The train trip that wasn't

We were in Christchurch today. I had been looking forward to this day a lot because we were going to take a beautiful train ride up the mountains and stop at Arthurs Pass and do some hiking there.

The train was scheduled to leave from Christchurch at 8:15 and we were supposed to dock at 7 am when I had scheduled our trip. Well, last night they announced a schedule change that we were to dock at 7:30. A little tight for the 25 minute taxi ride to the station we had scheduled, but we would be ok.

Unfortunately, we didn't dock and get off the ship till after 8 am. We got to the station at 8:30 and the train had left. We wouldn't be quick enough to catch at the next stop, so we got a partial refund.

This was VERY dissapointing and frustrating. We thought about renting a car and driving but didn't want to be driving all day for 3 hours of hiking, so we decided to just spend the day in Christchurch.

It was a nice town and we enjoyed the gardens, the river and the gondola. We made the best of it, but I am still going to complain to the ship for the ever changing schedule.
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A walk in picton

We docked in picton and headed out for a day of walking. There was a series of walks around the bay and the islands. We walked about 6 miles among some great views of the bay.

After we were done, we got a snack (deep fried corn!) And looked in some of the shops. We were pretty wiped out from the day before so we headed back early. A nice quiet day!

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Rest of Wellington

After Victoria Mountain, we grabbed something to eat. We then went up a cable car to the botanical gardens. We walked down to the city through the gardens. they were fantastic-not just visually, but the smells were wonderful!

Once we got done with that, we had about an hour, so we went to the Te Papa museum. We saw some great art. We then got some indian food and headed for our last item of the day. We barely caught the bus-it was actually early.

Our visit was a night tour of Karori Sanctuary. Karori is a wildlife sanctuary in the middle of Wellington. They put up a predator fence and are returning native birds to the area. We had a two hour tour in dusk and dark.

We saw a lot of birds, but heard a lot more. We heard five Kiwi birds but didn't see any (unfortunately). We did see hundreds of glowworms--that was the highlight for me! It was a very unique experience-something we won't likely do again.

It was a great day, but very tiring. Our feet are sore but we are very pleased and blessed by the day.
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Windy wellington

We were told that it would be windy here, but nothing prepared us for the howling wind we encountered.

Once we left the ship, we walked to the bus depot and caught the bus to Island Bay. Our first activity for the day was a walk along the coast to a seal colony. We arrived and walked to the end of the road. The book made it seem like it was just a short walk from there.

Unfortunately, it was about 2 miles along beautiful, but very windy coastline. Mutliple times we were almost blown off our feet by the force of the wind. To add to that, it would pick up rocks and sand and pelt our backs. We were not looking forward to walking back with the wind scouring our faces with sand!

We finally made it to where the seals were purported to hang out. We saw three of them sunning themselves on rocks and got some great shots of them.

As we were getting our photos, a large jeep-type vehicle came over the ridge and had a tour group from our boat. As they got out, Rachael and I pointed out the seals to the driver. We then asked if we could hitch a ride back!!! We really didn't want to walk it!

He said he had room in the front seat if we would help him navigate our way through a stretch of trail that had fallen rock. Of course we said we would help and were on our way and said a few prayers of thanks!

We made it back to the start of the trail and then caught a bus to the top of victoria mountain that provides views over the entire city. Very cool, but also windy!
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Another picture from napier

Redwood forest
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Napier

We docked in Napier today. We rented a car again and our first stop was a mountain called Te Mata Peak. Once we got there, we went to the top for the lookout over the entire valley. Truly wonderful views!

We then went for a hike for a couple of hours. Unfortunately, they didn't have maps, so we couldn't plan where we went. We took the trail that we knew went to a stand of redwood trees and went that way. The redwoods were spectacular! My cellphone camera won't do them justice.

From there, we weren't quite sure how to get back to the car. After a couple of false starts, we made it back to the car.

We then went to a strawberry farm. It was huge-plants as far as you could see. After we had strawberries and ice cream, we went to a winery. Unfortunately, it was closed.

So, we went back into town and did a walking tour of downtown. It was destroyed in 1931 by an earthquake and rebuilt all in Art Deco style. Very cool.

After an adventure getting gas, we made it back to the ship safely. It was a beautiful weather day and a great day all around.

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Tauranga / Rotorua

We had our first day of excursions. We docked in Tauranga and our rental car was waiting for us.

Our first adventure was simply adjusting to driving on a different side of the road and to the controls being on the left side.

The driving went fine during the day--no accident so wrong turns. We brought our gps with us and Rachael was a great navigator!

Our first stop was at Te Puia. It is a Maori institute and a geothermal area. We got a guided tour of the area and a demonstration of weaving and ropemaking. They also showed a Maori welcoming ritual and dances. Rachael got up on stage and did one of the dances (I have proof!).

We also got to see a Kiwi bird. It was dark and we didn't see it clearly, but we are going to say we saw one!

From there we were going to go Zorbing. For those who don't know, it is getting inside a large plastic ball and rolling downhill. Unfortunately, it was too windy and they weren't running the Zorbs at the time. So we decided to go have lunch and wait it out. They were only running the water Zorb, which means I would get soaked.

We had lunch a great place called the Fat Dog Cafe. It was very cool.

After that we went to a waterfall that wasn't as great as it was supposed to be. Not even picture-worthy.

We called the Zorb place and it was still too windy for the dry zorb. We went to a few shops to try and find a pair of shorts since I would get soaked. We didnt find any but we went back anyway.

We went and they weren't running anything due to the wind. We waited 20 minutes and they decided to run them. I had to buy a pair of shorts and got in. Rachael got some great pictures and video we will post later. It was awesome!

We then came back to the ship. It was a great first day!
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Day at sea

Our first day was a sea. In addition to getting to our first port, they spent time cruising around some islands in the bay.

We also stopped at an active volcane called White Island. It isn't spewing a bunch of stuff but has steam and other actively venting. Pretty interesting.

It was a relaxing day and prepared us for our first port.
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Last entry from Auckland

After we boarded the ship and checked in, we went back out for one more trip. We finally found the bus we needed to take to One Tree Hill. It is an extinct volcano that the Maori used for a citadel.

Once we arrived, it was in the middle of a nice park. It had quite a few childrens play items including a zip line! We were joking that you could never have anything like that in a playground in the US because of liability. Even though it would be fun, someone would sue as soon as someone fell.

I was going to take a ride myself, but it had a line of kids every time we went by. I didn't want to be the bully so I didn't go.

We took the path up, but missed our turn to the summit. So we walked through the sheep (they were everywhere!) And thought we were close. We then asked a guard and he said we needed to go all the way back.

Well, that wasn't pleasant so we decided to go straight up to the summit. We did and it was a great (and windy) view.

We walked back and waited forever for the return bus but finally made it. We got something to eat and then went to sleep after a long couple of days.
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Sky Tower

Our next stop (after a mild delay in finding the correct bus) was the sky tower. It is the tallest building in Auckland. We opted not to jump off of it-we are saving our adveture for the Zorbing!

We did get some great shots from the top however.

From there we checked into the ship and ate lunch.
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First stop in Auckland

After we got something to eat this morning, we took a bus to the Domain, which is a big park. We went to the Auckland Museum and it had a great Maori exhibit. The picture is of a 75 foot war canoe carved from a single tree that held 100 warriors. Very impressive. We then walked through the park.

The other picture is of a tree and its roots as we walked through the park.
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Arrival in Auckland

Well, 24 hours after we left our house, we have arrived in Auckland! The flight was great and we were able to get some good sleep on the plane.

We are awaiting the bus from the airport into the city and then we are going to do a whirlwind tour of Auckland.

The ship leaves tonight so we won't have much time

Our luggage made it, but one of Rachael's shampoo bottles open and broke the plastic bag. She will have some minor cleaning to do, but otherwise, we are here intact!
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Start of the journey

We are at LAX waiting to board our LOOONNG flight to Auckland. We will be in the plane for over 12 hours. For us, Thursday the 23rd won't exist! We arrive on Friday. Wierd.

Anyways, here's hoping we can sleep on the plane!
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