Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2025 Auckland to Tongariro National Park Village (Tongariro Crossing Lodge)

Deb here. After enjoying the breakfast buffet at Auckland City Hotel (John was thrilled to try an automated pancake maker!) we took an Uber to our car rental spot near the Auckland Airport. By 10:30 a.m. we had the keys to a Toyota Prius C, same car we drive at home. This made the whole driving on the left side of the road thing a bit easier to handle for John.

The weather here is actually pretty comical. We are in the midst of heavy rains, all over the country, which is pretty unexpected for this time of year in NZ. The locals are frustrated because this is supposed to be the height of their summer, and instead there’s flooding, roads getting washed out, mudslides, etc. Nothing we can do to control the weather, but our goal for our remaining days in NZ is to seek some sun.

The only plans I’d made for our last week in NZ was to reserve a place at Tongariro Crossing Lodge for 2 nights. The Lodge is near the trailheads for the Tongariro Alpine Crossing, a 12-mile spectacular hike that’s listed as one of the best dayhikes in the world. As it turns out, this weather makes the hike out of the question, but off we headed for our accommodation.

We had about a 3.5 hour drive from Auckland, and although it was a rainy and cloudy day, the countryside was beautiful. Lots of rolling, green hills with so many cattle and sheep. We stopped at a roadside cafe along the way at lunchtime and split a meat pie and enjoyed a flat white and chai latte. Cell service was pretty good and we chatted with Hannah along the way. She and Erick had hiked the Tongariro Alpine Crossing in 2019, so she knew the area we were traveling into.

Heavy rain and wind when we checked into the Lodge at 3:45. The Lodge recently built a series of 6 efficiency apartments in 3 duplexes and we’re in one of those. Really sweet accommodation with simple design but well thought out. We finally had a chance to facetime with Jake, Nath and the twins.

In the evening we went to dinner at Schnapps, kind of like a ski lodge bar, just down the road. By this time it was raining and blowing so hard that we took the car instead of making the short walk. We each had a pint (mine with Monteith’s cider and John’s with a local IPA) and had their soups of the day (mushroom/blue cheese and pumpkin/feta) for dinner. Perfect on this cold and rainy evening.

Back to our place for a bit of TV watching and bed. We checked out weather in the area and think we have a plan to find the sun on Friday, fingers crossed. 

Tuesday Jan 20, 2025 Off the ship in Auckland

Today they booted us off the ship. Our bags disappeared last night and reappeared on the dock this morning. We got our last breakfast and then our last coffee, said goodbye to a lot of new friends and new acquaintances and walked off the ship around 8:15.

Our yellow van pulled up around 8:45 and there were three other people on the same tour, Dave, Vanessa, her son Sebastian, us and the driver/tour guide Mike.

Mike had a whole day planned for us today in spite of the constant drizzle. It seems we ended the trip with a solid week of rain ahead of us, bummer.

But Mike did not disappoint and everyone on board was up for the soggy challenge.

We got an all day tour of all the beaches and neighborhoods and fancy houses and simple houses all around Auckland. 

We visited the glass houses that had beautiful flowers and plants inside. Mike took us to a volcano where we had to hike in the rain to the top and get an up high view of the Auckland skyline, including the iconic space needle.

We stopped at a high hill where in the 1800’s they dug tunnels to house giant retracting guns for fear of Russian ships bombing the city (a false fear of course).

We did a wine tasting at a vineyard followed by lunch where we got to catch our breath, dry out a little, and get to know each other. Dave is on his honeymoon to his second wife. His first wife passed away a few years past and he found a new love. Very sweet. Vanessa and her son are from Mexico City and the 16 year old son is starting school in Auckland for three months so mom is spending some time here and then going home.

Mike was a salesman for 30 years and this is his retirement gig.

On the way back we stopped at the sailing place where the Americas Cup team is based. There are three thousand boats here, none of them out today because of the high winds.

Mike dropped us all off in town at our prospective hotels mid afternoon. We're staying at the Auckland City Hotel and we rested and dried out a bit and then went downstairs for dinner then bed. This next week we will seek the sunshine somewhere on the North Island, we hope.

A fond memory..

Monday Jan 19, 2025 Bay of Islands

It is a drizzly, windy day but a nice temperature. We anchored in the bay and the tenders started running first thing. The tender ride today was much calmer than two days ago so no free roller coaster ride. Once off the tender we took the short shuttle across the bridge and across the bay into the closest town, Piahia. We found a coffee shop and walked around town. We took the ferry to Russell across the bay. The ferry boat is a one man operation with the pilot, a young guy, doing all the lines and driving the boat. 

Russell is an old whaling town and had a reputation of being a rough place back in the day. Now there is a nice promenade along the shore and various holiday homes rising from the brown sand/gravel beach up the nearby hills. Nobody was swimming as it’s a miserable day. The water temperature is probably 70-72 degrees.

We toured the very tidy and organized (and small) museum ($10) which was well done. Everywhere we go Captain Cook pops up but this museum also discussed the French history here as well who first came a few years after Cook. More research required…

We then went to the Duck of Marlborough Hotel for a pint in their gorgeous bar. The place is beautiful but the beer and cider were so so.

Then back on the one man ferry to Piahia where the shuttle was waiting to take us back to the dock where the tender was loading and back to the ship. We split a lunch near the pool and then hopped in the hot tub one last time. At 4 we attended a great Q and A session with the captain and the hotel manager.

Then dinner at 6:00 with our friends Bob and Stacy and their friends Richard and Sherri and Jenny and Jerry.

After dinner we went to Tom Sartori’s country music show, the only country music we have heard in two weeks. The seas are the roughest we have seen so far on this trip so the poor musicians had their hands full playing and standing. Then off to bed. Tomorrow we leave the ship and we’d packed our bags earlier today so not much to do but try and sleep with the ship tossing around.

Sunday Jan 18, 2025 Tauranga

Deb here. I’d made plans today through Viator to have a guided tour to learn more about Maori culture. Stacy and Bob joined us as well. We met Les in the morning and all loaded into his van. Les was an interesting guy; his mom was Maori and his dad non-Maori and he’s held lots of jobs during his lifetime. He was probably in his 60’s/70’s and is doing all he can to educate people about Maori history and culture.

He first took us to a site where a small group of Maoris smartly outwitted a group of well-armed British soldiers in 1864. There were all kinds of carved Maori poles telling the stories.

Les pointed out a few other Maori sites, then we stopped for pies (and doughnuts!) at Patrick’s Pies, reputed to have the best meat pies around. From there we drove on toward Rotorua and the Maori Living Village. There’s all kinds of geothermal activity in the area, and walking around the historic village there were bubbling pots of sulfur smelling liquids oozing everywhere. We attended a half hour performance of Maori dancing, music and traditional game playing. My favorite was watching the group perform a haka, an intimidating dance to scare off their enemies. 

After spending time at the village we were off again for a scenic tour, going by a large volcanic lake, passing through Te Puke (what an unfortunate name for the “Kiwi Fruit Capital of the World”) and by kiwi orchards. We learned that kiwi fruit now grows with green, gold and red fruit. Who knew?

On the drive and when walking Les schooled us on pronunciation of various Maori words and filled us in with lots of stories. 

Back closer to Tauranga, he took us to a sacred spot that we likened to a community center of sorts for his people. It was a simple building with Maori designs, and we had to be careful where we stepped. He filled us in on a variety of medicinal plants and spoke at length during the day about manuka honey. 

Before getting back in the van he quizzed us about correct pronunciation of a few Maori words, then broke out a bottle of manuka honey infused bubbly water, now in production by one of his nephews. All in all a good day spent learning more about the local culture and history.

Once back at the dock the sun finally came out in earnest, and we treated ourselves to hokey pokey ice cream cones on the dock. We’re not sure exactly what Hokey Pokey is, but we remembered it as a New Zealand thing from our other trip to NZ, and you find it in ice cream and chocolate. It’s kind of a crunchy cookie add in.

Back on the ship for dinner with Stacy and Bob, followed by another great show by the entertainers. Tonight it was “Imagine”, with songs from the 60’s and 70’s.

Saturday Jan 17, 2025 Gisborne

 

Last night the Captain said the seas were projected to be rough and they may have to change how they approach Gisborne. This morning he announced that we would be going ashore in the tenders, which are small boats, I think also used as life boats.

A pretty smooth ride this morning to shore. The tenders hold 100 people normally and 150 in emergencies (life raft). This is the first time we have used the tenders and it was a 10-15 minute ride to the dock.

These shore excursions are handled very efficiently and simply. I haven’t heard of anyone getting left on shore, but it happens. The Captain says we will be leaving at 2 pm today and if you’re not on the last tender, you rent a car and drive to the next port (or fly).

Deb signed us up for a ship’s excursion  to a sheep farm about 20 minutes from the dock.

Deb here. This turned out to be a fantastic excursion. We went to Waihea Station, a fourth generation farm about 15 minutes outside of Gisborne. We were met by Matthew and Caroline, brother and sister, for a thorough overview of farming and their roles. Also there were a variety of their kids, who were quick to help with the demonstrations. First up was a discussion about their farm (1,500 sheep and 180 beef cattle), followed by a sheep shearing demo. We then hopped back on the small buses and went to the beautiful farmhouse, built in 1908 by their grandfather. They’d presented a nice spread with Anzac cookies, shortbread, mini quiches, coffee and tea and we had a nice relaxed chat with all of them. Very genuine and authentic.

Then it was back to the farm for a sheep dog calling demo. Much of the farm is hilly, and Matthew drives the sheep on horseback with dogs. Very impressive, with lots of whistles and dog action.

The captain had announced an earlier departure time of 2 pm due to weather, so the last tender was scheduled for 1:30 pm. Our sheep farm tour caught the tender and it was a really exciting ride back to the ship. Big swells, water coming into the boat and kind of like a roller coaster ride. The tender captain was laughing so we knew we weren’t going down!

Back on the ship for a meeting with Cedric about signing up for another cruise. We decided on a spring cruise in 2028 to Japan, so we finalized that. At 5:15 we went to a social hour for folks who’d cruised with Azamara more than once, along with entertainment. Dinner at Discoveries, and a fantastic show at 9 by Eric DeGray, the cruise director. All good!

Friday Jan 16, 2025 Napier

We woke up to a sunny day, so it felt good to wear shorts once again. What a sweet little town. The town was destroyed in 1931 by an earthquake and within a few years they rebuilt it with an Art Deco theme. 

We discovered the Faraday Museum which was a vibrant, busy collection of any kind of machine, gizmo, gadget you can imagine. And most of it worked. I found my favorite museum person, the old guy that loved to tell me about everything in the museum, its history and how it worked. The museum is in the old power plant and he had the huge oil fired engine running the old generator so it provided the “background music” every museum should have. Lots of old phones and telegraphs and machinery that mostly all worked and you could operate them.

Deb found a 2-hour guided tour through the local Art Deco Trust. They had a history presentation followed by a long, leisurely walk through town with a guide that pointed out all the renovated buildings and styles. The tour guide was a very comical guy and we enjoyed him very much.

We then went to a pub and bought pints, and our friends from Idaho dropped in and they bought us a couple more. Deb discovered a “peach bomb” on tap that was something specific to the area and really delicious.

Back to the ship to rest and get dinner with three other couples and then to the 9:00 show featuring the assistant cruise director Justin and the boat band (drums, bass, guitar, piano, sax and trumpet).

Another great day.

Thursday Jan 15 2025 Picton

 

This morning we pulled into the little town of Picton. We docked next to a big car ferry which left right after we tied up.

Picton is a smallish town and like a lot of New Zealand town on the shores, seems to exist to ship logs from their big timber industry. But it is also a tourist town. 

Deb and I were here a few years ago so we instantly recognized the small, quaint downtown. Deb signed us up for a boat tour of the sounds and fjords (there is a difference but not sure what it is). 

It was raining again today but the small boat kept us dry inside and we could sneak up on deck to take pictures when the rain slowed down. All in all it was a great morning and the clouds added to the beauty. We have also been hearing that they have had a bit of a drought this year so the rain was welcome. We stopped to feed the fish, sea gulls and ducks and then back to the dock. The tour was about 2-3 hours.

Then a walk about Picton for a bit of shopping and then back on the shuttle to the ship. A little lunch back on board and then a quick look at future Azamara cruises. The ship leaves at 4 pm. Tomorrow it's on to Napier on the North Island.

In the evening we had our final reservation for one of the specialty restaurants, and we ate once again at Prime C. Everything about the meal was absolutely perfect once again. After our leisurely 2 hour meal it was time to head down to music. First up was Ike and Charlie on guitar in the Den, and then into the Cabaret Lounge at 9 for the final performance by Mirek Galiczynski, the uber talented pianist/xylophone player from the Ukraine. By 10 pm it was time to collapse after yet another great day!

Wednesday Jan 14, 2025 Wellington

 

Were again at sea all night and arrived in Wellington around 8:00 this morning. Today we had nothing really planned so decided to take the shuttle into Wellington and walk around. The shuttle dropped us right in front of the Parliament building (Wellington is the capital) so we walked in and asked if we could get a tour. They happened to have a couple of cancellations so we got in. We learned about their parliamentary form of government (mostly) and it seems much simpler than ours. The capital is called the “Beehive” and next to it is the Parliament building itself and the last building is the Library. Beautiful buildings, great tour leader. About 20 people in the tour group.

Next stop was to take the cable car up the mountain behind town. Someone bought a large piece of land on the hill above town at the turn of the century but it was hard to convince people to build a house up there so they created the cable car and sold the lots. It was originally run by steam engine but converted to electric motors in 1937. And it still runs regularly today. We had coffee at the shop at the top of the cable car and then visited the cable car museum next door.

Then down the cable car and walk to the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tingarewa across town. Nice walkable town with lots of public spaces.

It’s a large multistory museum and we were only able to absorb the Gallipoli exhibition. Gallipoli was a terrible defeat of beautiful young men. War is stupid!! We did see more Polynesian history but our museum circuit breakers went off and we walked back to the shuttle stop. Along the way we saw teenagers diving off a high dive into the harbor. No lawyers down here I guess!

Back to the ship and we had coffee with the wonderful couple from Montreal. He is 92 and entertained us with exciting stories of his life. The have been married 60 years and are very sharp and active.

We took short naps around 4:15 to get ready for the Azamazing evening back in town. Dinner was early and it was raining when we all left the ship on shuttle buses at 7 pm to go into a church to hear and orchestra and Maori choir. They organized us by what floor we were on and it went very smoothly. I was almost brought to tears by how beautiful the Maori voices and songs were, especially with a full orchestra behind them. They also played some traditional Mozart music. Then somehow we all seemingly made it back to the ship in the rain. The ship set sail around 10 pm. Tomorrow we stop in Picton.

Sunday Jan 11 Milford Sound to Dunedin

Deb here. After 3 days at sea we were finally going to dock today, so a lot of excitement! After a light breakfast at Windows Cafe we packed up our backpack to get ready. At 10 a.m. we attended Professor Plumb’s presentation on Middle Earth. Greg is quite a JRR Tolkien fan, and he presented a fun powerpoint showing the actual NZ locations where The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings Trilogy were filmed. 

By the time this was over it was time to grab free shuttle tickets into Dunedin, which was scheduled for 1 p.m. We stopped at Discoveries Restaurant at 11:30 and had some brunch foods so we’d be well fed by the time we arrived in Dunedin. 

The boat docked at Port Chalmers, a port about 25 minutes away from the city center, so at 1 we hopped on the shuttle and off we went.

Since we’d visited Dunedin briefly in 2023 we didn’t feel the need to visit the historic train station or the nearby museum. Both are excellent, but we’d been there. Instead we struck out on a walk to find the Dunedin Gasworks Museum, about a half hour walk away. This turned out to be a great find. Who knew that starting in the 1860’s the city powered streetlights and later homes with coal gas? I’d never heard of such a thing and it was quite an undertaking. Apparently this museum is one of only a few in the world and happens to only be open on Sunday afternoons and run by volunteers. We thoroughly enjoyed our time there, having an opportunity to talk with two engaging volunteers. Along with the massive old equipment, John even had a cup of coffee from a 1950’s coal gas powered coffee machine. All pretty cool.

From there it was on to the Chinese Garden, which turned out to be a beautiful oasis right in the heart of the city. Another “who knew” moment, learning that many Chinese had migrated to Dunedin in the 1850’s to work in the gold fields. Two good finds for our afternoon in town.

We were thirsty after our walking, so we found a pub right on The Octagon (the hub at the center of the city) and had a beer and cider. Back to the ship by late afternoon, followed by a tasty dinner at Discoveries Cafe seated with a lovely couple from Toronto, Australia (2 hours north of Sydney) and then a fun performance by the entertainment team in Cabaret Lounge at 9. 

Back to our cabin for reading and sleep by 10. 

Saturday Jan 10 Milford Sound

A blustery day this morning, with grey skies, high wind and some rain. At 10 a.m. we arrived  in Milford Sound. I found it particularly thrilling to watch the pilot jump onto ship for the Milford Sound voyage. He pulled up in a small boat that was bouncing around due to the winds, and the boat had to pull up alongside our ship and then he had to transfer from one boat to the other. Quite a feat! It’s raining today which means we wore our rain gear, the plus side being that since Milford Sound is famous for waterfalls, we saw amazing waterfalls everywhere. We spent about two hours going up the Sound and back out to sea, during that time wandering all over to gape at the sights. Once at the most waterfally (word?) part of the sound, the Captain made the ship do a 360 degree turn with the bow thrusters so nobody missed anything. The best views were from our balcony where it was dry and out of the rain and wind.

There’s plenty of entertainment on board with speakers and music. Our favorite speaker is Professor Plumb who is scheduled for 5 talks on this voyage. He is a retired geography teacher but has a wide range of interests. So far we have seen him do Waterfalls, Southern and Northern hemisphere and a general geography talk. In the afternoon I attended his Waterfalls talk, and Deb had fun participating in a wine and food pairing workshop in Discoveries Restaurant. We regrouped, had some down time, then at 6:30 met  Stacy and Bob (Cornell folks) in the Prime C dining room. Our dinners were fantastic, with many courses, tender beef dishes, good conversation and even an anniversary cake for Stacy and Bob. We left there a bit after 9 and went downstairs to catch a show with Jess (the activities host) who has an absolutely amazing voice. She did a solo show and received a standing ovation at the end.

Then a nightcap in the Living Room  at 10:00 with Fantastic Beats (the 4-person band on board) upstairs and lively crowd. Our last full day at sea!

Friday Jan 9, 2025 - Day 2 at sea to New Zealand

 

Deb here. Lost another hour on the clocks last night so we slept a little late this morning, or actually normal time but the clocks have changed two hours in the last two days. Light breakfast in Windows Cafe, a talk by the Professor and then off to the second talk by Aylene about what to see and do in New Zealand city by city. A bit too heavy on the powerpoints. Nice woman but she needs some help with her presentations. We then stayed on for a presentation about Azamara cruise itineraries, which turned out to be interesting and entertaining. The captain also had a mic and added lots of color commentary. 

In the afternoon we had a great tour of the bridge. We’d put in a request for this tour and apparently a bunch of other passengers had as well, since there were 18 of us total. Interesting to get a tour of the command center and meet some of the staff. Captain Jonas from Sweden is a great entertainer as well as captain, so he always has a wry answer to questions and a dry sense of humor. 

Later we went in the hot tub, just as it rained. Ah, such a rough life!

We tried Discoveries Restaurant for dinner, and then entertainment once again at 9 in the Cabaret Lounge. Tonight was Miro, who played excellent piano and something like a xylophone, all backed up by the house band. Have to say that all of the entertainment on board has been excellent.

Thursday Jan 8, 2025 Day 1 at sea to New Zealand

Deb here. Late night last night and a time change (ahead one hour), so we both slept really late. I grabbed coffee/tea at Mosaics Cafe and brought them back to the cabin, and then we went to the professor’s talk at 10 a.m. He spoke about geographic considerations of living down under, which made our brains think differently about star gazing and perspective.

By this time it was 11 and we hadn’t eaten anything, so we headed to Discoveries Restaurant for the sea day brunch. The brunch food was wonderful, with basically any kind of food you could ask for, along with the band playing. It was packed, but we were able to score seats next to Christine and Mike, the Montrealers we’d met while waiting for a shuttle yesterday. Great food and conversation.

I wanted to go to the line dancing workshop, which turned out being really fun. It was taught by the two dancers who are part of the entertainment team and they did a fine job corraling us all in the right directions at the right time.

Next up was a talk by Aylene, the destination expert,  about the condition of the Maori people here in New Zealand. Sounded a lot like our Native Americans’ issues and history, post colonial.

Wow, this sea day kind of flew by. Following the talk we decided to take some time to walk some laps, have a drink by the pool, and venture into the pool and hot tub. The weather was sunny with blue skies and nothing to see but ocean.

At 6:30 we went to dinner at Windows, this night being an Italian buffet. Good food as always with lots of options. After a bit of time back in our cabin we went to the 9 p.m. entertainment, this time being a Mentalist from South Africa. The Cabaret Lounge was packed and his performance was fantastic. We had no idea how he managed to pull off most of his feats, a lot like Kenny Bang Bang’s show in Bisbee.

Back to the cabin and bed, with another time change scheduled for tonight.

Wednesday Jan 7, 2025 - Sydney Day Two - Coastal Walk

We ended up with an extra day in Sydney because the had to move things because of a storm somewhere, so this is the day we were supposed to be here and yesterday was the extra day. Today the plan was to do a 6km hike around all the beaches near Sydney, known as the Bondi to Coogee Beach Walk. We took the shuttle into town (15 Lime St) and from there called an Uber which for $25 (AUD) got us way across town to Bondi Beach where everyone was out doing the beach thing. It is full on summer here so the beaches are packed. The weather is a little overcast but the temperature is going up to 80 today. The walk goes from Bondi Beach to Bronte Beach but we kept going on to Clovelly Beach and finally ended at Coogee Beach. It was hot but a spectacular coastal walk. 

At Coogee we called an Uber to take us to Rose Bay where we got on the ferry and went to Circular Quay. From there we walked back to where the shuttle picked us up. Our ship sails at 6pm so we had better be on it!  We arrived  back with enough time to order a room service sandwich, followed by a dip in the pool and hot tub. Then dressed and up on deck to see Sydney slip out into the ocean for our two day trip to New Zealand. We went to the entertainment tonight which was the four band members and the six dancers. Great show, high energy.

Tuesday Jan 13 2025 Christchurch

We pulled into the dock at Christchurch this morning by 8:00 and after breakfast we took the shuttle into Christchurch. Deb bought a ticket online for the hop on hop off tram (on rails, not a bus) which goes all around town. It was pretty inexpensive since the town is fairly small, but it’s an easy way to get your bearings. We stopped at the Earthquake Museum which was great.

They seem to have an earthquake somewhere in New Zealand every 20 years or so.The one we had remembered hearing about was in 2011, but there was a bigger one in 2010. Ironically the 2011 quake did more damage and killed 185 people and hospitalized many more. Since then the town has really fixed itself back up. A woman that helped us with directions said that even in the last 5 years, the city has really been rejuvenated. It’s a very walkable, bikeable city with nice parks and public spaces. Being a temperate climate, the year round weather is fairly constant.

We then took the tram to the art gallery which had lots of Maori art, a constant all around New Zealand.

Then lunch at a pub where we sat and talked to a  mother and son duo on the same cruise who are from Parramatta (near Sydney). The further into this cruise the more familiar faces we turn into acquaintances. At first you don’t know anybody and as the days go by, you get to recognize and get to know more and more people. And they all have their own travel stories. We keep discovering the ins and outs of all the different cruise lines (and other modes of travel) and it is generally agreed that Azamara is a lot more down to earth than many others. A few people like the big 3000+ cruise ships but most enjoy the smaller ones.

After lunch we headed back to the ship. Tonight is special because it is the “White Nights” evening where they set all the tables on deck next to the pool and serve an early (and huge) buffet dinner. The idea is to wear as much white clothing as you packed and dance the night away. The entertainment team along with the ship band played and performed  until 10 pm and everyone was on the dance floor. A very fun night. Deb and I danced until the end and then crawled down the stairs and into bed.

Monday, January 12 Dunedin

Deb here again. Every night we both sleep amazingly well on this ship. Don’t know if it’s the white noise, being on the water, putting in full days, or a combo of all of this but it’s wonderful. I was the taskmaster this morning, knowing we had a tour planned and needed to get moving, so we were up by 7 for a change.

After breakfast at Windows Cafe we packed up our backpack and climbed on a shuttle back into Dunedin. We arrived in Dunedin by 9 and had some time before our tour left at 10, so we found Perk, a good coffee shop, for a flat white and chai latter.

At 10 we met our grroup near the Octagon for our Otago peninsula wildlife Tour. I’d booked this experience through Trip Advisor, but it was part of Clearwater Wildlife Tours. The 4-hour tour ended up being fantastic. 10 of us (6 from Azamara) in a van with a local guide and the trip really got us out into the beauty of the surrounding area. When we were here in 2023 we hadn’t driven out on the peninsula and it was absolutely stunning. Cool today, but sun, clouds, blue sky, grey sky and oh, those greens. Paula (our guide) drove for about an hour, stopping at a couple of overlooks for photos, and then we entered the Clearwater land. The land owner has 1,000 head of sheep, so they were everywhere. We traveled on some narrow gravel roads in this private reserve, stopping to look for wildlife along the way. She pointed out all kinds of birds first, then we watched fur seals and their pups, with albatross flying above. We were each given our own pair of binoculars, so we could see everything up close. We walked on a beach and saw really lazy sea lions lounging around (not nearly as entertaining as the fur seals clambering on the rocks) and more birds. My favorite birds were the Pied Stilts, small black and white birds with really long skinny red legs. There was a group of them on the beach who were all huddled together resting, each on one leg.

We then went to the area where the Yellow-Eyed Penguins are nesting, and she managed to spot one at a distance. These penguins are very endangered, so to even see one at a distance was exciting.

Back in the van for another spectacular drive back to Dunedin, arriving back at 2:30. We decided to take the shuttle back to the ship then walk into nearby Port Chalmers for a drink. We walked into town and went to The Portsider for a cider, beer and snacks. Our new friends from Idaho, Kim and Terry, came in and we all enjoyed some good conversation. Back to the ship by 4:30 for tea, coffee, blog writing and a bit of downtime.

Dinner tonight with 6 other people. A Nebraska couple, two Aussie couples and us. We covered a lot of topics like crisps vs chips, french fries vs chips, mandatory voting in Australia (they get fined!!) and how to tell and Aussie from a Kiwi (have them saw “six”.

Then to the Cabaret for the last performance of the mentalist.

Then bed…

Tuesday Jan 6, 2025 - Sydney Day 1

Deb here. We woke up early to watch our approach into Sydney and it was thrilling to pass the Sydney Opera House and go under the Harbor Bridge. The weather was cloudy, as seems to be the case in the morning, but a pleasant temperature. The ship docked at White Bay Cruise Terminal, meaning not right in the heart of the city but not too far off. We grabbed some breakfast and then got ready to disembark and hop on a shuttle to King’s Street Wharf.

Once dropped off at 8:45 or so we first walked to the old part of town, known as The Rocks. We had a coffee/tea and walked around the peninsula, enjoying the views of the Opera House and the buildings. 

Next up was a walk to the Sydney Zoo, a small wildlife park right in the middle of downtown near the aquarium. This was a great move since this zoo (much smaller than the Taranga Zoo on the outskirts of the city) was a greatest hits of oddball animals, birds  and reptiles particular to Australia. We had a chance to see a cassawary, wombats, kangaroos, wallabys, etc. I think our favorite was watching a platypus dart around underwater and we both said it reminded us of watching an otter swim.

By this time it was around noontime and we headed toward the Australian Maritime Museum and a lunch stop. We decided to eat in the museum cafe, which turned out to be just okay, and then we toured the museum. We’ve become fans of maritime museums, but this one didn’t hold together as some of the others we’ve seen. There were some great playspaces for kids, but the exhibits seemed a little scattershot, lacking the continuity. Listen to me, critiquing maritime museums! The highlight was a wander around a full scale replica of the HMS Endeavor, Captain Cook’s boat when he discovered Australia. Milo met his match with a volunteer on board the ship who was more than willing to explain and discuss maritime history.

By this time we were museum saturated and headed back to our shuttle. A bus was right there waiting and we were back on the ship by 4:30. Rest time before our dinner at Aqualina, one of the 2 specialty restaurants, at 6 p.m. Aqualina was excellent, with a 4-course dinner of Italian specialties. Great salad, soup, beef tenderloin, Eggplant Parmesan.

Monday Jan 5, 2025 Melbourne to Sydney - Day at Sea

The itinerary change due to weather meant we were not going to stop at Eden but instead head straight to Sydney which means all day at sea. At various times you can feel the boat sway a bit, thinking you are having balance problems, but I think we will get our sea legs under us soon. 

We finally met Deb’s Cornell folks, Bob and Stacy Holstein, and we spent time with them at a couple events. Milo decided to get a walk in and discovered that the track and sundeck combo gives you a walk and climb. 14 laps equals a mile and he did 2 miles worth. There are usually 6-10 people walking at any time so not crowded at all. The walking track overlooks the pool and hot tubs and those got light use during the day, mostly in the afternoon. The weather has been very comfortable with temperatures in the 70’s.

We went to a talk by the visiting professor about the evolution of the plants and animals in Australia. These are actually pretty helpful in learning what you will be looking at in and around New Zealand and Australia.

The ship’s photographer gave a 1 hour tutorial on how to use you phone camera. I learned at least 4 things I never knew how to do.

We had dinner with a lovely couple from America. He was turning 90 tomorrow but he looked only 70 or so. Very jolly guy who lives in San Diego while his partner lives in Minnesota part of the year.

At 9:00pm we went to the Captain’s toast  to “meet the crew”. For the 600 something of us there is a crew of 300 something. Wow!

After that there was a Australian violinist, Vov Dylan, who did an hour show with a backup band doing a crazy mix of music from classical to rock and roll. He gets off in Sydney but the rest of the band stays with us the rest of the trip.

Sunday Jan 4, 2025 On to the ship in Melbourne

Gregg & Vicki booked a very nice hotel in Melbourne for our last night. Our room on the 18th floor gave a nice city view.

Melbourne is a very clean, very modern city and everything is well kept. We all met for coffee at 8:00 and had our last chat before they had to go visit old friends before taking the plane back to Tasmania and we stayed in the room until checkout which was about the right timing to walk down to the dock to get on the ship.

Melbourne has a nice network of bike / walking trails and there was one that took us to the dock. It was about an hour walk with the suitcases bumping along behind us. We found a place for breakfast/lunch on the way at a small busy bakery.

We got to the dock, dropped our bags and then waited in line to get registered. It took a little less than an hour to check in, mostly waiting in line. Then on to the ship which seems to be pretty much identical to the other Azamara ship we were one in Spain.

We had a safety meeting to go over all the life jacket / life boat stuff and our bags showed up later in the afternoon. One packed we toured the ship to remember what was where. The ship can take about 700 people and is big enough that we do not feel crowded. There are 10 floors and our room was on level 7 so you can take the stairs instead of the elevator but overall no crowding. We have the basic drink package which means anything except eh more expensive booze. Since we are not much the drinkers there is more than enough choices.

We left the huge bay near Melbourne and passed through “The Heads” which Greg Tolman had told us about. It’s a tricky gap we have to go through which depending on the tides can be fairly rough. You can see it before you sail through it with turbulent waters and whitecaps. It bounced us around a little bit but after 15 minutes or so we were out to sea.

We went to dinner at 7:00 and sat with a group who were celebrating a 51st anniversary and having the time of their lives.

There is a show tonight at 9:00 but we were ready for bed.

The captain changed the schedule a bit due to weather so we will be a little ahead of schedule so he can time our New Zealand stops around the storm. So we will not stop at Eden but will get to Sydney first.