Friday, April 1, 2011
Friday 25th March - We docked at, probably the busiest commercial port we have visited on any of our cruises. Big trucks of all ages queued up for miles. We couldn’t get to the cruise terminal on the river because of the draft of the ship. The air is cleaner than we expected – thank goodness. We took a tour which firstly took us to what is now the 2nd tallest building in Shanghai. The lift goes from the basement to the 88th floor in 19 seconds. You don’t feel any motion and only know you are going up because of ear squeeze and the indicator on the wall of the lift. From the 56th floor it’s hotel and you can look down through the middle from the 88th floor to the reception in the middle. From the windows you can see right across Shanghai – 360 degree views. It’s very flat and in ancient times was actually the sea. Next we went to the Yu Gardens. These were once a private family garden and you pay to go through them. They are not huge but a virtual mountain of rock has been transported to the site to set them out with little lakes full of huge gold fish - your typical Chinese garden with lots of garden rooms. We then had to spend 3 hours in the old town before taking our bus back to the ship. As a result of having to spend more time there than we expected we had to find somewhere to eat. Since they speak almost no English we opted to eat at a McDonalds we found where at least we knew what we were eating. We had no intention of making purchases though you are continually being offered Rolex watches by the street sellers, we did get a bargain on a battery for my camers. We wandered around the old town and found a tea house and had the most expensive cup of jasmine tea we’ve ever had – but hey, the atmosphere was worth it, it was quiet and warm. Shanghai is not an old city in itself and most of the city buildings are very modern and new. The population of Shanghai is almost the same as the whole of the population of Australia. That gives you some idea of the number of people around. Then back to the port. I have a cold so I was glad to have dinner and hop into bed.Saturday 26th March – We took another tour into the city to travel on the train which floats on an electromagnetic field – no wheels. It travels at 431 kilometres an hour from the city to the international airport and back. By any other means it takes about an hour but on this train it takes 9 minutes
Monday, March 28, 2011
Friday 25th March - We docked at, probably the busiest commercial port we have visited on any of our cruises. Big trucks of all ages queued up for miles. We couldn’t get to the cruise terminal on the river because of the draft of the ship. The air is cleaner than we expected – thank goodness. We took a tour which firstly took us to what is now the 2nd tallest building in Shanghai. The lift goes from the basement to the 88th floor in 19 seconds. You don’t feel any motion and only know you are going up because of ear squeeze and the indicator on the wall of the lift. From the 56th floor it’s hotel and you can look down through the middle from the 88th floor to the reception in the middle. From the windows you can see right across Shanghai – 360 degree views. It’s very flat and in ancient times was actually the sea. Next we went to the Yu Gardens. These were once a private family garden and you pay to go through them. They are not huge but a virtual mountain of rock has been transported to the site to set them out with little lakes full of huge gold fish - your typical Chinese garden with lots of garden rooms. We then had to spend 3 hours in the old town before taking our bus back to the ship. As a result of having to spend more time there than we expected we had to find somewhere to eat.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Sun princess Cruise March 2010 Cherry Blossom
Sunday 20th March.
After a long, uneventful flight to Singapore, we wandered around the airport. We didn’t do any shopping as it seems there are no bargains to be obtained and we were bu##’’’**d after 8 or so hours of flying and airline food. We met a couple who had come from the cruise and were headed back to the US who informed us that we would not be going to Japan and that there were flue and gastric diseases on board. Not a good start to our adventure.
The flight to Hong Kong seemed to go fairly quickly with more horrible airline food but the wine and the Singapore sling was pretty good. We spent quite a while getting through immigration and customs when we landed. Then it took forever to find our luggage which had been booked through to Hong Kong from Australia. We were getting a bit worried until we learned that our luggage had been put aside near the carousel. Then it took a while to find out where our transfere station for our journey to our hotel was located. They looked like they hadn’t heard of us but fortunately we had our documentation with us for the trip. We had an upgrade in the Hotel with a view of the harbour through the buildings. Jorgen saw our ship come in. The upgrade was not quite what we expected. It was clean Spartan and very small but everything one needed for an overnight stay. After our free excellent breakfast we wandered around the foreshore, got our bearings and found the ship. We did a small purchase (NOT) or a Digital SLR camera and some attachments. Then back to our hotel to check out and get a taxi back to the ship to embark. After a nice lunch we headed for our cabin to finish unpacking and to put our head down for a couple of hours before dressing for dinner. There’s a few nice people at our table but the two nights we have been on board we’ve had a few changes of people our designated table. We watched a good local show in the theatre
It’s now Tuesday 22nd and after inquiring about one of the tours that looked interesting we realized that there were far too many steps involved for me. We decided last night that we might take a ferry and go up the mountain on the cable car but alas it’s all smoggy so it’s not worth doing that. Instead we went back to the camera shop and made additional purchased a filters etc. I’m going to have to do a photography course when I get home to learn how to us it all. We’ve also been informed officially that there will be no ports of call in Japan. We found a back street after weaving our way upstairs and downstairs, underground and above ground with wall to wall designer items. We couldn’t find a computer program shop with what we were looking for, nor could we find anywhere that had any talcum powder that Jorgen wanted. There were plenty of creams and lotions but they apparently don’t use powder at all. We sailed away to a light show which was rather poor according to some passengers that have seen it at it’s best.
Wednesday 23rd March – After a pretty good nights sleep we awoke to gale force winds and high seas – and we love it. It’s a sea day today and tomorrow before we are scheduled to arrive in Shanghai at 8.00 am on Friday 25th.
Sunday 20th March.
After a long, uneventful flight to Singapore, we wandered around the airport. We didn’t do any shopping as it seems there are no bargains to be obtained and we were bu##’’’**d after 8 or so hours of flying and airline food. We met a couple who had come from the cruise and were headed back to the US who informed us that we would not be going to Japan and that there were flue and gastric diseases on board. Not a good start to our adventure.
The flight to Hong Kong seemed to go fairly quickly with more horrible airline food but the wine and the Singapore sling was pretty good. We spent quite a while getting through immigration and customs when we landed. Then it took forever to find our luggage which had been booked through to Hong Kong from Australia. We were getting a bit worried until we learned that our luggage had been put aside near the carousel. Then it took a while to find out where our transfere station for our journey to our hotel was located. They looked like they hadn’t heard of us but fortunately we had our documentation with us for the trip. We had an upgrade in the Hotel with a view of the harbour through the buildings. Jorgen saw our ship come in. The upgrade was not quite what we expected. It was clean Spartan and very small but everything one needed for an overnight stay. After our free excellent breakfast we wandered around the foreshore, got our bearings and found the ship. We did a small purchase (NOT) or a Digital SLR camera and some attachments. Then back to our hotel to check out and get a taxi back to the ship to embark. After a nice lunch we headed for our cabin to finish unpacking and to put our head down for a couple of hours before dressing for dinner. There’s a few nice people at our table but the two nights we have been on board we’ve had a few changes of people our designated table. We watched a good local show in the theatre
It’s now Tuesday 22nd and after inquiring about one of the tours that looked interesting we realized that there were far too many steps involved for me. We decided last night that we might take a ferry and go up the mountain on the cable car but alas it’s all smoggy so it’s not worth doing that. Instead we went back to the camera shop and made additional purchased a filters etc. I’m going to have to do a photography course when I get home to learn how to us it all. We’ve also been informed officially that there will be no ports of call in Japan. We found a back street after weaving our way upstairs and downstairs, underground and above ground with wall to wall designer items. We couldn’t find a computer program shop with what we were looking for, nor could we find anywhere that had any talcum powder that Jorgen wanted. There were plenty of creams and lotions but they apparently don’t use powder at all. We sailed away to a light show which was rather poor according to some passengers that have seen it at it’s best.
Wednesday 23rd March – After a pretty good nights sleep we awoke to gale force winds and high seas – and we love it. It’s a sea day today and tomorrow before we are scheduled to arrive in Shanghai at 8.00 am on Friday 25th.
Friday, March 11, 2011
11 days of planting by the moon started last Monday.
the weekend was spent fertilising and preparing the garden for sawing and planting Monday and Tuesday, being the big session this time for the autumn and winter crops.
finally the weather has cooled dawn a bit and evening showers of rain has help immensely, to day is Friday and already some of the seeds has germinated and the garden is showing new life after a very wet and hot summer.
I purchased some Kiwi fruit vines from Bunnings at Capalaba on the weekend, first time that i have seen them here in Brisbane, they are fast growers and we should be picking fruit late autumn or early winter.
there is no pictures this time as my camera is packed for our forth coming cruise trip
the weekend was spent fertilising and preparing the garden for sawing and planting Monday and Tuesday, being the big session this time for the autumn and winter crops.
finally the weather has cooled dawn a bit and evening showers of rain has help immensely, to day is Friday and already some of the seeds has germinated and the garden is showing new life after a very wet and hot summer.
I purchased some Kiwi fruit vines from Bunnings at Capalaba on the weekend, first time that i have seen them here in Brisbane, they are fast growers and we should be picking fruit late autumn or early winter.
there is no pictures this time as my camera is packed for our forth coming cruise trip
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Monday, December 27, 2010
Thursday 23rd – Friday 24th Dec.
Mystery Island – a flat coral island that takes just 2 minutes to walk across. There is an air strip built by US during WW2 and still in use. The Japanese thought it was too small to have one and didn’t know where the planes were coming from, hence the name Mystery Island. None of the islanders live on the island but there is plenty of them there on the day a ship calls selling their wares etc. We had coffee at a very primitive café. The cups were on the tables under a grass shelter. The coffee tin, Nescafe was placed on the table along with the hot water in a small old battered aluminium kettle and you made your own. We had a swim (J had a snorkel on a small bommi). The water was beautiful.
Isle of Pines – a small island amongst many in New Caledonia. It seems to have evolved both from volcanic and coral build up. We had a swim in a couple of beaches in the pristine waters. The sand feels like pure silica under foot. It has to be one of the prettiest islands I have ever seen with quite a magical quality because of all the big old gnarled trees, almost blocking out the sun on the island. There are also lots and lots of what appear to be Norfolk pines on the island thus the name “Isle of Pines”. It’s under French rule. Unfortunately we missed out on the few tours of the island which I’m sure had a lot more treasures to reveal. There were signs indicating a town about 6 Kilometers from were we were. After cooling off in the water’s around a sacred rocky (coral) rock with little grottos at it’s base, and walking through the forrest, we had a cool “Number 1” beer brewed in Noumea which resemble a light pilsner. We then made our way back to the pier to get the tender back to the ship. We are about to head out to sea again to make our way back to Brisbane. Merry Christmas to all, J & M.
Pictures will follow later due to Satellite problems
Christmas Eve was very traditional with lots of carol singing, artificial snow and an excellent Christmas Eve show then partying till very late. Today, Saturday- Christmas day has also been special with Santa arriving down the chimney and then into the Atrium lounge where he distributed presents to about 400 children on board. We then did our usual trivia before going to a special Christmas lunch – basically a variation on the usual menu. After lunch the kids on board did a nativity play in the main show room. The 6 degrees separation has really been evident today. This morning we sat with a couple who live only a couple of kilometres away from us and in addition they live in a home where close acquaintances of ours once lived. Then at lunch we sat with a couple of ladies from Warwick. Since leaving High School I have often wondered what became of a close friend of mine who I thought may have ended up in Warwick, but whom I have never been able to track down, though I have tried quite a few times. I was not expecting anything positive but, low and behold, these ladies had been close friends and were able to give me contact information. Well only one more full day of sailing before we are back home again.
Mystery Island – a flat coral island that takes just 2 minutes to walk across. There is an air strip built by US during WW2 and still in use. The Japanese thought it was too small to have one and didn’t know where the planes were coming from, hence the name Mystery Island. None of the islanders live on the island but there is plenty of them there on the day a ship calls selling their wares etc. We had coffee at a very primitive café. The cups were on the tables under a grass shelter. The coffee tin, Nescafe was placed on the table along with the hot water in a small old battered aluminium kettle and you made your own. We had a swim (J had a snorkel on a small bommi). The water was beautiful.
Isle of Pines – a small island amongst many in New Caledonia. It seems to have evolved both from volcanic and coral build up. We had a swim in a couple of beaches in the pristine waters. The sand feels like pure silica under foot. It has to be one of the prettiest islands I have ever seen with quite a magical quality because of all the big old gnarled trees, almost blocking out the sun on the island. There are also lots and lots of what appear to be Norfolk pines on the island thus the name “Isle of Pines”. It’s under French rule. Unfortunately we missed out on the few tours of the island which I’m sure had a lot more treasures to reveal. There were signs indicating a town about 6 Kilometers from were we were. After cooling off in the water’s around a sacred rocky (coral) rock with little grottos at it’s base, and walking through the forrest, we had a cool “Number 1” beer brewed in Noumea which resemble a light pilsner. We then made our way back to the pier to get the tender back to the ship. We are about to head out to sea again to make our way back to Brisbane. Merry Christmas to all, J & M.
Pictures will follow later due to Satellite problems
Christmas Eve was very traditional with lots of carol singing, artificial snow and an excellent Christmas Eve show then partying till very late. Today, Saturday- Christmas day has also been special with Santa arriving down the chimney and then into the Atrium lounge where he distributed presents to about 400 children on board. We then did our usual trivia before going to a special Christmas lunch – basically a variation on the usual menu. After lunch the kids on board did a nativity play in the main show room. The 6 degrees separation has really been evident today. This morning we sat with a couple who live only a couple of kilometres away from us and in addition they live in a home where close acquaintances of ours once lived. Then at lunch we sat with a couple of ladies from Warwick. Since leaving High School I have often wondered what became of a close friend of mine who I thought may have ended up in Warwick, but whom I have never been able to track down, though I have tried quite a few times. I was not expecting anything positive but, low and behold, these ladies had been close friends and were able to give me contact information. Well only one more full day of sailing before we are back home again.
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Cruise dairy
Saturday 18th Dec Mon 20th: After Dave dropped us off at the port it didn’t take too long to embark and unpack our carry on luggage. Our suitcase arrived mid afternoon. We left port pretty much on time about 2.00. Since we were on the ship only a couple of weeks ago we’ve been able to help a lot of the passengers wandering around looking lost and point them in the right direction. However it took us a little while to re-orient ourselves as we are on the opposite side of the ship to the previous cruise and tended to head in the wrong direction.
The weather has been particularly kind with flat seas. There seems to be a little bit of a swell this afternoon. We’ve been adopted at dinner by a young couple with a couple of nice young children a little girl of 7 and her brother 9 years of age.
The ship is decorated beautifully with Christmas decorations everywhere and all the staff wearing santa hats. We’re doing pretty well at trivia – we’ve heard them all on the last cruise – but not well enough to win yet. A lot of the staff have recognised us and welcomed us back like old friends.
Tomorrow we sail into Lifou and have booked a tour called “Melanesian encounter”.
We are sitting in our cabin (nicely arranged with access to the window) having sundowners.
Cheers to our followers.
Tuesday 21st Dec. We arrived at Lifou this morning around 8 pm. After a leisurely breakfast we boarded the tender to go ashore for the tour we had booked. It has been a hot clear day. The tour took us across the island to a church built in the 1800’s. It is a protestant church as is most of the churches as they were the first missionaries here. The chiefs dwelling is close by and we were invited in to his round house. (Like a free sauna!!!!) It’s actually just where he ‘smokes’ his people. It’s made from big poles and palm thatch. Then on to a green coconut drink, straight from the tree. After that a traditional cooking demonstration after which we got to try a dish they had prepared earlier. It was chicken cooked with taro, sweet potato, po po (paw paw), green banana and coconut milk wrapped in banana leaves. It was then back on the air conditioned bus (open window) and back to the little beach we arrived at. They had their markets set up selling food and their wares. We tried a slice of quiche which contained their local spinach and a lemon meringue pie – both very nice.
I then went for a swim in the pristine waters while the Great Dane cooled off under a palm tree before catching the tender back to the ship for a rest. Now about to go off to trivia before dinner.
Wed 22nd Dec. Port of call today is Vila, Vanuatu. We have been here a few times before so not taking any tours. It’s hot and a few showers fall. Firstly we had a look around the stalls set up near the port. All much the same merchandise, most of what you would expect. The prices are also quite inflated. There are taxis lined up for a couple of hundred yards. Of course with the strength of the Australian dollar, they preferred that to their own vatus. It was possible to barter though. After freshening up we then did our bartering to take a taxi into town. It started at $15.00 au but we got it for 500 vatu which is about $4.00 – it is only a short drive but too hot to walk. All I wanted to buy was some white slacks but since women here don’t wear slacks I didn’t have any success. I had left my white ones home and wanted to wear them with the rest of the outfit I brought with me for Christmas eve. The high highlight of our visit was lunch. We had intended to have it at an old haunt but found out it has been closed for a couple of years. We were directed to another restaurant who served a good coconut crab dish and I have to admit it was just as good as we would have expected at the now closed Ma Barkers. It took us a good hour to eat our way through the dish. We then took a taxi (for the same price) back for a long afternoon nap before dinner.
Saturday 18th Dec Mon 20th: After Dave dropped us off at the port it didn’t take too long to embark and unpack our carry on luggage. Our suitcase arrived mid afternoon. We left port pretty much on time about 2.00. Since we were on the ship only a couple of weeks ago we’ve been able to help a lot of the passengers wandering around looking lost and point them in the right direction. However it took us a little while to re-orient ourselves as we are on the opposite side of the ship to the previous cruise and tended to head in the wrong direction.
The weather has been particularly kind with flat seas. There seems to be a little bit of a swell this afternoon. We’ve been adopted at dinner by a young couple with a couple of nice young children a little girl of 7 and her brother 9 years of age.
The ship is decorated beautifully with Christmas decorations everywhere and all the staff wearing santa hats. We’re doing pretty well at trivia – we’ve heard them all on the last cruise – but not well enough to win yet. A lot of the staff have recognised us and welcomed us back like old friends.
Tomorrow we sail into Lifou and have booked a tour called “Melanesian encounter”.
We are sitting in our cabin (nicely arranged with access to the window) having sundowners.
Cheers to our followers.
Tuesday 21st Dec. We arrived at Lifou this morning around 8 pm. After a leisurely breakfast we boarded the tender to go ashore for the tour we had booked. It has been a hot clear day. The tour took us across the island to a church built in the 1800’s. It is a protestant church as is most of the churches as they were the first missionaries here. The chiefs dwelling is close by and we were invited in to his round house. (Like a free sauna!!!!) It’s actually just where he ‘smokes’ his people. It’s made from big poles and palm thatch. Then on to a green coconut drink, straight from the tree. After that a traditional cooking demonstration after which we got to try a dish they had prepared earlier. It was chicken cooked with taro, sweet potato, po po (paw paw), green banana and coconut milk wrapped in banana leaves. It was then back on the air conditioned bus (open window) and back to the little beach we arrived at. They had their markets set up selling food and their wares. We tried a slice of quiche which contained their local spinach and a lemon meringue pie – both very nice.
I then went for a swim in the pristine waters while the Great Dane cooled off under a palm tree before catching the tender back to the ship for a rest. Now about to go off to trivia before dinner.
Wed 22nd Dec. Port of call today is Vila, Vanuatu. We have been here a few times before so not taking any tours. It’s hot and a few showers fall. Firstly we had a look around the stalls set up near the port. All much the same merchandise, most of what you would expect. The prices are also quite inflated. There are taxis lined up for a couple of hundred yards. Of course with the strength of the Australian dollar, they preferred that to their own vatus. It was possible to barter though. After freshening up we then did our bartering to take a taxi into town. It started at $15.00 au but we got it for 500 vatu which is about $4.00 – it is only a short drive but too hot to walk. All I wanted to buy was some white slacks but since women here don’t wear slacks I didn’t have any success. I had left my white ones home and wanted to wear them with the rest of the outfit I brought with me for Christmas eve. The high highlight of our visit was lunch. We had intended to have it at an old haunt but found out it has been closed for a couple of years. We were directed to another restaurant who served a good coconut crab dish and I have to admit it was just as good as we would have expected at the now closed Ma Barkers. It took us a good hour to eat our way through the dish. We then took a taxi (for the same price) back for a long afternoon nap before dinner.
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Tuesday 7th Dec
After posting yesterdays blog, with the wrong month on it, we went off to dinner and then a show. Today we arrived at the southern end of NZ and headed into Dusky sound and out of Thompson Sound. As you would expect it’s quite spectacular. We then moved in a northerly direction through Acheron Passage and exited via Breaksea Sound, equally spectacular.
It is bitterly cold out at sea in this part of the cruise unless you can get out of the breeze. After lunch and a nap we found we were entering Milford Sound where the ship must use a pilot because it is narrower than the other sounds we have been in today.
There is snow on the peaks along with the remains of an ancient glacier, so we have been informed.
Tonight we will be going to a late show in which our table waiter will be singing along with other members of the crew. He’s looked after us well each evening for dinner so even though the show doesn’t start till 10.00 pm we can’t miss it even though it’s after our bed time!!!! The weather has been exceptionally kind to us today. It was feared that we may not have been able to do the fiords if the weather had stayed like yesterday. We are now setting a course for home and have been told it could be a bumpy night with a low forming just ahead of us between two highs. It won’t worry these two mariners though.
Cheers till we report again,
The Great Dane and Gemini.
After posting yesterdays blog, with the wrong month on it, we went off to dinner and then a show. Today we arrived at the southern end of NZ and headed into Dusky sound and out of Thompson Sound. As you would expect it’s quite spectacular. We then moved in a northerly direction through Acheron Passage and exited via Breaksea Sound, equally spectacular.
It is bitterly cold out at sea in this part of the cruise unless you can get out of the breeze. After lunch and a nap we found we were entering Milford Sound where the ship must use a pilot because it is narrower than the other sounds we have been in today.
There is snow on the peaks along with the remains of an ancient glacier, so we have been informed.
Tonight we will be going to a late show in which our table waiter will be singing along with other members of the crew. He’s looked after us well each evening for dinner so even though the show doesn’t start till 10.00 pm we can’t miss it even though it’s after our bed time!!!! The weather has been exceptionally kind to us today. It was feared that we may not have been able to do the fiords if the weather had stayed like yesterday. We are now setting a course for home and have been told it could be a bumpy night with a low forming just ahead of us between two highs. It won’t worry these two mariners though.
Cheers till we report again,
The Great Dane and Gemini.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Thursday 2nd to Sat 4th
Tauranga – a pretty little place. We didn’t take a tour but did some laundry instead before going ashore and having a very nice seafood lunch at a seaside (ocean beach) café and walking back to the ship along the inside beach.
Napier – we went on another wine and cheese tour in the morning and tasted some very nice wines. The first winery was in a monks old missionary. It’s still owned by them but run by a management group. Their label is “Mission Wines”. I particularly liked a lightly sweetened late harvest wine. I hope we can find it in Australia when we get back home.
The second winery was “Sileni” where they also served cheese with the tasting and also had a tasting of a salsa promoting some of their other products for sale. We bought some of their nice cheeses for our sundowners back on board.
The third winery was one I can’t pronounce so I won’t try to spell it. They also had a great cheese, fruit and cracker selection plus a local NZ Ice cream.
We then returned to the ship and refreshed and headed back into town for some lunch and a look around in the mall.
Wellington – Since we have been here for a few days before, we just took the shuttle bus into the city and did a little shopping for essentials and then had a nice lunch at a German pub. Back to the ship for a nap then an afternoon coffee up on the top deck.
There is a bout of NORA VIRUS (a very aggressive form of gastric and vomiting wog) going around the ship for the past couple of days so it’s been necessary to be particularly careful about what you touch and lots of hand washing the code is RED ALLERT.
Apart from that and our air conditioning not working last night it’s been a very pleasant but uneventful cruise. The weather has also been very kind with cold mornings and nice sunny days.
Sunday, 5 December 2010
Arrived at Lyttelton this morning at 8am. This is the port for Christchurch. After a leisurely breakfast we caught the shuttle into Christchurch. It’s a busy weekend as they have a cycle race on around the city this morning as well as a Christmas parade this afternoon. We spent a couple of hours walking around one of the most beautiful parks/gardens I have ever been in – the roses were spectacular.
We then walked into the main part of the city still showing signs of the earth quake a couple of months ago.
We took a punt barge, like a gondola, along the Avon River through overhanging trees and under about 5 bridges. It’s really a lovely quaint city.
We then had lunch at the Art Centre before catching the shuttle bus back to the ship.
Monday 6th Nov
Tauranga – a pretty little place. We didn’t take a tour but did some laundry instead before going ashore and having a very nice seafood lunch at a seaside (ocean beach) café and walking back to the ship along the inside beach.
Napier – we went on another wine and cheese tour in the morning and tasted some very nice wines. The first winery was in a monks old missionary. It’s still owned by them but run by a management group. Their label is “Mission Wines”. I particularly liked a lightly sweetened late harvest wine. I hope we can find it in Australia when we get back home.
The second winery was “Sileni” where they also served cheese with the tasting and also had a tasting of a salsa promoting some of their other products for sale. We bought some of their nice cheeses for our sundowners back on board.
The third winery was one I can’t pronounce so I won’t try to spell it. They also had a great cheese, fruit and cracker selection plus a local NZ Ice cream.
We then returned to the ship and refreshed and headed back into town for some lunch and a look around in the mall.
Wellington – Since we have been here for a few days before, we just took the shuttle bus into the city and did a little shopping for essentials and then had a nice lunch at a German pub. Back to the ship for a nap then an afternoon coffee up on the top deck.
There is a bout of NORA VIRUS (a very aggressive form of gastric and vomiting wog) going around the ship for the past couple of days so it’s been necessary to be particularly careful about what you touch and lots of hand washing the code is RED ALLERT.
Apart from that and our air conditioning not working last night it’s been a very pleasant but uneventful cruise. The weather has also been very kind with cold mornings and nice sunny days.
Sunday, 5 December 2010
Arrived at Lyttelton this morning at 8am. This is the port for Christchurch. After a leisurely breakfast we caught the shuttle into Christchurch. It’s a busy weekend as they have a cycle race on around the city this morning as well as a Christmas parade this afternoon. We spent a couple of hours walking around one of the most beautiful parks/gardens I have ever been in – the roses were spectacular.
We then walked into the main part of the city still showing signs of the earth quake a couple of months ago.
We took a punt barge, like a gondola, along the Avon River through overhanging trees and under about 5 bridges. It’s really a lovely quaint city.
We then had lunch at the Art Centre before catching the shuttle bus back to the ship.
Monday 6th Nov
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Cruise Log.
It’s 4.30 pm Tasman Sea Time Tuesday 30th Nov. Thanks D for driving us to the ship. After finding where we had to embark it took about 1 and ¼ hours to go through customs, board and find our cabin. It’s nicer than the one we spent 3 months in last year. Apart from sleeping and eating, we have been to a couple of trivia sessions and two excellent evening shows. We are dining with two other couples about as young as we are. One couple are actually from Cleveland and go to the Centre where I play cards on Thursday, except they play indoor bowls there. The other couple are from Port Macquarie. At breakfast and at lunch we have also struck a lot of nice happy people. The food is good and too tempting, which means we’ll have to starve ourselves the week we spend at home before the next cruise. The seas have been calm to moderate but it’s pretty windy out on deck. We know we are going south as the temperature is heading the same way. It’s another day at sea today and the tomorrow we arrive in Auckland where we have booked a wine tour.
Will keep you posted as December rolls up, Cheers J & M
Wednesday 1 December 2010
Woke up this morning - already docked in Auckland. Had a leisurely breakfast in the dining room before getting ready to go ashore for our Wine Tasting tour of the Auckland area. We visited Soljans winery and gave a big tick to “Kumeu Pino Gris”. We then moved on to Nebilo Winery and enjoyed “The peoples Chardonnay” as well as “Selaks – The Favourite Merlot”. The next winery we visited was Matua Valley. There were about 4 of their wines which we thought worth looking for in Australia when we get back home. The vineyards here are relatively small. When we got back to the ship, we chose to have lunch in town, which is right at the port. After a bit of shopping for a couple of essentials we spent the afternoon sleeping off the morning’s wine tasting. At the moment – 5.30 pm, we are preparing to sail away. Tomorrow we expect to wake up in Tauranga. We haven’t booked any tours there. Will keep you posted, Cheers the Great Dane and Gemini.
It’s 4.30 pm Tasman Sea Time Tuesday 30th Nov. Thanks D for driving us to the ship. After finding where we had to embark it took about 1 and ¼ hours to go through customs, board and find our cabin. It’s nicer than the one we spent 3 months in last year. Apart from sleeping and eating, we have been to a couple of trivia sessions and two excellent evening shows. We are dining with two other couples about as young as we are. One couple are actually from Cleveland and go to the Centre where I play cards on Thursday, except they play indoor bowls there. The other couple are from Port Macquarie. At breakfast and at lunch we have also struck a lot of nice happy people. The food is good and too tempting, which means we’ll have to starve ourselves the week we spend at home before the next cruise. The seas have been calm to moderate but it’s pretty windy out on deck. We know we are going south as the temperature is heading the same way. It’s another day at sea today and the tomorrow we arrive in Auckland where we have booked a wine tour.
Will keep you posted as December rolls up, Cheers J & M
Wednesday 1 December 2010
Woke up this morning - already docked in Auckland. Had a leisurely breakfast in the dining room before getting ready to go ashore for our Wine Tasting tour of the Auckland area. We visited Soljans winery and gave a big tick to “Kumeu Pino Gris”. We then moved on to Nebilo Winery and enjoyed “The peoples Chardonnay” as well as “Selaks – The Favourite Merlot”. The next winery we visited was Matua Valley. There were about 4 of their wines which we thought worth looking for in Australia when we get back home. The vineyards here are relatively small. When we got back to the ship, we chose to have lunch in town, which is right at the port. After a bit of shopping for a couple of essentials we spent the afternoon sleeping off the morning’s wine tasting. At the moment – 5.30 pm, we are preparing to sail away. Tomorrow we expect to wake up in Tauranga. We haven’t booked any tours there. Will keep you posted, Cheers the Great Dane and Gemini.
Sunday, October 31, 2010
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