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fter Christchurch, we had a day at sea as we left the South Island and headed towards the North Island of New Zealand. At about 7:00 pm we came in view of White Island, a volcanic island that is still active...and has been making steam for about 400 years since it last blew it's top. Captain Cook...who either discovered or first charted, or both, most of this region of the world, named it because of the white cloud of steam that always hovers over it. The view was great as we sailed around the island taking pictures, noting the birds and wildlife that has 're-settled' the Island..and watching the sun set. Pictures won't do it justice, but Doug got some great shots.Next morning found us in Wellington, third largest city in New Zealand and the capital of the country..and our first time on the north island. The north island is about 340 nautical miles from the long south island. South island was created by glaciers, and the rocky river beds remind Kay and Randy a lot of Alaska.....while the north island was created by volcanoes. In Wellington we booked the 'New Zealand Heartland' tour...and lucky for us, we drew Sean as our guide and driver. We are pretty good at this whole tour departure thing now, so we made sure we were in the right place to get up front, where we can see out the wind screen (wind shield to us yanks) and converse with the driver. Now Sean was truly a 'Kiwi'......never been outside of NZ, (no need t
o), and very proud of his country, like most kiwis...but more on that later.Sean drove us up and over the mountains to the Wannarappa area of New Zealand. The scenery through the mountain switchbacks was gorgeous....almost as many shades of green as Ireland. and Sean made it entertaining all of the day. When we commented on the flimsy guard rails and how they wouldn't even slow the bus down, he quipped "no worry....we aren't going over....imagine the paperwork!" .....which turned out to be one of several Sean-isms. Sean spent much of the trip convincing us of the seriousness of the possum problem in NZ. Yes, that was possum......but not an opossum like we have in NA, this is sort of a mix with our possum and a feral cat. Very mischievous little buggers, and quite prolific. Remember the 40 million sheep.....well there are over 70 million possum, and they are pretty universally disliked. They are a menace to the native Kiwi birds....as they are also nocturnal and they destroy the eggs, the hatchlings, and even the full grown Kiwi. Almost every power pole in NZ has about a one foot wide metal band around them to keep the possum from climbing up and shorting out the power. So univers
ally, the possum is a hated little nuisance. Sean was very clear and very humorous about that. After stopping at the summit to have a 'look around' we headed to the plains between two sets of mountains and visited some of the shops there. First stop was at a store that specialized in Paua shell jewelry, etc. The paua is a mollusk native to the seas here, and the inside of the shell is a beautiful blue. So think 'mother of pearl' that comes from a different shelled mollusk....only blue. (Visualize for now.....we are bringing home samples.) Greytown had us visiting a chocolate shop with yummy homemade items and several other boutique shops. Nice pace on the tour......some scenery, some facts about the area.....home prices, etc. ....then some time to walk around and explore. We ate lunch in Martinborough, a wine town that has expanded greatly with the fairly recent evolution of a thriving wine business for NZ. We drove around the vineyards...all of which are draped in netting to keep the birds out...and stopped in town for a little tasting and some lunch. At the wine center, we met another kiwi that was so happy to see some yanks and pour them some wine. We had to get to our lunch, but he taught us some NZ slang that has stuck. He and a mate worked at a summer camp in Minnesota for a year....and shared some of the funny NZ slang that yanks get a kick out of. First is 'sweet as' ......which, when they say it sounds exactly like 'sweet ass'.....and like most terms here in NZ, it means "everything is great...no worries !" .....almost like an OK but with feeling! So if you asked some one how their lunch was, they might reply 'sweet as'. Doug and Randy have picked that one up...and the locals get a kick out of it. He also relayed a story from their camp experience, where he and his mate would tell the campers to 'meet us at 2:00 pm at Paul Bunyan's deck'....except when a kiwi says it ....we would hear 'Paul Bunyan's dick'...so the campers would all snicker. When they corrected the kiwis....it was their turn to snicker....because deck the way we say it means pot or weed here. We had a great lunch at the Martinborough Hotel, good interaction with the other folks from the ship on this tour, and off to see a railroad museum and then back over the mountains and into Wellington. We were running a little late....so we toured around a bit...saw another filming spot for the Narnia Chronicles, and had a short tour around downtown in a big coach! As we rounded one corner, a gal was right in our path and got that deer in the headlights look, to which Sean commented "sure gave her possum eyes didn't I.....imagine the 
paperwork!" . He showed us the parliament house for NZ which is shaped like a bee hive and took us by the American Embassy....which was a McDonalds. Sean was a keeper.....we wish every driver and tour guide was as good.Day 10 of the cruise we docked in Tauranga. Another coach tour, and a competent driver / tour guide. This was sort of a 'back to nature and the local heritage' sort of tour. Early start, and we were off to Rainbow Springs.....near Lake Rotorua. On the way we saw Kiwi plantations and
learned that this fruit grows on grape vine type structures and produce either a green or a gold fruit. The blossoms are very dainty, and can be blown off by a stiff breeze before the fruit forms....so all are surrounded by hedges and man made barriers.Rainbow Springs had us getting up close and personal with native animals, plants, etc....including wonderful trout (Rainbow, brown, and several other native varieties),the Kaka, an iguana like creature, and the North Island Brown Kiwi. Kiwis are endangered, so the Kiwi Encounter is a conservation effort to help solve the high infant mortality problems and renew the Kiwi to its original habitat. We learned all about the bird (did you know that for it's size....it lays the largest egg of any other bird?), and saw the nursery and then a couple live kiwis. Very neat experience...and lots of great pictures.
Next stop was the Maori Cultural Center / Te Puia. The Maori were the original natives of the area...and there are many similarities between them and the American Indian. We had a Maori guide, Tata, who joined us and shared the Maori story from their perspective. He taught us 'Kia ora' which is their greeting...and sort of universal like Aloha to the Polynesians who settled Hawaii. So in response to 'Kia ora' you respond' Kia ora' with enthusiasm, and like aloha, it covers about every opportunity for a greeting day or night. Tata and the Maori experience were quite serious about respecting their customs. The stop included a traditional greeting, cultural demonstrations (chanting, dancing, fighting, etc.) Each of the tour groups / busses picked a 'Chief' of the bus before they arrived.....4 chiefs in all....and the Chief of the Bus represented his 'people' in the arrival ceremony. Doug was our chief! He and Tata exchanged traditional greetings.....which had noses and foreheads touching (twice only, three times means you're getting married ) and it helped us all understand hierarchy and customs. The chiefs were 'greeted' by the warriors of the village with a native dance and a peace offering. When the visiting Chief picked up the peace offering...he needed to keep eye contact and back away from the warrior.....if he turned his back, it meant we wanted to fight, and we were challenging them. We passed inspection, did the ritual correctly and were welcomed by the oldest female in the village. Without her 'song'.....no one gets into the village. Pictures will show the tattooing that is a part of their culture......but may not catch the tongues....yes, tongues. Part of their 'scary dance' and their celebrations has the males sticking their long tongues out and wiggling them pretty much continuously. Kay and Camille thought the whole thing a bit too serious.......and wondered if we weren't going to be eaten. The food was cooked in a pit by heating rocks and then putting the food on top and covering with earth, very similar to an Hawaiian luau, but with fish, lamb, chicken, sweet potatoes, etc...no pig. Food was good....our chief kept us out of harm's way...and we were back on the bus and off to the Thermal Springs and boiling mud at the Tamaki Heritage experience in Rot
orua.We had a different Maori guide and viewed some of their traditional crafts such as weaving and carving. They had a traditional war canoe....carved intricately out of a single tree....seated 18 warriors and was over 50 feet long. From there we walked down the hill to the thermal area. Closest thing we have to this is 'old faithfulÕ'in Yellowstone, USA. The geyser here is Pohutu....and Pohutu was performing, i.e. spouting off the whole time we were there. This made for a strong sulfur smell in the area....and if you wanted to explore a bit, you got sprayed with a smelly mist and then you smell like sulfur. Hey...'no worries' .or should I say 'Kar pi', which sounds exactly like 'Cow Pie !' and elicits more smiles. Ok.....a bit wet and smelly, we head over to the boiling mud pits. Looks pretty much like it sounds....dark brown mud that bubbles like a boiling pot. That is because it is boiling.....so around 212 degree F....so no baths directly in this mud. But, you can buy cosmetics based on this magic New Zealand mud.....and it will make you look young again. Not sure they hooked us on that one....but there are several hotels and resorts that offer hot mineral baths and hot mud treatments. Maybe next trip.
Back around the other side of Lake Rotorua and past the only river kayaking course we have seen in a natural river setting. The kiwis are really into their extreme sports.....and this course, ..where the kayaker needs to go through gates that are suspended across the water was created to practice for the Olympic competition. None of us had ever seen a natural course ....but there is one on the Te puna river flowing out of Rotorua.
Back to the ship, busy day, late meal and on to Auckland.
We had pretty outstanding weather for all of our excursions....but Auckland was rainy and nasty on Day 11. Auckland is the largest city in NZ at about 1.4 million...so it looks like a big city built on an ocean harbor / bay. Today, we skipped the lines at the check in for the tours.....got our stickers and headed out to get the front seats on the coach. Add to the depressing weather, a really bad tour guide / driver. Since we arrived early to the coach, we got to hear about how he was 'dragged in today' for this tour, etc. That was a bad start to a worse morning. We visited the SkyTower....similar to one in Seattle or Toronto, this is the tallest in the Southern Hemisphere. Sections of glass floor on the deck which you can walk across and look down are an interesting touch.....a bit of a pucker! Very foggy and grey...so the gift shop at the bottom got much of our time. Back onto the coach with Brian Fuller, whose name we needed so we could complain...and back to a tour around the city with no meaningful commentary. That is unless you consider 'I haven't been to this part of the city in years' meaningful to visitors. Our other stop with this tour was Kelly Tarlton's Antarctic and Undersea Experience. After walking through an area that depicted some of the early exploration to find and visit the South Pole, we boarded our 'snow cat' to take a short ride and see the two major penguins found in the Antarctic, the King and the....other one. The windows on the attraction were fogged up on the outside so we didn't see much. One thing that was 'sweet as' was the underwater viewing tunnels with sharks, giant short tailed stingrays, and a variety of other fish. So that salvaged a bit of our morning.
Back to the bus, back to the ship.....quick check through security and on board to reload, grab a quick lunch, and head back out for our afternoon tour to wine country and wine tastings. Got back to the coach just in time...and who is our driver, Brian from the morning. So no meaningful commentary as we headed out of Auckland to visit three wineries...but a bus load of folks going drinking is always fun! We started at Matua ....a label we had been told to watch for by family....and they did a very informed tasting for the 30 some folks on the bus. Really quite generous, nice store....and they export to the US, but won't ship to individuals. (So we'll just have to find it at home.) New Zealand actually grows grapes on both the North and the South island....with the Marlborough Region in the north portion of the South Island being one of the largest grape producing regions. They are well known for their Sauvignon Blanc, and their Pinot Noir. Hey, after a few tastes and the rain letting up a bit' Kar pi', all is good. Second winery was Nobilo. which represents several brands you may have heard of....including one with a Monkey on the label that Pleepleus found to his liking......and a dessert wine and tawny port that were memorable. Strictly medicinal, they help you digest you know! Last stop was Soljans Estate....where a transplanted Californian, Debbie, gave us a tour that included the making, bottling, and aging areas of their shop, and then we tasted. She also brought out some good cheeses and crackers....which we went for like hungry piranhas. These wines are also not shipped....but their exporter in the Midwest is Brennan's in Brookfield......so that should be convenient. In spite of Brian's driving, (ran a red light in the morning tour)....we arrived back safely in time to depart Auckland and we were all happy and chatty....and needed a little nap before dinner.
In Auckland, we docked at a pier right in down town. (Most of our docks were in some smaller port that was a short ride from the main town, like Wellington or Christchurch.) So as we opened our curtains in Auckland.we were looking directly into apartments built on the pier. They have a great view of the harbor..when a cruise ship is not tied up to block their view and a great view into the cabins of the cruise ship when there is, and vice versa. As we left, many came out to wave when they heard the ship's horn signaling we were heading out.
Day 12, and one last port-of-call....the Bay of Islands. There are over 300 islands in this bay and a variety of small towns. Our tour was to visit the glowworm caves and a national forest that contains some trees over 1000 years old. We had a good driver /guide from the area and knowledgeable. Tourism is the number one industry in this area....so he was well informed. We headed to the glowworm caves...which are owned and run by the Maori. Situated in an area of sandstone and limestone hills.....the formations look like you are in the Wisconsin Dells. (Doug kept looking up expecting a dog to jump from one pillar to another!) The forest, however, is rain forest and has very beautiful, and for us, unusual trees, plants, etc. In Wisconsin, we are visited by the noisy, secada bugs every 17 years....well they have them here continuously in this season and they are loud. The glowworm cave is a natural cave that was formed by a stream running through the mountain and wearing away the sandstone and limestone. The cave was discovered by a Maori tribe, when they saw smoke coming from the mountain.....and on further investigation, found a women living in the cave.....supposedly to escape her husband. The cave is fairly easy to walk into, with a wooden walkway, railings, stairs, ladders, and an occasional stalactite or stalagmite to weave around. Doug and Randy were chosen as lantern carriers, which was convenient and kept claustrophobic Kay from getting excited. When we got deep into the cave, we turned off all the lanterns, and saw hundreds of glowworms on the ceiling of the cave. Each one is only about ½ inch long...and they spin a little web like hammock below them....then they poop and the poop glows fluorescent green, which of course attracts flies, mosquitoes, etc......which is their food. So one of the best comments from the crowd was 'hot shit'.....because we were all standing around peering up at worm poop. Actually, pretty cool or 'sweet as ! We exited the cave at the top, and walked down a path, through the rain forest back to the bus. Surrounded by the beautiful tropical trees, plants, secadas, and we even saw a walking stick, was as neat as the cave.
Next, a stop to see famous toilets in Kawakawa, which were designed by an Austrian, Friedrich Hundertwasser. Hey...we saw them....we christened them, and we did a little souvenir shopping. Next..off to the Manginangina Tauri Forest and the mighty kauri trees. One of these huge trees is estimated to be 1200 years old....and both these trees and the pristine rain forest around them was 'sweet as'. We headed back to the ship.boarded a shuttle into town, and got rid of all of our NZ money as we prepared to leave New Zealand. Not sure how we are going to fit this stuff in suitcases....but we had to get some final memories of our New Zealand experience, and to buy some items for the young'uns. Looks like a Kiwi Christmas next year.....if we can hold out. We had a beer /cocktail or an ice cream....or both...and headed back to the ship. Went up to the pool deck to hot tub and rest a bit and waved bye to NZ. One of the tenders spotted 3 Orcas / killer whales on their way back to the ship...but we missed that.
Sunday and Monday are 'days at sea'....and as we wrap up the cruise portion of the BLOG, we are getting ready to pack and put our bags out before midnight. Tomorrow, Tuesday, we arrive in Sydney before sun up, and depart, head to the airport....groan at the excess baggage fees we will probably have to pay in order to get our treasure trove up to Cairns and Port Douglas...and settle into our last stop.
A couple final thoughts on New Zealand and especially New Zealanders. First, Kiwis are a proud lot.....and at every stop the locals were proud of their country, their town, etc. Fun loving and adventurous and the whole 'no worries' or 'Kar pi' thing is real. They don't sweat the small stuff. They have quite a rivalry with Australians, especially in Rugby (the All Blacks are the top pro team) and Cricket....both of which we know a bit more about now. The country is really beautiful...and outside of the pesky possums.they are very intent on keeping it that way. Way greener than we are.....
They made quite an impression on us, and we'd be proud to be a little bit of a Kiwi from now on......'sweet as'!
As we wrap up the cruise.....a bit on the whole experience. The almost 2000 passengers hail from Australia (over 900 ), USA (0ver 400) The UK and Canada ( a bit over 100 each) and then a bunch from South America, Europe, Russia, etc. Like it or not, stereotypes sort of emerge when you spend time queuing up, etc....and we all have opinions of certain nationalities and of course certain characters we won't forget. We made several new friends....some which we will chose to stay in touch with. Age wise.... widely varied, but we were in the bottom third. Not many families, as school is on almost everywhere in the world right now.
We both had nice rooms with balconies, and on different sides of the ship....so no matter which side had the best view, we could find a room to go visit and watch. All of the 'special water' we brought on board in Sydney went to spicing up the diet cokes.....and Zolies Hungarian wines have also seemed to leak from their bottles....and will lighten our suitcases a bit. This should not be taken to mean that our bar bill will be light. Rudy, our favorite Philippino bartender is a good friend, along with Aristeo and Royland, our waiters. All will get nice envelopes tonite. Oh, and by the way...the boat weighs 78,000 tons.
Entertainment was good, with a couple standouts. Camille and Doug seldom missed a show and saw a pianist and an Australian singer that were outstanding. We had an illusionist / magician who was very good.....and the comedians,....not so much. Some of the group activities, like Trivia, Name that Tune, etc. were fun with two standouts "The Quest" on the first night back at sea and the Mixology session yesterday, where we learned to make Cosmopolitans, Bahama Mamma's (Doug's favorite), Yellow Birds, and a BBC (Baileys, Banana and Colada ). Learning was good drinking was better. Both of these sessions probably deserve more discussion when we come home...preferably including alcohol. Many fun things to do and we took advantage.
Everyone stayed pretty healthy....but the sniffles have cycled through us all....and we are all preparing to be in perfect health to tackle the Great Barrier Reef starting Wednesday.
So sorry to hear about the snow at home. Sucks to be you!
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