Around the World – and back again!

A week has quickly passed since we arrived back home and we have been forced to go back to cold, hard reality. So with some housework, shopping and cooking behind me now, I think back to our wonderful vacation which we were so lucky to have and I can’t help but daydream of the days we spent with nothing on our minds except relaxing and looking at the vast expanse of ocean all around, whilst we waited to arrive in another exciting port.

So if you haven’t cruised before, or maybe not done a long one like we just did, what are the pros and cons of cruising?

The pros:
• Unpack once
• Comfortable accommodation
• Excellent staff
• New and exciting ports
• Great food – 24/7
• Choice of restaurants
• Varied activities
• Do nothing
• Choice of exercise activities including great gym

The cons:
• Can’t avoid the sea days – some people do get bored (we love them)
• Stays in port are usually only for one day

Okay, so trying to see a place like New York in a day is obviously not going to happen, but the good thing is that you get an idea of places you want to visit again and knowing the layout makes it easier to get around with a plan next time. So the only real con that I could think of can be turned into a positive!

We had a wonderful time and here are some of the things that will stay in our memories:

Our home away from home – very comfortable and lots of storage.

and the man responsible for keeping our cabin looking that way for 104 nights. He came twice a day, every day...

and the man responsible for keeping our cabin looking that way for 104 nights. He came three times a day, every day…

The beautiful Sea Princess

Lots to see and do. We liked the martini demos

Food, glorious food…

Our waiters in the dining room. No matter what asked for, the word "no"was not in his vocabulary

Our waiters in the dining room. No matter what we asked for, the word “no” was not in their vocabulary

Meeting new friends…and lots of laughs

These are the couples we dined with each night

Two of the three pools on the ship

What’s not to love about waiters in white gloves serving afternoon tea

Just imagine – a warm, balmy night, movies under the stars on the big screen with a soda and fresh popcorn!

Such exciting destinations

Excellent local guides - so proud to share knowledge

Excellent local guides – so proud of their country and to share their culture

Exotic drinks in exotic locations

Who could fail to be impressed when a whole town comes to say goodbye! Fond memories of Cobh, Ireland....

Who could fail to be impressed when a whole town comes out to say goodbye! Fond memories of Cobh, Ireland….

So what does the future hold? Obviously more cruises in the (hopefully) not-too-distant future. We would definitely do another world cruise even if some of the ports were the same, but maybe the next vacation will be to Canada, Alaska and North America. However with a daughter getting married next year, we will need to work around that, as well as some vague plans (at this stage) to move house.

We have also realised that our world trip did not go exactly as planned. We thought that by going to so many countries, we would be able to narrow down the ones we wanted to visit again. Unfortunately not – with only a couple of exceptions we would gladly go back to most of them so it does make it hard to decide where to go next.

As I scrapbook some of our photos and find a place for our souvenirs (not easy!), I would like to say thank you to everyone who stopped by and took the time to read about our trip. These posts were really only started so that friends and family would know where we were and the fact that so many others followed along and actually liked what I wrote is quite humbling.

So I hope you will continue to drop by from time to time and see what we do next. In between crafting and caring for animal welfare, weddings and house plans, we will also be researching the next trip. I’m excited already just thinking about where in the world it will be!

Bay of Islands, New Zealand

Fri, August 30

Bay of Islands is a tender port, so we were a bit worried that either the wind might pick up or the sea become rough, which would mean not stopping there. Luckily, we need not have been concerned, as we awoke to a nice fine day and it was not long before we dropped anchor and the ship’s tender boat transferred us to Waitangi Wharf.

Our half-day tour began by taking us on a 45 minute drive to the oldest stone building, the Stone Store and Kemp House, New Zealand’s oldest surviving house built of kauri. On the way we saw the grounds where the Waitangi Treaty was signed.

Next stop was Puketi Forest for a guided walk on a boardwalk to marvel at the massive kauri trees. When the old trees fall, we were told that this timber does not decay and one particular tree that had fallen in the forest provided enough timber for 10 houses. It was a wonderful experience to get up close and personal with these massive trees that are over 1200 years old.

Our next destination was to the town of Kawakawa where we had some free time to sample the driver’s recommendation of doughnuts and cream (no hole in these doughnuts) which were excellent. It was only a short stroll from the bakery to what the town is best known for – believe me, we were very surprised to find that toilets could be a tourist attraction. Nevertheless we did find out some interesting information about this little town.

Kawakawa’s most productive years were in the 1800’s as a coal-mining town and for most of the twentieth century it had large meat and dairy processing plants, providing many jobs. However in recent years with industry restructure, many people lost their jobs but with the creation of the Hundertwasser Park Trust, this town is now getting a new lease of life…. all due to the public toilets!!!

Friedensreich Hundertwasser (1928-2000) was born in Austria, and became New Zealand’s adopted son; internationally regarded architect and ecologist. He lived near Kawakawa for 25 years and was commissioned to design and build the public toilets in the town’s main street. He used local labour and talent, bricks from local buildings and the windows were constructed using old bottles from the district.
The result is quite eye-catching with the light shining through the glass, internal mosaic walls and garden on the roof.

Last but not least was our final destination, the Kawiti Glow-worm Caves. We were taken on a guided walk on a boardwalk through the caves where we saw a galaxy of glow-worm lights, impressive limestone walls and magnificent delicate stalactites and stalagmites. When the lamps went out it was magic to see all the little lights above our heads as we stood in total darkness; the only sound to be heard was the stream rushing over the rocks beneath our feet and the feel of an occasional drip of icy water on my face as I looked up! Of course we could not take photos of the glow-worms, but it will be yet another lovely memory from our trip.

We are so glad we had the opportunity to visit the Bay of Islands, such beautiful scenery of the coastline and the mountains and thickly forested areas vying with emerald green fields dotted with dairy cattle and sheep.

Sadly, this was our final destination and we have reluctantly started to pack – next stop in two days time: Sydney.

But this is not the end – watch this space

The stone store

A walk in the forest

Hundertwasser Toilets

Entering the glow worm caves

Auckland, New Zealand

Thu, August 29

Auckland – City of Sails – so named because of its large harbour holding hundreds of yachts. Princess Wharf was a familiar sight from a previous visit a few years ago when we explored the city and the Maritime Museum.

This time we decided to take the ferry to Devonport; unfortunately the weather caught up with us at last and it was quite a shock to go from barmy, warm Fiji to cold and rainy Auckland! Anyway, amidst grey skies and gusts of wind, we made our way out of the terminal from downtown Auckland onto the ferry, and in 10 short minutes we were in the heart of this historic seaside village which we immediately fell in love with.

There was a minibus waiting for us for a one hour commentated tour around the main sights, including North Head where we were able to take in the spectacular city and harbour views in spite of showers of rain. We also walked through one of the many tunnels, started at the end of the 19th century in response to the Russian threat and extended during WWI and WWII. Gun embankments and bunkers are still evident. We then drove up to Mt Victoria where we also had great views (in between the showers of rain!)

As we made our way back around the bay, we were amazed to see a school of dolphins – unfortunately it was raining at the time and we weren’t able to get photos from the bus.

Once back in the main street, we stopped to warm up with a coffee before starting to explore the many galleries, displaying oils and watercolours, glass, ceramics and jewellery. One gallery in particular caught our eye, and that was the Peter Raos Gallery containing many lovely original pieces of art glass. Website – peter-raos.com. We loved the charming mix of cafes and shops situated in mostly old heritage buildings, and when I found two little shops, one with yarn and the other with patchwork fabrics, my day was nearly complete. There was just one more stop to make……

As we walked on, admiring Devonport’s collection of many late 19th century villas, the sun came out and just around the corner we came across the Chocolate Factory – and free samples! The owner explained how the family business came about 20 years ago and we spent some time watching the chocolates being through the viewing window, before making our way back to the ferry.

Once back in Auckland, we found a Thai restaurant for lunch – and we timed it well, as half-way through our meal the weather changed once again and there was a brief hailstorm! By the time we had finished lunch and explored a few more shops, the sun was out again with patches of blue sky. We thought Melbourne was the place that had four seasons in one day – now we know that Auckland is a definite contender for the title!

I must admit it was nice to get back on board at this point into our air conditioned comfort zone. After 3 months of summer weather, the sudden drop in temperature to 13oC was a shock to the system. However, we had a very enjoyable day exploring Devonport – Auckland’s crown jewel.