Monday 2 September 2013 - Sydney Australia - WELCOME HOME !

Mum had a fantastic time and I dont think it will be long before the travel brochures come out again looking for the next cruise.

 

Lisa went to the ship to pick mum up and drive her home.

 

 

 

 

 

Friday 30 August 2013 - Bay of Islands, New Zealand

Last port of call - Bay of Islands. This is where the Waitangi Treaty was signed between the British and the Maori in 1840. This time we had beautiful weather.

The Sea Princess had to anchor off shore and we were taken in to shore in the tenders. The tenders will hold 150 people and had a busy time going back and forth to the ship all day. For most of the tours we had a time to meet and were then taken ashore where the buses waited for us.

The guide on our bus was the same one Lisa and I had in February last year doing almost the same tour. He is a great guide with lots of knowledge and a good sense of humor. He is a maori and his grandfather was part of the group of people who made the 117 foot long Maori war canoe made from 3 Kauri trees. This was made for the centennial of the signing and is used each year on Waitangi Day 6th of February.

Our first place to visit was the Kemp House, the oldest surviving European building in NZ. It was built in Sydney with Jarrah timber and shipped to NZ in Sections and reerected on its current site. It is now open to the public with all the old furniture and figures dressed in period clothing. Attached is a souvenir shop and a cafe where we were served morning coffe or tea and freshly baked scones with jam and whipped cream.

Next door is the Stone House, the countrys oldes surviving stone house. It was used as a trading post, the river is nearby and people could come by boat to do their business. After this, we headed back to Waitangi. Here we inspected the Treaty House, now a museum showing copies of the Treaty and photos and drawings of the meeting with all the Maori Chiefs.

This House was also first build in Sydney and transported to NZ and rebuilt. We had a look around the various rooms recreated as they used to be nearly 200 years ago. We also vivited the Maori Meeting House with carved panels from all the Maori tribes. Below the lawn of the Treary House is the Maori War Canoe. It is carved, has beautiful end pieces both front and back. The traditional word for any transport vessel is Waka. Our bus is a waka, the ship is a waka, the plane home for some is a waka.

The next two days were seadays and time for sorting and packing. Our cases had to be ready outside our rooms the night before arrivng in Sydney. I always dislike packing at the end of a holiday, and I had a wonderful time for the whole trip.

 

Thursday 29 August 2013 - Auckland, New Zealand

So we are arriving in the Land of the Long White Cloud - and it was raining!

It rained as we sailed into Auckland harbour and boarded our bus to take us to a gannet colony on the west coast. The weather improved as we left the town behind us. There was still a small shower or two along the way. As we arrived it finally cleared up. We had a small 'comfort' stop for toilet and coffee break before driving up to the viewing area for the gannets.

Our next stop was a farm where they have sheep and deer. We were shown how the dog rounded up the sheep with just a few commands from the owner, then he shore the sheep. The shortest time for shearing a sheep is 14.6seconds! He was not that fast, he explained as he went.

After, we had lovely lunch, roast lamb (ha-ha) with vegetables and salad. We could have beer or wine or soft drinks with it. For afters there was Pavlova. Yammie!

As we boarded the bus, guess what? It started raining again! We said goodbye in the rain and were on our way. It did not last long and cleared up by the time we reached Auckland and got onboard. I sat down and had a cup of coffee and chatted with a couple of ladies who had been to Kelly Tarlton Underwater World which I did with Lisa last year in February.

Tomorrow Bay of Islands.

Monday 26 August 2013 - Suva, Fiji

We arrived in Suva at 7am and were told "All aboard by 3.30 as we will sail shortly thereafter". Usually means we leave at 4pm. No tours booked here either, but again I went for a walk. There was a nice esplanade running along the shore from the ship so I went that way. There were a few street vendors along and a few men offering to take me on a tour of the city, but I smiled and declined. I found my in to one of the parallel streets and followed this back towards the ship. It was a nice 1.5 hour walk, I got to stretch my legs.

Now we are heading south again towards Auckland. 

Friday 23 August 2013 - Pago Pago, Samoa

In Pago Pago (pronounced Pango Pango) again I had no tours booked so I decided to take my normal window seat and do some more work while I waited on all the tours to get on their way before venturing ashore on my own. The main street runs right next to the ship. On the wharf they had set up a market selling all sorts of handicrafts and whatever. In a park not far up the road was a tree that had been carve with local symbols and masks. Not having a guide I could not tell the meaning or significance of it.

Further up the road split in two so I decided to play safe and turn back walking on the other side of the road. There was not much to see, I walked in to another market to have a look. They were selling bunches of green bananas for $5, a long root ? for $10 other fruit and vegetables. In behind were clothes stalls and local jewellery.

After another day at sea we crossed the date line and lost a day on 25th August (Sonja's birthday). We jumped from Saturday to Monday. All the times we had hurned our clocks back an hour we had used up the day.

 

Saturday 17 August 2013 - Kauai, Hawaii

Our last stop in Hawaii was Nawiliwili on Kaua'i. I did not go ashore, but took a few photos from the ship. After breakfast I took my cross stitch down on deck 5 where I nornally sit for a couple of hours waiting for bowls or golf. I normally grab a seat near the window to get good light for working, and make use of my "coffee card" We buy a coffe card for A$35 which gives us 15 cups of coffee plus free tea and hot chocolate. Good deal I think. Coffee in Australia is usually $3 to $4 each, no free tea!

The next 5 days we spent at sea. Amazing with so many ships around the globe and you can't see a single one except in harbour. We played golf, carpet bowls and bean bags. There are other activities as well, but these are the ones I mostly take part in.

Friday 16 August 2013 - Honolulu, Hawaii

email from mum -

Early arrival in Honolulu, we were scheduled to dock at 7am. I got up at 6am to watch us arriving and had breakfast later. Our tour did not leave till 9.15.

We were going to see Oahu's East Side and Pali Lookout where King Kamehameha I forced hundreds of opponents to jump to their death from the cliffs in 1795. This win allowed him to unite the Hawaiian island under one king.

Our tour started with a drive by Waikiki Beach. A beautiful crescent of white sand, imported from Australia! There is lso a statue of a famous surfer who was born here. We continued along this beautiful coast and enjoyed glimpses of the ocean and beaches as we went.

Our first stop was inside Diamnd Head, an extinct volcano. It got its name by British sailors in the 1800's who mistook the glittering crystals in the lava rocks for diamonds. The crater itself is huge, several km's in diameter. It is now home to many different birds and trees, some of the birds are also common in Australia. The Indian Myna Bird, a pest and very aggressive, brought in from India at some stage, and the Spotted Dove, a nice gentle pigeon. There are others too, but these I saw in several places through Hawaii. The outside edge og the crater housed several bunkers with cannons used during WWII. Not all of them pointed the right way when Hawaii was invaded!

Further along the coast we stopped to have a look at a blowhole and beach. This sandy beach is the most threacherous in Hawaii because of currents and rips, plus sharp rocks etc. that people cut themselves on and need help to shore. The Blowhole was cute, the winds were not coming in the right way for a very good display, but I think Kiama's is better on a good day.

We drove on to Ulupo Heiau a sacred site built during the 1400's as a sacrificial site and built of rocks and is flat on top. The road wound its way up to the Pali Lookout. It is a very windy place 300m above the sea. Here King Kamehameha fought his famous battle. Now there are a few dozen chooks who live here and a dozen cats. One chickenhad a couple of small chicks, another halfgrown ones. One of the cats was bit the worse for wear with a sore leg.

As we left to return to Honolulu a shower started, but by the time we reached the outskirts of town it had stopped. I arrived home for lunch and in the afternoon worked a bit more on my cross stitch. It was nice and quiet with most people on tours or out exploring on their own or shopping to boost the local economy.