Lynn and Phil's Travels

September 21, 2008-Up and out at 3 AM arriving RDU in plenty of time to catch our first flight. RDU to ATL to SFO all flights were uneventful. Baggage arrived with us-taxi to the hotel-checked in and ready to be tourist. Walked a couple of blocks further into China Town and had dinner in a neat Chinese Restaurant, Lynn had a shrimp dish on “pasta” Phil had Duck & Rice cooked in a clay pot. Both were excellent. A little window shopping-stopped off for dessert and back to the room for a good nights rest following a very long day.

September 22, 2008-Oh my gosh!  What a day!  We began our day with a ride on the cable car.  It was quite exciting with me hanging onto the pole just like in the Rice-a-Roni commercial!  We visited The Cannery (the old Del Monte factory) across from Fisherman’s Wharf and enjoyed seeing the 130 year old olive trees (with olives!) growing  in the courtyard.  The highlight of our day was our fire truck ride across the Golden Gate Bridge.  What a hoot!!  The couple who did the tour was so much fun!  We sang, laughed, and enjoyed the fabulous views.  Phil talked about having Dungeness crab all day and he finally did at Pier 45 on Fisherman’s Wharf.  It was as good as he thought it would be!  We finished up our visit to Fisherman’s Wharf by walking out on pier 39 -  loved the fat, old, loud, sea lions!  They were so much fun to watch.  We finished the day with two more cable car rides (seated this time!) and got back to our room about eight, showered, and collapsed with exhaustion!  Our poor bodies are tired and sore but what fun we have had!  

September 25, 2008 A peaceful night at sea and a late wake up. We went to the buffet for a nice breakfast, Lynn of cereal and fruit me of eggs, bacon, English muffin, fruit, sausage and both had coffee. Lynn went to an arts and crafts class while I took a nap.
Following a low key morning we went out and sat on the Promenade Deck and watched the water go by. We did see a pod of Porpoise out in the distance, looked to be smaller than our Atlantic Variety.
After lunch we took in a movie “Leathernecks”, pretty good flick. We went out on deck for a walk, sat on some deck chairs to just watch the world flow by then back to the room.
Dinner was followed by a show presented by an energetic group of twelve, five guys and seven girls, one fellow and one gal as lead vocalists. Their music is mostly theme orientated of artists in the past, Billy Joel and such. Good entertainment.
The sea is light with just a hint of wave action, not anything in sight but open Pacific Ocean and sky that has a low broken layer of clouds.

September 26, 2008 up and out for breakfast while Lynn sleeps in. I enjoy a sit down breakfast and meeting others. This morning I had tomato juice, banana, soft boiled eggs, bacon, English muffin with orange marmalade and of course many cups of coffee. I joined a couple from Florida and Texas both very nice and frequent travelers.
Back in the room the princess awakens and moves about with the thoughts of a walk and exploring, not a bad idea. With a calm ocean 1’ waves with long rolling swells, in fact that’s the way its been since leaving San Francisco walking about is really quite easy. We are supposed to have a few showers today but not storms.
Took the camera out today and got a few pictures of our boat and what others are doing. Lots of deck chairs full of guest sleeping, reading, and just vegetating. Not many swimming but the hot tubs stay in use. They had a golf game where you chip into hula hoops at the other in, looks like fun.  Met a book writer who was 20 years with IBM before taking an early retirement 18 years ago. His book is far beyond me as it deals with strategy and accomplishing goals, the book is “I ??” he works with NASA, IBM etc putting on seminars. Very likeable fellow and easy to talk with.

September 27, 2008 A typical morning, breakfast, walking about and seeing what was up, not much. Back in the room we were spending some time on the balcony when we started to see “stuff” floating by. We are not sure if it was alive or just debris floating by but then we had a sudden display of flying fish and have continued to spot one now and then all day. The sea continues to be one foot or less but the overcast/broken sky has given through to blue sky with only an occasional cloud.  The ocean is such a vivid blue it looks like ink.
I attended a photography class this afternoon, not much to it. Mostly about what they have to sell and three more classes that will be presented, for a fee. Should the fellow who taught today’s class be the presenter for the other classes there will not be much improvement in the pictures taken. I took a few more pictures for you to enjoy. Since I am a rank amateur you get what you see.
Lynn is enjoying doing her walking outside on the wraparound promenade (3 laps = 1 mile).  She paddled around in the pool this afternoon and enjoyed the hot tub again while I took a nap.  We had another wonderful dinner and enjoyed a great show with an Australian pianist – vocalist, Glen Amer.  Quite a treat!

September 28, 2008 Woke up this morning and stepped out on the balcony to greet the day to a most wonderful surprise, a beautiful rainbow. As you may see in the pictures it started just off the starboard bow and went out to sea in the traditional half arc. What did we do to be presented with such a wake up?
Flying Fish “Sea Robins” continue to be a source of enjoyment. They seem to always be there and in just a moment or two they leave the water and fly just over the sea and with a splash enter the water.
Lynn has gone out to do laundry. There are laundry facilities on most floors, not ours, we have to go down one level but they are very convenient near the elevators. Note: It took two hours and $6.00. The ship service and sink look much better.
The four days we have been at sea have been very pleasant. The temperature outside has been from 65 To 72 F, light wind and gentle rolling sea. For this we are thankful. I am sure before we get to Sydney there will be some rough seas, but for us the smoother the better.
I’ve seen a few birds this afternoon. Our ship speed is 18.5 knots we are 1634 from San Francisco, 268 miles from Hawaii. We dock Monday morning at 8:00.

September 29, 2008 We arrived in Honolulu about 8:15 this morning and left for our VIP military tour soon after.  We saw the Arizona Memorial, Pearl Harbor, and Schofield Army Barracks (where we had a buffet lunch) alongside Wheeler Army Air Field, Punchbowl National Memorial Cemetery, and Fort Shafter where the colonel came down and talked with us in the “Pineapple Pentagon.”  For WWII buffs like us it was really neat to actually be in the places we had read about and seen in movies.  On the bus returning to the ship we were able to see some of the Honolulu sights –the royal palace, etc. After returning to the ship we grabbed our laptop and proceeded back into Honolulu on foot searching for an internet café to catch up our journal and e-mails. After unsuccessful attempts at four locations, we have bitten the bullet and will be using the ship’s wireless internet option. It is slow and expensive but seems to be reliable.  The need to update for you outweighs the expense. We plan to update at least every other day if not more frequently.
We watched our departure from Honolulu on our balcony after dinner about 9:00, and enjoyed watching the planes coming and going from the airport and the city lights.  Another great day!

September 30, 2008 We loved our visit to the island of Kona!  Our tour bus took us 60 minutes up to the Kahua Ranch and all along the way we enjoyed magnificent views.  This island has two distinct sides, tropical and desert.  We were on the desert side which is covered with significant old lava flow.  It was really unreal to experience the volcanic atmosphere and scenery.  Once at the ranch we enjoyed again awesome views down the mountain and the tour of the ranching operation.  It is a family ranch and the whole family is involved. One of the sons gave us the tour.  The houses were built in the early 1900’s and there was a quaint cowboy chapel also. We hated to leave such a beautiful place. Our bus driver was quite a treat.  He called himself “Big Kahoona” and shared many fun and informative tidbits about Hawaii and its people.  He grew up in Maui so we picked his brain about hotels, restaurants and such for our wedding visit in April – he was very helpful! On the ride back we took the ocean route where we saw the island graffiti, this done with white shells  and coral they pick up on the beach and carry in buckets to place on the black lava to create their message. This was very interesting and was on both sides of the road for miles. Kona is also the home of The Ironman Triathlon and the athletes are arriving for training and the contest. We arrived back on the ship for a hula show about 4:00, went to dinner as we left Kona and then saw a great vocalist from Montreal.  Just another unreal day!

Today was our 8th anniversary and we would say we celebrated in great fashion! No further details but the cruise is nice also!

October 1, 2008 We are at sea on our way to what was to be our next day ashore on Kiribati (was Christmas Island named by Captain Cook as he spent Christmas here once during his exploring days). Seems that one of two explanations is why, first, the tide is not right for entry and second the powers to be on Kiribati have not cleared the channel or built a dock for the tenders. My guess is that a dispute between the cruise line and the local government resulted in the cancellation of our stop. We will be doing a sail around to take a look from sea then on to Bora Bora. Rumor has it that we will get a rebate to compensate for not stopping.
This means not many pictures today and other than the regular lectures we had to lay out, eat, sleep, lay out and eat. What a difficult day! They do have timely lectures on our next stop and things to do and see. They also have classes on arts and crafts; photography; cooking; Scholarship@Sea Lectures (about James Cook and his influence on the Pacific) and many other things to entertain.
After dinner we have a choice of two shows every night; Tonight we had the choice of seeing a Musical Spotlight Show time staring Miroslaw Galczynski from Poland or the ship’s troop doing an Extreme Country. We went to the Extreme Country, we could of done both as there are usually two performances nightly.
It was a good day and we enjoy taking advantage of the many options we are offered. I plan to learn about Black Pearls at lecture tomorrow morning.

October 2, 2008 A great day at sea. We will arrive Christmas Island in the AM and will cruise the Island only as there is not deep enough water for the tenders to get to the island. I understand that there is not much there and is used for fishermen to fly in and catch the big game fish.
Our days at sea are nice with near calm seas and great weather even though it has rained a fair amount today.

October 3, 2008 Christmas Island, 1300 miles south of Hawaii, a small tropical Eden not frequently visited by tourists it is part of the nation of Tuvalu-a collection of islands spread over two million square miles of the Pacific with a total landmass of 280 square miles.
The island, in fact several small islands are very flat and low. The larges has buildings and some appear to be nice homes, one or two. There is a runway, and other buildings. The pictures will show more about the island. A few small boats were out as the sea is near calm. I met a fellow passenger who has been on the island, he said “The wife and I arrived on shore last time, spent ten minutes and caught the next Tender back to the ship”.
Following two hours of a close slow cruise up and back we continued on our way to Bora Bora.

October 4, 2008 Today we crossed the Equator about midday. Seafaring tradition dictates a person who has not crossed the equator undergo rites of passage rituals. Lynn and I have crossed the equator in the past but not on the sea. We were not physically part of the ritualistic activity but we did get a certificate signifying the crossing. Fun and enjoyable as the foolish side is always light and spirit uplifting.
We skipped our formal dinner and opted to stay in our room as the ship is south bound and we expected a special sunset, you know being on the equator and all. You decide about the sunset and moon shot we got for staying home.
Missing dinner is not as bad as you might think. We went up to the perpetual buffet and had a real special meal. A great salad, we put it together and they were carving a filet, just what we wanted.  Now about the time we got our plates ready a quartet of string musicians arrived and started playing some great songs. We chose a table up front and in the best spot in the house. Great pictures, great meal, and special entertainment for two lucky folks, it doesn't’t know better.

October 5, 2008 Sunday morning, Lynn off to church and me to the joint service club meeting. Wish they did not schedule the two at the same time. We stopped off for a quick breakfast and had an early lunch today. Lynn has done the wash, you have to be quick when a washing machine is available, lots of folks want to have clean clothes. This is the second wash day since we left. Cooter you have us spoiled.  I guarded the room and then took a nap this afternoon while Lynn read in the Laundromat and then visited the treadmill.  She is really enjoying her book on the iPod when she does her walking – thanks Cammy and Patti!   Dinner was a treat as usual and we enjoyed a song and dance show afterwards.  
The ocean has been a bit more active today. The ship reports 8’ waves but I say no more than 4 to 6’. Either way the ships stabilization system makes it feel more like little bumps in the road. We are 4075 from San Francisco and 759 miles from Christmas Island. Today has been really another beautiful sunny day on the open ocean. We will arrive Bora Bora in the morning and plan to spend the day ashore seeing the highlights on a non air-conditioned “le Truck” and are warned the roads may be bumpy.

October 6, 2008 Bora Bora, a place everyone wants to visit and enjoy paradise. Yes it is a tropical island surrounded with mystic and legend supported and enhanced by the motion picture industry.  The view of the island as we approached was indeed most beautiful.  The mountain formation displays an almost mystical, unbelievable panorama.  The view from our ship’s anchorage was wonderful all day long.  Upon tendering in to the dock, we explored the little commercial area a bit and then took a tour in one of the “le trucks’ around the perimeter of the island. The views of the coast and beaches were truly magnificent and we enjoyed seeing the resort bungalows over the water, a small coconut plantation, and a local family working in their small gardenia farm.   Viewing the actual reality of the local neighborhoods was interesting as the population seems to live in near poverty by our standards.  We couldn’t understand where all the tourist dollars go if not to the locals.  In any case the natural beauty is breathtaking but the manmade progress is anything but.  It is very understandable why the early visitors described the island as paradise but we don’t think it is exactly that anymore.  Saying all that we would not have missed seeing this for anything and look forward to returning in December and hopefully getting to do some snorkeling in that beautiful reef then.
Now for my big special activity. Several days ago I penned a request to visit the bridge, our stateroom is very near and on the same level as the Bridge, in fact our hall two doors down is one of the accesses to the Bridge. Yesterday I received a letter from the ship’s Captain with an invitation to visit the Bridge at 4:30 PM on the 6th. Great! The appointed time approached and I received a phone call from a ship’s officer advising that my visit had been moved to 4:45 PM, no problem. When 4:45 arrived I was in the conference room, the designated meeting place and very near our room with one other passenger. Irvin asked if I had any nautical background, I said I had experience with boats but not ships.
A ship’s Officer arrived and escorted Irvin and me to the Bridge. A long room with very modern equipment, several Radars, electronic displays, control console with little levers and such. Yes, of course a very unassuming center located podium looking wheel. There are large windows with pull down transparent tinted shades and on each end an extended out room with glass floor and open area. You can view along the sides of the ship from here.
A very impressive area from which to run and control the ship and that is exactly what the Captain did with and through an obviously well trained, professional crew. No one engaged in loose chatter or discussions, each person executed their job with precision.
The local Pilot was on the Bridge when we arrived. He was very observant and ready to assume control of the ship when the appropriate time came. Captain McBain coordinated the transfer of responsibility but never  stopped being totally aware of every aspect of the departure from Bora Bora and all that was going on around the ship.
After what was to be a routine 20 minute visit lasted over an hour I realized what a special treat I had been provided. I observed the entire event of pulling anchor, positioning the ship and getting underway, leaving the harbor, out the inlet and entering the open ocean for our next port Papeete Tahiti.
One last note, with the Pilots duties completed and we were underway Captain Todd McBain turned to each of the crew and solicited their comments and observations followed by a thank you for a job well done. I gained a significantly high opinion of this soft spoken person and learned why he is so respected by the crew and passengers.

October 7, 2008 We docked in Papeete about 8:00 this morning   Had breakfast in the dining room and spent the morning in our room catching up on e-mails, our journal, and post cards.  We ventured into the city and poked around a little.  The park across the street from the dock was very pretty and the surrounding downtown was typical touristy.  We look forward to being back in December and experiencing the natural beauty of the island away from the downtown area.  We did enjoy some mussels cooked in beer and a cold beer in a brewery which was pretty cool.  Back on ship we watched the presidential debate (we don’t want to ignore the real world completely!) went to dinner, and enjoyed the folkloric Polynesian dance show which was outstanding.  We enjoyed looking at the fruit carvings from the Polynesian Buffett at 10:00 but didn’t eat anything – there are limits even for the Crawford’s!!       

October 8, 2008 We have lived a dream today.  We woke up early about 5:45 excited about catching a first look at Moorea and experienced a beautiful sunrise from our balcony.  Nothing can describe the view of the landscape as you approach Moorea – it could not be more beautiful.  The jagged volcanic mountain formations are surreal as they meet the clouds.  It truly was Bali Hai.  We were tendered into shore and our little barge boat transported us to our motu (island) picnic beach paradise.  Terry, our native guide, was great and told us a lot about the island and the sights we saw on the way. We were treated to a school of Black Porpoise and some other tourist feeding the sting rays and several black tip sharks and once on the island we were able to pet the rays. The island appears unspoiled and beautiful.  We are very excited about maybe being able to visit here again in December and experiencing more of this paradise!  We snorkeled in the crystal clear water.  Most of the reef was not living but beautiful none the less.  We saw quite a few colorful varieties of fish and interesting fauna.  A triggerfish bit Phil’s ankle!  We were served a nice lunch of grilled fresh fish and chicken, salads, and fresh pineapple. There were several chickens, a roster and hen with chicks scratching around on the ground not to forget the cat that came for lunch.  We then walked along the shore and three more rays came up to us!  We just enjoyed the gorgeous intensity of the water colors and the beach.  We drank in the beautiful coastline views as we returned hot, salty, and tired to the dock.  After returning to the ship, we experienced a gorgeous “Bali Hai” view from our balcony for the remainder of the afternoon.  It was heaven!!   A shower, a glass of wine, dinner, and a John Denver tribute show (for Lynn, bed for Phil!) capped this magical day.   

October 12, 2008 Pago Pago this morning!  It’s always pretty entering the harbor of a new port and this was no exception.  We left the ship and looked through the vendor’s booths which were set up on the dock.- Phil met a Pago Pago Rotarian and went back later today to exchange club banners.  Arriving in Pago Pago on the second Sunday in October proved to be a plus and minus. The plus was this is White Sunday, a special celebration day for youngsters.  It is the biggest day of the year for children, who lead the church services, are served special foods, and receive special gifts and clothing to wear. All the children and youth were decked out in sparkling white and we saw large groups of them in front of the many churches we passed.  Later in the day we saw large family groups enjoying outside dinners.  All the people here seem very friendly and many waved and smiled at us as we passed. The minus was about everything is closed for the celebration, therefore  the tour we had scheduled was not able to take us to some of the things we were supposed to have seen,  We passed a multitude of churches all filled to the brim.  All had open doors and windows and we could see the people and sometimes hear the music.  Our bus for the tour was very basic.  We had a hard bumpy ride on hard wooden seats and low open air windows that you had to stoop over a little to be able to see out.  The breeze was great as long as you were moving!  Our tour guide Saini was a sixteen year old high school sophomore who was delightful.  She sang for us and enthusiastically described her island.  We enjoyed the beautiful coastal views and the peeks into local neighborhoods and villages.  The flowers were again very pretty. We viewed Fatu-Ma-Futi ( Flower Pot Rock) the local landmark that rises up by the entrance to Pago Pago Bay; Tausee’s Museum, where the first popular elected governor lived and his extended family still does; and Tia Seu Lupa Station, a private residence which provided us with very welcome cold water,fresh fruit, and pastries. The gorgeous view there was the high point of the tour!   We enjoyed another beautiful South Pacific sunset from our balcony as we departed Pago Pago, enjoyed a pizza for dinner in the ship’s pizzeria and collapsed in our bed after another full and exciting day.

October 13, 2008 Today was most unusual, it only lasted two hours. We crossed the International Date line at 2:00 AM and pooosh it no longer was Monday it was now Tuesday the 14th and not only that it was 1:00 AM. I am glad to say we surrived and if all goes well we will get that lost day back in December. As I type this it is 8:22 PM Tuesday here and 4:19 AM Tuesday in Kinston.

October 14, 2008 Another very lazy day at sea!!  We had breakfast in the dining room and attended a lecture on Fiji.  Next was reading, television and computer time and a nap for Phil.  After lunch in the dining room, we returned to our room for a repeat of the morning routine including another nap for Phil.  Went to dinner and are now back in the room once more.  How exciting is this!!.  Not to worry, tomorrow is another port day!   

October 15, 2008 Goodbye to the Tropical South Pacific and all the Paradise it represents! Today we visited Suva, Fiji.  Fiji is a large island and the landscape view on arrival this morning was again beautiful.  Although foggy and cloudy the mountains and green forests were evident.  Sava itself was pretty dirty and a busy port area.  There was another large Chinese research ship with us at this port as well as several large cargo ships.  Our tour left about 8:15 and we drove about 60 minutes into and around the island to the cultural center.  The Fijian people are very friendly and many waved and gave us huge grins as we passed.  The poverty here is very evident.  We saw again the small houses with very little inside.  We also saw some traditional thatch roofed homes.  Occasionally there will be a much nicer home, but most of the villages seemed crowded and poor.  We passed cattle farms and some fields being tended.  We passed many roadside produce stands.  Our guide Samu told us there are about 1,000 chiefs who are heads of the different villages.  Each man is born into a clan which can never change. Examples of clans include heralds, fisherman, builders, administration, chief, etc.  At the cultural center we enjoyed the peaceful beautiful walkways with lots of flowers and trees.  There was a neat pool area and bridges over streams and a replica of an old village where we had a performance complete with firewalkers, dances and reenactments of olden events.  It was quite a show!  The ride back was just as nice – the island is lush and green because it has so much rain.  Our bus was much more comfortable today – real seats! -  and the breeze coming in the windows was great!  Back on ship we had a nice lunch and then Lynn did her treadmill, hot tub and pool thing while Phil did his computer and nap routine.  We departed Fiji about 5:00 and watched again from our balcony with a glass of wine.  Another great dinner and another wonderful show by the Australian guitarist Trevor McKnight and the ships band.  We had a coffee and cookie nightcap on deck 14 and then good night!

October 16, 2008 We are on our way to New Zealand!  We enjoyed delicious Eggs Benedict for breakfast and then attended a captain’s lecture on Antarctica.  We enjoyed the movie Waitress on our TV and read and had computer time this afternoon and watched the presidential debate (aired about 4:30pm our time).  We got dressed up for a formal night and once again enjoyed wonderful dinners.  We came back to the room and Phil shed his suit as quickly as he could.  He stayed in tonight and worked on his pictures and I went to the ship’s song and dance show (very good!). I also caught the tail end of the concert being given by the string quartet. I went to deck 14 and checked out the chocolate buffet which was being set up for 10:00 (it was sinful!) but not wanting to wait for that, instead took a slice of chocolate torte from the regular buffet down to the room for Phil and myself.  We decided it was just as good as anything they could have had on the special buffet!

October 18, 2008 We awoke about 7:00 AM and when we opened the drapes and pulled back the sheers we discovered our ship slipping into the docks. Our surprise was the building across from us was the Hilton, same room height.  Well we very slowly moved past the Hilton but when the Dawn Princess was docked we were looking into condos, I mean talking distance away, I know because I had a brief conversation with one of the residents, and that is how it will be until we depart tonight about 10:00 PM.
It did not take long for the ship’s crew to get the gangway in place and for cruisers to start getting off and going their way. We were scheduled for a tour that included a bus trip over to the west coast, Tasman Sea and up the coast to a Gannet Colony and then on to the Haumoana Farm for a beer (or wine), sights of a New Zeeland Farm, a sheep shearing demonstration, watching a sheep dog work and a BBQ lunch. Of course the bus trip there and back offered more sights.
How did this work out? Fantastic! We departed at 8:50 AM and everything I mentioned happened but let me continue about the actual events. The landscape is very pretty, rolling hills with mountains in the background, very lush and green with most pastures hosting sheep, cattle, deer or ready for a herd to move in. The Gannet Colony was more than I expected, check the pictures and look for grass/sea weed in the mouth, pick out the greeting that occurs when they return to the rookery. Necks bobbing and twisting around each other’s and other activities you would expect in a breeding colony of birds in the spring time.
The weather changes constantly, clear to rain to clear to rain over and over. It’s a little cool today but now so cool that you need much more than long sleeves and long pants, a real change since shorts and tee shirts two days ago. It was very windy so the sea was angry and punishing the black beaches. NZ has white beaches on the east coast and black beaches on the west coast. Why? Glad you asked. It has something to do with Iron in the sand on the west coast; in fact they have even pumped the iron rich sand on boats to get the iron out.
On Greg and Barbara’s farm we were treated to all that was advertised. The food was outstanding lamb steakes, lamb and beef sausage, salads, mango chutney, and the rest of the trimmings. They provided all the wine and beer for the some 120 guests. Desserts?  Wow! We had Boysenberry Cheesecake, Pavlova, and other normal goodies. Pavlova is made with egg whites, water, sugar, vinegar, essence of vanilla and corn flour, garnished with whipped cream and kiwifruit.  My tongue bruised my mouth it was so good.
It was a hell of a day! When we got back about 3:00 PM we went up for coffee and tea, I took a few pictures while Lynn went about looking at the sights.
Dinner brought Lynn a Tuna steak cooked to her wish while I had Drunken Shrimp. We skipped dessert so we could make the 7:00 PM show, “Haka The Legend” Maori Performance. This was a cultural presentation about the Maori and their history. Very enjoyable, we have another evening with the Maori when we return in December.
Tomorrow we will be “At Sea” and then on to Wellington, Christchurch, Dunedin and a cruise of the Fjord National Park; then across the Tasman Sea and Sydney, Australia.

October 19, 2008 At Sea today, we left Auckland last night at 10:00 PM on our way to the next port, Wellington, New Zealand. Our ride today has been a little bumpier. Seas have been in the 6 to 8 foot size with wind at 35 mph. The Dawn Princess is a modern ship with a bow bozo nose and stabilizers making for a little jerk instead of rolling and the waves will have to get a lot higher to the pitch a challenge. We are walking about the ship without a problem

October 20, 2008 Last night was windy and the sea was rougher than we have had before.  We could hear the wind whistling through our balcony all night and it has been windy, cloudy, and cool all day.  We watched our arrival into Wellington this morning and then our tour took us to the Sothward Museum where we saw oodles of vintage cars and motorcycles.  There were so many unique and interesting cars!  Phil really loved the German staff car.  After the museum, we went to the Lindale Farms where we saw precious baby lambs, calves, and chicks.  We could bottle feed the lambs and Phil took his turn at milking Cuddles the cow.  The sheep dog (Jess was her name) demonstration was excellent as was the sheep shearing.  This guy really knew his stuff and gave us so much information.  It was a completely different experience from the sheep farm experience in Auckland – both enjoyable in different ways! 
Our tour guide, Ryner, then took us into Wellington where we enjoyed seeing the Botanical Garden and a wonderful high view of the city.  We enjoyed the Lady Norwood Rose Garden, the parliament buildings, and old Saint Paul’s Cathedral with its gorgeous stained glass windows.  Back to the ship in time for dinner and another beautiful sunset and view as we departed windy Wellington.  Another great day!

October 21, 2008 I was up as we arrived in Lyttleton Harbor this morning and saw two porpoises and what I think may have been a small penguin alongside our ship – amazing!  We had a late breakfast and caught the shuttle to Lyttleton, which is a charming little town, and we enjoyed walking down the main street and talking to Cammy on a pay phone.  This was the first time we’d had the opportunity to talk to home and it was nice to hear her voice!
We took an afternoon tour which we enjoyed very much.  We saw lots of Christchurch – a very English city – attractive, and although it’s large and busy, it seems peaceful.  The many parks, the tree lined streets, and the Avon River with its charming punts make it a special place.  We saw the city square, the cathedral, the art center, lovely old architecture, and English Tudor buildings.  We were able to take a ten minute stroll through a very nice neighborhood by the Avon where we saw gorgeous spring flowers including azaleas with huge blooms in bright orange, peach, and fuchsia!!  There was lovely rhododendron everywhere also.
 We then traveled up, up, up! for fabulous city and harbor views and a nice cup of tea at a beautiful peak top restaurant.  We then descended to Lyttleton enjoying more gorgeous harbor views.  We traveled a loop around to Sumner beach on the Pacific and enjoyed walking out by the beach for a few minutes before returning to the ship for our departure from Lyttleton. We enjoyed the harbor views one more time and experienced another beautiful sunset.  Early to bed as we have another exciting day planned for tomorrow!        

October 22, 2008 Up and out early for our wildlife cruise tour!  It was a gorgeous, bright, sunny, crisp, day.  It was just a short walk from the ship to board the Monarch, our tour boat, which took us back through the beautiful Otago Harbor. Beautiful lush green hills dotted with sheep, horses, and the perpetual yellow flowering growth.  We are told the growth is a pest but it certainly does look pretty!  We saw many birds; gulls, shags, cormorants, terns, oyster catchers, and royal spoonbills. We saw a great sea lion asleep on the beach.  We pulled up close to him and he barely lifted his head!  When we arrived at Taiaroa Head at the mouth of the harbor we experienced extraordinary views of rocky cliffs with lots of nooks and crannies.  We saw several fur seals (including babies!) and lots of nesting birds.  We were only able to see one albatross from afar and he really just sat there – but we saw him!  The crew served us welcomed hot coffee, tea, and cookies on our return trip.  It was a beautiful, fun trip. 
We next took a shuttle to Dunedin, a pretty city with Scottish roots. We explored the octagon, (no city square here!) The Robert Burns statue, the gorgeous cathedral, shops, cafes, etc.  We loved the more than gorgeous Railway Station Building inside and out!  We walked all the way around the Cadbury Chocolate Building on the outside which covered a huge city block!  We walked inside but didn’t take the tour.  We walked across the street to the supermarket and bought four different types of Cadbury bars and a bottle of New Zealand wine.  We returned to the ship on the shuttle enjoying beautiful Dunedin and Otago Harbor views along the way.  We had a light lunch and Phil’s mouth started watering as we checked out the dinner menu and  found they were serving his favorites – escargot, duck a la’ orange, and grilled calamari.  So, he had two escargots and two entrees and loved it!  The best food of the day for me was a before bedtime bite of my Cadbury bar!  Our internet was up again after two days of not working so all in all a pretty perfect day!  All of the New Zealand countryside has been so beautiful.  We are very excited to think that we are going to be able to come back and experience even more in December.

October 23, 2008 We were up at 7:00 preparing for our Fjordland cruising.  We had our first views of Dusky Sound and also Breaksea Sound between 8; 00 AM and 9:00 AM. Later in the morning we cruised Doubtful Sound into Thompson Sound and this was even more beautiful. About 3:30 PM we entered the most magnificent of all, Milford Sound.  Mountain peaks rose dramatically displaying snow capped peaks and rocky shelves with small waterfalls everywhere.  The mountain sides were covered with spruce and other thick green tree vegetation.  The majesty and sheer beauty is too awesome to describe.  It was so beautiful we could scarcely take it all in.  It was truly a magical place to experience.
We had dinner with a couple from Florida (Sam and Bev) who we met on one of our tours. Sam also attended Georgia Military Academy, graduating ten years ahead of Phil.  They enjoyed exchanging GMA stories and I enjoyed Bev who is retired from a career as a cabaret singer.  She is quite the entertainer! We enjoyed the show presented be Lisa Crouch, an Australian vocalist who was great! We are now rocking and rolling through the Tasman Sea on the way to Australia!  We can certainly tell we are on a ship at sea tonight!

October 24, 2008 Our first of two days at sea before getting to Sydney is behind us. A lazy day, I worked on catching our Journal and Pictures up and getting them posted to the web site. Dinner was the last formal night with baked Alaska, Lobster, Pheasant, and a lot of circumstance not to mention picture taken while the Chefs paraded followed by the assistant servers with the baked Alaska all in flame and looking good. We went to a Scottish One Man Musical with him playing an Accordion and wearing a kilt. Lynn said “He was quite a sight”. Tomorrow we pack and Saturday AM the cruise ends and Australia begins, excitement!

October 25, 2008 Another lazy day at sea.  We got all of our belongings packed up this morning then read and relaxed enjoying very calm seas this afternoon. A final dinner and goodbyes to Jordan and Carlos our waiters and Paula and Stace, Trudy and Ed, and Don and Mary our month long dinner companions.  We enjoyed their company for the last month!  We turned the clock back one hour for a final time change and then early to bed.  Joe and Shiori will meet us in the morning!

October 26, 2008 We are in Sydney with Joe and Shiori!   We pulled into dock at Darling Harbor at 6:00 this morning but it was actually 10:00 before we could leave the ship.  The usual disembarking, collect your luggage, and go through customs hassle – and then all of a sudden there was Joe and Shiori with welcomes and hugs!  It is so wonderful to be with them.  We drove to their apartment which is in Darling Point.  They live in a nice green neighborhood with lots of trees, gardens and older attractive houses and apartment buildings.  There is a beautiful Anglican church across the street and one block down at the end of the street is a garden spot with a park bench allowing a fabulous view over the harbor with the city skyline, the opera house, and the bridge in the background.  We sat there about 30 minutes from 7:15 to 7:45 as Phil wanted to see the bats fly out from the Botanical Gardens – they finally did come out at twilight! 
Before that, we went to an Italian Street Festival where there were lots of people and booths to explore.  We visited the University of Sydney and stood in the exact same place Joe stood for pictures exactly one year ago today when he graduated.  The campus is beautiful.  We then rode around some of the Sydney areas and down to Watson’s Bay.  We had a late lunch and went grocery shopping on the way home – it was sort of nice to be in a grocery store again after so long!  Joe and Shiori don’t have a car but we have rented one while we are here and I think he enjoyed the driving.  There will be plenty of driving ahead!  After viewing the bats, we had a snack, watched Australian Idol, talked a lot, and went to bed looking forward to being together tomorrow.

October 27, 2008 Shiori left for work early and Phil and Joe left about 9:00 and got back about 3:00.  They took the train into the city, delivered dry cleaning, bought a mobile phone for us to use while we are here, and had lunch with Shiori.  City traveling wore Phil out!  He swears that nothing in Sydney is downhill!  Meanwhile I enjoyed doing our laundry here at home, answering my e-mails, watching some American TV programs, and planning our Australia road trip.  Phil napped in Shiori’s recliner while Joe and I visited and then they left to pick up Shiori from work in the rental car.  Shiori cooked us a delicious dinner and Joe served us a great Shiraz wine.  Joe and I cleaned up the kitchen and Shiori finally sat down!!  Poor thing!!

October 28, 2008 We got a slow start this morning - everyone but Shiori, who met her personal trainer at 6:00 at the park, came back and dressed for work, walked to work, and didn’t get home until after 9:00 tonight as she entertained a client all day and took her out to dinner!!  Joe, Phil, and I went by Hertz to sign up Phil on the car and met Perry and Kylie who are longtime co-workers of Joe’s.  We headed up to the north shore suburbs and Phil practiced a little driving – he did well only bumping the left curb three times!  We visited Manly Beach where we walked along the esplanade and ate fish and chips for lunch.  Phil bought a fedora hat to keep the flies off his head – he looks pretty cool!  We then decided to drive up the peninsula to view all the beaches: Curl Curl, Dee Why, Whaley and Palm Beach.  We enjoyed gorgeous sea views and beautiful neighborhoods and houses.  There were lots of cliffs, rocks and waves.  Palm Beach boasts a state park with a lighthouse and unspoiled beaches.  We returned home and Joe hiked to the grocery store to buy hamburger and we cooked spaghetti for dinner – it was delicious!  We went to bed early as I was pretty achy due to all the car time today.  A very good day!

October 29, 2008   We got up early with plans to go to the zoo – but it was raining which went on all day – so we changed plans and went to the aquarium and the Sydney Fish Market instead.  It turned out to be the perfect thing to do for this rainy day!  Others had the same idea so the aquarium was packed, but we enjoyed our time there and all we saw; lazy cod, catfish, crayfish, and umpteen other varieties of fish, two duckbilled platypuses!! Seahorses, turtles, lizards, tropical and Great Barrier Reef coral and fish; a giant salt water tunnel with rays, sharks, many fish (especially liked the unicorn fish) and a Pacific Loggerhead Turtle.  We then traveled to the Sydney Fish Market and immediately met two friendly (maybe!) pelicans in the parking lot that didn’t seem to mind having their photo taken. There were huge fish markets with every imaginable variety of seafood.  We ate lunch at Doyle’s and shared oysters, prawns, grilled red fish, and seafood chowder.  We then window shopped marveling at the fresh and varied seafood.  We also enjoyed browsing in the fresh produce store there. The fruits and vegetables were tantalizing!  Phil bought an Aloe Vera drink and Macadamia nuts he loved.  Joe and Shiori went out for a friend’s birthday dinner at 7:00 and got home about 10:00 – another long day for Shiori!  A very enjoyable day for us!

October 30, 2008 Shiori is not working today or tomorrow.  This morning she took us to her doctor for our yellow fever vaccinations we have to have before visiting the Panama.  She also took us to a glasses shop so I could get my glasses repaired.  Joe dropped us off and went to Hertz to exchange the car for one with three seats while Hiro and Noriko are here.  We had a giant hot dog at a stand on the shipyard – all the way (“on wheels” as they say) was chili, mayo, hot sauce, and mashed peas.  Very interesting but I don’t think I want another!  Phil and I relaxed and took a nap this afternoon and Shiori and Joe picked up her parents about 5:00.  We had delicious green tea (which Noriko had brought from home) and enjoyed getting to know one another.  Hiro and Noriko brought gifts for everyone – lots for Shiori and Joe, sake for Phil, candy, cookies, origami book and papers, precious miniature traditional Japanese sandals, and a beautiful furoshiki for me.  We went for dinner at a very nice restaurant in Darlinghurst with a French trained Japanese chef.  We had a four course dinner that could not have been any nicer.  It was a wonderful celebration and special time together.  All of us are so happy to be able to meet one another and share this special time with our children.

October 31, 2008 Just when you think there is nothing new to experience you get surprised!  But I am getting ahead of myself; let me begin with our morning. We, Joe, Shiori, Lynn and Phil set out with Joe behind the wheel, picked up Hiro and Noriko and preceded to the Royal Botanical Gardens. Most beautiful-most unusual there were signs to “Walk on the Grass”, “Hug the Trees”, Picnic on the Grass” and “Smell the Flowers” The Botanical Gardens is host to Fruit Bats, yes hundreds of thousands of Bats. They “hang in trees” all day and at night they fly out into the Sydney area and feast on figs. Not the figs we know but ones that the Eucalypt (Blue Gum) grow. These Bats actually are somewhat famous having been filmed for nature shows. Following lunch Phil went shopping for a tripod to improve his pictures, he said there was too much movement on the zoomed pictures, anyway he got one and we went home for a rest before our “In home-Chef prepared-Sushi-Naga Shima dinner”. WOW!! What a dinner. Our Chef Hiroyuki Nagashima and his helper prepared a traditional Japanese dinner fit for the Emperor. We had so many courses I lost count but each one was better than the last. We were all happily stuffed. We lived another day of vacation with lifetime memories.

November 1, 2008 Joe and Shiori left Phil and me on our own today while they went to Brunch and around with her parents.  Shiori went to get her make-up and hair done for the big party tonight.  Phil and I had fun doing our usual computer, reading, walking, napping etc. and hardly left the house until we went in a taxi to the engagement party at the Ocean Room in The Rocks on Darling Harbor. The “Rhapsody of the Seas” ship was docked there and blocking the view at first, but they left about 6:30 and the harbor view of the lighted Opera House was fantastic!  Joe and Shiori have so many friends.  We enjoyed meeting so many nice people even though we’ll never keep names straight!  The Ocean Room and the party itself were elegant.  The food was pretty as well as good and lavishly passed all night.  Joe and Shiori thanked everyone for coming and Phil gave a nice toast followed by an equally nice one by Hiro.  Joe walked us out to find a taxi about 11:00 and Hiro and Niriko stayed till 12:00.  It was a lovely party for a lovely couple!  We were so thankful to celebrate this wonderful time with Joe and Shiori.

November 2, 2008 We picked up Hiro and Noriko from their hotel this morning and headed south out of Sydney for an exciting day of sightseeing.  We ate a quarter pounder from McDonalds (loved it!) and rode through some beautiful countryside.  Green rolling hills and lots of cattle, horses, some sheep and goats. We stopped briefly in two quaint little towns for quick shopping.  We walked and enjoyed Norton National Park with its beautiful Fitzroy Falls.  Kangaroo Valley with its old one lane Hamden Bridge built of sandstone was a highlight.  Phil enjoyed using his new tripod to capture a great photo there. The blowhole at Kiama was a bit of a disappointment as the tide was low so there was no blow!!  The site itself was another gorgeous Cliffside sea view a pretty lighthouse so how could we complain?  The viaduct highway across the ocean-mountain pass was spectacular and the look-out at Otford at dusk was our final stop of the day.  We drove through the Royal National Park and on back to Sydney.  It was late!!  We dropped off Phil as he was worn out and the rest of us went to Shiori’s favorite Thai Restaurant for dinner.  We took Hiro and Noriko back to their hotel and said goodbye until April.  They are so very nice and we enjoyed our time with them very much.    

November 3, 2008 Shiori was back at work today and Joe took Phil and me to a huge mall where Phil purchased a Tom Tom Navigation “toy”, no really it is set for Australia, New Zealand, USA, Canada and Europe. I’ll use it in my Highlander when we get home. I bought a few books and we went to Cole’s grocery near Joe’s house, ate lunch, bought maps and groceries.  We came back home, did some wash, and cooked dinner.  We began to plan our trip together and Joe and Shiori opened some beautiful gifts their friends gave them for their engagement and wedding.

November 4, 2008 We had another low key day.  Phil, Joe, and I drove up to Cole’s – Phil drove and Joe and I were stressed out!  He does well but it seems like everything will be sideswiped on the left (where I’m sitting) so it’s scary!  This was the big Melbourne Cup Horse Racing Day in Australia.  Joe left us to walk to a pub to place bets on the race.  I gave him $20 and picked out a couple of horses to be in the swing of things.  Phil practiced his driving around the neighborhood (yikes!) and we all watched the big race at 3:00 on TV – goodbye my $20!  We looked at literature and maps for our road trip and came up with a preliminary literary after enjoying dinner together at home.       

November 5, 2008 Phil and I traveled to the Blue Mountains today.  Phil did a great job driving out of Sydney and into the mountains but I have to admit I spent at least half the day with my hands over my eyes!  We arrived in the pretty town of Leura, about 2:00, explored and ate lunch in a quaint café with a scenic view over the valley.  Leura is a quaint, extremely picturesque little mountain town – it sort of puts you in the mind of Blowing Rock.  We thought of our Mark Gays all day as we took in the sights. We checked in our B&B about 2:30.   It is delightful!  Beautiful gardens surrounding it and the house itself with gorgeous turn of the century architecture – red tile roof, wrap-around porch, beautiful leaded glass windows, high pressed tin ceilings and all the rooms  beautifully decorated.  A perfect place!  We visited several scenic overlooks and Echo’s Point with its panoramic view of the famous Three Sisters.  We returned to our B&B, had tea, and then returned to Echo Point so Phil could take photos with the late afternoon sun.  We picked up a Subway sandwich (familiar is good!) and took it back with us and enjoyed our fabulous room for the rest of the night.  
The presidential results with Obama’s victory speech came in about 3:30 this afternoon.  It has been amazing to us the amount of interest, attention, and media coverage there is of U.S. politics here.  It seems that the rest of the world is very involved in America – while we Americans rarely pay attention to politics other than our own.    

November 6, 2008 We have had quite an active day!  Slept like a dream in our beautiful bed and woke to a beautiful sunny day.  After a delicious breakfast prepared and served to us by our nice hostess Cora, we left for our exploring adventures.  Our first stop was by the Leura golf course where Phil spotted some Sulphur-Crested Cockatoos he wanted to photograph.  We then visited Sublime Point Lookout which boasted a spectacular view of The Three Sisters from the other side.  We managed the steps and incline climb but it was tough!  We then drove along Cliff Drive and spent the remainder of the day in Blackheath – another nice mountain village with lots to see.  We visited Evan’s Overlook – very pretty with another tough climb!  A very nice German backpacker offered to help me climb back up and I gratefully accepted her arm!!  It helped very much – bless her!!  The last overlook we enjoyed was Govell’s Leap Falls and a cute little family from Sydney was there.  The little girl (about 4) and her little brother (2) were begging their parents to watch them put on a “concert” – the viewing platforms obviously felt like a stage to them.  We loved it – so cute and reminded me of my nephews and nieces and all the “shows” they have performed for me!  It also brought back memories of the Team and Gay cousins and all the silly skits we used to do for our parents.  Phil lugged his heavy camera and tripod around all day so was pooped!!  He stopped in Blackheath at the neat Antique Center for me to browse and he had a coffee in the café there. We headed to our home away from home.  Phil worked on his photos and I had a nice stroll around the beautiful shady neighborhood with all the charming little houses and then a glass of wine and a relaxing “sit “on our great porch.  We didn’t want to leave so just had a snack and spent another peaceful night in that beautiful room.   

November 7, 2008 Awoke to another very hearty breakfast and to say goodbye to our dreamy B&B and pretty little Leura.  On the way back through Blackheath we stopped at the Hydro Majestic Hotel and the Campbell Rhododendron Gardens.  Both were beautiful.  We traveled toward Mt. Tomah and the Botanic Gardens, passing lovely mountain scenery and villages along the way. The gardens were of course beautiful and we took the tram ride around and got an overview of all.  We strolled through the formal gardens and enjoyed the beautiful view from the visitor’s center. It is so neat to be able to enjoy all the spring flowers this time of year!  We are a little late for the tulips and daffodils, but have enjoyed camellias, irises, narcissus, daisies, hydrangeas, roses, azaleas, and of course the rhododendrons in all shapes, sizes and colors!  On the road again, we drove through the quaint village of Karrajong and enjoyed the roadside fruit stands, orchards, and mountain views along the Bell Line Highway.  The landscape changed to peaceful rolling hills and cattle farms, and the beautiful purple Jacaranda trees appeared again. Soon we were in the flat lands and depending on our new Tom Tom to guide us through the motorway and tunnels and through Sydney.  We were elated to see the big Coco cola sign that signifies the entrance to King’s Crossing and a landmark for us!  We were very proud that we made it home safe and sound.  Phil did a super job of maneuvering curvy mountain roads as well as fast paced, packed city traffic all on the wrong side of the road!!  My hat is off to him and Mr. Tom Tom!! 

November 8, We had an email from Jenny that she is enjoying her week’s vacation in the British West Islands and that Ernie (my granddog) is recovering well from his second surgery to correct his legs. It was so good to hear from her as we are not used to being out of contact like we have been recently!  We really miss not being able to pick up the phone and talk to each of you when we want too! 
We went out for breakfast late this morning with Joe and Shiori to a cute little German street side café across the street from their old apartment building. This afternoon we attended a lawn bowl party which was being given in honor of the engagement of Ben, one of Joe’s groomsmen and his fiancée, Kathy.  It was so much fun!  The location by the bay was lovely and the lawns for bowling were beautiful.  We enjoyed visiting with Joe and Shiori’s friends again and of course Ben’s parents whom we had met at Joe and Shiori’s engagement party.  We have been invited to spend the weekend at their farm in Mudgie on our way back to Sydney two weekends from now and that should be a lot of fun. The lawn bowling itself is sort of a cross between bocce ball and bowling- the rules seem to be loosely like curling.  It was fun to watch but with Phil’s shoulder and my back we didn’t feel it was prudent to participate!  We enjoyed lots of good food and drink and used our Tom Tom to one again negotiate Sydney streets and find our way home.  A fun day and another great Aussie experience!  

    November 9, 2008  Joe, Shiori, Phil and I packed up and left Sydney about 9:00 for our two week adventure.  Phil drove as we headed toward Canberra for our first stop.  We had an early lunch at McDonalds on the way, got gas (petrol here) and Joe took over the driver’s seat. Canberra is very attractive but very spread out.  The Burley Griffin Lake is the centerpiece and all the buildings and monuments border it.  We dropped off Shiori at the Art Museum and the rest of us headed for the War Memorial Museum.  It was beyond description.  It would have taken at least three days to see all of it.  We went through the WW I and the WW II areas and the aircraft and submarine displays.  That is as far as we got and we felt that we were rushed through that!  It was mesmerizing and a very humbling experience.  The Anzac Parade (the road leading up to the museum) was one great monument after another.
We picked up Shiori from the Old Parliament House.  It is a beautiful old building with a huge expanse of lawn with gorgeous rose gardens in front of it.  As a protest, the Aboriginals have erected a shack (covered with murals) there. This is evidence of the ongoing struggle between them and the government.  We had a picnic snack by the lake and waited for the fountain to spout – but alas, it never did.  We enjoyed watching the birds and ducks there.  As we were leaving the city we stopped at the other end of the lake and enjoyed a huge flock of black swans.
We are staying the night at a great B&B in Bredbo, about an hour from Canberra.  It is a very small village of 200 people.  Our hostess Trish, fed Phil and me a good old ham and cheese sandwich and Joe and Shiori took the car to Coomba (25 minutes away) for dinner.  Graham, our host took Phil and me in his 4 wheel drive for a nocturnal wildlife look about down by the edge of the river.  We spotted a kangaroo, a wombat, 4 rabbits, and a brown snake.  We drove through the river bed, over rocks, and through thick sand and brush. It was quite an adventure!! Our first day out was quite the success!!

November 10, 2008  Trish started us off on a good note with a great continental breakfast and fresh squeezed orange juice (yum!).  We enjoyed a cup of coffee while strolling through her beautiful garden and looking at the multitude of different varieties of flowers she has growing there.  We packed up and fed Daisy the horse an apple and set off down the road.  The landscape was beautiful as we traveled from Bredbo to Bega - lots of rolling green hills, green trees, and weeping willows.  We stopped in Bega at The Heritage Cheese Factory, did some cheese tasting and purchased some for lunch.  We had a nice picnic there at a shady picnic table and set off again. 
We enjoyed the views of the Snowy Mountains and zig zagged down the mountain road.  We stopped at a wildlife sanctuary and Phil and I saw lots of colorful birds, a koala, peacocks, ducks, a hen and her chicks, emus, a dingo, and kangaroos – all up close and personal!  One of the kangaroos had a joey in her pouch with just his little feet poking out – just like he had jumped in!  So Cute!  We stayed there about an hour and Phil got his photo fix. Joe and Shiori waited in the little café and booked our next B&B for us. 
Our next stop was Eden – a pretty little bayside town where we stopped and shared a dozen rock oysters which were truly superb. Another zig zaggy road - where we spotted a wallaby and an echidna on the side of the road - and then we were in Mallcoota where our B&B delighted us!!  It is a precious turn of the century resort with a huge vintage guest lounge and dining room, a large shared kitchen, and small but very fun bedrooms.  We loved the gorgeous lake (sound) view, and the lorikeets, galahs, and other colorful birds flying around and singing for all they are worth!  All of us piled in the car and went down the road to the butcher and the grocery store.  Joe drove us by the beaches which were lovely.  Joe and Shiori cooked dinner on the grill for us (delicious and so appreciated!)  Phil and I were bad and drank wine (me) and  scotch (him) on the lawn with that breathtaking landscape and just had a good time!  After dinner we saw sixteen kangaroos in the field nest door!  What a day!

November 11, 2008 The birds created a hullaballoo all night!!  I’ve never heard so many birds!  I took an early morning walk about 7:00 but Joe and Shiori beat me by an hour for their workout.  I enjoyed all kinds of birds and gorgeous flowers and trees as well as that spectacular view of the lake. I do have to say that at least one pesky fly seems to aggravate me wherever I go! Joe says just wait till we get to the desert!  Showers, breakfast, pack up and off we headed towards Melbourne – hated to leave that B&B!  We stopped at an overlook in Orbost to look at the Snowy River.  We filled up the car, got drinks and ice, and traveled down a zig zaggy forested road.  It is not unusual to see dead kangaroos by the side of the road and we were sorry to see a wombat that had been run over.  We pass by many huge termite mounds and Joe and Phil finally hiked a short distance into the forest and photographed one (six feet tall!). 
The prettiest spot of the day, Salmon Rocks, also proved to be the most unlucky as Phil took a bad tumble on the rocks.  He hurt his wrist and got some scrapes and cuts but the worst damage was to his camera lens which is now not usable.  Thankfully, he is okay and the camera itself seems to be fine.  So, we will be lens shopping when we get to Melbourne.  We stopped in the pretty resort town of Lakes Entrance for delicious fish and chips – we ate at a picnic table and shared with the ever present sea gulls. 
On the road again, we decided to spend the night in San Reno at the entrance to Phillips Island rather than trying to make it all the way to Melbourne.  We had a long but pleasant drive.  The landscape was mostly gently rolling green hills with lots of cattle and horses.  There would be occasional breathtaking views of the coast or the estuaries.  We are staying in a cute motor inn tonight.  Joe and Shiori have gone to have dinner and to view the fairy penguins on Phillips Island, but Phil and I are in for the night and out for the count!      

November 12, 2008 I left our room for a short walk by the bay and through the little neighborhood but when I climbed a steep hill and found no through road out – and especially when I passed a sheep farm - I knew I was in trouble!  The view across the valley and town across to the bay was phenomenal, but there was nothing to do but turn around and go back the way I had come.  My little walk lasted well over an hour!  Everyone was waiting for me I got back and I still had to shower and pack.  We finally headed to Melbourne where our first stop was a camera shop where Phil bought a new lens.  We saw a little of Melbourne and St. Kilda where we checked into our Boutique on Marine St lodging.  It is an old style brick house with antiques and nice large rooms.  Phil and I elected to just relax there all afternoon while Joe and Shiori took the tram into Melbourne for shopping, exploring, and dinner at a great Japanese restaurant. Phil and I had dinner on the verandah of a restaurant at the marina across the street and enjoyed the sunset and people watching.

November 13, 2008 Just when you think you can’t see anything more wonderful than you’ve already experienced, you get surprised!  We started off with breakfast in our room at St. Kilda and then Joe drove us through Melbourne to see the city sights.  We enjoyed seeing the museums, Flinder’s Station, churches, and municipal buildings. We travelled on to Torquay (the beginning of the Great Ocean Road) where Joe and I walked through the Surf World Museum and enjoyed the history of surfing.  Looking at the map, we planned to stay in Port Fairy – four hours away – and booked a B&B there.  Boy were we being ambitious!  There were so many gorgeous overlooks and opportunities to Ohh and Ahh!!  We didn’t get there until 9:30!!
We passed through the pretty villages of Anglesea and Airey’s Inlet, Lorne (where we visited Erskine Falls and had great take away chicken, potato salad and slaw) and Apollo Bay.  It was about here that we realized we had really bitten off more than we could chew but pressed on just the same!!  We had a wonderful surprise at Kennett River between Lorne and Apollo Bay – a road of green gum forest with Koalas!  Slowly driving in and looking up in the trees we were able to spot about fifteen!  What an extraordinary experience.  We were just so excited!!  A little wallaby also hopped over to the side of the road to say hi!  Wow!! 
Every twist and turn on the Great Ocean Road offered us breathtaking views.  We were now trying to hurry to make it to the Twelve Apostles in Princeton for sunset photos.  We actually did get there about sunset but it had begun to rain so no view or pictures.  We decided to go on to our B&B and backtrack the next day.  Now we were still at least an hour and a half away from Port Fairy but we pressed on grabbing McDonald’s drive thru along the way (thank goodness for Ronald!) in Wannambool and finally arriving at B-Beside the Sea.  We had an apartment which was great – two king bedrooms, and a huge open living area where we could hear the ocean splashing over the rocks outside.  There was a nice screened in porch and the whole living area was floor to ceiling glass doors and windows. We hated to know that we wouldn’t have any time to enjoy this great place but how could we regret anything about the magnificent day we have had?!!    

November 14, 2008 Awoke this morning to a bright sunshine glistening over the gorgeous coastline right outside our picture windows.  We could have stayed a month!  We were on the road and backtracking for an hour and a half and eating breakfast at the same McDonalds where we’d stopped the night before.  Our first stop was Tower Hill where a huge animal reserve located in an inverted volcano yielded untold delights!!  Emus! Kangaroos! Wallabies! There were colorful birds and lots of rabbits and beautiful, lush, vegetation and trees.  On back to the Twelve Apostles, stopping and enjoying overlooks all along the way with majestic views of the limestone cliffs and crashing surf.  The Twelve Apostles were the crowning glory of the cliff views.  We also loved The London Bridge which fell in 1990 and a formation that reminded us of a Smurf House.  We enjoyed a great sandwich in Port Campell, browsed a surf shop, and headed west again. So we viewed our one hour and a half section of The Great Ocean Road for the 3rd time (the 4th was in the dark!) and really didn’t care because it is so spectacular!
We ducked into a Kmart in Wannambool for some needed supplies and took a quick look about in the charming town of Port Fairy where we’d spent the night but hadn’t seen.  We continued along the Great Ocean Road loving everything we saw and arrived in Portland about 6:00.  We are staying in an old bluestone B&B – Victoria House – crammed full of interesting antiques and Victorian décor.  Once again I am in my element!  The garden (especially the roses) is exquisite. We drove through town (another charming place) and through the harbor area and down a long  jetty looking for seals and talking to fishermen.  Back to the B&B for a glass of wine and a sit in the glider in the garden.  We walked to the old pub on the corner for a delicious dinner of steak and gumboat (sort of like a beef stew in bread). Phil and I walked back to our room and had coffee in the beautiful parlor.  Joe and Shiori visited some of the other pubs.  

November 15, 2008 Slept well and had a great cooked breakfast served by our hostess Sheryl.  We drove about 30 minutes down the peninsula to Cape Bridgewater.  We walked to the blowhole and though the view was fabulous, we saw no blow!  We walked around to the Petrified Forest which are actually acid pipe formations.  The landscape was like being in a sci-fi movie – very other worldly!  We did not walk the two miles to the seal colony as the water was so rough and the wind was so strong we didn’t feel they would be visible anyway.  There was a giant wind farm here and we are always amazed by them.  We left the immediate coast and traveled the inland Princess Highway towards our next destination, Mount Gambier.  We made much better time today as we weren’t tempted to stop for views and photos every five minutes! 
We drove through the coastal fishing town of Nelson and visited two lookout views of The Blue Lake – which was a gloriously unusual blue – and Valley Lake.  Another fast food lunch - - Red Rooster this time.  We knew Adelaide was too far away to drive to today, so we set our sights for Muningie on Alexandrina Lake.  We arrived at the motor Inn on the main street and it turned out to be a perfect location for us.  There was a Laundromat right next door so we now have clean clothes!  Across the street were the lake and a park – very nice view and walk.  More pretty roses right at our door.  The room itself had a division with a sofa and lamp so I am able to be up late journaling and reading without disturbing Phil.  There is a Jacuzzi tub which I enjoyed.
We have given up the idea of visiting Kangaroo Island because of time and distance – we are all disappointed but reality has stepped in.  Phil has also decided tonight we won’t go to Coober Pedy – poor thing, he really wanted to do that!    

November 16, 2008 It was apparent that Phil was not a happy camper today – he took no photos and drove with very little to say along the way.  I know he is very disappointed not to visit the places he had planned.  We left Menengie about 8:30 and cruised the village of Hahndorf – an early German settlement boasting sandstone historical homes and stores.  We had a German breakfast at the old Hotel on Main Street, browsed a few shops, and traveled on to Mount Lofty where we enjoyed a panoramic view of Adelaide.  Made an all too quick buzz through Adelaide – Phil and I agree it is our favorite Australia city so far. There are beautiful churches and buildings, many green areas and parks galore, a river running through, and, great Gothic architecture and beautiful neighborhoods with nice large yards.  
On to the Barossa Valley and a wine tasting at Peter Lehmann Winery – I bought four bottles – Joe and Shiori bought two but they had fourteen by the end of the day!  Phil was not interested in wineries so we checked in Goat Square Cottages – a cozy cottage with kitchen, living room, king bedroom and spa bath – a great little fruit tree and rose garden – 1800s quaint and clean as a whistle! Just what the doctor ordered! Joe and Shiori left for more wine tasting.  I walked into Tanunda and browsed the shops and old buildings.  Phil took a nap and later worked on his pictures.  I returned and opened one of my new bottles of wine and sat with the roses for awhile.  Phil and I had an early dinner at the Valley Hotel Pub and Joe and Shiori went out somewhere about 8:00 for a nice romantic dinner.  We had a spa bath (two nights in a row!) and relaxed in our living room.  Phil is asleep and I’m still out here enjoying having a light on late!       

November 17, 2008 We slept till nine this morning and enjoyed cooking our eggs and bacon in our little kitchen.  We left Tununda about 10:30 and took the Bethany Road, stopping at an overlook displaying a panoramic view of the Barossa Valley.  We traveled on to Angaston where we hoped to see a racing horse stable. We did see the property and a few horses at pasture but not the stables themselves.  We whizzed through the heritage village of Mintero and passed through the charming villages of Clare Valley.  We visited the Skillogalee Winery for tasting at the cellar door and to have lunch.  We sat on the verandah looking at the beautiful gardens with the vineyard beyond – so picturesque!  Joe, Shiori, and I enjoyed all of this (of course we bought some wine!).  Phil, still not interested in wineries, waited in the car for us.  I appreciated him being patient and giving me the opportunity to experience the premiere wine region in Australia
We drove on, arriving in Burra about 4:30 PM.  We checked into the Burra Motor Inn – a neat location next to a creek with visiting ducks at our door.  We fed them our old bread – a mama coot kept feeding her babies with the bits she got!  We went out looking for an Apple Wine Winery but found it closed. We then looked for somewhere that the Apple Wine was sold, Phil and Joe went into a hotel pub and returned with a “go” cup of the Apple wine. IT WAS GOOD!   Phil suggested calling the winery, so Shiori called the winery (it was after five) and asked if there was any chance we could buy some bottles before we left early the next morning. He told us to come on out now, which we did!  It was a neat little cellar door, great location, and a very friendly owner.  He gave us a taste of several and we bought seven bottles.  He told us about watching the juvenile male kangaroos practicing their boxing with the apples on the trees outside his windows!  Back to our rooms, where Shiori and I enjoyed some much needed private time while Phil and Joe walked to the pub for a few drinks and dinner – shepherd pie for Phil, pasta for Joe- that they loved!  This has been a slower, easier day – nice!

November 18, 2008  We set out about 8:30 (after giving the begging ducks at our door some crackers!) with Tom Tom set for Broken Hill and Phil driving.  We stopped at a small crossroads community store for bacon and egg sandwiches, ice, and other supplies (necessary things like Tim Tam Cookies and Snickers Bars!). Arriving in Broken Hill about 1:00, we booked a nondescript motor inn room and then headed north for a visit to Silverton, a ghost town about 5 miles away made famous as a movie set.  We enjoyed seeing the site of the filming of Mad Max, A Town Called Alice, and Priscilla Queen of the Desert.  There were just a few wonderful old buildings and wild (though obviously very used to people) donkeys wandering the street.  They say it is not unusual for a wild camel to wander by, but we didn’t see one.  We drove to Mundi Mundi overlook (barren yet astounding views) and the reservoir nearby. It was like an oasis in the middle of the desert. Phil stopped once to photo a blue tongued lizard on the side of the road.  He, Shiori, and Joe saw an eagle taking off alongside the road but I missed it! We rode through Broken Hill to enjoy the sights of the old buildings and city center.  We unpacked and separated for the evening. Joe and Shiori were going to walk around and eat dinner.  Phil and I took the car and explored around town and south outside of town a bit.  Enjoyed seeing Sturt Park (where they have a memorial to the Titanic of all things!) and the heritage buildings around town.  The copper mine predominates the landscape, rising above the town.  We ate a salad at McDonalds and are now in for the night, relaxed and ready for bed. 

November 19, 2008  We left Broken Hill about 9:00 and ate breakfast at LittleTopar Roadhouse a couple of hours down the road (nothing but semi desert, birds, and signs of unlucky kangaroo crossing the highway the night before until the roadhouse and nothing afterwards until Wilcannia).  The roadhouse itself was a true outback experience with lots of characters to see coming in and out.  Wilcannia was a sad little town – even the heritage buildings looked sad.  There were Aboriginal people sitting around the courthouse and that was just about the only sign of life we saw.  We got gas from a nice lady at a sad little gas pump and junk yard and played with her puppies.  She was nice enough to let us use her house bathroom.
 We drove to White Cliffs and saw the opal mines.  The town itself is mostly underground (to escape the oppressive summer heat) so much of it reminds you of an anthill.  We visited a little mine and opal showcase where the nice miner showed us some rocks and explained opal mining.  Phil bought some opal chip earrings and pendent for me from him.  The man and his wife live in their dugout with their mine on top – other dugouts are next door – sort of like a caveman’s neighborhood. We visited the underground hotel and they let us explore and look around – very interesting place!  So nice and cool inside after the heat outside!  We had planned to spend the night there for the experience of sleeping underground, but Phil wanted to push on to the next destination, so we set TomTom for Cobar and traveled down that remote Barrier Highway for four more hours.  This was definitely an outback experience.  We experienced sunshine, rain, lightening, thunder, and even a hail storm!  The usually dry desert had mud puddles and the usually dry riverbeds had water.  The landscape was desolate but oddly beautiful.  The ever changing colors of the sky and the red earth combined with the changing green and brown growth were breathtakingly spectacular at times.  Emus ran alongside the road, a few kangaroos hopped by – a couple across the highway – an eagle lifted off beside us, and we had to brake for two English Foxes and some wandering cattle.  We passed lots of free range goats, sheep, and cows, but just a couple of horses.  At times huge trucks passed by on the narrow highway and the water puddles were a little disconcerting!  Joe drove through the morning and Phil drove through the afternoon – he had the worst of the rain and the hard drive through the storm – an exciting drive!  We finally reached Cobar about 6:30, drove through town, and checked into The Town and Country Motor Inn and Restaurant where we had a good steak dinner.  Phil is already asleep!    

November 20, 2008  Phil and I slept in this morning so we didn’t leave Cobar until 9:30 AM.  Joe and Shiori had found this nice little bakery on the corner where we stopped and had great coffee and egg and bacon rolls. We stopped in Nyngan for a stretch break at the Rotary Park on the Darling River.  We got “petrol” here and the nice, friendly clerk really thought my American vocabulary was so funny.  He just laughed and laughed at everything I said.  (Gas – petrol, trash can – rubbish bin, candy bar – lolli, and trunk – boot) you get the idea! Every time I said something he’d say “what did you call it?” and laugh and laugh!  We traveled on through Narromine and took a bathroom and stretch break at the ever present Main Street hotel and pub. Every little town has at least one – always on the corner with a big wrought iron railing along the second floor verandah and obviously built around the turn of the century.  We also rode through Trangie, a small crossroads.  Now mind you, there is nothing, and I mean nothing out here between these places.  At one point we were two hours between any sign of people.  We’ve had no internet access and very little phone access out here these last few days.  We have left the semi-desert landscape now and the scenery is alive with trees and grassland.  There are lots of giant wheat fields. 
We arrived in Dubbo about 3:00, checked into another motor inn and went out to the zoo.  The Taronga Western Plains Zoo is an open range sanctuary with great viewing accessibility.  We drove through in our car seeing many of the animals and planning our course of action for the next day’s visit.  We particularly enjoyed seeing the monkeys and lemurs and look forward to seeing more tomorrow.  We cruised through town looking at all the buildings and storefronts.  We went into a bookstore and Joe bought a few old books (he loves books just like his mother!) and I bought a New Zealand travel book.  We picked up Red Rooster chicken to have for dinner back at the motel and Joe and Shiori dropped us off and went out for dinner and to see the new James Bond movie. Phil and I enjoyed watching the news, wine, cheese and crackers, and our chicken dinner.  Phil went to sleep early and I am staying up and catching up a little on this journal as we are several days behind!

November 21, 2008 We were off to the zoo early and there when they opened.  We enjoyed seeing the giraffes eating their breakfast and the Meerkats being fed chicken (whole biddies!)  We had breakfast outside with a view of the monkey islands – but the monkeys were all hiding.  We walked to view the cheetah and the savannah with zebra, giraffes, elephants, and other African animals roaming about.  We lastly saw the hippopotamuses being fed and heard the zookeepers talk.  It was really neat to watch them lumber out of the water to eat their hay and have water sprayed into their open mouths.  We left Dubbo about 12:30 PM, picking up some fried rice for Shiori who has missed her Asian food!
We arrived in the pretty old heritage town of Gulgong where we browsed the shops on the narrow streets.  Phil bought an old harmonica in an antique store and we also bought some Australian bird prints and an echidna Christmas ornament from a little gift store.  We can’t come home without some souvenirs!  We got a sandwich in a little café and Phil bought a carrot cake there to take to our hosts for the weekend.  We also gave them a bottle of that good apple wine and Joe and Shiori gave them two bottles of Barossa Valley wine.  We headed to Mudgee on a very beautiful road.  The landscape was hilly and lush with vineyards stretching far and wide.  We met Gavin and his wife Lea on this road and went together to a wine tasting at a cellar door on a beautiful combined vineyard and horse farm.  There were lots of new colts and foals with their mothers in the pastures and they were very beautiful to watch.  We followed Gavin and Lea to the farm. 
Geoff and Doreen, our hosts and Gavin and Ben’s parents, arrived about 6:30 and we enjoyed a good visit and a delicious barbeque together.  Geoff and Doreen also have a daughter, Melrose, and son-in-law, Nathan, who have a baby, Marshall.  We were sorry not to be able to see them this weekend.   Now Gavin and Lea have two Italian Greyhounds and Geoff and Doreen have three German Short Haired Pointers, plus they have their daughter’s two Schnauzers – so we have seven dogs to play with!  The house is boisterous and chaotic, filled with people and dogs, just like I like it! 

November 22, 2008 Geoff and Doreen cooked everyone bacon, eggs, and toast and afterwards I went with Doreen to Gulgong to the farm supply store, the bakery, the butcher, the grocery store, and a last shop to buy bullets for Gavin.  I got to look at that very cute town again and enjoyed visiting with Doreen.  The others watched Cricket on TV, did a jigsaw puzzle, poked around the farm, and rode motorbikes. Joe and Shiori left to meet Kathy and Ben to visit wineries.  The rest of us had lunch together.
About 4:00, Doreen and Phil took motorbikes, and Geoff took the truck and his dogs to herd the goats.  I stayed behind and was going out to meet them when they came in to take some photos –but the bottom fell out and rain, hail, and sleet came down – accompanied by thunder and lightning!   Phil’s motorbike broke down and he had to get in the truck with Geoff. Doreen and Phil came in looking like drowned rats, but they got the goats in!  We all went to the Prince of Wales Hotel for a good pub dinner and watched the rugby game in the bar till 10:00. Ben was nice enough to explain some general rules of the game to me and Phil got a short lesson in playing the pokies (slot machines to us!) from Doreen, he watched while she played. There is more goat fun set for tomorrow!

November 23, 2008 Everyone was up and out early to worm the goats (150) and!  It was misting rain, windy and bitterly cold!  The dogs and I stayed near the house – I only ventured out long enough to be sure everyone was doing their job!  They were!  They finished about 9:30 and had coffee and warmed up by the pot bellied stove.  We visited a little more around the table, packed up, and left about 11:00.  We certainly did enjoy our Australian farm visit and our new Australian friends. We hope that some or all of the Rhodes will one day visit us in North Carolina 
On the road again for the last drive of our Australia trip, we drove from Gulgong to Mudgee on that beautiful road we had traveled Friday.  It was even beautiful on a grey, wet day!  The drive from Mudgee to Lithgow was pretty and pastoral and even though the road was narrow and somewhat twisty, it was a nice drive.  From Lithgow the roads improved and we traveled through those gorgeous Blue Mountains and back to Sydney.  We were home by 3:30.
Shiori cooked us a lovely ginger pork and cabbage dinner and we all enjoyed watching the final Australian Idol show together.  Joe, Phil, and I jumped in the car and raced down to the end of the street to watch the fireworks over the harbor and the Opera House at the climax of the show.  It was really neat to watch on TV and know the show was being filmed right out your front door so to speak, and to see the fireworks live.  The lights of the fireworks of course carried faster than the sound, so there was sort of a delayed reaction – like lightning and thunder – which was pretty cool!  We are glad to be back in Sydney safe and sound and are so thankful to have been able to see and experience so much and to spend this time with Joe and Shiori.  

November 24. 2008 We slept well last night back in our great little bed in our home away from home.  Shiori went back to work and Joe was gone for a lot of the day.  Phil and I drove to the grocery store and had lunch at the shopping center.  Phil had wanted to try a meat pie and finally did - a steak pie which he enjoyed.  We spent a very restful day catching up on things and recovering from our travels.  Joe and Shiori were out for dinner and we just enjoyed doing nothing!

November 25, 2008 Phil, Joe and I took a taxi to Circular Quay at 8:00 to ride the ferry to the zoo.  The traffic was a little congested but not as bad as you would think!  The ferry ride was great.  Sydney Harbor is simply breathtaking no many how many times you experience it!  The Harbor Bridge, The Opera House, Fort Denison, The city skyline, not to mention the sailboats, all come together to create a wonderful panorama.  All too soon we were at the Taronga Zoo Wharf and were scooped up by a bus which delivered us to the entrance of the zoo.  We planned our course for the day by studying the zoo map and saw most everything in the four hours we were there!  This is an old fashioned walking zoo – no trams or motoring around – so we got our exercise today!
The zoo has the nicest habitat areas for the animals.  The weather was perfect and we just had the most pleasant day imaginable.  We particularly enjoyed the bird show (our favorite!), the seal show, the gorilla feeding and zookeeper’s talk, and the penguins.  The aviary areas were great as were the Asian and Australian animal exhibits.  The reptiles and turtles were also most interesting.  The zoo itself is just beautiful with views of the gorgeous harbor all day long.  The little amphitheater where the bird show took place was just like a picture postcard, showcasing the bridge, opera house, and city skyline.  We enjoyed the ferry ride back just as much as we had enjoyed the ride over this morning.  After a brief walk uphill we gave up walking to the train and got a taxi home.  Shiori cooked us another yummy Japanese dinner and we all enjoyed a relaxing night at home.

November 26, 2008 Our big trip today was to visit The Opera House.  We have enjoyed our distant views of it on both visits to Sydney but had not experienced it close up.  So Joe dropped us off at Circular Quay right at the entrances to the wharf, the opera house and the botanical gardens.  There were lots of steps to climb to reach the front of the opera house.  We got our exercise just walking around the whole thing (on the outside) and climbing up and down steps to the different levels.  We were going to take an inside tour but they were all booked up so we contented ourselves with peeking in all the windows and up the inside staircases to the theater lobbies. It truly is an architectural delight.  It took true genius to figure out the design. Every viewpoint was fascinating.  We again enjoyed watching the ferries and boats coming and going in the harbor and the bridge climbers on the bridge.  Joe, our taxi for the day, came back and picked us up and drove us home. Traveling around the city with a private driver is fine!!  We had another nice dinner and a good visit before bed.

November 27, 2008 Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! It was just another day down under for us!  We thought of all of you back home enjoying your turkey dinners and each other.  We spent a quiet laidback day at home.  Joe did drive me to get a haircut this morning.  I am calling this my John Edwards haircut as it cost about four times the cost it does for me at home!   We took Joe and Shiori out to a nice little Italian restaurant they like, and Phil had a kangaroo fillet which was actually very good.  He can always say he enjoyed kangaroo in Australia for Thanksgiving dinner in 2008.   

November 28.2008 Phil and I spent the morning packing and weighing our suitcases trying to organize everything to stay within our limit.  Joe and I drove to the shopping center, mailed some things home, and got some groceries.  He took the groceries home and walked back to the shopping center where we caught the train to the Queen Victoria Building.  I love that building!  It has beautiful Victorian architecture inside and out, a tremendous, intricately carved clock, stained glass windows, great stores for window shopping, and this time, a beautiful Christmas tree reaching up three levels. After enjoying time in the QVB, we walked outside and enjoyed all the sights around the central business area of Sydney. We went into a huge bookstore and walked into “The Strand,” another large enclosed shopping center in a nicely preserved Victorian building.  We enjoyed walking in the pedestrian mall and all the Christmas decorations.  Shiori met us after work and we strolled by all the “ritzy shops” and went into Tiffany’s – my first visit ever, but not hers!  I had a great shopping day and didn’t buy a thing!  They sent me home in a taxi – scared I might be lost forever if I took a bus or train alone – and I had my first ever solo taxi ride.  Shiori and Joe stayed in the city for dinner with friends.  Phil and I stayed home and enjoyed a Crocodile Dundee double feature on TV – how appropriate!!   

November 29.2008 Our last day in Sydney!  We all went out for breakfast at the same little German Café where we had enjoyed breakfast together three weeks ago.  We shopped for a luggage scale but couldn’t find one so we did our butcher shop trip and Phil bought a feliet loin to cook on Joe and Shiori’s brand new grill for our farewell dinner.  Joe and Shiori stocked up on lots of meat for their freezer. We took Phil and the meat home where he stayed to prepare for our departure tomorrow. Joe, Shiori, and I went grocery shopping and to the Art Museum of New South Wales where we enjoyed the Monet exhibition.
When we got ready to barbeque it started to thunder and lightning and pouring the rain!  The carpet got all tracked in and we made a mess!   Joe moved the grill to the carport and dinner was great – but Joe was vacuuming and cleaning the grill until 9:30!  He and Shiori left at 10 for a friend’s party and Phil and I got all our bags and ourselves ready to leave tomorrow.  We don’t know what to expect from the airline – we could be paying oodles more for excess baggage.

November 30, 2008 We have arrived safely in New Zealand! It never gets any easier to say goodbye, but what a wonderful visit we have had.  Joe and Shiori got up at 5:00 AM and got us to the airport by 6:00 AM.  They waited for us to get things all sorted before they left about 7:30. We were so relieved that the airline didn’t charge any extra for our excess weight and bags! Of course we are paying more for business class but who’s counting dollars now!?!  Flying business class is wonderful!  At the special lounge at the airport we had wonderful sofas, private bathrooms, breakfast, internet access, lattés, mimosas, etc.  You get the picture!  Of course the nice seats, food, and extra attention on the flight were great.  We are so spoiled! 
We arrived in Christchurch, got currency exchanged, got our cell phone time for New Zealand, got our car, and  went straight (thanks to TomTom) to Anslem House B&B.  It is a beautiful 1950’s house with the most gorgeous garden along the Avon River.  Ducks swim by constantly and there is an old picturesque bridge next to the house.  All this beautiful view is just outside our huge window.  Our hosts Jan and Leigh are very nice and Jan even gave us a little cooler for our trip.  We had a burger at McDonalds for dinner and are going to bed bone tired.  Flying is exhausting even with the spoiling we’ve had!

December 1, 2008 We had a wonderful breakfast of eggs benedict at a lovely table set with beautiful china looking out over the beautiful gardens and river.  The ducks put on a show for us and Leigh sat and chatted with us as we ate.  One more walk around the garden and on the road to Lake Tekapo. Outside of Christchurch the landscape became expanses of pasture and farms with lots of cattle, horses, and sheep.  We passed several deer farms with red deer herds.  Sometimes the animals are all mixed together.  There were giant windbreaks dividing the land. They are huge trees trimmed like hedges.  They fascinate us.  We had to stop for a cattle crossing.   We cross the Rakaia River and the Rakaia Gorge and just have to stop and take photos.  We passed through the pretty towns of Temuks and Geraldine and then all of a sudden TomTom deposited us on a very long stretch of unsealed (gravel) road.  Right away we had to stop for a big fat turkey to strut across the road.  We crossed lots of very narrow one lane bridges, stopped for seep, and were amazed by the huge rabbits. We were delighted with all the beautiful scenery.  On paved road again we followed state highway 8 through Burkes Pass to Lake Tekapo. The Southern Alps loom ahead and we enter McKenzie Country.  Lake Tekapo is breathtaking – the clear glacial water is indescribable. The gorgeous lupines in shades of pinks and purples grow wild all around and create an unreal picture.  Just gorgeous!  Lake Tekapo Village itself turns out to be like a very small strip mall – our motel is hooked right on!  It is great!  We drive right up to our door.  We have a couch, desk chair, nice bath, and best of all little porch with 2 chairs overlooking that gorgeous lake, The famous little Church of the Good Shepherd is in our view.  We get gas at the service station, cereal, milk, etc from the little grocery store, share a delicious steak pie from the little sandwich shop, and later eat a wonderful dinner at Reflections Restaurant – Phil had venison he loved and I had bouillabaisse with green lipped mussels. which was great. Now mind you all these places were right at our fingertips.  We never had to leave our little area.  We strolled by the lake a bit and just couldn’t the majesty and beauty of that turquoise water and the Alps behind it What a fantastic day!

December 2, 2008 We enjoyed our breakfast on our little porch looking at beautiful Lake Tekapo.  We went for a close-up visit to The Church of the Good Shepherd and the Collie dog statue which honors the working sheep dog.  We loved our drive up to the Mount St. John University Observatory.  There are about 28 million sheep in McKenzie country and the road up the mountain runs right through a herd of them!  It is springtime and all the ewes have lambs.  The mamas called to their babies as we passed and the little lambs ran to them.  We were so close to them and they are so cute!  The view at the top of Mount St. John is breathtaking with Lake Tekapo and Lake Alexandria far below and the snow covered Alps in the distance.  We had coffee in the little café and enjoy meeting Chris, the owner.  Chris grew up right there on the mountain.  His parents are the resident astronomers and he has recently started a nightly star gazing tour and opened the café.  His business has so far been successful and is growing.  We really enjoyed talking with him.  Back down the mountain, through the sheep, more gorgeous views of Lake Tekapo, and then the just as gorgeous Lake Pukaki.  Again we are mesmerized by the clear blue waters and the snow capped peaks on the horizon.  Unreal scenery!  We stop at the little visitor’s center here and chat with the lady about going up to Aoriki / Mt. Cook.  We decide we want to do this and travel on, loving the beautiful sights along the way.  We explore a bit around the little village and have lunch at the Old Mountaineer’s Café and Bar, enjoying their great view of Mt. Cook itself.  We back- tracked the highway to Lake Pukeki and were very glad we took the time (about one hour each way) to visit Mt. Cook.  We get a little sidetracked and take a short detour to a salmon farm.  We enjoyed watching the big salmon swimming and looking at the salmon they were selling.  
What a treat awaited us as we traveled the next highway on our adventure and stopped at Ahuriri Bridge.  Spread out around us were acres and acres of those gorgeous lupins in all shades of purples and pinks against a gloriously clear blue rocky river bed and that crystal blue sky all around!  It was breathtaking and we just stayed a long time and drank it in!  We were now driving back toward the east away from the town of Twizel. We saw the Benmore Dam and the Aviemore Dam (joking that we didn’t give a damn if we didn’t see another dam!) Which we were glad we saw but they didn’t hold a candle to the natural beauty we had experienced today.  Our destination was Kortow, a very small town where we had a farmstay booked for tonight.  TomTom found the turnoff and down a very long unsealed road we went.  Just when we thought we must be in the wrong place, we saw the small Glenmack Farmstay sign and we entered the farm gate.  A great white bull and two cows watched us approach and as we pulled up to the house, our host Kaye came out to meet us. She showed us our little room out in back of the house and we went in to have tea with her.  We weren’t sure what we had gotten into – her husband and another man came in and we weren’t sure who was who – Claudia, a young adult was introduced to us (was she family?) -  Another man who turned out to be a scientist studying the rivers and staying there for six months turned up at dinner.  Claudia turned out to be a guest who had shown up this morning from Switzerland, upset and crying and all alone for a month. Murray turned out to be a regular guest from Auckland who likes to actually experience the farm work, not hired help. And Kaye turned out to be a great cook who provided us with a home cooked meal we loved!  We were so glad to enjoy some good vegetables.  It was an old-fashioned boarding house experience.  What a day!      

December 3, 2008 Kaye cooked us a good breakfast this morning and off we went down the farm lanes headed for Dunedin and the Otago Peninsula.    We passed through some of the most fascinating landscape from Duntroon to Oumaru. I understand it is great fossil country and that the Chronicles of Narnia was filmed here.  There were jagged red cliffs and lots of bizarre rock formations.  We were mesmerized by the sights and we loved watching the hawks soaring above.  We loved Oumaru!  It is full of beautiful heritage, sandstone and buildings with great character.  We visited the Blue Penguin Colony Conservatory and Phil finally bought the hat he has been searching for – he looks quite dapper!  We drove up to the lookout where we met a nice Springer Spaniel, saw a very nice Rotary monument, and of course oohed and aahed over the view.  We detoured over to the coast off the main highway to see the Moeraki Boulders which were another awesome sight.  The rocks appear to have popped open, displaying strange internal markings.  We visited the little village of Moeraki and enjoyed the antics of a visiting sea lion and a memorable seafood dinner at Fleurs Place.  Phil pronounced the green lip mussels superb!  On to Dunedin, whisking through town with brief glimpses of some of the beautiful sights we had seen when we visited during our cruise.  There was that gorgeous railway station!  Now the race was on to get to Allen’s Beach Farm for our 5:00 wildlife tour. Little did we know what awaited us!
 We had an extremely harrowing and exciting ride on Highcliff’s Road out to Allen’s Beach on the peninsula.  A narrow gravel road with twists, turns, and steep climbs and drops to beat the band!  Not much traffic, but when you did meet someone you felt like you would certainly be pushed over the edge – on my side!!! Phil did a great job negotiating this exhilarating drive and got us to the farm just about 4:59!  Sam, our host, loaded us into his 4WD with Murray (60ish, a local) and Alice and her husband (never could understand his name), a nice young couple from The Netherlands.  What a fantastic tour we had!  We first went on the beach by way of a walk through thick grouse and climbing over two fences.  I wasn’t at all sure by this point what I had gotten myself into!  We were rewarded on the beach with a big old sea lion resting on the sand.  We took the walk back and I had a little trouble stepping up over that last fence and into the 4WD – but I made it!  We traveled up and down very steep hills and rocky surfaces marveling at the awesome views of the sea and the countryside.  The sheep surrounded us and though curious, they swiftly ran away when we got too close. Again the little lambs stuck close to their mums!  We saw lots of huge rabbits and Paradise Ducks with chicks.  The birds we saw included Pukiko, Oyster Catchers, and Black Swans. Finally, at the top of the world, we stopped and made our way down the side of the cliff towards the rocks near the bottom.  Sam gave me a pair of binoculars and the group left me on a little seat halfway down – we all knew I’d never make it back up even if I managed to climb all the way down!  I was able to see lots of seals with my binoculars and loved watching them move around.  I could see the others far below and Phil scared me as I saw him stumble on the way back up.  He caught himself thank goodness and no harm done!  The only thing I missed was the sight of the little Blue Penguin which was nesting down below – Phil took pictures of it to share with me.  We made the climb back up and our last place to stop brought real excitement!  There was a Yellow Eyed Penguin right there beside the fence!  We were able to quietly come up close and photograph him.  How exciting to spot one so close in the wild!  The tour was a highlight of our travels. Allen’s Beach Farmstay cottage is darling – a little kitchen and living room, two bedrooms, and sheep grazing right outside our windows!  We sat on our porch awhile and shared a sandwich for supper.  What a wonderful day!    

December 4, 2008 I woke up early and it was nice to have the separate living room to poke around in until Phil got up.  We had coffee and cereal with the sheep right outside our window.  This place is so remote and peaceful.  We left about 8:30 after Christine gave us directions for the southern scenic route and a brochure to help us know what sights to see.  The coastal Portobello Road we took off the peninsula was curvy, but not half as exciting as the Highcliff Road we came in on last night!    We were soon on the scenic highway and enjoying lush green rolling hills chock-a-block full of sheep. We never tire of watching the little lambs run to their mothers when the car passes by.  We took our first detour (1 hour!) to visit Nugget Point hoping to see penguins, seals or sea lions, but we didn’t spot any. The road running by the ocean was gorgeous though, and the point view was worth the drive.  We traveled on, returning to the main highway and stopping in Owaka at the only store on this route, and restocked our cooler. We then enjoyed a picnic at a pretty picnic spot by the road.  We actually ate in the car as it was raining – we picked a good day for a picnic! 
We were on the road again, still enjoying the views of the green hills rolling right down to the sea.  The town of Baculla had a very interesting bridge crossing the Culla River.  We detoured again to Porpoise and Curio Bays on another fun, curvy road hugging the coast.  We had another spectacular view from the point. We took an unsealed (gravel) road for several miles and passed a poor little lost duckling running around looking for his mother!  We passed (and offered to help) 3 young people who had run their van off the road.- help was already on the way, so on we went.  The next section of road was paved but extremely twisty and curvy - not just curves but constant hairpin curves!  Phil did a hard day’s work driving today!  We finally reached Bluff about 4:00 and checked into our quaint little hotel, Lands End.  It is at the end of town overlooking the harbor at the southern tip of the South Island.  Our room has a beautiful view from three windows. We drove up to the lookout very high on the bluff for panoramic views of the harbor, sea, and Stewart Island in the distance.  It was so windy!!!  Phil scared me to death by stumbling close to the edge of the cliff and almost losing his balance!  We left the bluff safe and sound thank goodness!  We had dinner (green lipped mussels and blue cod again and good!) at Lands End Restaurant.  We brought up dessert to our room (plum pudding with brandy sauce for Phil and cherries la pinot noir for me) and enjoyed every bite!

December 5, 2008 We enjoyed a hearty breakfast in the Lands End Restaurant and enjoyed our hosts.  Mary and her husband do all the work here themselves – they work hard!  We liked this place a lot.  Left Bluff and headed to Te Anau.  The roadside scenery was fairly flat and rural at first, but became hillier as we proceeded on down the road.  We passed through Invercargill and it was a pretty town – fairly large with nice old buildings and a pretty tower clock in the center of the main street.  We began to see the Alps in the background and they became quite prominent around Te Anau.  We ate another picnic lunch in the car beside the lake (it was raining again!) and then visited a bird sanctuary which was disappointing as we saw no birds!  The lady said they were probably all having a “wee nap’ in the middle of the day.  We checked into Cat’s Whiskers B&B and washed a load of clothes and took a nap on this gray, dreary day.  We had dinner at a casual but upscale restaurant, Redcliff. Phil had venison and I had fish which was quite good.  We went to a 30 minute film at the town cinema showcasing the Fjordland which was breathtaking – we both liked it very much. We drove around the lake and took a few photos and then browsed in a couple of shops.  By then it was 9:30 and time for us to snuggle in for the night.  It is chilly and damp and we have the heat on!

December 6, 2008 Lindsay, our host, cooked us eggs and bacon for breakfast and we said goodbye to him, Ann Marie, Elle the dog, and the cat and were on our way.  Phil made phone calls and emails before we left and got all our reservations changed.  We will be flying out of Auckland a day earlier than planned (as the airline cancelled our flight) and we had to reschedule the rest of our trip. We are relieved everything is in place for the rest of our travels.  Leaving Te Anau, the landscape was again spectacular.  There were those lush rolling green hills with the mountains towering in the background.  The sheep were out in force, every ewe with a lamb (or two!).  The tussock grass and grouse were thick.  The landscape changed as the mountains became rocky and steeper.  In Kingston, at the mouth of Lake Wakaitpu, we stopped at a cute little shop and enjoyed the scenery.  Following the road hugging the lake, we stopped at a gorgeous overlook and enjoyed the view of The Devil’s Stair Steps. We drove through Queenstown – beautiful lake and surroundings, but a very crowded and touristy town. We went to the bird sanctuary but were again disappointed in what we saw (or didn’t see!!) so we left and drove on towards Wanaka.
 Just outside of Queenstown, we were rewarded with the biggest treat of the day – the most gorgeous river, bridge, and mountain views imaginable.  Of course we stopped and took lots of pictures!  We enjoyed watching the jet boating and eating lunch at a café there. As we weren’t planning to bungi jump, hang-glide, or jet boat, we tore ourselves away from that fabulous view and traveled on to Arrowtown, a quaint old gold mining village.  We did a quick drive through look-about and then took the very twisty mountain road (Crown Range Road) to a very high overlook.  Phil could only drive about 20 – 40 miles an hour it was so bad!  Going down the mountain we crossed the Cardrona River eleven times!  Each time there was a sign – Cardrona River 1, Cardrona River 2, Cardrona River -----  and on to 11!!  We passed the very picturesque Cardrona Hotel and then the road became straighter and easier and we were back to rolling hills and livestock.  There were lupins again, along with the grouse and lots of tall trees. 
Our B&B was actually a little past Wanaka in Albert Town on the Clutha River.  Another dream location and beautiful home.  We have our own little deck looking out on the river – just charming!  After meeting Anne, our host, and enjoying our “room with a view,” we ventured out, explored the riverside, explored the lakefront in Wanaka, bought some cherries at a roadside stand, ate them with a glass of wine by the lakefront, and took lots of pictures. We had dinner at Relishes Café outdoors looking at the lake.  We are now back at our dreamy B&B tuckered out and ready for bed.

December 7, 2008 We loved our stay at Riversong – that beautiful river view greeted us as we awoke this morning.  We had a wonderful breakfast of corn fritters and muffins and enjoyed visiting with the Australian couple who are staying here, and with Ian and Anne our hosts. We left Albert Town with Lake Hawea glistening to our right.  A little further down the road Lake Wanaka appeared to our left.  It was a perfect day.  It was bright and sunny with a slight cool breeze.  The crystal clear, milky blue, water of the lakes and the snow peaked mountains surrounding them were breathtaking.  We stopped for photos at Sheepskin Creek #1 and Boundary Creek. We pass through lovely tree tunnels and the highway is bordered by thick forests.   We took a 30 minute walk at the Markarora River to cross a swinging bridge and reach the Blue Pools Lookout.  It was fantastic!  The water was once again that beautiful blue and we spotted several large brown trout lazily moving about.  We took another walk further up the highway at Hasst Pass to Thunder Falls.
Once again the road is rough and unsealed in places.  We get tickled about the number of creeks (most all on one way bridges) we cross and every one with a name – Roaring Swine Creek, Chink Creek, Myrtle Creek, Venture Creek, Dancing Creek, Dismal Creek, Joe Creek, Roy Creek- all these just within a few miles! We had a picnic lunch at Shipwreck Lookout – it was misting rain so in the car again!  We got our first view of the Tasman Sea outside of Hasst. The highway hugs the coastline and the very thick forests and rocky crags reach right down to the sea.  We pass Lake Moraki which is beautiful with snow peaked mountains providing the backdrop.  We can see Mt. Cook in the background and then we see Fox Glacier in the distance. 
Beyond Fox Glacier, we arrive in Franz Josef and find Knightwood, our B&B for the night.  Gerry our host is quite a character.  We have coffee together on the deck overlooking the glacier and enjoy his large property and birdlife.  He can whistle and call all the birds with birdcalls which sound exactly like the birds. Gerry needed pictures of his guest rooms for his web site so Phil used his camera and wide angle lens and they got what Gerry needed. He is a retired helicopter pilot so he and Phil had a lot to talk about.  While they chatted, I enjoyed a glass of wine on our little private porch downstairs with a gorgeous view of Franz Josef Glacier just beyond a beautiful blooming rhododendron bush with bees buzzing all around it.  A mama duck with 6 little chicks all in a row hurried past on the grass – they were so precious! Gerry invited us to join him for dinner at the B&B, we declined so he ended up going to dinner in town with us at The Blue Ice Café (I tried the whitebait fish fritters, which are the local delicacy and they were quite good!).  So, the three of us ended up spending the evening together.  A very nice day and a very nice place!

December 8, 2008 We woke up to a dreary, gray rainy day.  The birds didn’t care!  They were happily singing and we enjoyed watching them out the window as we ate breakfast in Gerry’s kitchen.  He showed us beautiful pictures of his young Thailand bride-to-be and entertained us with more of his life stories. We said good-bye and left Franz Josef headed toward Graymouth up the west coast.  Because of the clouds, rain, and wind, we decided not to try to walk in and view the Franz Josef Glacier close up. We passed through landscape with more lakes, Alps, and forest.  The majority of our route today was again through S and U curve mountain roads.  The rain made it worse!  The road straightened out a bit after the town of Harihari and we began to leave the Alps behind. We picked up the coastal road in Ruatopu and followed the sea to Hokitika where we stopped at the beach and were amazed at all the unusual driftwood collected there.  We drove through Hokitika and stopped in the craft co-op. They produce beautiful crafts here. 
We drove on to Graymouth and found our B&B, Maryglen, met Mary and Glen, saw our room (which has a gorgeous view of the sea), and left to travel on forty minutes north to view the Pancake Rocks in Punakaiki.  It was raining to beat the band, but we were determined not to miss this sight. So off we went down another twisting, turning road with the Tasman Sea crashing over the rocks to the left and rocky mountain cliffs overhanging the road to our right.  Reaching the rocks required an exciting thirty minute trek through the stiff wind and stinging rain.  Even though I once thought we might be blown away, the sight was well worth the effort!   The rocks were magnificent!  The flax and cabbage palms were thick along the path and it really was a beautiful walk despite the rain.  We backtracked the forty minutes to Graymouth so we would be in place to cross Arthur’s Pass tomorrow.  Punakaiki is as far up the west coast as we will travel so our view of the Tasman Sea from Maryglen will be our last!  It is a wild untamed rocky coast.  The stretches of cost we have seen are certainly not suitable for swimming or even for walking.  But it is wildly beautiful in a free uninhibited way.  We enjoyed our room for an hour or so and then enjoyed dinner (cooked by Mary) and the company of the other three guests who are  from the UK.  Even a bad weather day in New Zealand is a great day!

December 9, 2008 Even though we’ve had another dreary, rainy, cloudy day we’ve experienced awesome views and had some good times.  Mary cooked us a nice breakfast and we were on the road crossing Arthur’s Pass by eight.  Even with the clouds the views were incredible.  We passed many lakes and rivers and passed between steep, rocky, cut- throughs. Small waterfalls spilled right next to the road!  The construction of the viaduct we passed over has eliminated the steepest most difficult portion of the road – thank goodness!  We passed beneath a waterfall where a structure above the road redirected the water over the side of the mountain.  There was even a structure built over one part of the road to protect us from falling rocks.  Lots of waterfalls were visible from the road.  We stopped at the viaduct overlook and Arthur’s Pass Village.  There we enjoyed the excellent exhibits at the Department of Conservation.  We enjoyed the views at Castle Rock Station.  The Transalpine train track pretty much paralleled our journey. This is touted as one of the six best train rides in the world – we can see why!  We had lunch in Sedgefield at the Sedgefield Pie Bakery – the pies (we had steak and cheese and chicken cambert and apricot) were outstanding – prize winning pies we are told!  We had fun visiting with the girls there.
We left the mountains and entered the rolling hills of lush, green Canterbury again. This is the land of the huge tree hedges and large stations (farms).  It is good to be back with the sheep and cows – I’ve missed them!  We experience another beautiful ride and take a stretch break in the little town of Rangiora.  One more very narrow twisty highway (just so Phil doesn’t get too complacent!) with tunnels this time, and we arrive in Kaikoura.  This is a charming small touristy seaside town that began as a whaling village.  Whale watching excursions are their claim to fame, but we won’t have time for that!  We rode through town, got gas, and replenished supplies at the grocery store.  We went down to the peninsula and thoroughly enjoyed walking along the rocks at the seal colony and spotting several seals up close and personal!  Awesome!!  We had crayfish (lobster) at a roadside stand by the sea for dinner and enjoyed talking with the owner there.  A very nice experience!  Our B&B –Bandamere House is great!  The view once again from our little deck outside our room is fantastic – only this time it is the Pacific Ocean!  The Tasman Sea this morning and the Pacific Ocean this afternoon – how about that!  I am sitting out here now listening to the birds and the crash of the surf.  What a treat!

December 10, 2008 We were up and out early today after a nice continental breakfast courtesy of Julie.  It was a gorgeous coastline drive from Kaikoura to Kekuengu.  The road hugged the Pacific Ocean and the beaches here were much friendlier.  It looked as if you could walk for long stretches and maybe even swim.  We saw no people on the beaches but it is not really the summer tourist season yet.  This part of the highway, although curvy, was not the hairpin turns we have experienced.  Not to worry though!  We encountered that section of highway later before Blenheim.  We took a short detour to visit a beautiful little lavender farm – so pretty!  We saw again all those beautiful green hills, and the little creeks, and rivers as we traveled.  There are vast acreages of vineyards outside of Blenheim which are always so picturesque.  These were made even more special with the background of the Richmond Mountain Range.  I was afraid Phil would spontaneously combust if I suggested wine tasting (not to mention it was only 9:30 in the morning!) so on we went to Picton.
 We went by the car rental place to pick up our ferry reservations and then drove around the town a little.  We bought some panu shell jewelry and a Christmas ornament.  I bought a bottle of Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc from the grocery store, pretending like I got it at the winery.  We got in line at the ferry and had our picnic in the car – no rain this time but nowhere else to go!  The ferry crossing was great.  It was sad to say goodbye to the South Island as we traveled the breathtaking Queen Charlotte Sound area into Cook’s Strait.  We stayed on the top deck to enjoy the view for the first hour, and then went inside and sat in the reclining seats by the window so Phil could nap and I could write and read.  The trip lasted three hours and we negotiated Wellington and got to Plummerton with no trouble.  Our B&B, Aquivella, is a private cottage with a separated sitting area and small kitchen – very nicely decorated and comfortable.  We had dinner at an Indian Restaurant a half block away and enjoyed the change of food.  Phil, tired out, is asleep at 8:30 and I’m not far behind!

December 11, 2008 We rested well even though we could hear the frequent trains passing by the front of the house going into Wellington.  We had breakfast and started off to Napier.  We followed the highway up the west coast and had one last great view of the Tasman Sea.  We left the coast and headed northeast through the interior of the North Island.  Phil has really noticed an increase in the traffic and population on this island.  Along with the increased traffic, he has had to deal with some very rude drivers – not fun!  We pass a gigantic wind farm (Tappi Wind Farm).  There are so many windmills we can’t even count them!  We pass through a beautiful area – Manawatu Gorge – which is one of the prettiest sights we see today.  The next town is Dannevirke where we are greeted by Viking signs which remind us of the Kinston Vikings.  We stop here for gas and a stretch break before continuing on through the little towns of Takapau and Waipawa.  We made a short detour to the larger town of Hastings so that Phil could take a Rotary banner to a Rotarian he met in the Sydney airport.  I enjoyed seeing the architecture in Hastings – Art Deco and Spanish Mission.  After Phil’s Rotary moment, he was anxious to leave the city traffic behind so we continued on to Mission Valley, New Zealand’s oldest winery, where we thoroughly enjoyed our lunch, our wine, and our gorgeous surroundings.  The building is an old seminary (1880) and it and the garden and vineyards created a very special place to be!  This will be a special memory.
In Napier, we find our B&B is at the top of the bluff!  It is a charming 100 year old house with a picture postcard view from our window.  Our room is large and comfortable.  Phil misses having a desk and outgoing email is not working so he is worried about that.  We are both so tired that we nap for a while and then head to town to explore.  We drove up (right above our B&B) to Bluff Hill and walk out to enjoy a panoramic view of the Pacific coast and the town of Napier stretched out at our feet.  It is a beautiful sight.  Napier is a large town famous for its Art Deco architecture.  The Marine Parade is so intriguing with parks, sunken gardens, a swimming pool, mini golf course, and an aquarium all along a pretty tree lined avenue.   There is a little statue – Pania of the Reef – that puts you in the mind of The Little Mermaid in Denmark.  We explored all this mostly by car, so of course I enjoyed it much more than Phil as he had to keep his eyes on the road rather than on the sights.  He was a good sport and let me enjoy the 1930’s Art Deco buildings as he negotiated the narrow, sometimes one way streets.  We ate at McDonalds for supper and were delighted to have ice in our coca-colas again!  Back to our sweet B&B and off to bed.    

December 12, 2008 We enjoyed another good bacon and egg breakfast and got advice from Chris about what to see along our route today and we were off to Rotoura.  Passing through the scenic, neatly kept vineyard countryside, we then encountered round green hills and pine forests. For the first time we saw large timber operations with reforesting evident.  We then moved on to steep mountain cliffs and passes.  Another twisty, sharply curved mountain road took us into the town of Taupo.  There was nothing – and I mean nothing – between Napier and Taupo, so we were happy to stop for a stretch break at a pretty waterfall just outside of town.  Lake Taupo is New Zealand’s largest lake.  It is surrounded by volcanic mountains and we are again blessed with another majestic sight.  At Huka Falls, the Waikato River rushes through a narrow chasm over rocks, dropping into a boiling, milky white pool below. We enjoy the wonderful views from the footbridge marveling at the flow of the water.  This river produces almost 50% of the North Island’s required power – amazing!  Our next stop was The Craters of the Moon – a 45 minute walk through hissing crevices, boiling mud pits, and landscape that is characteristic of this active geothermic area.  We made a quick stop at The Honey Hive and enjoyed watching the bee hives and tasting some of the products made there.  Back on the highway, we took advantage of a picnic spot and had three handsome roosters join us for lunch.  They enjoyed a fine handout and I don’t think it was their first time!
Arriving in Rotoura, we immediately noticed the sulfur smell which hangs in the atmosphere here.  This is the most active part of the Taupo Volcanic Zone and everywhere the earth bubbles, steams, boils, and oozes.  We met Gill, our B&B host and rested for a while in our cozy room before our big night out.  We had scheduled a Maori Hangi and concert and we were picked up and delivered to Mitai Maori Village.  We were not disappointed in our entertaining evening!  We first viewed our meal being cooked in the traditional method over steaming vents in the ground – it smelled wonderful!  We then trekked down to the river to watch the warriors arrive in their canoes.  On to the concert which included the powhiri - welcome, the wero -challenge, the karanga - cries of welcome, and the hangi - pressing together of noses to show friendship.  The show included singing, dancing, poi twirling (rhythmic swinging of balls on strings), and displays of weapons and actions.  Phil was very impressed with a jade weapon that is sort of shaped like a dagger.  Following our delicious dinner, we were taken for a nocturnal tour of Rainbow Spring Nature Park.  We saw glowworms, gigantic trout (this area has the biggest trout in New Zealand and even on earth!), ducks, eels, a tuatara (an endangered lizard), a kea named Jenny, and a Kakariki.  Most amazing of all we were able to view the shy little Kiwi Bird darting about in its enclosure – I saw two!  We really enjoyed this experience and after being delivered back to our B&B, we are headed right to bed!

December 13, 2008 We were on the road fairly early following a stop at the Rainbow Springs Nature Center Shop (we had seen it last night and wanted to visit there).  We once again loved every single view of the New Zealand landscape as we drove; ragged mountain passes, rivers, valleys, rolling green hills, and at last a few sheep paddocks – I will miss those sheep!  Phil tackled one more sharply twisting road before we entered the motorway near the Auckland area.  We reached the airport area and found the Airport B&B where we would be spending the night.  There was a ramp up to the back door near our room – thank goodness! – as we had to clean out the car and haul all our luggage inside.  After stowing it away, we got gas and returned the car to the rental company.  They shuttled us to the airport where we once again were unsuccessful in finding a luggage scale to purchase.  We did find a salad and a slice of pizza for a late lunch!  We called our B&B to fetch us from the airport and spent the rest of the afternoon packing and. repacking to get everything in order for tomorrow morning.  We have all our bags lined up ready to pull down the ramp when our taxi picks us up at 4:00 am.  We finished up our picnic food in the guest kitchen/dining room/ lounge for supper and squeezed into bed amongst all our luggage in our very small, cozy room!  We have stolen another fan from an unused room across the hall because it is so hot!!

December 14, 2008 No mistake! Our first day in Tahiti!  We really just enjoyed catching up on some rest and relaxation.  Our surroundings are so gorgeous we could really just not leave here all week and be very satisfied!  We had a late lunch about 2:00 at the buffet and enjoyed fruit, a selection of interesting salads, and cold seafood (prawns, oysters, sushi etc.).  Later in the afternoon, we went for a swim in the lagoon and it felt so good to be in the water again!  I washed some clothes this morning (a free washer and dryer!) so all is clean, and I’ve caught up on this journal (I have been too busy lately to keep it current) so that makes me feel more organized!  We are both still very tired but I think today’s rest will have us back to normal by tomorrow.  We had a snack and a coca-cola (with ice!) for supper and off to bed.
December 14, 2008 Pay attention! We awoke on Sunday December 14, 2008, very early to catch a 7:00 AM flight from Auckland, NZ to Papeete, Tahiti arriving at 1:00 PM Saturday December 13, 2008. Yes that’s correct, one fast airplane!   We left on the 14th and arrived on the 13th. What’s the secret? We crossed the International Date Line east bound, you go back a day. So, we have finally found that day we lost back in October!
It cooled off during the night and we slept fairly well.  We were up at 3:15 AM, dressed and ready to go with all our luggage in the parking lot when the taxi arrived about 3:50 AM.  With no traffic we were in the airport in a jiffy.  We were checked in, went through security, and relaxing in the Air New Zealand Lounge before we knew it!  We had no problem with being over our weight limit again which was a relief.  We enjoyed being spoiled in the private lounge and our flight was again just fine.  We collected all that baggage (poor Phil picked it all up one more time!) and found our transfer to the airport.  We were greeted at the airport with leis and Polynesian music. The bus they put us on was like an oven – we got off!!   Turned out the air conditioning was broken so after much delay they sent us all in smaller vans to the Intercontinental.  We checked in and were delighted with our room.  It is on the corner and our balcony overlooks the lagoon with the outline of Moorea’s jagged peaks in the distance. The tropical breeze whispers through the palm branches on the grounds below us and there is an ice machine here!!  Yea!!  After we sorted out our luggage and got unpacked, we wandered around and explored a bit.  Of course the resort has all the usual stuff but we think it is all beautiful – the lagoon, the pools, the overwater bungalows, and the grounds and flowers.  We sat in the bar awhile admiring the view, and then had dinner in the resort restaurant overlooking all that beauty and can scarcely believe we are really here!  The tired weary travelers can’t wait to hit the hay!

December 16, 2008 We spent today in storybook Moorea – the most beautiful of the beautiful French Polynesian Islands (we think!).  We were picked up from our hotel at 6:20 and taken to the ferry dock where we took the 8:00 ferry, a fast catamaran that only took 30 minutes.  Once in Moorea, our guide Tom met us and piled us into a 4WD safari truck – he and Phil had to practically lift me into the back.  Needless to say I was a little apprehensive about the day at this point. We picked up a nice little honeymooning Asian American couple from Los Angeles, and a lady and her two daughters from San Francisco at two different resorts and began our tour.  We stopped first at Opunohu Bay for the gorgeous view and photos.  This bay is rather undeveloped and fiercely protected by the locals, according to Tom, as opposed to Cooks Bay where most of the development has taken place. Several movies have been filmed here – such as Mutiny on the Bounty.  Tom took good care of us “old People.”  He invited “Mama” to sit up front with him for the remainder of the tour (I don’t think I would have been able to climb in and out – or stand the bumping, jolting ride in the back!).  He gave “Papa” some vanilla bean flavored rum he had tucked under his seat later to fortify him! 
Up the “Magic Road” we traveled to Belvedere Lookout.  They had to stand up in the back and hold on for dear life to make it up the steep narrow road to the top.  Phil hung on but it was rough!  He had to take a pain pill for his shoulder after that ride!  I was mighty glad to be in the front seat.  At the lookout, we enjoyed an awesome view of Mt. Rotui separating Opunohu’s and Cook’s Bays.  On the way back down we visited Titiiroa Marae, an ancient temple where human sacrifices were made.  It now has Tahitian chestnut trees growing tall through the cobblestone courtyard. We also saw an ancient archery platform used for competition between high ranking chiefs.  At the Toatea Overlook we had a magnificent view of the lagoon and the surf breaking on the reef and all of Tahiti in the background.  Unfortunately the mosquitoes ambushed us and we couldn’t stay long! 
Next we stopped at a pearl shop where they explained the black pearl industry and process to us.  Phil insisted on buying a pair of black pearl earrings for me – so what could I do!?!  We had a scoop of wonderful pineapple sorbet before we drove through a beautiful agricultural area, Lycee Agricole d’Opunoho (Opunohu Agricultural School).  There we saw pineapple fields, orange orchards, grapefruit orchards, avocado and bread fruit trees, vanilla bean fields, and tropical flower fields (fields are called plantations here).  Tom gathered grapefruit, pineapple, papaya, oranges, and lemons, and served us a fruit buffet on banana leaves on the tailgate of the truck.  The fruit all tasted heavenly!  We next stopped at Jus de Fruits de Moorea (Moorea Fruit Juices) where they gave us tastings of fruit liqueurs.  Phil loved every one – especially the banana cream and the coconut.  We dropped off our honeymoon couple and then Tom took us by a local snack stand where we bought a sandwich for lunch and then he dropped the rest of us at the Sheraton Resort.  I said goodbye to my new best friend – you get chummy after spending four hours together in the cab of a truck!   Tom has 8 children ages 27 – 8, a Tahitian mother and a Scottish father.  He attended boarding school in Scotland for 8 years so his English has a bit of a Scottish brogue to it.  I liked him!  Phil and I found a shady spot between the pool and the beach, ate our picnic, and then I read and Phil found a lounge chair for a nap.  It was a rather pleasant relaxing time!  There were three kittens living under the deck which I enjoyed watching play.   Our driver Raymond picked us up about 3:30 PM and took us back to the ferry.  Raymond was originally from France but had lived in Moorea for 35 years.  We enjoyed talking with him.  We bought some fresh pineapple and ladyfinger bananas at the dock and had a great ferry ride back sitting on top and loving the views of Moorea and Tahiti. Showers, cheese crackers, nuts, and that wonderful fresh fruit for supper and two tired puppies are out like a light before 9:00 PM!  A truly great day!       

December 17, 2008 Another memorable, unbelievably, wonderful day!  We met our tour guide Angele in the lobby at 9:30AM and she turned out to be our “angel in Tahiti.”  She not only guided us around and showed us so much, she advised us on just about everything about our stay one could think of.  She was truly a guiding friend to us.  Some of the great sights we saw this morning included Arahurahu Marae (a restored ancient temple), Maraa Grotto (which required a pleasant little walk down a pretty trail to view two fern covered caves carved into the cliffs plus a mini waterfall), Vaipahi Gardens (a beautiful place with lush elephant ears, tree ferns, ground orchards, jade vines and lots of other tropical vegetation with a pretty waterfall and a natural spring bubbling up), and the Gauguin Museum site (it’s closed for restoration).  Along the road were the fresh fish and fresh fruit for sale by the locals.  Angele stopped at her cousin’s house and she gave us some mangos she picked then and there just for us. Angele also stopped for us to fill our water bottles at the spring where the locals get their water. 
We all enjoyed a delicious lunch (great fish!) at the Restaurant de Musee Gauguin with a spectacular view of Tahiti Iti Peninsula. Now leaving the restaurant, it was obvious that we were never going to complete our circle tour of the island in the four hours we had paid for; but Angele never rushed us and on the contrary encouraged us to take our time and not worry about anything – she wanted us to enjoy our day and she was not worried about the time.  The drive from Papeari to Hitaa was so relaxing and beautiful – lush tropical vegetation, gorgeous rocky black sand beaches, and local simple wooden houses surrounded by banana and bread fruit trees, chickens and dogs.  We had another beautiful pleasant walk to view the Cascades De Tefaarumi (Farrumai Waterfalls) which were gorgeous.  We saw the Arahoho Blowholes (no blow!), Point Venus with its lighthouse and Lookout Point, which gave us a lovely view over the   bay to Papeete and Moorea on the far horizon.  Back through Papeete and back to our resort about 3:00PM – an hour and a half extra time!  Angele was good to us!  She offered to come back at 7 and take us to Papeete to eat at Les Roulettes, (which is something we had wanted to do) but she later called and said because of the rain we shouldn’t go – instead she is coming tomorrow to take us to breakfast.  We picnic for supper with our fresh fruit, nuts, cheese and crackers and then headed for another early bedtime.  

December 18, 2008 Angele, true to her word, called for us about 8:30 AM. I had been up since about 4:30 (couldn’t sleep!) and enjoyed the sunrise and the birds out on our balcony.  The roosters made a racquet and the waves breaking on the reef that can only be heard before the noise of the day begins.  Angele took us back to the shopping center we had walked to on Monday, and we had a good little quiche for breakfast.  I bought a box of wine at the grocery store for the ship. On the way back to the resort, Angele took us up to see the university and the area where she grew up.  There were beautiful views down to the water from on top of the mountain.  We had a nice swim in our lagoon and then I did a load of laundry.  We had a nice lunch of fresh fruit (compliments of Tom and Angele) cheetos and nuts.  We took a nap, packed some luggage, and dressed for our big night.  Angele had arranged for us to be picked up at 4:30 PM for the one hour drive through Papeete, and up 2,000 feet on a narrow, one lane, switch- back, winding road to Le Belvedere Restaurant for dinner. There, with a spectacular view, we enjoyed cocktails, a three course dinner (fondue) with wine, and the enjoyable company of Ted and Mia from Canada, and two young girls from Australia.  Another wonderful day in paradise!

December 19, 2008 Packed up all those suitcases one more time this morning!  Angele came by our room about 8:30 and we arranged to meet for dinner at Les Roulettes on the cruise ship’s dock as she will be driving a tour bus there tonight.  We got ourselves and our bags checked out and on the bus to the ship.  It was hard leaving that gorgeous view and our balcony – it was a perfect day – clear blue skies and turquoise blue water.  It was 32 degrees Celsius when we passed a temperature sign – still hot!  We had an easy time embarking and got our bags with no trouble delivered to our room.  We had eaten lunch at the buffet before going to our stateroom and we loved having iced tea one more time!  We unpacked and got everything arranged in our little nest and feel right at home!  Our cabin is nice and big with a nice bathroom (tub and shower) and enough closet and shelf space to make us happy.  Our balcony is nice and big also!   I was able to buy the pareus I have been wanting to find, at the market right outside the ship. We met Angele as arranged, and enjoyed grilled beef heart, mahi-mahi, Russian potato salad, and a chestnut crepe for dessert. (Hey, when in Rome, right?).  Angele gave us some shell necklaces and we hugged her tight with thanks and goodbyes – how we have enjoyed her and our time in Tahiti!

December 20, 2008 Phil woke up early and went out and signed up for internet service.  He was able to access it in our stateroom this morning and was happy to finally send out some emails!  We had room service breakfast on our balcony and then tendered into Moorea.  Guess who we met in port?  Our friend Tom!  We were glad to see him again and I had to give him a big hug.  We explored around the little shops a bit and then we went back to the Pearl Shop we had visited when we were here before and bought a necklace and bracelet.  Back on the ship we had a nice lunch and relaxed all afternoon, enjoying the views of Moorea.  We had our safety drill at 4:30PM and then we said goodbye to beautiful Moorea with a glass of champagne on our balcony.  Dinner was nice but our table only had four people including us so Phil asked to have us changed to a round table for eight next sitting.  We enjoyed the entertainment – a cute magician-comedian – and we visited with our new friends Mia and Ted.  We had another nice day and are looking forward to tomorrow on Bora Bora.   

December 21, 2008 Today I was the one up early and I read out on the balcony and watched our approach to Bora Bora until Phil came out about 7. We went down about 8 to join our snorkeling tour group. Tendering to Bora Bora was again such a treat.  We enjoyed the harbor views and the little quaint dock.  The same old dogs we saw in October were still happily snoozing in the sand in the shade!  Our snorkeling trip began with a relaxing and beautiful ride to a shallow reef (2- 3 feet deep) where our guide hand fed the stingrays and they glided around us.  We loved watching them gracefully swim around and the feel of their very soft, smooth skin. Phil fed them once and had about ten all around him.  We also saw lots of little, bright blue, tropical fish we enjoyed.  We next cruised to another deeper reef where we snorkeled enjoying the beautiful coral and plant life and the brightly colored and unusual tropical fish all around us. It was glorious to be able to experience being in that unbelievably tranquil, turquoise, water and share the reef’s world for a short while!  The ride back to the dock was again so gorgeous with its views of Bora Bora and the reefs and lagoons.  We pass the overwater bungalows and I think how I never imagined I would actually see anything like this in person.  What an adventure we are having – experiencing all these unbelievable sights!
Back on the ship, we took a shower that felt heavenly and then have lunch in the dining room.  I went up to the library (which is one of the most beautiful rooms I’ve ever been in!) and enjoyed the community jigsaw puzzle for awhile.  I also went to see “Mama Mia” – the movie (again!) while Phil relaxed in the cabin.  We then enjoyed the most beautiful sights you can imagine sitting on our balcony with the peaks of Bora Bora in the background and the little harbor spread around us.  There was the biggest rainbow I have ever seen across the tallest mountain and the ever-changing clouds and shadows put on a show for us.  Later, as we left port, the changing waters of the reefs and lagoons, as well as the changing shoreline views captivated us.  We feel so very blessed to have visited and experienced so much of the South Pacific Islands.  Dinner is of course delicious and we enjoy the round table where we have been reassigned.  Our dinner companions are Carl and Shirley from California, and Eddie and Barbara from New Jersey.  The entertainment tonight was a guitarist–comedian who was great - his guitar music was fantastic and we both really enjoyed his show!    

December 22, 2008 A very nice relaxing day at sea!  We had breakfast at the buffet and again enjoyed that wonderful fresh pineapple and ladyfinger bananas.  We just relaxed and read most of the day. We had lunch outside in the grill with a nice cool tropical breeze to keep us company.  I went to a lecture on our itinerary for the cruise and enjoyed it – Dr. Wesley Smith (the guest lecturer for this cruise) will be entertaining I think!  I really enjoyed reading and napping on our balcony this afternoon while Phil tried to get back into the groove of posting pictures on our website.  No computer time for me today – maybe tomorrow!  We had a formal dinner tonight which was nice.  I saw the entertainment which was movie songs and dancing by the Princess cast and really enjoyed it.  Phil watched a movie in the cabin.  We are fat and happy!

December 24, 2008 We slept late (or I did!) and had a hearty breakfast at the buffet about 9:30 AM.  We came back to the cabin and Phil took a nap and I had some computer time.  About 12:00 PM, we passed by Iles Gambier, a small group of volcanic islands with a population of a few hundred.  We watched them from our balcony and took a few photos - even though it was a bit hazy.  We left our cabin and walked about a bit.  We went to the art auction and Phil won a bid (as he was the only bidder!) on a piece he liked.  He always gets in trouble at auctions!  I won a lithograph in the raffle.  I enjoyed the balmy breeze again reading on the balcony and then we dressed for dinner and went down for the Christmas carol sing-along.  It was good fun!  Later, Phil and I watched the stars over the sea from our balcony.  This is a very different Christmas Eve for sure!  But every now and then, we just close our eyes and remember all the dear, dear memories we have of all the love shared by family and friends of Christmases past (and those to come!) and our hearts are happy and oh so thankful!      

December 25, 2008 Christmas day at sea!  Merry Christmas to all!  We were up early to watch our approach to Pitcairn Island, a rocky volcanic island which we cruised completely around during the morning.  The population of 60 is mostly direct descendents of the Bounty mutineers and their Polynesian wives. Many of them came out to the ship in a longboat bringing their wares to sell to us.  They set up shop in the Tahitian Lounge and we enjoyed looking at their handicrafts and talking with them.  They gave a little power point presentation about life on the island and the mayor presented a plaque to our captain and the captain presented a Princess ship’s Crest plaque to him.  They left the ship about 10:30 AM with supplies they had purchased from the ship.  It seems that only about four ships a year pass by so it is a big deal!  We found it all very intriguing!  We called home with a few brief (expensive! but well worth it) Christmas calls and then had a nice Christmas breakfast in the dining room.  We exchanged our little Christmas gifts and spent most of the rest of the day just enjoying doing nothing!  I did go down and see Santa come to see the children during the afternoon.  Dinner was formal tonight and I loved wearing my new pearls and dressing up.  I have to admit it felt pretty good to get up from the table after our Christmas turkey and let someone else worry about the dishes! This turkey dinner was not the same as home of course and it is not the Christmas I would choose every year, but I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it despite missing family, friends, and tradition!  The Christmas variety show we saw tonight was fun, and now with grateful hearts we are off to bed. 

December 26, 2008 The day after Christmas was another relaxing day at sea.  We slept late and ordered a pot of coffee to enjoy on the balcony.  We checked out the bingo game but didn’t play – I think its fun to watch.  We had lunch in the dining room (a great cheeseburger) and I went to another art auction which believe it or not I am really enjoying.  I’ve never really been interested in art, but I am getting a good education about some of the modern artists and it is quite interesting to me!  I enjoyed the jigsaw puzzle in the library and Phil and I met for the lecture on Pitcairn Island and went up to the buffet for dinner about 7:00 PM.  No show for us tonight!  A nice relaxing day.

December 27, 2008 Relaxing at sea today!

December 28, 2008 We visited Easter Island today.  This island is characterized by the huge stone carved figures (called Moai) created from compressed volcanic ash stone and moved to various points around the island from the volcanic crater quarry (Rano Raraku). It remains a mystery as to how these huge statues were moved and exactly what they represented.  Our tour guide had come to Easter Island as an archeologist 30 years ago, and his knowledge of the sites we visited was most impressive.  The quarry itself, (a pretty difficult walk – but well worth it!) was the most interesting to us. There are about 3,000 people on Easter Island – nearly all live in the village of Hanga Roa. The island is part of Chile but retains its local culture.  We were amazed by the large number of free roaming horses there.  At first I thought they were beautiful and special.  By the end of the day I realized many were apparently malnourished and there were far too many of them.  We saw lots of colts. The island itself was starkly beautiful with rocky cliffs to the sea and strong surf breaking over the rocks.  Again we’ve experience sights we never dreamed we would see.  We were back on the ship and underway again by 1:30 PM.  We rested from our tour this afternoon and watched a movie in our cabin.  Had another wonderful dinner and I loved the show tonight – Ports of Call – with singing and dancing by the ship’s entertainers.  Very cute choreography! 

December 29, 2008 Another relaxing day at sea!

December 31, 2008 We enjoyed our New Year’s Eve party on the ship.  We usually do not stay up to see the New Year in, but we did this year!  Of course the ship was decorated with streamers and banners everywhere you looked.  We had New Year’s hats and noisemakers galore.  Music was playing everywhere and champagne was flowing.  We chose to go forward and topside to the Tahitian Lounge where we were invited to join our new Rotarian friends from Australia. We did the night justice! The ship’s crew, dressed in their formal white uniforms, was out in force partying along with the passengers.  It was quite a show and we had a good time despite ourselves! Of course some of the crew still had to work serving the partiers - we learned they have a big staff only party planned for tomorrow in the crew galley.

January 1, 2009 Happy New Year to all!  We had a quiet New Year’s Day at sea – the kind of day many need to recover from the night before. The ship served a nice brunch with all types of cold cuts from all around the world, pastas, prime rib, fruits and you name it…of course you could also order from the menu. Be it known that we missed our hog head (Phil, not me on this one!) black-eyed peas and collards (both of us!).  We also miss all of you and are thinking of you this New Year’s Day!  Phil decided to start the countdown till home today, 14 days till home. We still have a few adventures to experience before then!

January 2, 2009 I don’t know what I expected, but was surprised when we docked in San Martin, Peru this morning and were surrounded by huge desert sand dunes.  Our tour took us through these dunes and along the peninsula traveling close to the sea.  The countryside was stark and there is not a large population here.  The two small towns we passed through allowed us to see the typical housing and lifestyles of the people.  There is a fair amount of new construction occurring due to large earthquake that happened here in August of 2007, but for the most part there is a lot of inferior housing by our standards. We passed a huge fish meal factory which is fueled by the anchovies harvested here.  We later saw huge trucks taking the fish meal to the port and the boats which fish for the anchovies (they look like shrimp trawlers).  Sport fishing and tourism also provide income here. The Pisco Valley we traveled through is a contrast of desert dunes interspersed with lush green agricultural valleys. There are small farming villages along the Pisco River where there are fields of corn, asparagus, and pima cotton.  Peru is the top producer of asparagus in the world. We could now see the Andes, which rise sharply in the distance and appear stark and forbidding.
Our big destination was Tambo Colorado, an Incan fortress constructed around 1440 of adobe and stone.  It was hot, but the walking was not too difficult and we saw the temple, the high priest’s chambers, the sacrificial alter, and the soldier’s barracks.  The trapezoid shaped windows and ledges were intriguing and the faint remains of the red and yellow the walls used to be painted, could spark the imagination as to the majestic sight the fortress must have been in its heyday. Again we couldn’t believe we were actually in Peru seeing this fascinating site in person!  We were back on the ship by one – after browsing the vender stalls on the dock – and had lunch.  We skipped dinner in the dining room and watched our departure from our balcony about 6:30.  Later we had pizza and then just enjoyed relaxing and planning for our day in Lima tomorrow. 

January 3, 2009 Lima, Peru is quite different from San Martin!  The city is enormous – 8 million people!!  The port (Callao) itself is huge and busy. The president of Peru was in port today so there were a lot of policemen about.  The tour we went on today was one of the best we have experienced.  Our guide was gracious and fun, and shared a wealth of information with us.  Riding through the city was an education in itself.  The neighborhoods were colorful and varied and the local people were a sight to see.  Again we saw a lot of very basic housing and there were many shantytowns along the outskirts of the city.  We visited the National Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, which was unlike any museum I had ever seen.  Most of the displays were in the open-air passageways along a pretty courtyard.  Small display rooms along the way housed unbelievable pottery, textiles, and stoneware from the pre-Columbian and Inca periods.  It was fascinating!  We bought a small hand carved gourd from an artist who was working and displaying his works in the museum today.  
We next visited the Pachacamac ruins - a pre-Columbian religious center.  It was another unbelievably intricately constructed temple and a beautifully restored House of the Moon, a place where the chosen women were housed.  The final treat of the day was a visit to a gorgeous private hacienda where the famous Peruvian prancing horses are bred, trained, and shown.  There, in gorgeous surroundings we enjoyed a traditional Peruvian dinner cooked over hot stones buried in the ground, a lively band, traditional dancers, and those magnificent prancing horses.  The horses have a natural gait that is a prance (unlike Tennessee walkers who are trained to prance).  There was even a little 5 day old colt and we could see his natural prance even as young as he was!  The show horses were exquisite and we enjoyed them immensely.  We also loved seeing the majestic stallion they showed us.  We were treated to a traditional Pesca Sour as we watched the show!  Later we were invited to take a turn around the yard on a horse.  Phil did!  I would have, but no matter how hard I tried I just couldn’t lift my old leg up and over, so I had to give up!  There are some things I am just not meant to do anymore.  We had a long day of fun (7 – 6!) and we were so glad to have seen all we had seen.  We ate supper in our cabin and collapsed early tonight! What a wonderful day!

January 4, 2009 We spent the night in Callao and left at eight this morning for a city tour of Limon.  As it was Sunday, there was little traffic and our day was very pleasant.  We saw many of the same sights driving through Callao, Lima and its suburbs. The government house and some of the embassies were pointed out to us. We explored the Piazza de Armas – dominated by the majestic cathedral and the Archbishops palace.  The Government Palace (the president’s residence) and the elaborate city hall were also there. There were two beautiful Nativity scenes displayed on the gorgeous balconies.  The architecture in this area of the city was beautiful. Limon is known as the city of balconies – they are wooden and ornately carved.  Most need restoration, but the buildings that have been restored are truly beautiful.  We traveled to the Mira Flores neighborhood where high-rise apartments overlook gorgeous views of the Pacific Ocean.  This upper middle class neighborhood is a stark contrast to the inner city areas. There was a very interesting “Love Park” stretching along the coast. The park had a colorful mosaic wall and a fun giant kissing statue.  It was fun to wander around and mingle with the locals and enjoy the views.  We visited the Indian Market and shopped and explored for an hour.  They offer every Peruvian thing you can think of for sale – alpaca woolen items, weavings, carvings, silver, gold, pottery, and on and on!  It was about a 30 minute drive back to the ship and after lunch and the art auction we took a turn in the hot tub.  While we were in the tub on the pool deck, Phil saw two whales blow!  I missed them!  After dinner I really enjoyed another song and dance show performed by the ships entertainers.  They do a really good job keeping us entertained.  Another great day!

January 5, 2009 We were at sea today. So rest assured that we ate, slept, relaxed, and had lots of fun as we always do! We paralleled the coast about 7 miles out from shore, so during daylight hours we were presented with many sightings of birds, whales and porpoises. The sea seems to always give you a quick glimpse of the wonders it houses.

January 6, 2009 This morning we docked in Manta, Ecuador – a city of 600,000 – and left for a tour of the area about 10:00 AM.  The port was busy and bustling with the unloading of huge fishing ships with their catch of tuna.  The city was similar in nature to the cityscape in Peru but we didn’t see as much evidence of poverty as we did in Lima.  Of course that could just be due to the sheer size of Lima.  We found the city of Manta to be attractive and the people very friendly.  We visited the Banco Central Archaeological Museum – a very nice, modern museum with interesting artifacts from the Manta Culture.  There was a group of school children visiting the museum and we enjoyed watching them act just like the school groups from home!  We next visited the shipyard where traditional boats were being constructed from balsam wood right out on the beach.  The fresh fish and vegetable market adjacent to the shipyard was a sight (and a smell!) to behold!  Everywhere we went, we were approached by people selling every conceivable souvenir.  When we went to the town of Montecristi (a short distance from Manta) and visited the shopping area around the town square, the sellers were on us like bees on honey.  I didn’t like it and felt like I was under attack.  On the other hand, Phil loved it and was in his element bartering and buying!  Even the children were in on the game, wanting a dollar to have their picture taken and hawking “stuff” right along with everyone else.
Ecuador is the birthplace of the Panama hat and they are made by many home industries scattered throughout the area. We traveled about thirty minutes out into the Andes to visit one of these homes.  No automation here!  The mama boiled the leaves (they looked sort of like Panama Grass) in a big pot over an open fire and hung them to dry.  After drying in the sun an hour or so the leaves were shredded into strips – the finer the strips the higher the quality of the hats  The daughter was weaving the hats, The dad and son-in-law had tables set up to sell us the hats, and the grandmother was up on the balcony of the house minding the baby.  The house itself was adobe with a thatched roof.  The adobe siding mixture is made from the inferior leaves left over from the hat making process and barn yard organic matter.  The siding cover is replaced about every four months.  It was most interesting!  There was also a table set up where a local coffee grower was hand grinding his coffee beans.  We bought a little coffee to bring home with us.  The ride back to Manta was a further education in local landscape and culture.  The area of the Andes we traveled through was dry grass, brush and trees – very brown and no green.  Back close to the coast the occasional patch of green grass and trees appeared.  There is a beautiful wide sandy beach in Manta and several nice hotels along the way.  The open-air cafes and small shops gave us a glimpse of the local folks and their day to day lives.
 Our tour guide Johnnie, was passionate in his love for his country.  Although his English was sometimes a little hard for us to understand, his enthusiasm was contagious!  He gave us a great day. We returned to the ship about 2:00 PM and watched the Korean ships across the way still unloading their holds of huge containers of large fish.  They were going to the fish factories – Star-Kist among them. It took from sunup to sundown to unload one ship!   Can there be any tuna left in the ocean!?  It was quite a sight.  We took it easy the rest of the day and are looking forward to another relaxing day tomorrow. 

January 7, 2009 We crossed the equator today and boy could we believe it!  It was so hot and sultry we spent the day inside with the air conditioning!  We were off the cost of Columbia heading for the Panama Canal all day.  It is hard for us to believe that after so long a time spent on and around the Pacific Ocean, this is our last day.  Early tomorrow morning, we will be crossing the Panama Canal and leaving the Pacific behind and entering the Caribbean Sea.  It has been a wonderful adventure and we will treasure the memories we have of our once in a lifetime trip the rest of our lives.

January 8, 2009 When we woke up about 6:30 this morning, we had already entered the Panama Canal and were into the first lock (Miraflores Lock).  It took about an hour to pass through the lock and the same amount of time to pass through the next lock (Pedro Miquel Lock).  It was fascinating to watch how the locks operated and how the special locomotives (they used to use mules) guided the ship through.  We crossed the Gatun Lake, a huge man-made lake created as a passageway for the canal and also as the source of fresh water for the operation of the canal.  We anchored in the lake for a couple of hours and then proceeded through the final and largest lock (Gatun Lock).  All–in-all the complete passage through the Panama Canal took about nine hours.  We counted fifteen Panama Canal crew members and pilots who boarded our ship to assist with the passage.  Phil roamed around the open decks a lot of the day taking photos.  I mostly watched and enjoyed the sights from the comfort of our balcony.  We both enjoyed the day and the experience.
We docked at the pier in Cristibol, the port for Colon, which is the second largest city in Panama.  We actually saw none of the city itself except at a distance from the ship as we approached and left the port.  We were only in this port from 4:00 PM until 9:30 PM so there really wasn’t time to go into the city.  We left the ship and roamed about a bit at the pier and the market area.  We enjoyed seeing the traditional Panama dancers performing in the main plaza and it was quite intriguing to see the Kuna Indians in the flea market area with their tattoos, body paint native attire, and hand-made crafts. It was definitely a different world. 

January 9, 2009 Today we visited the San Blas Islands along the Caribbean coast of Panama.  We tendered into the island of Carti Sugutipu where the Kuna Indians live. The Indians run all of the 40 inhabited islands (there are a total of 360 islands) as an autonomous province. They have maintained their own economic system, language, customs, and culture. Each island is run by a chief.  The people live in thatched-roof grass and bamboo huts with dirt floors.  These huts are crowded together and every single woman and child (there were tons of children!) were outside their doors with all their colorful embroidered mola designs and jewelry crafts spread out to sell. In every other doorway the mothers had their children doing something cute (holding a puppy or kitten, in a basin of water, a bird on their head etc.) and asking for $1 to take their photo!  We didn’t see a lot of men.  There were a few older men selling wood carvings at the boat dock. It was like another world and it was hard not to believe it was just a show – but it was real!  The uninhabited islands we could see from the ship were very beautiful.  The inhabited islands we saw were so crowded there was no natural beauty to see!  Of course we only saw a few of the islands so they may not all be the same. The ship lifted anchor about 4:00 PM headed for Costa Rica.  Tonight we enjoyed another great dinner and an impersonator-singer-comedian who gave us some good laughs!  

January 11, 2009 The seas continued to toss us around today – we actually like the action!  It really isn’t bad – I just have to hold on to the railings a little more and think about balancing.  I think its fun.  I watched the chefs do a cooking demonstration today and took a tour of the ships galley.  I enjoyed it!  I also finished up a jigsaw puzzle in the library with my new Australian jigsaw buddy.  Now I know this doesn’t sound like the most exciting day in the world, but for me it was just what I wanted!  Phil enjoyed a relaxing day also and as usual we enjoyed our dinner and dinner companions.  We had a gorgeous full moon tonight off of our balcony – the beauty just goes on and on!

January 12, 2009 We enjoyed bright, sunny skies and calm waters at sea today.  The Rotary group aboard this cruise has been meeting together for lunch once a week.  We enjoyed getting together for the final time today. After lunch today, I went on a behind the scenes stage visit and enjoyed meeting the singers and dancers and seeing the dressing rooms etc.  Spent some time in the library and then on our balcony which was nice and pleasantly cool by late afternoon.  We dressed up for our last formal night and enjoyed the baked Alaska parade and all the fun.  I loved the “Motor City” production show tonight with the great costumes and the Motown music.  There was another beautiful full moon from our balcony tonight – and we could see the lights from Cuba in the distance.  That was pretty neat!

January 13, 2009 We can’t believe this is our very last day on the Tahitian Princess and that tomorrow we will be back in the USA.  We have been gone a long time!  We enjoyed a late breakfast today at the buffet and then went “shopping” and bought Phil’s Blue Label Scotch he has been wanting.  We also bought another rolling bag (lightweight and cheap!) as we needed a bit more packing room for the things we’ve accumulated along the way.  We got all packed up and went up for a light lunch about 1:45 PM.  Phil then napped and I enjoyed our balcony one last time!  I went to the production show at 4:00 presented by the new troupe of singers and dancers who are aboard for the next cruise (a 107 day world cruise!).  They were excellent and I’m so glad I got the chance to see them.  We had a very nice last dinner and said good-bye to Shirley, Carl, Eddie, and Barbara, (our dinner companions) and Marco and Fabio (our waiters).  We will be up and out early tomorrow and I have to say we are excited about getting on the road and heading back home!

January 14, 2009 We are home!  We were off the ship and leaving the airport with our rental car by 8:30 AM!  We stopped in Vero Beach at a mall and got our phone working and bought a charger so we could now communicate with folks!  So exciting to have a nice long chat with our children again!  We bought a bag of oranges at a roadside stand as one just can’t leave Florida without oranges!  We stopped about every two hours to stretch etc. – but decided to drive the whole way home because we really didn’t want to spend the night anywhere else but home!  We reached home at 9:45 PM with Cooter, Cricket, and Polly waiting to greet us!  Cooter had a big welcome home sign on the door and a delicious cake baked for us! Home looked mighty good to us!!  How grateful we are to have had the wonderful adventures we have experienced.  How thankful we are to be home safe and sound, and to know that we will soon see all our friends and family again.