Napier, New Zealand

 

The ship sailed into the bay around 7am, whilst we queued for departure tickets about 7.45am. We were on a private tour which requested for all those to disembark as soon as possible thus enabling the bus to arrive to lookouts and other destinations before the big Princess bus tours arrived. This way we kept the day clear. We were seated on the bus by 8.30am ready to depart, only to wait 10 mins for the last couple to arrive, which wasn't too bad considering past experiences (still can't beat the organisers of the world cruise private tours).

I suggest if there are any people contemplating a private tour of Napier, Scenic Tours great-tours@hbscenictours.co.nz are the way to go. John Hanlon was our driver and tour guide who is passionate about Napier, Napier's history, buildings and surroundings. We went to several great lookouts, travelled through the countryside, Hastings North, Hastings and Napier. He explained how the cities had rebuilt and the land surrounding had changed after the earthquake of 1931. I have taken a photo showing a gap between two buildings which during the earthquake, knocked together!

With regards to Napier and Hastings, a significant portion of the architecture was constructed in the styles of the time of the earth quack, and is now considered the Art Deco Capital of the world. Our guide took us past many buildings of Deco, Spanish Mission and Classical Revival.

We saw the most dramatic view of the day from Te Mata Peak. When the bus about to ascend the peak, our driver phoned a 'movement control co-ordinator' for permission to continue. Permission was given to move onto the next parking bay and wait until a pilot met us to escort up to the top of the peak. It was a very narrow road with steep drop offs. Once on the peak, we made a quick dash to the lookout, took our photos and had a rushed look around before we sought to shelter of the bus. It was so windy and cold up there, we thought we would freeze.

The bus drove past various orchards, wineries and grazing areas. The driver stopped at the Silky Oak Chocolate Company for 15 minutes of tasting and buying. We then called into a strawberry farm where we were given a choice of frozen berry ice cream served in a waffle cone. Yum. We had lunch at a local rose and garden nursery before we explored the Mission Winery.

 

 

 

Wellington New Zealand

 

Last night after dinner DH and I went for a walk around the promenade deck to walk off our yummy Italian Dinner while most of the passengers seemed to either walking down to the restaurants for dinner or bustling to get to the theatres in hope of getting a good seat before anyone else!. The seas had been fairly smooth as the ship sailed northwards towards Wellington on the North Island of New Zealand. We felt a fresh, crisp air as we stepped out onto the deck, luckily we had changed into our walking gear with jackets after dinner. The sun was still shining so we could see the South Island coastline on the port side of the ship. We were about  5 kms off shore. (It could be more, but I am unable to work it out correctly).

The ship sailed into Wellington Harbour around 7am in time to finish docking and finalising customs and immigration by 8am. We were one of the first 50 odd passengers off the ship and onto a shuttle bus into town. Cost of return shuttle bus NZD10 each. It is not too far to walk into the CBD from the terminal, only about 2kms, which some passengers did but we knew we would be walking around a considerable distance once in Wellington, so chose to ride the shuttle and get our bearings.

The bus dropped us off at Brandon Street, just near Lambton Quay, right in the middle of the CBD. From the shuttle bus drop off, we walked a short distance to the Cable Car NZD 3.50 one way to Kelburn Lookout and the Botanic Gardens. The cable car has been running for over 110 years, zips 390 feet above the city for a panoramic view out to the water. We explored the gardens and the Lady Norwood Rose Gardens before walking back into the CBD through the Bolton Street Memorial Park, a cemetery as old as the settlement of Wellington. The stories told by the headstones reflect the growing pains of the colony, poor sanitation, lack of welfare, fire, as well as the growing prosperity of a capital city and a thriving port.

By the time we reached Lambton Quay again, we decided to rest our weary muscles with a coffee stop before a walk along the boardwalk to Te Papa Museum, New Zealand's National museum. We walked around the various floors of displays which encompassed Art, Awesome Forces (an area showcasing the effects of earthquakes in N Z), Maori Cultural exhibits of dwellings, boats and culture and a National Art Collection of European and Maori historical and contemporary pieces. A must visit for anyone intending to visit Wellington.

We went back along the boardwalk to the shuttle bus which returned us to the ship. Tonight  we will have a candle lit dinner of French Cuisine and maybe a show in the Princess Theatre before we finish for the day. 

Day 6 Fiordland, New Zealand

Fiordland National Park

 

Our Captain announces sea conditions, usually twice a day. The later few announcements have warned us of high seas and strong winds, especially as we near New Zealand. Conversations with some passengers have warned us of the possibility the ship may not be able to enter the various fiords if the weather is bad. Well, we had a little rocking and rolling but not enough to cause sea sickness or hinder our movement around the ship, quite mild actually. So we were up and warmly dressed to go out onto the front observation deck on deck 11 to see the entrance to Milford Sound.

Fiordland was established in 1952 and is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites. It is on the South Island of New Zealand and is 1.2 million-hectare terrain free for wildlife to roam, from dolphins and seals in the water, to a variety of birds, including the flightless parrots known as kakapos and kiwis. New Zealand does not have any native manuals.

We stood on the open deck as the ship sailed into Fiordland about 7.45am. The cold wind came off the land and out through Milford Sound straight to the front of the ship where we were standing. We managed to stay there for about 3 hours before returning to the warmth of the ship and breakfast. 

The ship left Milford Sound about 10am then sailed south to Thompson Sound where it entered about 1pm and exited an hour later before sailing to Dusky Sound to enter just after 3pm and exiting about an hour later.

The sun rarely shone whilst we were in the sounds, the clouds were low in Milford Sound but had lifted by the time we sailed through the other two sounds. We were fortunate it had rained heavily the night before which afforded us plenty of waterfalls. The sounds were created when glaciers slowly moved through to the sea, sculpturing the fiords. Now that I have seen the three Sounds, I would rate Milford as the most dramatic. The land has been dramatically cut away by the glacier those many 1,000s centuries ago leaving vertical cliffs where waterfalls fall straight into the sea. As we looked through the low cloud cover, over the closest ridges to the higher peaks behind, we noticed these higher peaks were snow-capped, and we were told, most of the snow stays on these peaks year round. Brrr, it was cold out there on the front deck.

When the ship sailed into Milford Sound it had to negotiate around the narrow bends until the sound opened up to a wider point just before the lodge, which accommodates hikers, kayakers and tourists who visit the area. There is also an underwater observation area which goes 30 feet down into the water of the sound so tourists can see the aquatic sea life swim past.  We were lucky it had rained so much the night before as we saw many waterfalls, some 100's metres high, cascading into the water. Apparently they dry up fairly quickly if it hasn't rained recently.

The other Sounds are less dramatic but still special and breathtaking with their lush vegetation and crystal-clear waters.

The ship commemorated Veterans Day at 11am this morning and held a couple of services at 11.15am. Either an Interdenominational or a Non-religious. Then a Veterans' get together in the Razzmatazz Lounge at 2.30pm. Hats off to Princess who honoured Veterans for their service.

PS Drink of the Day 'Kiwi Sangria' (Bacardi Limon, Apple Schnapps, Sauvignon Blanc, fresh kiwi and lemon)

 

8^th November …….Melbourne

 

I awoke around 3am to realise the movement of the ship had changed. During the night we experienced a few gentle rolls, however once the ship sailed into Port Phillip Bay the ship appeared to be almost motionless, which of course wasn't the case, it was virtually 'gliding' across the bay into Melbourne's wharf. I rose about 6.45am to go up to deck 15 to catch the ship's arrival. The wind on deck was 'fresh' but the day's weather looked promising, low 20's with very little breeze. My cousins informed us the city had cleared after thunder storms during the night.

Our day in Melbourne consisted of a get together with my 2 cousins and their partners who live in Melbourne. We decided to catch the tram into the city from Beacon Hill tram stop, just 10 minutes walking distance from the ship. The stop is actually on the other side of the road which leads onto the wharf. When we walked through the terminal, there were quite a few souvenir stalls, a tourist information desk and a counter which sold 'Miki' transport tickets. We approached the counter to purchase a couple of tickets only to be told they had run out of concession tickets and the convenience store at the end of the wharf, just alongside the tram stop, would be able to sell us the tickets we needed. So off we walked to the store where we bought our tickets at a cheaper price than what the terminal counter sold their tickets. We bought our tickets at $6.30 concession and $12.60 for normal compared to $7.00 concession and $14.00! Just shows how tourists are ripped off......even in Australia!

Today is Oaks Day for the Spring Racing Carnival in Melbourne, where the ladies who go to the races or luncheons, dress up in their finery. On our tram trip into the city, we saw quite a few ladies were wearing short dresses and fascinators or hats and their partners in the suits with roses in their lapels.

The plan was to meet our at the RACV Club for lunch, firstly my older cousin and her husband  showed us around the attractions members enjoy, then we were taken to Bank Place to see the Mitre, the oldest hotel in Melbourne which also happens to be the oldest building in Victoria as well.  It has a resident ghost called Connie who, as the story goes, hung herself on the upstairs balcony, in the 1800's.  

 

We enjoyed a lively lunch, catching up with my cousins, one whom I hadn't seen for around 50 years! After lunch we were then driven to the Victorian Parliament House for a walk around the gardens before 'High Tea'….not that we needed any more food! Once again we had a lovely experience of sitting in the old historic building surrounded by the antique furnishings. Before we left the building we had a quick look around a few of the rooms which had been kept in their original condition. The library in particular has been beautifully kept. Thank you to both my cousins for making effort to catch up with us, and particular Joy and her husband Ian, for showing us areas of Melbourne we have never seen or experienced.

When we arrived back to the ship, we decided to forego our 5.30pm dinner sitting for a sail away on deck 11. Again a special occasion to see Melbourne's sky line fade as the ship sailed through Port Phillip Bay. I tried to photograph the 'Heads' as we sailed through but the sun had set about an hour before. I did manage a photo from the ship of Nepean National Reserve with the setting sun in the background. 

The seas again have been reasonably calm as we sailed across Bass Straight and into Tasman Sea. Even this morning (which is Saturday 10^th November), we are well and truly half way across the Tasman and the seas are still slight.

 

 

Adelaide Departure

Tuesday 6^th November……departure from Adelaide

 

Last night we experienced thousands of lightning strikes along with thunder and rain. We thought of the passengers on the Sea Princess as the ship sailed across Spencer Gulf and Gulf of St Vincent to Adelaide. Once we boarded the ship, we were welcomed by a couple of past World Cruise passengers who informed us  they didn't experience any rough seas as the Captain had kept the ship well away from the storm.

We experienced dejvu boarding the Sea Princess for the first time as its floor plan is the same as our old home of 104 days. 117 Adelaidians boarded the ship with us, which gave us a home town feeling we hadn't experienced before. Usually we associate ourselves as Australians but the first correlate turned out to be Adelaide.

The seas have been relatively smooth from Adelaide to Melbourne. When we boarded in Adelaide we had to attend the muster station drill at 5pm but were left waiting till staff remembered 100 of us were sitting in the night club area, waiting to get the drill over and done with to see the ship sail! There was a little delay in the gantry's removal but as soon as it unhooked, we sailed away past some of our beautiful family who had come to Outer harbour to see us off. It was a very special occasion.

 

One Day to go....

Sea Princess 14 Day Cruise

Adelaide, South Australia to New Zealand, finalising in Sydney, New South Wales.

 

Yeah! We are joining the Sea Princess tomorrow when it docks at Outer Harbour halfway through its circumnavigation of Australia. It has been over a year since we arrived home after our 'trip of a lifetime' Dawn Princess World Cruise. Sea Princess is a sister ship to Dawn Princess,our old home of 104 days. Yes, some people have said to me cruising is now in our blood, I don't know about that, but DH and I are looking forward to our 'follow-up cruise'. 

Yesterday was a hot 35C day, however today is hot, cloudy and a very windy day. This afternoon thunder storms and lightning have dominated. I can imagine the Sea Princess battling the rough seas as it sails towards tomorrow's Outer Harbour destination.  It might even be late sailing in…….we will find out tomorrow.