, we had to go through open sea and the transition was very rough ... think of a roller coaster ride with no seat belts.  Once we got there, normally the boat would sail through the opening, but the seas were just too rough.  On the way back, we encountered a pod of dolphins.  They were pretty docile until the boat pulled away.  All of a sudden they decided to show off by jumping through the wake generated by the boat. Quite a spectacular sight!  We’ve seen dolphins perform these feats at Seaworld, but never in a natural environment.

 

The tour boat then stopped at an island with a sheltered beach and let us wander about for an hour. This island, Otehei, was the favourite place of an American author, Zane Grey (wrote western novels) who used to winter here and do his writing. 

Flat Stanley's at the beach

Gail picking up sea shells

 

We were returned to Paihaia and back to our ship.  Unfortunately, while the day was quite cloudy, John managed to get a nasty sunburn, mostly the face.  The problem with the tour was that, to get pictures, you sat on an open deck.  Because the boat moved so quickly, and it was so windy, it was impossible to wear a hat and still have it on your head instead of in the water. Thus the sunburn ... thank goodness for Aloe Vera.

Now, we are off for three days at Auckland, disembarking on Dec 20 (Dec 19^th for you).

All we can see...is the sea

The best laid plans of cruise ship companies can be thwarted by Mother Nature.  On this cruise we were scheduled to visit the Cook Islands and Fiji after going to Bora Bora.  At Roratonga (Cook Islands) the water was too rough(14 foot waves) for the tenders to go ashore, so that became a sea day, and we sailed on toward Fiji.  Yesterday there was an announcement that there is a cyclone approaching Fiji, and it looks like it will hit the island at exactly the same time we are scheduled to be there.  Another change of plans happened, of course, and more unscheduled time at sea.  We are now in our fifth sea day with one more tomorrow.  The ship has turned south and will head straight for New Zealand, where we will have a stop at Bay of Islands at the northern tip of the North Island, and have an extra day in Auckland.  It is a bit confusing, especially because we will also cross the International Dateline, and December 15 will be skipped altogether!

In the mean time, we teach an art class every day, which is going very well, and enjoy the amenities of the ship.  It’s not hard to take after all, and eventually we will step on Terra firma again. 

This is as close as we got to Roratonga

Gail at a yoga class

Our stateroom

Pool area

Dessert anyone?

Shopping concourse

John at the aft of the ship

The "Living Wall"

Christmas decorations everywhere, even at the Saloon

Tahiti and Bora Bora

After about fifteen hours of flying, with a short stop over in L.A., we arrived in the tropical paradise of Tahiti, early in the morning.  Everything is easy going with a brightly costumed band to greet us at the airport, and a real lei of fragrant fresh flowers.

We waited for what seemed an eternity for our luggage, and it never did show up.  This was panic time, as we started to mentally inventory what we had with us in carry-on.  It was mostly art supplies, because these are heavy, and couldn’t go in checked luggage.  I try to have enough things for a day or two as well, but John was not prepared for this event.  They were very nice at the airport and gave us each a kit with a t-shirt and tiny personal grooming items.  Needing a few extra clothes was, of course, a reason to look through the local shops, many of which were not open on a Saturday afternoon, though we really don’t know why.

  Because it was much too early to get on the ship, we were taken by bus to a luxurious hotel resort for a continental breakfast.  The heat and humidity really affected us, being very tired and not at all used to it.  While we were there the clouds opened with heavy downpour of rain, as this is apparently the rainy season, and a common occurrence.  It didn’t bother us, and once it cleared up, we went for a walk down to the amazing black sand beach to take some pictures, and to look at the marvelous array of exotic flowers.

We boarded the Symphony in the afternoon, and it felt like coming home.  The ship is decorated for the Christmas season much like it was last year, when we did the holiday cruise to Hawaii.  The climate and even the ocean waters are much warmer here.  The ship concierge was very concerned about the luggage, and assured us they would pursue it in addition to the airlines.  After a scrumptious dinner, we were too tired to even go to the evening show.  It was so nice to see a comfortable bed after the night of little sleep on the plane.

Rain pouring from palm thatch roof

Black sand beach of Tahiti

Getting ready for Christmas on the ship

 

Bora Bora

The morning dawned with clouds shrouding the mountainous silhouette of the famed island of Bora Bora.  We had breakfast on the outside deck of the ship, where the humidity was so high, the camera lens was completely fogged up.  The view was magnificent.  No wonder Captain Cook wrote “Scarcely a spot in the universe affords a more luxurious prospect.” when he first sailed into this place over two hundred years ago.  We were happy to walk around after tendering in to shore, admiring the natural beauty and observing the happy looking people.  There was a choir having their rehearsal outside a lovely church, and people dressed in brightly coloured clothing making their way toward the service.  Some shops were open, and we picked up a few more things, just in case the bags didn’t make it.  When we returned to the ship, the phone was ringing with a message that our luggage had been delivered to the ship.  Big relief!

Bora Bora resort

Cloud shrouded mountain

Local architecture

Street band.  They stay cool by wearing "skirts"

Visiting the Bruce Peninsula

We always enjoy our travels abroad, but must say that there are fantastic spots to tour almost in our own back yard.  Following the great family get together at Thanksgiving (24 for turkey dinner), we decided to take a break, enjoy the sunshine, and head north to see if there were any coloured leaves left.  We drove right up to Tobermory, stopping at Sauble Beach and falls on the way.  It was glorious up there!  After spending the night at the Princess Hotel, we went to the Bruce Peninsula National Park, and proceeded to hike along one of the many trails, cameras in tow.  It was windy and cool, but the sun was just right for pictures of the "Grotto" area.  What a fabulous place!  We hope to return to this wonderful park in the spring, and must investigate the yurt camping that they have available.  Here are some of Gail's shots.

Sauble Falls

Looking down on the falls

John having fun

The Grotto

Looking down from the cliffs

Gail enjoying fresh air and sunshine

Lots of fantastic rocks

The forest walk along the trail

John will have plenty of wonderful photos to share too.
Note:  We are very proud of the fact that John entered two of his photos in a juried show in Waterloo, and both were accepted.  There are only forty pieces accepted out of over a hundred entries.  I am also pleased that the two paintings I submitted are also part of the show, which opens October 12 at the Button Factory in Waterloo.