Last Days

New Zealand

We learned that New Zealand is one of the most active areas in the world for earthquakes and volcanic activity.  

The first three volcanos in the graphic are New Zealand volcanos.  

We had a volcanologist with us explaining what we were seeing and not seeing.  He works primarily monitoring many of the 12 active volcanos in New Zealand.

He monitors Mt. Doom as it was called in the “Lord of the Rings” movies.  The top of the volcano is hidden and looks a bit ominous.  Its real name is a bit longer and harder to pronounce - Mt. Ngauruhoe.  Not far from it is a partially snow covered Ruapehu volcano.

Nearby is a lake with floating pumice rocks created and spewed by a nearby volcano.  Lots of air chambers in these rocks make them lighter than water.  All the 1 foot and 2 foot diameter pumice was claimed by the locals.   BTW, there is currently a documentary about a 2019 eruption in New Zealand on Netflix that took the lives of several cruise ship guests.  It’s called ”The Volcano: Rescue from Whakaari”.

On some tours, walking sticks were offered when the walking surfaces were uneven.  Shari got to select one to try, but it made her balance worse, and she ended up carrying it back! 

 

The country bird and the nickname for New Zealanders is Kiwi.  They are a flightless bird very hard to find.  We didn’t find a real one, but we did find a special one.  

In the final days of our New Zealand extension, there were some pleasant surprises. 

They are not that tall, but they gush enough water to fill an Olympic size pool in one (1) second.  The flow is so strong that people rarely survive rafting or kayaking the falls, and fish cannot swim upstream.  On the way to the Falls you can see the origin of the stream as it takes water from Lake Taupo.

We spent the last day of our four-day extention on Waiheke Island.  It’s reached by a beautiful 40-minute ferry boat ride from Auckland. First we went to an olive oil place. The video explaining the entire process was exceptional as were the tastings. All the oil came from the island. Next we went to a winery with great-tasting wine made in New Zealand. Our third stop was to a restaurant where we had a three course meal. This trip took all day, but it ended up being our favorite day. 

Tonight we are spending our last night in Auckland.  While at the Sky Bar on the 50th floor of Sky Tower (like the Space Needle in Seattle), we noticed a ‘string’ of about 30 sail boats in the bay below us.  Auckland is the called The City of Sails.  One in three households owns a sailboat in Auckland.

For a finale to the vacation, we were visited by a rainbow for our farewell to Auckland.  It is one of many great places to visit in NZ!  

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

 Day 11-12

New Zealand Extension

Our last night aboard our Viking Venus, there was a special show put on by a performing Maori women and men.  New Zealand was settled first by Polynesians about 800 years ago.  They are known today as the Maori, and their language, as well as English and sign language, make up the three official languages of NZ.

The group put on a standing ovation performance, and we were lucky enough to be there in the front row.  I don’t mean to scare you, but here is one of my many pictures.

Be sure to check out the faces.

The next day, we were taken by bus to the center of the north island.  It is amazing how much of the island is sparsely populated, yet used extensively for agriculture.  Among the rolling hills was ranch after ranch and lots of pastures for grazing of cattle or sheep.  We had lunch at one of the ranches.

All the food was either raised on the ranch or on other nearby ranches.  I forgot to ask where the ice cream came from, but the flavor was Hokey Pokey, a vanilla ice cream with tiny honey comb pieces.  Our group of 90 had a great lunch cooked and served by very hospitable ranch owners.

I even found a peacock up in a tree on the ranch.  We haven’t seen any live kiwis so far.

We then traveled to a cave famous for the discovery of glow worms.  When I think of worms, I think of gardening or fishing.

It is hard to imagine entering a dark cave and finding thousands of glowing worms on the cave ceiling.  When the guides didn’t use their flashlights, it gave the appearance of the stars in the sky on a very dark and clear night.

We returned to the road to get to the north shore of Lake Taupo, the largest lake in NZ that is located inside the caldera of a huge volcano.  We checked into the Hilton Lake Taupo where we were given a “suite” that is bigger and nicer than our house (minus the guest room) with a balcony and many windows facing the lake!   We are now near Tongariro National Park.  Tomorrow will bring more adventures!

 Day 9 and 10

Tauranga & Auckland

When we arrived at Tauranga, Shari came up with the idea to plan our trip ashore ourselves with a little help from the 7 am ship officer that lived at this port.  

We walked to the inactive volcano not far from our ship.  Trails were built around it and to the top of the dome.

There have been Norfolk Pines at every port we have stopped at in NZ.  This big one has a diameter around 4 feet 6 inches.  And they are markers for those coming to land from the sea.

All I could think of is this must be a joke but fate had me see it.

The ship officer also mentioned there being a place to lawn bowl.  It took a bit of hoofing, but I finally got to it.  There were three bowl areas (we have one at home in Sun River), and one of the three had an artificial grass base.  I asked to play but they had a corporate event and an even number of players.   However, they did give me a tour of their bar, restaurant, and all the facilities.

I did watch the corporate folks bowl for a while.  I wanted to coach but knew better.  The instructors weren’t as good as my friends Jack and Ross back home.  The bowlers I watched mostly bowled into the gutter.

I spotted a mast above their club.  You know you have made it when your club has a flag and a wind mast.

I failed to mention I got a chance to sail our Viking ship.

You always want your captain to look Calm, Cool, and Collected.

I was ready for the job until I realized I don’t know where the steering wheel is located.  I finally found it.  I was told there were others.

This is the joystick steerage unit, upper right of the pic, all of 3 inches tall and 1/4 inch diameter.  It is very hard to imagine steering a 60,000 ton vessel with a joystick.

When talking to the captain about the huge swells a week ago, he said we were in a cyclone with winds of 130 mph!!!

We survived!

 Day 8

Napier, New Zealand

We weren’t sure about this stop.  The primary highlight seemed to focus on New Zealand wines and wine tasting.  Tasting wine at 9 am seems unnatural.  But there was interesting food, and that won us over.

Napier, NZ, suffered a major earthquake in 1931.  It was decided that they would encourage Art Deco architecture during the rebuilding.  This is a relatively small city with a focus on the good old days. We liked this town so much that we both said, “We could live here”. 

I rode an electric bike shortly after the very short wine tasting and rode past this theater.  It seemed like the students exiting the theater were from a bygone era.

There were lots of signs that the past is still present.

I don’t think I mentioned that there is tree that the NZ population calls the NZ Christmas Tree.  It flowers around December 1, the first day of summer according to the Kiwi’s, and it has nice red flowers that last up to January 1.

Also, I don’t think I’ve mentioned much about our ship, crew, and food.    Mike, Pam, and we typically eat dinner together at one of the ship’s restaurants.  

The food is excellent with a great deal of variety.  Last night we had several fine foods including lobster and chicken wontons as well as Peking Duck.  

The desert was a sampler which I love because you get a taste of several deserts.

We both will try anything but want it to be good, or if lucky, excellent.  We have not been disappointed.

Our lecturers have been entertaining as well as informative, and their answers to our many questions were always helpful.  Top to bottom, the ship staff is very friendly and helpful.  

The only missing things from this cruise are visit(s) to the high mountains.  During a few of the talks, lecturers presented the high country of New Zealand.

Onward to Auckland, NZ tomorrow.

Cheers!