13 Melbourne Revisited

After a day at sea, we docked at the port of Melbourne. It was raining, but of course we had not thought to bring a brolley to sunny Australia. We did have our hats and were off by shuttle and street car. We bought a $au 6.50 day pass and soon were downtown on a fast right-of-way that used to be the freight train from the docks. Our destination was the Queen Victoria Market, “Vic Market” that we had heard about. It is a sprawling flea and fresh produce area that covers several large city blocks. We found good bargains on souvenirs and many other interesting items. I thought that I had never seen so much junk in one place in my life (IMHO).

The sun was coming out and we decided to ride back down to South Bank where we had stayed before and find some coffee. We also wanted to go up the Eureka tower, an 88 story highrise that has a wonderful viewing platform. The elevator made it to the top in less than a minute. It is the highest manmade structure in the southern hemisphere. (I’m sure I heard that same claim at the Sydney tower, but no worries, just go with it.) We found the view to be spectacular. The corners of the platform are designed to make you feel like you are out over the street and maybe you are. For an extra $10 you could get in an opaque glass cage, called the "Edge", which moved out from the main building. Once you got out there, the electrical charges were changed and the glass became clear. Several of our party had that experience, not me!

Another streetcar ride took us back to the ship. Of course thousands of others were coming back, too, so everyone was crammed on until one could hardly breathe. We all made it on and the ride was short. We set sail soon after and look forward to a calm day at sea before docking at Hobart Tasmania. We have engaged cars and plan to drive around.

We continue to be amazed at how clean and efficient the big cities of Australia are. The people are unfailingly friendly and helpful. Everyone is so laid back. No wonder they comment on those “loud, boisterous Americans, who are so demanding and pushy.”

... Joel and Co.

15 Fjordland, New Zealand

Rescue at Sea

On our second day crossing the Tasman Sea to New Zealand from Tasmania, we were told that our ship had received a distress call from a yacht that was several days from port and had several passengers who were quite ill.  The captain announced that it was full speed ahead to try to locate them.  It is the law of the sea that if a distress call goes out, it is imperative that nearby ships go to their aid.  We spent most of the day heading toward them and late in the afternoon they were spotted.  A small boat was let down to go out to see what assistance could be afforded. 

It was a catamaran sailing yacht flying a Canadian flag from Victoria BC, a long way from home.  Two passengers had become violently seasick and were in danger.  In two shuttles they were brought aboard and are recovering in sickbay.  There was also a request for some provisions which were handed to the captain.  He needed some bread.???  It looked like he was giving us some laundry to do, but it was probably belongings of the patients. 

As we were getting ready to take our boat back aboard, the yacht began to drift into our ship and the recovery vessel came around to the other side and pushed it back away. 

Photos of the Rescue:

We had a smooth crossing of the Tasman Sea which can be very rough.  I can't imagine how it would have been on that yacht if it was as rough as last crossing with waves coming up as high as the dining room windows.

We have been attending interesting lectures given by a retired couple who routinely cruise the seas for this purpose.  They said they have been on over 250 cruises and have been on board this time since January.  They have spent much time researching the grand old passenger ships that plied the sea lanes particularly in the golden years after 1900 and until the 1960?s.  They have lots of slides and an interesting presentation.  It turns out that they live in Bandon, OR whenever they might be home.  I think they get their way paid for providing this service.  Likewise there are people who teach bridge and computer classes under similar circumstances.  Sometimes there have been chaplains, but I don't think there is one this time.

Today we have been in Fjordland National Park on the southern coast of NZ.  We were awakened as we entered Milford Sound.  Later we were in Thompson and Dusky Sounds.   It is all spectacular.  We have a NZ naturalist aboard and he spent most of the day telling us all about it.  We had perfect weather which we understand is highly unusual.  It rains 200 days a year.  Sound familiar?  The naturalist said he has been doing this for 5 years and today was the best  he had ever seen.  There are some birds and a few seals, but not much else in the way of wildlife. 

Some of the islands had become overrun by invasive species such as rats and deer.  Theodore Roosevelt gave them the deer that have interbred into a red deer.  They have decimated the native animals and plants so there has been an ongoing program to eradicate the unwanted invaders.  We were told of one island that had an intensive program to do away with rats.  It has been successful so they have been reintroducing birds, etc.  Hunters with dogs come to tackle the deer by land and air. 

The parkland is pristine otherwise, not much changed from the time Captain Cook visited here in the late 1700?s.  He named (or renamed) many landmarks.  At one point he had run low on beer, so on a layover, the first beer in NZ was brewed. 

We are back in open sea following the coast around to the west where we will dock at Port Chalmers not far from NZ?s fourth largest city, Dunedin. 

More Photos:

 

18 Tauranga-Rotorua, New Zealand

We had our last full day at sea and second of two formal nights before docking early in Tauranga, two thirds of the way up the north island of New Zealand on the east coast.  Some of us planned to spend the day in town, and the rest of us had tickets for a daylong tour to the town of Rotorua, about 100 km.  south.

Tauranga is a resort city with many beautiful beaches and lots of hotels and beach houses.  Our guide told us something about the prices of real estate and they are high.  It would not be unusual to see multimillion dollar properties. 

Our drive to Rotorua was through beautiful agricultural areas of farms not unlike the Willamette Valley or coastal Callifornia.  There are many sheep and dairy farms, some corn for feed.  New Zealanders are proud that most of the feed for cows comes from grass and not grain.  We also saw many fields of kiwis, one of NZ’s big exports.  They look a lot like grapes but now they are stringing runners up at an angle to get more sunlight and a larger yield.  I gathered that these runners are taken down during the winter.  Most of the kiwis were sheltered by 20 foot tall windbreaks of a Japanese evergreen that is sheared to a thickness of a foot or two.  This would be mid-August and all the fields were very green since there is lots of rain.  We were told that for several days prior to our arrival, there had been downpours.  Again we lucked out with the weather.

Our first stop was the Agrodome where we had an hour show about sheep.  It was so interesting.  On a large stage in front of several hundred people, there were raised platforms tiered to a high point in the center with several rows in front.  Each station had the name of a breed of sheep and as the emcee/ringmaster called out the sheep, they dutifully climbed up to their perch.  I never had a very high regard for sheep intelligence, so I was amazed to see how well trained they were.  Then there was a sheep shearing demonstration, a mock auction (won by a man from Bend, OR), a milking demonstration with a Jersey cow, the feeding of bummer lambs and a session with the sheep dogs who were largely ignored by the sheep even when they ran over their backs and posed on top of them.  Ducks were used for a herding demonstration.  We went to another building where they had an ancient carding machine and spinning wheel.  Once again, they had wool mixed with possum.  I can’t believe it’s the same possum as we have although I think it was introduced into NZ and is a pest.

Our next stop was at a Maori hotel where we had lunch and a wonderful demonstration of song and dance by local Maoris.  They were in costume and did war dances designed to make them look very fierce sticking out their tongues and bugging their eyes. 

From there we were taken to Te Puia, a Maori Cultural Center where we saw carving, weaving and were taken to see mud pots and geysers.  Since there had been so much rain, the geyser spouted for most of the time we were there.  New Zealand is one of 5 countries that has geysers:  US, Iceland, Chile and Russia are the others.  This area would not rival the Yellowstone, but it was very interesting to see.  We had a Maori guide who referred to our group as her family.  “I want my family to stay to the right while this other group passes by.” 

Rotorua is a beautiful city on a large lake.  And like Tauranga, it is a tourist destination.  If we had more time we could have gone bungy-jumping or rolled down a track in a large transparent plastic ball, or engaged in all sorts of death-defying activities.  For the more laid back, there were swan boats, steam and mud baths.  Rod and Patricia Bullard are spending 10 days at Rotorua at the end of the cruise so they will have more to report about this area when they return.

We returned to the ship and had to pack so that luggage could be out in the hallway.  Final destination, Auckland, is our next stop.          

Here are some photos:

Suddenly the last day of the cruise, the staff turns on you and its full attention is turned to getting all the passengers to disembark. 2600 people can’t all get off at once, so everyone is assigned a color and a number. Since we had independent travel, we were about the last to get off during a 3 hour process. We had arranged for transport to our hotel and a half-day city tour, and our guide was waiting for us. He loaded all our luggage and drove around the block to our hotel. It is located in an area that has been developed from old rundown docks and is thriving. A lot of impetus was given when New Zealand won the Americas Cup in yacht racing. Boating is a big activity in this city that reminds one of Seattle and San Francisco.

Auckland contains over one fourth of New Zealand’s population with 1.4 million people. It is located between the Tasman Sea across from Australia with the main harbor on the Pacific. Most of the population is on the Pacific side which isn’t so windy. Our guide took us up to Mt. Eden, a volcano offering a wonderful 360 degree view of the whole city. Most of the buildings are low except for a downtown of high-rises.

We were taken to the Art Museum which is a war memorial and has another nice view. We didn’t go in since it would take much more time than we have. It has a collection of south Pacific art. Then we were dropped off at the Anglican Cathedral Church a fairly new structure with wonderful modern stained glass windows. A huge window in the back depicts Christ in a south sea setting. Next door is the wooden church of St. Mary that was jacked up and moved across the street on rails when the new church was built. It is one of the largest wooden churches anywhere. Since we were suffering from withdrawal from the ships food, we stopped for a little lunch at a beachside area of many cafés. Lots of people were out on a beautiful sunny Sunday. Apparently there hasn’t been so much rain this year and everyone has enjoyed more sunshine than usual. The temperature has been about 75-80.

The next day some of us decided we wanted to go out to the Kelly Tarlton Aquarium built where the old sewer plant used to be when it was pumped out into the bay. A road had been built over the top, but this man who spent his life in the sea, had a vision of turning the tanks into underwater chambers where the fish would swim around the viewers who glide along on moving sidewalks through Lucite tubes. As soon as his dream was realized in the early ’80’s and the sharks, rays and other fish were moved in, he died suddenly at 47 of a heart problem. His memory lives on in this marvelous achievement. They have added an Antarctic exhibit that is different and in some ways better than the one we saw at Christchurch. There are two species of penguins, gentoos and chinstrap. The former has bright yellow on the crown and neck and is second in size to the emperors of March of the Penguins. We boarded a snow cat which took us through the exhibit were we could see some chicks and one sitting on an egg. Also in this exhibit is a recreation of Scott’s hut brought to Antarctica in 1910 before his ill-fated drive to the pole. The hut was designed as a permanent station complete with a printing press and piano. It still exists, but is being damaged by the effects of global warming.

Later in the afternoon we took a short ferry ride across the bay to Devonport, and charming village just opposite downtown. It consists of many small shops which always delight some of our party. At the suggestion of a local, we climbed up Mt. Victoria which has a commanding view of the harbor. There had been a gun emplacement left over from the war. It is directly in line with the opening to the ocean.

Today we are slowly getting everything together for an evening departure for the Ganos, Daniels, and Kober’s flight to Los Angeles and Portland, and the Abbe’s flight to San Francisco and Portland. We can compare Air New Zealand with Qantas. We are leaving on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. and will arrive in Portland Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. We have been able to do so many things that it is hard to keep them all straight. It has been a wonderful trip!

(TomD's flight was the next day.  TomO will drive around the North Island of New Zealand for another 5 days before returning home to the Bay Area.  Carl will stay with Lindsey and Andy in Auckland for a few days then travel to the other side of North Island to stay with other friends before returning home to Lafayette.)

---Joel

Here are some final photos:

We have a question: Mark appears in some photos in Auckland, and I do believe that you "photoshopped" him in. Am I right? He doesn't cast much of a shadow on the others, and he's quite tall. So, Photoshop him over here.