Boarding the ship and New Zealand Ports

Today is Monday, Feb 15, 2010 and here on the Diamond Princess it is 1:30 PM. On the west coast of the U.S. it is Sunday, Feb 14 (Lori Noelle’s 41st birthday) and it is 5:30 PM in Seattle and 8:30 PM in Florida. These time differences give new meaning to the term “all time is relative”.
I sent a lengthy e-mail to family and friends recounting our trip from when we left Seattle on Feb 2 to arriving in Auckland, NZ on Feb 4 until we boarded our ship, the Diamond Princess on Feb 9. It was also posted on my blog which, for those of you who may not know about my blog, can be found at www.markandjofanniestripdownunder.blogspot.com. If you are reading this on the blog then obviously you have found it!
It is always exciting for us when we come on board a cruise ship. The many months of anticipation are over and the reality is now being experienced. The Diamond is the sister ship and exact duplicate of the Sapphire Princess which we were on in 2006 so she was familiar to us. This time we boarded with another couple, Karreen and Al from Lacey, WA which was a first for us. The Diamond holds 2600 passengers and is considered a premium class ship. She is very lovely.
After getting something to eat (it was lunchtime when we boarded), we went up on the 15th deck and saw another ship berthed right along side of us. She was Norwegian Cruise Line’s “Rhapsody of the Seas”. What made this rather extraordinary was that of the hundreds of cruise ships in existence, the Rhapsody was the one we took two of our grandchildren (Julian and Claire Dayton) on to Alaska this past September! And here she was right next to the Diamond! When you get a chance to see my photos, you will see pictures of the two ships together…the Diamond is one third again as big.
After unpacking our luggage, which took some time, we got reacquainted with the ship and then had dinner. For the first time, we had been assigned “traditional” or fixed seating which means we were given a particular table in one of the several dining rooms with 3 other couples. Of the five dining rooms ours is the Vivaldi. The other couples at our table are quite congenial. This would be the time to comment about the food. We’ve sailed on Princess ships before and the food has been very good but this time it is excellent! As a matter of fact, Mark commented to the maitre’d one evening as we were leaving the Vivaldi that the only criticism he had was that the food was too good! There is also a buffet type of dining area on the 14th deck, the Horizon Court, where you can get equally good food in a more informal atmosphere. (Note to Julian and Claire- the food on the Diamond is way better than on the Rhapsody of the Seas).
We embarked from Auckland on Tuesday, Feb 9 and our first port on the 10th was Tauranga, a lovely town on New Zealand’s Bay of Plenty. It is NZ’s busiest port and a productive agricultural and timber center. More than 1.5 billion kiwi fruits are exported from here each year. Tauranga is also the gateway to one of the South Pacific’s finest attractions, Rotorua which is located in the middle of the most intense thermal activity as the region sits atop underground water, which, superheated by lava, bubbles up all around in geysers, mud pools and steam boors.
We did not see this unique attraction but rather had chosen to book a trip on the South Sea Vagabond, a large catamaran which took ten of us out into the Bay of Plenty to find and swim with dolphins. We did indeed find loads of dolphins but they were not in a playing mood and just surrounded the boat and went off on their own. However we did shoot lots of pictures of them. The day was very sunny but breezy and the water a bit cold. So Karreen and I kayaked instead and had loads of fun. Although I’ve kayaked many times before, this was the first open ocean kayaking I’d done. Mark did swim in the ocean but didn’t stay in for very long due to the water temperature. It was a great day but if I had to do it again and knew more about the cold water and lack of dolphin swimming, I would have gone to the bubbling lava of Rotorua and seen a Maori tribal village instead.
The next day, Thursday the 11th, was an “at sea” day. There are always many many activities you can do on the ship on an at sea day. For instance, Mark and I took a “meringue” dance lesson. We listened to a destination lecture about Christchurch and Dunedin, our two next ports and we also went to a Broadway production number in the Princess theatre. It was also a “formal night” where everybody gets dressed up and looks elegant.
Friday, the 12th, we docked at the port of Lyttelton which is the port for Christchurch. Christchurch is in New Zealand’s South Island. You don’t have to go to England to punt down the Avon River, see colorful cottage gardens, bowling lawns or tour past stately Gothic cathedrals on a red double-decker bus. It’s all in Christchurch, affectionately known as New Zealand’s most English city.
Christchurch faces inland to the Canterbury Plains, which is a very fertile agricultural area and also to the snowy Southern Alps. In the morning we took a shuttle into town and explored the city on our own and bought gifts and souvenirs. Then in the afternoon we took a tour where we went punting on the Avon River which is like a gondola in Venice, Italy. The weather couldn’t have been more beautiful (after all, this is summer in the southern hemisphere). The Avon gently meanders through lush gardens and gracefully arching trees. We also got the chance to stroll among the Botanical Gardens which are the third largest such gardens in the world behind Central Park and the Butchart Gardens in Victoria, Canada.
We then had a true English tea on board a tram which took us along the Christchurch streets as we ate tea sandwiches, scones and pastries and drank Earl Grey and Darjeeling tea. Ah…. All in all, Christchurch appears to be a wonderful place to live.
On Saturday, Feb 13th, we docked in Dunedin (pronounced Do-‘knee-dun). I had organized this private tour for a group of 8 of us with a company called Arthur’s Tours. We started at 8 in the morning and didn’t arrive back to the ship until 5:15 so it was a very long day but we saw and did so much! First, we were taken up and down the world’s steepest street- Baldwin Street. We even got certificates attesting to this feat! Then we stopped at the University of Dunedin that has students attending from all over the world. It is especially well known for its programs in medicine, dentistry, business administration and physical education. We then went to the Railway Station because of its architecture. It was indeed special. Next, we visited the first church built in Dunedin..very impressive.
After a half hour drive, we visited the long awaited Penguin Colony. By this time, it was gusting and blowing and after we left our van we had to hike up this peninsula to get to where the penguin colony was. We then walked through camouflaged covered blinds (viewing areas) to see the yellow-eyed penguins. These special penguins are only found on the south coast of NZ’s South Island and only two other places in the world. (Make sure you check out the photos I took).
Next, we went to the Albatross Centre about 10 minutes away. After hearing a lecture at the colony about these birds we went and saw them. These are the largest albatrosses in the world with a wingspan of 10 feet. We were lucky in that there were three adult pairs sitting on three week old chicks to keep them warm. There are only 2,000 Royal Albatrosses in the world, mostly on Chatham Island near Antarctica. The adult pairs swap places with one another as one goes to sea to find food and the other sits on the chick who needs the warmth of its parent’s body at this vulnerable stage. We also were fortunate to see two adolescents flying in the air after being gone for five years. Albatrosses leave the colony as juveniles and do not land for five years except on the water to get food. After five years, they come back to the colony for courting and mating purposes. There is only a 40-50% survival rate for these birds outside the colony and a 70% rate inside the colony. The colonies change location after 1,000 years or so!
By this time we were all ravenously hungry and were happy to get to Lanarch Castle where we had a late lunch. Lanarch Castle is the only castle in all of New Zealand. It is perched in one of the most beautiful locations in the world with 270 degree vistas overlooking the Bay of Dunedin. It had been built over a period of 10 years in the 1880’s and there were plenty of family feuds as well as the occasional murder to keep things interesting! After exploring the castle grounds (the sun having come out again), our driver took us back into Dunedin and drove us by some beautiful homes with spectacular views. We also stopped at a supermarket where we bought two bottles of wine and the others also did some shopping. It was a very full day but well worth every minute!
The next day was Valentines Day and Mark had a gorgeous bouquet delivered to our cabin. I was thrilled and touched. This day was spent cruising the Fiordland National Park which is the largest national park in NZ. It has been recognized as one of the world’s foremost natural landscapes. Since we are fortunate to have a balcony cabin we were able to take many photos from the comfort of our balcony. Fiordland National Park stands apart as a region of distinct character made up mainly of hard crystalline rocks formed 500 million years ago. Today, hundreds of lakes dot the landscape- among them the deepest in NZ, Lake Hauroko, at 462 metres (1300 feet). This was a very special opportunity that reminded us of the fiords in Norway and Glacier Bay in Alaska.
Today, Monday the 15th, we are sailing towards Hobart, Tasmania which is an Australian state but its own separate island. More to come!