December 30, 2012, Bay of Islands (Waitangi), New Zealand

Inside a Maori boat that traveled the open ocean.

This was our last port of call before two days on the high seas heading for Sydney.  I am amazed by the Polynesians who first settled New Zealand and how courageous they were to travel 2000 miles on the high seas in very long open canoes (see photos).  This area has great historical significance as both the Maori and European settlers chose the Bay of Islands for the first early settlements.  This area was also famous for an important treaty that was signed which enabled the Maori and Europeans to live side by side.  It rained today but we were still able to leave the ship by “Tender” (photo) and see some of the local sites

December 29, 2012 Auckland, New Zealand

"City of Sails"

Wellington is New Zealand’s capital but Auckland is the largest city (see photo).  There are 1 ½ million people in Auckland and 4 million in all of New Zealand.  Auckland is known as the “City of Sails” as 1 in every 3 people owns a boat.  We took a bus tour, museum tour and we did some shopping.  At night, on board, all of the Indonesian dining room stewards and room stewards put on a show for the entire boat.  Our dining steward was the M.C.(see photo) and Barbara came out of the audience to participate in the bamboo orchestra (see photo).

December 28,2012 Tauranga and Rotorua, New Zealand

We are moving up the North Island along the “Kiwi Coast”…the area where the world’s Kiwi fruit is grown.  New Zealand is located on the Pacific Ring of Fire and the very active geothermal activity of the country has everything to do with how New Zealand was formed and is evolving.  At “Hell’s Gate” we saw violent geothermal waters and mud pools.  George Bernard Shaw visited “Hell’s Gate” and said, “If there was ever a place like hell, I have arrived at the gate.”  We did not get a chance to view their active volcanoes.  We visited a Maori village.  The Maori people are Polynesians who thousands of years ago landed in Retorua.  They are a huge part of the New Zealand population.  The Maoris put on a cultural performance for our group followed by one of their typical dinners.  Photos: Hell’s Gate; Maori performance.

December 27, 2012, Hawke's Bay , New Zealand

Goats and sheep at the orchard.

Lots of mountain biking.

Narrow road to the top of Te Matta Peak.

Hawke’s Bay is on the North Island of New Zealand halfway between Wellington and Auckland.  In 1931 this town was destroyed by a 7.9 earthquake and had to be totally rebuilt.  The town fathers decided that Art Deco would be the style of any major buildings that were to be rebuilt…which made the town somewhat famous for its architecture.  Our tour included a chocolate factory and an orchard with 20+ different fruits.  The only problem with visiting the orchard is that the customs agents would not let us bring fruit back onboard the ship.  We also went to the top of a mountain for a great view of the country side.  The ride to the top had a long section of single lane winding road that was as scary and dangerous as any road we have ever been on.  Photos: Orchard at Hawke’s Bay; Te Mata Peak road.

December 26,2012, Boxing Day in Australia and New Zealand

Early this morning we arrived in New Zealand’s Capital City of Wellington.  We had an excursion planned that was simply”hop on, hop off”.  We hit some of the highlights of the city.  We went to the New Zealand Museum, called “Our Place”.   It is one of the largest museums in the world and is set up so everyone could experience the different environments in New Zealand.  One of the most amazing demos was a house that was designed for a person to experience a 7.0 earthquake.  I have never been in an earthquake before and it was an amazing experience as you could hear the roar of the earthquake and feel the building shake.  The city of Wellington is a protected harbor surrounded by mountains.  Many of the homes appear to cling precariously to the sides of hills.  We took the Wellington Cable Car ride to the top of the mountain which gave us a great view of the harbor.  We sampled a little New Zealand beer which finished us for the day.  The ship leaves port at 5 PM and it is on to our next Port of Call which is Napier, N.Z.  By the way, today was a national holiday in Australia and New Zealand called Boxing Day.  It is set aside in both countries so people can recover from Christmas Day.  Pictures: Cable Car; Greenpeace was in town from a trip trying to save the whales.

December 25, 2012, At Sea, Christmas Day

Merry Christmas everyone!  We are at sea all day heading toward Wellington on the north island.  Yesterday we were very close to the town of Christ Church.  You will remember that this town was mostly destroyed by a severe earthquake last year.  The town is in the process of rebuilding roads and bridges so none of the tours included Christ Church.  We went back and forth over the fault line and saw some evidence of damage to homes and churches.  One interesting thing that we saw was the very straight road we were on turned into a severe “S” curve as it crossed the fault line. Pictures: Crew in Christmas Eve production; Oosterdam in Akaroa harbor.

December 24, 2012, Akaroa, New Zealand

Today we took a scenic rail journey to Arthur’s Pass by both bus and rail.  It was a long day into the interior of the south island.  In late morning we left the bus and board the Tranz Alpine Express for a spectacular white knuckle ride through the New Zealand “Alps”.  We thoroughly enjoyed the scenery, commentary and lunch on board the train.  The relationship between the Kiwis (New Zealanders) and the Aussies is interesting.  Sometimes it seems like W.W. III is about to break out but they all say that they just like to insult each other.  The New Zealand bus driver told us that there is a different cultural system in Australia…”for starters, you have convicts”.  (Of course, that ignited lots of retorts from the Aussies).  Pictures: Arthur’s Pass; R.R. observation car.

December 23, 2012, Dunedin, New Zealand

Steepest residential street in the world.

Dunedin Train Station

New Zealand countryside on arriving at Dunedin

New Dunedin is the Celtic name for Edinburgh.  The town was settled primarily by a group of Scots.  It is technically the 6^th largest city in the world with only 250,000 inhabitants.  This happened because the town wanted a big number of representatives in the New Zealand Parliament so they moved the city limits out 100 miles.  Their claim to fame is threefold: (1) The steepest street in the world (see picture); (2) A railway station that is architecturally unusual (see picture); and (3) The largest university in New Zealand with 25,000 students.  We are still on the south island for two more days.  New Zealand is really an inviting place.  They love Americans and make us feel welcome.  The topography in the south island is similar to Scotland with rolling hills, green grass and thousands of sheep.

December 22, 2012, Milford Sound, New Zealand

Finally we arrive in the South island of New Zealand.  We got up at 5:30 AM…looked out the window at Milford Sound and the view took your breath away.  Rudyard Kipling called this place “the eighth wonder of the world”.  We cruised all day through Milford Sound and Fiordland National Park.  We saw magnificent waterfalls, sheer cliffs and mile high mountains.  The topography looked like fiords.  Lots of wildlife.  They have sand flies that are very abundant in the area.  They say if you kill one sand fly, 1000 other sand flies come to his funeral.  We were invited to have lunch with the Captain today as we are repeat customers on Holland American Cruise Lines (Another 500 people were also invited.)  I was going to tell the captain that if he got in trouble, just call on me but he did not show for lunch.  Oh well, I’ll tell him later.

December 21, 2012, Cruising to New Zealand

For the last three days we have been on the high seas heading for New Zealand.  The Oosterdam is a beautiful ship with a crew of 800 and 1900+ passengers.  Lots of activities during the day with seminars on many subjects.  I attended two classes on how to enhance your photos and tips for digital camera usage.  Plenty of entertainment into the wee hours.  At 10:00 PM the sun is still out.  Weather is windy and chilly.  They told us it was summer in Australia and New Zealand.  I think we overdid the number of summer shorts.  Food is plentiful.  WiFi access is slow and expensive so we will keep up the blogs as we get access.  See pictures of “towel art “ and two beauties on deck chairs.

December 19, 2012 Cruise Leaves Today

We have spent the last two days in Sydney.  Great city...lots of different things to do.  The Sydney harbor is special with the Harbor Bridge and Opera House that are so spectacular that they jump out at you.  Yesterday we shopped in the AM and participated in a bit of a "pub crawl" in the afternoon.  Dinner at Darling Harbor (see their Christmas Tree).  In a couple of hours we will leave for the Holland America ship "The Osterdam" and a 14 day cruise in and around New Zealand.  I am not sure how much posting to our blog we can do "on board" as I am unsure of the WiFi arrangements.

December 17, 2012, Monday, Sydney

After a 6 hour car/truck ride from Coffs Harbour, we reached Sydney.  We have two rooms above a swinging bar in the heart of Sydney.  Lucky for us there are no bands scheduled until Wednesday and we will be long gone.  Chinatown for dinner and shopping tomorrow.  Barb and Brad lived in Sydney together for years...so they know their way around.  I have always  loved the way Australians say things so descriptive.  For instance, Linn Keelan said that when you go to visit people you should "knock with your elbows"...in other words, always bring lots of gifts.  Perfect saying for the right thing to do.  We will spend two nights in Sydney and then board the cruise ship for New Zealand. 

December 16, 2012 Coffs Harbour

After one night in Currumbin Waters we took a three hour drive to stay at John and Linn Keelans in Coffs Harbour.  During the drive we stopped at a rest area that the Australians loving refer to as "the longdrop"  It has something to do with the mechanics of an "out house".  Great meal at the Keelans highlighted by a bird feeding show on the porch with Kookaburras, Rosella Parakeets, Magpies and Sea Gulls.  See the pictures of Kookaburra feeding and Rosella Parakeet.The bird feedings occur twice daily on the Keelan porch.  The screeching and bird comments hit a high pitch when the food comes out.  Great place to visit.  I told the Keelans that I will recommend them as a" bed and breakfast".

Arrival in Australia - Friday December 14, 2012

Many of you have asked how long is the flight to Australia.We left CVG at 5 PM and arrived in Dallas two hours later.  We had a 4 hour layover in Dallas.  The flight to Brisbane left at 10 PM and 15 1/2 hours later we arrived in Australia.  Qantas fed us dinner at midnight and breakfast before we landed.  It was a very bumpy flight but we both read and watched movies. Our son-in-law, Brad was there to greet us at 6AM Australian time and we got to Currumbin Waters at about  8:00 am.  Ann unpacked and repacked for the cruise and side trips while Mike took a long walk on the other side of the creek.  (See the pictures of Barb and Brad and their home in Currumbin Waters Australia)  We will leave tomorrow for Coffs Harbour and a visit with Brad's dad and step-mom..John and Linn Keelan have visited our home in MT. Adams and we have stayed at their home on previous trips to Australia. We are excited about spending time with them in Coffs Harbour for the next two days.

Australian Journey 2012-2013...getting started

Ann and Mike Hall take off  on December 12, 2012 for a two month trip to Australia and New Zealand.  The first step is an 18-20 hour flight to Brisbane, Australia.  We will be meeting up and traveling with our daughter Barb and son-in-law Brad Keelan. We have lots of side trips planned. The first big adventure will be a two week cruise around New Zealand during Christmas and New Year.  We will try to keep you posted pretty much on a daily basis on where we are and "what's happening".