A Bulletin from mid Pacific

 

Looking back at Sydney over the Pool Deck

"Nobody expects a cyclone.." (parody of Monty Python "inquisition"). Now I know why repositioning cruises are (supposedly) a bargain. They bring the ship away from the bad weather. Well, sometimes they don't get away in time. And that was how we made some headlines for spending three days in Auckland when a predicted tropical storm turned into a cyclone. The best birthday present I could have had was hearing the Captain announce that we wouldn't be leaving that first afternoon in the already terrible weather. We might not get out for two days more was music to my ears. Others bemoaned losing our visit to Pago Pago, but at what cost I asked? Cyclone Tam brought high winds and seas to New Zealand with many people in Auckland without power for 4 days and major flooding. 

We kept the special cake they gave us 
for the next day as we wanted to try
a few of their other desserts, one of
which is shown here.

The waiters sang "Happy Anniversary" to us 

The trip from Sydney to Auckland had been beautiful with nice weather on our 3 sea days to Tauranga, south of Auckland.  We were able to celebrate our 46th wedding anniversary in the lovely specialty restaurant, Sabatini's. The food and service was impeccable. We brought a bottle of champagne we had bought in Sydney - perfect. 

The Royal Princess over the harbor as we walked down the beach in Taranga

That's the boardwalk with Maunganui Mountain ahead of us.

And it was lovely day there. Perfect weather for a walk down the beach to Maunganui and then a walk around the mountain. It was spectacular and I managed fine with lots of rests at frequent benches to enjoy the scenery. Neither of us was tempted to make the steep climb to the top.

It reminded me a little of Acadia Nat'l Park

The path had lots of historical plaques and benches

Here we turned the corner and started back
 towards the town.

 But the news of the cyclone dampened our delight. The trip overnight was rough. We had great advice from experienced cruising friends and had booked a lower down mid ship balcony room. But we put in a low bid on an upgrade and were excited - and didn't think about the location change. We moved to the 14th floor at the stern. In the bad weather we experience the shudders and noise of the propeller. Walking down the corridors requires a special concentration - everyone looks like they've been drinking.

We've really enjoyed the Enrichment lectures
Our favorite was two Maori teachers where
we learned to sing a song in the Maori
 language and the meaning of the traditional
tatoos. 

Our next challenge was another pair of colds and as usual I started first. Our evening sailing from Taranga to Auckland - a rough one. It started and ended in my chest. Nine days later I ended up in the medical offices and prescribed Codeine and Prednisone. And that has knocked it out of me. Scott waited for 7 days before coming down with a more usual cold. We think they are not related. 

Two views of Maunganui from the sea

The tip

A rather bedraggled Heather - now 80!

Our steward made this charming Happy 
Birthday gift for me. We didn't use the 
glasses as I stopped drinking while I'm sick.

After our three days we left at Noon. The main body of the cyclone had passed us but it was very windy and rough and remained so for several days. But we were lucky as huge thunder storms followed our departure and Auckland was hit by over 200 lightning bolts that night. 

My 80th birthday was supposed to be when we crossed the international dateline and therefor 2 days long. But because we were delayed - it was just one day. And not the one we planned. I was sick so stayed in bed. We'll celebrate it later after we both recover.

But more about the rest of our 5 sea days when we get to Papeete. We bought one 24 hour session mid trip.

Milford Sound and Fiordland Part Two

This vintage "sail" cruise boat took passengers out
for an overnight tour of the Sound.

That's our motor cat behind me. I wore my
flannel lined shirt and jacket for the cruise and
was pretty comfortable.

 

Our bus driver guide got us to the boat dock right on time and made us all promise we would be back at the bus by 3:30 at the latest. After the boat docked we had to go straight to the bus! Turns out he was so right and everyone cooperated. We were one of the first buses/vans out of the parking lot and as a result had no wait at the tunnel or more importantly huge lines at our one bathroom/cafe stop. 

The boats all move in the same course, going up the left side of the Sound and back on the right
side. This photo is looking over to the opposite cliffs and the Stirling Falls. You can get an idea of the perspective by seeing the white dot to the left of the falls. That's a big motor cat like ours and we'll pass close to those falls on the way back.

We went quite close to the vertical wall of cliffs
on the trip down the Sound and saw many
seasonal waterfalls like these two

And this one. This was one of the rare beaches.

A view from the railing, It was sometimes
hard to get a spot at the railing!

There were a number of cruise boats waiting, smaller and larger motor cats and one large vintage craft. Ours was one of the larger motor cats with 3 floors and inside and outside seating. We chose the top priced lunch option - a buffet served on board and it was excellent! Scott and I got into the line for the boat early so we were able to eat right away and get up top to see the views. We had been warned by our driver that some people would try to cut into the line. He was so right. We and our neighbors waited 20 minutes in line and when two couples stood next to us I asked them if they were trying to board our boat. They were. So I explained about the line and where they needed to go. They didn't want to but everyone gave them the look! "We're not letting you in," I explained. They finally moved down the line to try to cut in somewhere else. I got lots of thanks for everyone. We were told by others in the line that they were Russian and this happens often.

Now you can see one of the cruise boats more clearly passing on the other side

We froze up top facing into the wind on the trip to the Tasman Sea so moved to the deck at the stern. That's our wake looking back to Milford Sound village where we began our voyage.

This seasonal waterfall took a meandering 
route.

Milford Sound is 9.3 miles long from the Tasman Sea and is surrounded by sheer rock faces that rise over 3,900 feet high. It has two permeant waterfalls, Lady Bowen Falls and Stirling Falls but a big number of seasonal ones. Since they had lots of rain recently we saw over 20 of them and several of those were quite heavy. The annual mean rainfall is 252 inches! So it is one of the wettest areas in the world. But not this day. 

Scott rarely has to bundle up but he did on
this trip, at least at first

It was very windy however and it was difficult to walk on the top deck. As you can see from the photos we had considerable clouds. We wore our sweaters and rain jackets with the hoods up!  After some time managing that we retired to the back deck which was more protected. It's jaw dropping scenery and hard to take a picture that conveys this. You have to be there - and I hope everyone who reads this will!

Again, those are large cruise cats over on the other side. Sometimes the clouds were mid mountain!

Our turn at Stirling Falls

We got pretty close!

On the way back we had the wind behind us and
we could move back up top.

As I mentioned first, we had an easy trip home and were able to walk to our apartment from the drop off. We had planned well with lots of leftovers for dinner. We had planned to do a boat cruise on the lake the next day before our 5:30 PM flight to Brisbane. But after checking out of the apartment at 10 AM we had to drop off the car at the expected time of 10:30 or keep it another day. It was a little overcast so we regretfully decided to just hang out at the airport until our flight. Of course, after we dropped off the car, the sun came out! But the small airport was really nice with inside and outside eating and sitting. So the time went pleasantly and so did our 3 and 1/2 hour flight. So good-bye New Zealand - next post, Mooloolaba, Australia. 

Heading back to Milford Sound village. This is one of the safe anchorages and once had a lodge here. You can see some of the snow or glaciers up on the distant mountain.

Lady Bowen Falls

Looking at the end of the Sound.

Back in our apartment just after sunset - looking down the lake.

Finally, the Milford Sound & Fiordland Part One

One of our longer stops was the Mirror Lakes where we were able to take a short hike along the
water's edge. As you can see it deserves it's name and we had the weather to enjoy it.

Another view of the lake with some ducks.

Guess who? Although the day was sunny it was
still quite cool, 

 

I say finally because it's been 10 days since we took the Milford Sound All Day Tour out of Queensland. Just before we flew to Brisbane on March 25th, Scott dropped his phone and broke the screen. We weren't able to access our photos (and other problems not having a phone because I didn't bring mine - bad girl). During our 8 day visit to Julie & Peter in Mooloolaba we were able to get it fixed, but not quickly. So we are now in Uluru and I'm finally getting it out. 

These golden fields with a stream running through them greeting us after our entrance into Fiordland National Park. The mountains around us include the The Elephant at 5,000 feet. Elsewhere in the park there are peaks over 8,000 feet. 

Fiordland covers almost 5,000 square miles - in contrast Rhode Island has about 1,500 sq miles

We're still on the trip to the Sound and although this lake isn't called Mirror, it still reflects itself. 

And it will be in two parts because there are SO many gorgeous photos. This trip was amazing and we had perfect weather, as you can see. We met our bus at 7 AM and got back to the pick up point at 7 PM and I only wish it had been a much longer trip - like a week. This area is so beautiful and deserves a lot more time. But no complaints...

The Milford Sound wasn't accessible by land
until the saddle between two rivers was 
discovered and the Homer Tunnel built.

 

Our driver was fun and chose our stopping points well,, especially for photos. The drive down to the Sound itself took just over 5 hours. The bus was comfortable and when our driver saw Scott, he put us in the front seat where he had more leg room. We stopped for snacks & bathroom stops, short walks and the scenery. The way back in contrast was only 3.5 hours with only one stop. In between we had a 2 hour cruise down the Milford Sound (Piopiotahi) but I'll cover the cruise in Part Two. So now - more photos!

Fiordland became a National Park in 1952 but a good part was set aside as a national reserve in 1905 and it is a refuge for many endangered species in New Zealand. One of the Park's glaciers is just
visible on the mountain in the distance.

The road was naturally twisty and steep as it wound it's way through the pass and down to the Sound. 

Scott wore a halo in a selfie. It was an
atmospheric image above the 
mountain behind him - clever!

Our bus stopped not far from the Homer Tunnel. This was 
started in 1935 with 5 men armed only with picks and 
shovels. It was finally opened for traffic in 1953. It is one
way and traffic lights direct the flow. 

Jet Boating on the Shotover River

The staff took this photo and the one below.

The Shotover looking up river.

One of the boats passes by the beach. You can
see how shallow the water is and how close they
come to the beach. 

A selfie on the boat during a brief
stop to watch other boats go by.

 

This is one of the iconic things to do in New Zealand and it deserves it's reputation. What fun! The overcast day didn't diminish the experience either. We drove ourselves to their headquarters on the river and joined the crowds waiting for their time slot. Two boats go out about every 15 minutes and it takes about a half an hour. They have this down to a science and thank goodness as it looks pretty dangerous. In fact they haven't had an accident for a long time and when it did happen way back, no one was hurt and it was a mechanical problem. The drivers really know their business. 

We stopped for a few minutes and watched another
boat come through a narrow spot and do "the spin".
We did a lot of these ourselves - fun!!!

There is a lot of screaming and laughing. We not only enjoyed our experience but watching the other boats. Well worth the money. We had some lunch back at our apartment and then drove down the long and winding road to Glenorchy.  The overcast weather continued but it was still really scenic. We stopped and had a nice hike up to Lookout Point with great views of the lake and the Tooth Peaks. 

It was still a gloomy day driving up to Glenorchy.

But still very scenic.

Looking inland from Lookout Point

The viewing platform on Lookout Peak looking
back to Queenstown.

That night ate the variety of leftovers in the frig. The day we arrived in Queenstown, after the Gondola trip, we had dinner at a Chinese restaurant a short walk away and bought groceries for breakfasts and at least one dinner. So we had lots of choices. Sunday started out with lots of rain so we did laundry and got caught up with computer things - several blog posts and settled our plans for Vancouver and on to NYC and Raleigh. 

There were several jet boat companies on the lake
but it didn't look as exciting as our trip.

A boardwalk extends along the lake through
town.

Scott loves to photograph birds and flowers.

Then the rain let up and sun came out. So we drove down into Queenstown and walked around. Our first impression had been poor as the main street is lined with souvenir shops etc. But as soon as we headed down to the lake, it brightened up considerably. Parks and wharfs line the lakefront with nice restaurants and pedestrian streets. We were surprised to see another White & Wong's, not realizing it was a chain. And our lunch was excellent once again and provided yet more leftovers. 

There was a big pond with tons of flowering
waterlilies.

There were several lake cruise options available but we decided to do one of them in the morning before flying out on Tuesday. So we just had a nice walk there and then over at the Botanical Gardens on a peninsula across from the town. As it was a Sunday many couples and families were out for a stroll. There was a big frisbee gold tournament going on and the bowling green had several couples participating. That's new game for us so we enjoying sitting a and watching a match.  

The beautiful bowling green.

This is the young couple we cheered on.

One of the golf frisbee groups checks on their scores. You can see Queenstown across the lake.

Finally we returned to our apartment, and later walked down to the local pub for dinner. Tomorrow was our big day - a 12 hour tour down to the Milford Sound and the Fjordland National Park. Which will be my next blog post.