Let's go on a virtual NZ and Australia cruise

[cheznandy]

Updating our day at Bay of Islands.......bit late as have been playing with the caravan, getting ready to escape the house when the time comes.......so we had a lazy morning, grabbed our coffee mugs which we bring with us, hot cup of tea and walked around the lovely wide promenade deck.

This deck has deck chairs all the way around and you can do a lap with no stairs to climb...amazing!!

 

We fast till lunch time so no brekky for us these days, amazing how much time that saves on port days!!

We took the tender and then shuttle bus  to Paihai. We don't do arranged tours so took the ferry across to Russell, walked around the small town, visiting a few of the museums.

Had a coffee at a little cafe looking over the water, ,then lunch at the well known Duke of Marlborough Hotel, lots of cruisers there today!! The fish n chips were great.

I won't post photo's as I see others have. The sail back was scenic with blue seas and blue skies with the islands in the background. Such a beautiful part of the world.....but I am biased as I lived on the North Island for a couple of years😉

 

 

[shipgeeks]

4 minutes ago, GUT2407 said:

Surely we have kennels onside or somewhere for Maxy to sleep, otherwise I may need a refund.

 

Our kitty, Halifax, is with us; he will stay in our cabin.  I saw him just now.

[SeaDog-46]

Don't miss tonights Maori show.

[Blackduck59]

Man so many things so little time. Even though we have at least 2 days here we will have to pick our excursions carefully. I have heard from many about Devonport even before we came on this cruise so we will definitely get that ferry, a lovely cruise across the bay. We'll have a look at the fortifications, they sound much like our own Fort Rodd Hill, which also had "Disappearing" guns. Our emplacements are still in place but the guns and all the hardware are long gone so we don't even know what they looked like exactly. 

I am so disappointed to hear about the tree on one tree hill, what possesses someone to vandalize iconic thing. We may go up Mt. Eden or One tree hill but not both climbing hills aren't high on my list, but I like the views.

We are torn with the decision on Weiheke island another day in a small boat may be too much something about a day on a boat that makes me tired. I think maybe day 2 will be around the town the viaduct looks nice to explore, also the maritime museum and the Aquarium. We'll check out wine another time, maybe we can have a little tasting party in our suite on a sea day.

[lyndarra]

14 hours ago, lyndarra said:

Ocean Pearl! That was the name of a Chinese restaurant near here (Charlestown).

 

14 hours ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

I can assure you are cruise ship is not a Chinese restaurant. 🤣

 

I tried to think of a name that didn't link to any existing cruise lines, so I couldn't use "Queen", "Princess", "of the Seas" etc.

 

I thought of Sun Diamond, the nickname for those sparkles on the water when the sea is fairly calm but decided Diamond wasn't a good choice. I would have liked Mermaid of the Seas but that has connotations of Royal Caribbean.

 

Eventually I thought of Ocean Pearl which checked out OK.

Confession. I must have been suffering momentary old timers. Was getting confused with the names of two local restaurants, Dragon Pearl and Ocean City. Sorry.

[SeaDog-46]

Another cruise ship berthed stern-in.  Can't get much closer to town.

[MicCanberra]

We spent the day on Weiheke island toured the wineries and as I was not driving, utilising the shuttle buses all day, really imbibed the tastings well (none of this spittoon stuff for us), so well in fact, that we ended up staggering back onto the ferry. We thought about getting room service but went to the dining room anyway as we felt refreshed after a quick 30 minute nap and a shower. Appetisers of Escargot, Pumpkin soup, Ceasar Salad, Beef Wellington with a lobster tail for dinner, followed by Bombe Alaska for dessert. Didn't go to the show as we were pooped. Tomorrow we are going up to the gardens near the University, it is a lovely place with a great out look and we need to work off some of this gluttony.

[OzKiwiJJ]

Auckland is great for cruise ships as they can all dock at the downtown wharves - apart from the megaships like Ovation of the Seas which are just too big. The most I've seen in one day was in Feb 2017, when there were four ships in port - one at Princes Wharf, two at Queens Wharf (one either side), and the fourth must have been at Captain Cook Wharf which is the next one along from Queens Wharf. It looked quite impressive.

Edited April 20, 2020 by OzKiwiJJ

[Bubbeh]

14 hours ago, MicCanberra said:

Got back to my cabin to find that they have left corn chips and guacamole instead of the usual canapes. In addition, they had also left 2 Riedel VINUM tumblers, a 375ml bottle of Johnny Walker Blue and a bucket of ice. 😊

A million years ago, somebody (we never figured out who) bought Mr Bubbeh a bottle of Chivas Regal Blue for his 60th.  He doesn't drink spirits and in terms of whiskeys, I only like Irish whiskeys.  So it's still sitting in the box it came in at the top of the liquor cabinet.  As it seems like you don't mind a nip of Scotch , remind me to give it to you one day.  

[SeaDog-46]

At the Auckland War Memorial Museum - with its scenic view of the harbour - see the reconstruction model of the flightless Moa.

They had a height of 3 metres & weighed 250 kg.

After Pacific Islanders arrive in NZ about 1250 AD they managed to wipe out the Moa in 200 years as the latest remains have been dated at 1450 AD.

You can get to see the the real small cousin - the flightless Kiwi bird at some zoos & there is one at Rotorua. 

[MicCanberra]

7 minutes ago, Bubbeh said:

A million years ago, somebody (we never figured out who) bought Mr Bubbeh a bottle of Chivas Regal Blue for his 60th.  He doesn't drink spirits and in terms of whiskeys, I only like Irish whiskeys.  So it's still sitting in the box it came in at the top of the liquor cabinet.  As it seems like you don't mind a nip of Scotch , remind me to give it to you one day.  

LOl, I am coming to WA in January 2021 (perhaps).

 

[aussielozzie18]

We had a glorious day weather wise when we visited Auckland several years ago.  As soon as we disembarked we headed straight up to the Sky Tower on foot and beat the crowds for some lovely views from the top.  It's great that you could take a photo of your ship docked from up there.  We weren't game enough to do the sky jump but we sat nearby for half an hour and watched the brave ones who did.  My fav part of the day was the sailaway, Auckland harbour was sparkling and it was lovely sitting on our balcony soaking up the sun and the scenery and we cruised out of the Harbour.

[Bubbeh]

12 hours ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

Itinerary Item 4 – Auckland

 

This morning we took a sightseeing coach tour of Auckland. The tour will took in the main sights of Auckland, including the Harbour Bridge, the coastal Tamaki Drive  where we got a gander a the homes of the rich & famous (how the other half lives, sheesh!)), and Mount Eden for a panoramic view of the city.  We visited the Auckland Museum which was spectacular and included a traditional and very impressive Maori concert. Afterwards we had some free time in the trendy, upmarket suburb of Parnell.  We wandered while resisting the impulse to eat but did enjoy a couple of ales for him and crisp Marlborough SSBs for me.  Following which, we could no longer resist any impulse and indulged in a beautiful fish & chips (him) and fish & salad (me) late lunch

 

In the afternoon we made our way to an upstairs bar to see an exclusive performance of the legendary Hamilton County Bluegrass Band.  The HCBB have been around since '68 and are the best exponents of traditional finger picking bluegrass music you'll find just about anywhere outside Nashville.  Oh Mother Maybelle, what I wouldn't have given to see you and your family live for just 10 minutes.  

 

With just a few good drinks under our belts, its time to head back to the Ocean Pearl for our departure.

[By The Bay]

15 hours ago, lyndarra said:

Ocean Pearl! That was the name of a Chinese restaurant near here (Charlestown).

 

The OCEAN PEARL is the former SONG OF NORWAY, the first ship built for now mega-cruise line Royal Caribbean.  The SONG OF NORWAY was not only of the first modern cruise ships, she was also one of the first to be “stretched” with the insertion of a mid-section in 1978 that increased her original tonnage from 18,418 to 23,005 and capacity from 724 to 1,196.

Full history here.

[Bubbeh]

14 minutes ago, MicCanberra said:

I am coming to WA in January 2021 (perhaps).

That's a (sort of) date, perhaps.  

[MicCanberra]

21 minutes ago, By The Bay said:

 

The OCEAN PEARL is the former SONG OF NORWAY, the first ship built for now mega-cruise line Royal Caribbean.  The SONG OF NORWAY was not only of the first modern cruise ships, she was also one of the first to be “stretched” with the insertion of a mid-section in 1978 that increased her original tonnage from 18,418 to 23,005 and capacity from 724 to 1,196.

Full history here.

That looks nothing like the ship I am on.

[possum52]

48 minutes ago, SeaDog-46 said:

 

 

We were at the War Memorial in November 2018 - to commerate the end of WW1 there were over 18000 white crosses planted into the lawn surrounding the Memorial. On eaach cross was the name and service number of a  New Zealander who died as a result of the war. It was very emotional to see. With ANZAC Day nearly here I thought I would post one the photos we took.

 

[By The Bay]

4 minutes ago, possum52 said:

We were at the War Memorial in November 2018 - to commerate the end of WW1 there were over 18000 white crosses planted into the lawn surrounding the Memorial. On eaach cross was the name and service number of a  New Zealander who died as a result of the war. It was very emotional to see. With ANZAC Day nearly here I thought I would post one the photos we took.

 

All those white crosses must have been a very moving sight.

[Kiwi Kruzer]

15 minutes ago, possum52 said:

We were at the War Memorial in November 2018 - to commerate the end of WW1 there were over 18000 white crosses planted into the lawn surrounding the Memorial. On eaach cross was the name and service number of a  New Zealander who died as a result of the war. It was very emotional to see. With ANZAC Day nearly here I thought I would post one the photos we took.

 

 

8 minutes ago, By The Bay said:

All those white crosses must have been a very moving sight.

It was awesome .Most were named and next day descendants were invited to claim their named cross . We had friends who flew up from Christchurch to attend and take their cross home .

Just an addendum to the reference to  Mt Eden and One Tree Hill .......

you can no longer drive to the summit . For the  walk up you need to be fairly fit .

heres another shot of the crosses

 

 

Edited April 20, 2020 by Kiwi Kruzer

[possum52]

11 minutes ago, By The Bay said:

All those white crosses must have been a very moving sight.

 

3 minutes ago, Kiwi Kruzer said:

It was awesome .Most were named and next day descendants were invited to claim their named cross . We had friends who flew up from Christchurch to attend and take their cross home .

It was such a moving experience. I had tears streaming down my face as I walked among them. I heard that some of the crosses were taken by people who didn't have a right to take them - for example tourists. If one of the crosses was commerating one of my relatives and it wasn't there when I went to collect it I would be very disappointed.

[Blackduck59]

We will be attending the War Memorial, We make a point of it. When we were in Europe we went to the Normandy Beaches, also Menin Gate in Belgium and of course Vimy Ridge in France, all very moving. We must remember the fallen and honour those who came home scarred both physically and mentally. A small moment of thought for their service.

 

[GUT2407]

3 hours ago, shipgeeks said:

Our kitty, Halifax, is with us; he will stay in our cabin.  I saw him just now.

I want our extended balcony enclosed, (chainwire will work fine) wth artificial grass for Maxy and a doggy door in and out of our cabin

[Blackduck59]

3 minutes ago, GUT2407 said:

I want our extended balcony enclosed, (chainwire will work fine) wth artificial grass for Maxy and a doggy door in and out of our cabin

 

I would hold out for better than that, you should be able to get full glass wall sections with teak top rails; and don't forget the sun shade and automatic water system.

[By The Bay]

51 minutes ago, Blackduck59 said:

We will be attending the War Memorial, We make a point of it. When we were in Europe we went to the Normandy Beaches, also Menin Gate in Belgium and of course Vimy Ridge in France, all very moving. We must remember the fallen and honour those who came home scarred both physically and mentally. A small moment of thought for their service.

 

In Australia we tend to focus on our battle sites and I had not heard of Vimy Ridge. That was until last September whilst on a Princess cruise to Hawaii. One of the best enrichment lectures I have been privileged to meet, gave a series of talks including Vimy Ridge. He was retired Maj Dale Erhart from the RCAF. He is also the owner and operator of Cruise Speakers Association.

[Blackduck59]

9 minutes ago, By The Bay said:

In Australia we tend to focus on our battle sites and I had not heard of Vimy Ridge. That was until last September whilst on a Princess cruise to Hawaii. One of the best enrichment lectures I have been privileged to meet, gave a series of talks including Vimy Ridge. He was retired Maj Dale Erhart from the RCAF. He is also the owner and operator of Cruise Speakers Association.

 

Many consider the Battle of Vimy Ridge was our nation coming of age, barely 50 years after confederation we accomplished an objective long thought impossible. The monument is absolutely striking and they fly the current Canadian flag the tri-colour of France and the Flag of Canada from the time of the Battle. I know a little about the ANZACs and the horror of Gallipoli as well as the story of the Lighthorsemen, mostly from movies and the excellent series ANZAC Girls.