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World Cruise segment 2024 Auckland to Perth

History&Wine

By History&Wine,
in Crystal

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History&Wine

History&Wine

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My journal entry from the last two stops in New Zealand:
 

Tauranga is the largest city on the Bay of Plenty and the fifth largest city in New Zealand.   It is the largest port in all of New Zealand.  I did a quick tour of the docking area and decided to hike the peak of the nearby peninsula, Mauro.  This was a strenuous hike of about 95 minutes but yielded great views of the bay, beach and city.  I stopped several times to view sheep as they crossed the trail.  

 
In the afternoon we world cruisers boarded buses for a trip to Hobbiton.  This is where the movie Lord of the Rings was filmed.  Our excellent guide pointed out scenes from the movies and trivia. New since my last visit here:  two Hobbit houses have been expanded to very detailed seven room Hobbit cottages, complete with working fireplaces and furniture with all the items necessary for a Hobbit to live comfortably.  Of course, the houses are not tall friendly, so I had to watch my step…or rather my head.  
 
Our next stop was on the South Island, Picton.  Since the harbor was shallow, we had to anchor and tender in to the town.  This is a quintessential small tourist town dotted with cafes and shops nestled in the hills so prevalent in New Zealand.  Nearby is the famous Marlborough wine region, but I judged the distance too far to risk a trip.  
 
Why so many hills/mountains in New Zealand?  The country is situated on the boundary of two major tectonic plates.   As these plates collide, rocks and earth are moved up, creating hills and mountains.   New Zealand also has a history of volcanic eruptions.  The Oruanui eruption of the Taupo volcano is the largest known eruption in the world in the last 70,000 years.  It occurred around 26,500 years ago and deposited 1,200 cubic km of material.  By comparison, the Mt. St. Helen eruption in 1980 deposited less than 3 cubic km of material.  The good news for New Zealand is that the rich volcanic soil helps New Zealand to bring a tree to timber maturity in 25 years.   The same tree normally would take 65 years to reach maturity in Canada.  
 
We have two days at sea….luxurious 25 hour days….before our next port in Sydney, Australia.
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History&Wine

History&Wine

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I’m well.  Not a lot to report as I have spent time in ports walking.  The fruits at the market in Adelaide are huge as the Australian harvest has just come in. Calm and sunny today, our last sea day as we cross the Great Australian Bight.

 

Seasack is doing a great job posting Reflections and menus!

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Port Power "Live from...." Rare

Port Power

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I had the pleasure of touring Crystal Serenity in Fremantle yesterday.  I was impressed!  It is a beautiful ship, with lots of open public spaces and lounges.  The cabins have been elegantly upgraded.  The restaurants and menus were impressive. I have cruised Silversea quite often, but had never considered Crystal, for no real reason.  I am now seriously considering booking Crystal’s 2026 world cruise.

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saminina

saminina

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On 3/10/2024 at 11:38 AM, History&Wine said:

I like to visit a supermarket in new cities to see how the locals live.   One can tell based on the space allocated to each item.  I also look at prices. 

A shared hobby.   IGA in my town is tops.....worth the visit.

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