Days 18 -19 - Sunday and Monday - Sea Days

The ship left Hobart sometime after 11:00 pm for the two day transit around Tasmania and north to Melbourne. The seas were quite rough but the gyros on the ship kept Things relatively stable. I am in cabin 1115, which is on the main (lowest) passenger deck, toward the stern.  Based on my experience on this trip, low and to the rear is the place to be.  There would be much more pitching (up and down motion) felt in the front as well as yawning (side to side motion) if one were up higher.  Altogether the cabin location was ideal - near the rear elevator for a ride up to 9 for coffee and food, yet only 4 other cabins past my my cabin, so not many people strolling by. 

Day 17 - Saturday - Hobart, Tasmania

While at sea, I got to thinking again about renting a motorcycle. We'd talked about that as an activity to do in New Zealand, but somehow, it just never worked out.  As we approach Tasmania, it occurred to me this might be the perfect place to do it.

Unlike Auckland or Sydney, Hobart is a manageable sized town. The population is something like 220,000, and it's not spread all over in urban sprawl.  Easy to get out of town and into the Tasmanian countryside. 

So, I hopped online with my good friend Mr. Google and found Moto Adventure Tasmania.  After a chat with Ian, I lined up a newer Suzuki V-Storm 650 for the day.

What fun!  We are likely going to travel to the Tasman Peninsula and possibly Port Arthur, and also the Boonorand Wildlife Refuge to see little andipodean fuzzies such as Koalas.

The bike we rented was blue, not white:

First stop was Bonorong Wildlife Refuge, where we got to feed the 'roos and see Koalas, Wombats and Tasmanian Devils.  What fun.

A Tasmanian Devil:

After Bonerong, it was on to the historic village of Richmond, which dates to the 1830s.  There we toured the historic Gaol and visited the oldest bridge in Australia, dating, again, to the 1830's.

We left Bonerong and rode south on the Tasman Peninsula.  We stopped in Dunalley for excellent fish (and squid) and chips, then it was on to Nubeena on Crooked Billet Bay, then to a bay the name of which escapes me.

Then it was back to Hobart. 

More to follow as WiFi permits. 

Day 15-16 - Thursday and Friday - The Tasman Sea

Overnight the seas became somewhat rough. Nothing overly concerning, but you could feel the motion of the boat through the water.  There would be the occasional vibration or shudder as the ship pounded through what appeared to me to be 6' swells. The cabin is on the main deck, down low, about 20' off the water, and fairly close to the stern. As a result, the motion of the ship is not as noticeable as it would be, say, on the 8th deck near the bow.  I think the motion of the ship helped me sleep, as I slept quite well. 

Thursday dawned overcast and windy. And cold.  The temperature must have been somewhere. In the 50s.  Not much to say about the day. It was a lazy day spent reading (I'm reading Bill Bryson's "In a Sunburned Country," which details his trip through Australia in the 1990s). 

As the day progressed, the wind increased as did the swells.  We took 10 brisk laps around Deck 3, an outside deck around the perimeter of the ship.  I understand 3 laps equals one mile, so we did about 3 1/3 miles.  

As night approached, the seas increased to 10'.  You could really feel the motion of the boat.  It didn't bother me, but I did notice Friday morning when I went up for coffee that the ship staff had put out what appear to be seasickness bags in the elevator lobbies.  

Day 14 - Wednesday - Cruising Fiordland

Wednesday dawned overcast and rainy.  We were at the south end of the South Island, and approaching Fiordland, National Park.   

Here, a note about the "Where in the World is Smithee" GPS track at the head of this blog.  One, you can select a drop down box at the top of the map (left center, I believe) to select the view. You can select more than one day of track.  Two, I neglected to,change the date and time settings. They,are still set for back home time.  If you hold a finger over each track mark, or the little motorcycle that is sailing over the sea, you will pull up a date and time stamp. Add a day and subtract 3 hours for when I was there,  once into Australian waters, where I am now as I type this, subtract 5 hours.  

Enough metrics.

It was raining quite heavily, so we stayed in the cabin and watched the mountains glide by in the mist.  We did see a pod of dolphins frolicking away to starboard.  We cruised Dusky Sound, then out into the ocean, then further north ducked into Dusky Sound, which we cruised for some time before exiting again to the Tasman Sea for the trip north along the coast.  

As the day went on, the weather began to clear and become sunny. 

By 4:00 pm we'd left the rain and mist behind and entered the fabled Milford Sound. This is probably the place you've seen in photos if you've seen Any photos of Fiordland.  Milford is a fairly narrow sound, maybe a mile wide at most where it opens to the sea, and narrows down from there.

 It is surrounded by steep mountains that drop precipitously to the water.  There are numerous waterfalls  (cascades, actually, but I won't be overly critical.  Most people call them waterfalls).  

We reached the end of the sound, near the settlement of Milford Sound. It really isn't a town,  more like a lodge and a couple other buildings.  The ship turned slowly on its axis, using bow thrusters and proceeded to slowly retrace outer route in.  

The place is magnificent. In my book, it is a "must see" on the bucket list.  

After exiting Milford Sound, the ship headed west for the two day slog across the Tasman Sea, headed for Hobart, Tasmania. 

Next up, At Sea, or Smithee's Two Days Before the Mast

Day 13 - Tuesday - Port Chalmers / Dunedin

Well another night's cruise, another new port in the morning. And it's chilly here.  Height supposed to be 60. What a switch from a couple days ago.

I'll do a write upon the ship, but will post some photos courtesy of the Emerson's Brewery free WiFi.

Herewith, some photos. Tom Scribner, do you still hate me?

As noted, Tuesday morning found us docking in Dunedin, on the SE coast of New Zealand. The weather was a change from the sunny warmth we'd experienced up to this point, with overcast and highs predicted in the low 60s.  No matter.

We were actually docked in Port Chalmers, a town about 10km from Dunedin.  disembarked the ship and took a bus into the City at the cost of Nz$ 15.  About USD $11.50 (love that exchange rate!). The bus dropped us in the center of Dunedin (pronounced "Done Eden") and we set off to explore. Where we were dropped off was the center of a spoked wheel layout with streets fanning out in various directions. 

The town was settled by Scotts and has a very European feel to it.  

We headed down Stuart Street in the direction of the train station.  The courthouse must've been close by, because there were storefront legal office all around and a bar called the Jury Room Bar.  

The train station is one of the most I,pressive buildings I've seen.  It was constructed in 1906 and is massive.  Once at the train station, we learned there was a 90 minute excursion leaving in 20 minutes. The trip would take us out past the bay, through Port Chalmers, our Cruise ship, and on to a small settlement, where it would reverse direction and take us back into Dunedin. All at a surprisingly reasonable cost of NZ$50.  

The train trip didn't disappoint, and we had lots of opportunities to use up lots of pixels on the digital cameras. 

Back in town, and at the recommendation of one of the train crew, we walked about a kilometer to the Emerson's Brewery for beer sampling and a lunch of a Cajun fried chicken sandwich (which, by the way, was excellent). I'd asked the train guy which brewery he'd recommend, Emerson's or Speight's. Turns out, Speight's is the largest brewery in NZ and train guy likened it to Budweiser.  Emerson's won, and a good choice it was.  Barbara learned that she actually liked the Porter Nitro, which had a coffee/chocolate flavor.  

After Emerson's we strolled back into town and I stopped at a grocery to pick up a bottle of Oyster Bay Sauvignon Blanc.  Now, here is something interesting.  The cruise ship wants you to buy all alcohol on board.  They allow each passenger to Brewing one 750 ml. Bottle of wine (no beer, no hard liquor) aboard at the beginning of the cruise.  After that, if you buy wine or other alcohol ashore, they take it and give it back to you at the end of the cruise.  Sneaky, eh?

Well, here's the workaround.  I have with me a 1 liter hot/cold hydroflask that I fill with coffee in the morning and water for off ship excursions.  Even though the hydroflask is in my Jan sport backpack that I take ashore, which backpack is x-rayed upon returning to the ship, not once has anyone asked me to take it out and open it up. They must be looking for martial arts weapons like nunchucks or throwing stars, or maybe wine bottle shapes with they x-ray machine. So at any rate, the aforesaid bottle of Oyster Bay wine was decanted off into the hydroflask.   I guess I'm just a scofflaw at heart. 

After the grocery, it was on to the Cadbury chocolate factory, where Barbara was dismayed to find that the last tour had been at 2:00 pm. We consoled ourselves by purchasing large bars of Cadbury chocolate. For gifts of course, for gifts.

Then it was back into the town center, where a bit more shopping took place and we took the bus back to the cruise ship.

All in all a very satisfying day. 

Next up, cruising Fijordland.l

Day 12 - Monday - Akaroa/Christchurch

Another great sunny day in New Zealand. The ship anchored in Akaroa Harbor and we took a tender to land. There, we walked around, had breakfast at a great bakery and signed up for the bus to Christchurch.

Now for the write-up I did this morning on board ship:

In my previous essay, I neglected to mention that after dinner, we took in a show in the Vista Theater. It was a song and dance show with a cast of young (20s to early 30s) singers and dancers. All in all they are quite good. 

Monday morning we were in Akaroa by 7:00 am.  This is a "tender port," which is not a reference to how the people ashore treat their cruise visitors. Rather, there is no wharf.  One gets ashore by taking the ship's tender, a small boat that holds perhaps 30 people. 

Here was he problem.  The day before in Picton, we'd started hearing references to "tickets" for the tender,  tickets?  It was news to us. It makes sense though. The ship carries 2,000 or so passengers, and you don't want the, all rushing to one side of the ship to take a small boat ashore.  We didn't have tickets.  

There is an excursion outfit aboard.  I filled out a form saying we wanted to go ashore and take a bus to Christchurch, 1.5 hours away.  I arose at 6:00 am to find a n envelope in the holder by the door.  Inside was a note that said, "You dumb schmuck, the tour is full, you should have thought of this before."  Something more like "tour is booked."  What to do about getting tickets to go ashore?

I went to what amounts to the front desk.  It is staffed for the most part by earnest young ladies who likely attend Hospitality Business Management programs much like my daughter Kelsey did (She started her career on the front desk at the Seattle Sheraton). I inquired about tender tickets.  The earliest booking they had was at 10:25. Drat!!!   

On the way back to the cabin, I passed by the excursion desk, which was yet to be staffed.  There, on the counter, lay three tender tickets.  I approached and looked at them. They were for a 7:30 departure!!!  I hired back to the cabin, announced we were set but had to hustle.  We made the 7:30 tender for the 10 minute trip to the town wharf.  So, you see, sometime procrastination pays off. 

As it turned out, things worked extremely well.  Once ashore there were the usual folks standing around shilling their tours. Swim with the Dolphins, Penguin Viewing Sail, etc.  and there it was.  Bus transport to Christchurch for NZ$ 40 (as compared to $100 if bought aboard.  They get you coming and going if you book through the ship.  Then we realized for NZ$ 60 we could have transport and a tour of the Banks Peninsula and Christchurch.  That translates into $41.40 in American money.  My paternal grandmother is part Scottish and I guess I inherited the thrifty gene. 

By this time it was 8:00 am and the bus didn't depart until 10:30, so we had ample time to explore Akaroa.  

The chap in the tour booth recommended a bakery in the French end of town.  Akaroa was settled both by Brits and French.  Although a French sailing captain "discovered" Akaroa initially, by the time he scooted back to France to get permission to claim it for the French, those pesky Brits had arrived and claimed the stunning Bay for the Crown.  To add insult to injury, the Frenchman missed getting back before the Brits by 3 days. He probably stopped off in Moorea for water and breadfruit, was beguiled by the topless native women and lingered lingered too long by 3 days.  Opportunity lost.

At any rate, the Brits in an exercise of generosity said that if any Frenchmen wanted to live in Akaroa, they could, but had to renounce French citizenship and agree to be subjects of the British Crown. All by way of saying, Akaroa has a decidedly bi-cultural aspect to it. The east end of town is the historic British part, with streets named "Beach Road," "Almers Valley Road," and "Selwyn Avenue."  Over on the west end we find Beach Road becomes "Rue Lavaud."  Other streets are ""Rue Pompalier" and "Rue Jolie."    

All this because a French sailing captain lingered too long among the fair topless ladies of Moorea. 

But enough.  

We'd been told of a bakery on rue Balguerie, "Sweet As," as a good place to eat.  It was.  I had a small Quiche Lorraine that cost only NZ$ 5.00 ($3.45 USD) and a cup of strong coffee. 

After breakfast it was a stroll along the waterfront through town, to the lighthouse and the Anglican Cemetery beyond.  Then it was back to the town center to catch a bus to Christchurch, on which we were entertained by Bruce, a former financial advisor who found driving a tour bus a USCG more satisfying way to enjoy his pre-retirement. 

More to follow, but the iPad needs charging. 

Sitting in Casa Publica on Regent Street enjoying a beer and a steak wrap. The view from my seat:

Views from Akaroa:

Leaving Picton:

Day 11 - Sunday - Picton, South Island

Another beautiful, sunny day in New Zealand. We arrived Picton early Sunday, left the ship and strolled town.  Took a hike to Bob's Bay, named after that famous guy, Bob the Fisherman.  Back to town and lunch at the Seaside.

More to follow as I get time.

And now, I got time and a free WiFi hookup at Emersons Brewery and Pub in beautiful Dunedin, NZ

Herewith:

We left Wellington and took the relatively short cruise to Picton, at the North end of the South Island. I awoke about 7:30, looked out the port window to notice we were backing up slowly.  I went up to get my morning coffee and found we were docking in a narrow channel that dead ended in a mirage where a handful of sailboats were moored.  The area was very hilly and green.  Beautiful. 

Today was going to be a short day ashore. We were to be back on board by 3:30 for a 4:00 pm departure. 

From Wiki:

Picton (Māori: Waitohi) is a town in the Marlborough Region of New Zealand's South Island. The town is located near the head of the Queen Charlotte Sound, 25 km (16 mi) north of Blenheim and 65 km (40 mi) west of Wellington. Waikawa lies just north-east of Picton, and is often considered to be contiguous part of Picton.

The town is named after Sir Thomas Picton, the Welsh military associate of the Duke of Wellington, who was killed at the Battle of Waterloo.

Now you know about as much about Picton as I do.  

We left the boat and took a shuttle for the short ride into town.  We went to the iSite, the government run information place that is a great place to start in any new location.  The nice lady suggested a hike to Bob's Bay, which we later learned is named after that famous Pictonite, or is it Pictonian?  Bob the Fisherman.  

We walked along the picturesque waterfront, past the usual shops selling hats, scarves, figurines, spatulas (yes, they are a popular item it seems) and jewelry.  The harbor was full of boats, mostly large yachts, with a smattering of working boats as well.  Crossed a high bridge over a channel and continued past the Queen Charlotte Yacht Club building to find the trail to Bob's Bay. 

The trail led along the waterfront a ways, then began a climb up into the woods above the water.  It was quite steep and a fall would put one in a bad sort. Parents were warned by a sign to keep their children tightly restrained.  

The trail was quite nice.  It was about a couple miles to the Bay.  By that time we were out of sight of town, and had a view an island in the middle of the strait.  There was a man with a Grizzly Adams length (or better) black beard fishing the Bay with his son.  The lad had a surprisingly good cast. Barbara talked with them at some length and learned that he was 40, his son 6.  He said when he was a teenager in Auckland he gave his parents a spot of trouble so they sent him South to live with his uncle.

We hiked back to town and found a cafe where we browsed some outdoor market stands and then had lunch at an outdoor cafe before returning to the ship. 

It was formal night on board.  I wore my usual uniform of slacks and blazer, with blue shirt.  To wore my McIlhenny's Tabasco tie and collected a half dozen compliments from guests as well as crew members.  We dined on beef tenderloin and shrimp, very good, as well as a coriander flavored soup, and salad.  

Our dining companions were a couple from Hobart and a couple from Los Angeles, both couples retired.  Toward the end of dinner the conversation veered into politics and immigration.  It was all very civil, but I found that my views were more aligned with the couple from LA.  When things get political in a social setting, I tend to withdraw somewhat.   Polite dinner conversation, IMO, should avoid politics and religion.  

A comment on the food. The food aboard is quite good and anything from the dining room can be had as room service. There is also the usual buffet, with an omelette bar for breakfast and the usual roast beef and such for dinner.  I could get accustomed to this cruising lifestyle.  

'nuff said for now. 

I need to come back and ride a motorcycle around.