Sunday, Oct 20:
Tauranga, New Zealand Ship Excursion. We had about a 1 hour drive out of
Tauranga to arrive at our Village Tour in Rotorua's of Whakarewarewa. We saw a lot of
lovely countryside along the way. Apparently, there is a lot of wind here so large pine-type trees are
planted close together and trimmed to be wind breaks for the delicate Kiwi
fruit that grows here. Kiwi is both green and yellow! I didn't know there were
yellow ones and I hope to try that before heading home. Cattle and sheep graze
in the lush, green fields. Did I say earlier that they have 9 sheep to each
person living in New Zealand? An amazing fact. Rhododendrons are in bloom here
and the are pruned into gorgeous trees. There are many other flowering trees I
do not recognize. I hope to find out the
name of a lovely tree with light pink leaves, which is just amazing to look at.
It is sprinkling
lightly as we arrived to the village but it didn't last. We have been blessed
by the weather on most occasions. Surprisingly, this is not an "old"
village but a modern village where the Maori people live now. Of course there
are a lot more Maori people than live in this small village. This is a
geothermal area with a lot of steam vents, mud pots, and some geyser activity.
Our guide was interesting and informative, of the Maori tribe himself. It was a
nice walking tour around the area ending with a plentiful hangi lunch (chicken,
beef, corn on the cob, carrots, cabbage,
sweet and light potatoes, plus dessert "pudding" with fruit. All had
been cooked in the very steam pots he showed us earlier. Now most of us are
nodding off before our return trip to Tauranga. We have learned how local Maori
adapted to the devastation of their home after the 1886 eruption, as well as
how they have lived on the land for centuries using geothermal activity for
warmth, cooking and bathing. We enjoyed a Maori cultural performance, which
includes the world-famous haka. After the Village experience our driver took us
through the Government Gardens near by, along a lovely lake. All the swans we
have seen are black. No opportunity to get a decent photo of them, I am sorry
to say. There are a lot of people enjoying the area playing bocce ball, water
sports, and more. There is even a pontoon plane on the lake.
Village Tour - John at
Entrance
Thermal Village Area
Geysers
Monday, Oct 21: Change
of Itinerary and we are now at Bay of Islands. They did send a list of
outrageously priced local tours we could book, we decided against it. Even a
walking tour was over $75, which one can usually find a map and do on your own.
We also decided to avoid the arduous task of trying to secure a tender ticket
early on with 1000+ others, we just waited until a ticket was no longer needed.
After numbers in the 1500's were called we were all invited to take the tender,
that was about 11:30a. It was fine for us as we didn't have a real plan. We
were encouraged there was a free shuttle into the delightful little town called
Paihai. We browsed some shops, stopped for a glass of wine when it sprinkled,
walked around some more, stopped for another glass of wine over looking the
bay, and then headed back on the free shuttle. A delightful day. We are glad we
didn't "plan" anything because we met such friendly and kind people
along the way today.
Leaving port we
finally saw our first sea life since leaving San Francisco! Dolphins, really
sizable dolphins, made quite a show of themselves as they escorted the Pilot
boat most of the way. It was almost as though they were trained. Further along
I am amazed at the number of birds
diving in the water, obviously they are feeding. Again we are warned of the
upcoming weather, I suppose we are ready!
Serene waters of the
Bay of Islands
Zane Grey's where we
had wine with a view
Dolphins
Tuesday, Oct 22: At sea. We are in the Tasman Sea now
and it was a bit rough last night and most of the day. We are told it will
remain like this tomorrow as well. Some outside areas are closed off. The ship
does lurch a bit here and there. After ginger ale and Dramamine all is well.
However, we didn't do much today. I had a few days of work on my photos and
albums to do and that kept me busy. We have 2 more days at sea and then we will
arrive in Sydney, Australia.By
tonight we are really rockin & rollin - but it adds to the adventures!
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