Where has the time gone?

Today was our last full day in Auckland. I'm still recovering from a bout with the traveler's least favorite bug so I haven't thoroughly explored the wonders of Auckland. But the weather has been glorious and today I managed to see a lovely exhibit at the Auckland Art Gallery. The main building is "under construction" so they are carrying on in a modern building across the street from the old building. The main exhibit, "The Enchanted Garden," was a marvelous mish-mash of paintings, sculpture and objects from all over the place. Yesterday while Catherine was off to Waiheke Island on the ferry I did the Maritime Museum. This is right on the waterfront and is very low-tech but quite interesting even for a land-lubber like me. There was an interesting exhibit that was right up my alley about an important 19th-century yacht photographer, and then lots of wooden boats, models of boats and the cabin of an old ferry. You could even take a ride in a real steam-driven tender, the S.S. Puke (I'm not making this up) but for a variety of reasons I thought better not.

We're wading through our purchases and other impedimenta hoping to reduce our luggage to a reasonable state of organized chaos. I seem to have acquired some books that I haven't read - I did read five books that have been left behind or added to the ship's library once I finished. As always I loved the access to old British mysteries that one can't always find at home. There's something so perfect about reading classic 1930s who-dunnits while on a cruise! I've also been slogging through the two "work" books I brought along, although they were much more palatable while in a lounge chair on the pool deck, with stewards bringing me tea and blankets. I did try to (literally) weigh my book purchases with an eye to carrying them home so that kept me from anything too crazy. My favorite bookstore was in Hobart - they had a wonderful selection and that was where I bought my "Australian" version of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone...well at least I think it was printed in Oz. I didn't buy one in NZ because they were so clearly imports. I found a number of goodish second-hand bookstores all along the way where I added a couple of previously unread Margerie Allinghams (read and abandoned) as well as a couple of G. Heyer mysteries which are not widely available in the US. I re-read one of my favorite Ngaio Marsh mysteries - one which takes place in NZ while R. Alleyn is traveling for his health (before his marriage to Troy) and features a wonderful group of "theatricals." I was particularly happy to acquire a copy of N. Marsh's autobiography which has not to my knowledge been available in the US. With our imminent return to the US in mind I have restrained myself here in Auckland.

So this may be the last post for a few 24-hours. I'll try to do a wrap-up while airborne - what were the highlights, favorites, and so on. Thanks for your comments and interest and see you all soon.

Some men just shouldn't wear shorts

Now, I just couldn't illustrate this post, it wouldn't be fair. But one of the many interesting phenomena that I observed on board the lovely ship Nautica was what rotten legs some men feel compelled to share with the world. Of course, I happen to know several men with very good legs who seldom are seen in public in shorts (my dear husband among them). What is it that comes over these aging Lotharios when they get on a cruise ship? Or am I making an error in thinking that they leave all inhibition ashore and only show up like this when at sea? Maybe their home towns are celebrating the temporary absence of those knobbly wonders from the Main Street. Possibly even now there are towns out in middle American dreading the return of the hairy-legged ones whose absence had been like balm to their scenic highways. After just a couple of weeks of observation I know that there are indeed men out there who truly do us all a favor when wearing short pants, alas most of them seem to be under 30 and either Aussies or Kiwis.

Even as I write this a little voice is telling me to leave this theme alone as there is probably some smart-ass out there writing about the agony of witnessing me descending on the ship's pool. Ok, enough stones from glass houses.

Auckland put on a lovely fireworks display for us last night. Short but definitely lively. We were able to see the whole show from the balcony of our hotel room. This weekend is a big holiday weekend in which they celebrate the founding of the city. We took a ferry ride out to Devonport on the other side of the harbor from here this morning - lovely area with a couple of high points with spectacular views back to Auckland. I love the houses here which are mostly small villas with lots of lovely detail. I haven't really succeeded in getting great photos of these as I'm usually taking frantic shots through the windows of moving vehicles. But I've had a great time looking at the delightful variety throughout the area. I'll try to attach some of my more successful ones. More soon.

Auckland, day 2

Another wonderful city and this time we don't have to rush back to the boat by the middle of the afternoon! I'm still feeling the motion when I lie down, actually maybe that's my vertigo back again! We're here for a big Auckland Anniversary celebration weekend and so there will be fireworks tonight and all kinds of exciting things going on Saturday and Sunday. We are keeping a low profile and sort of puttering. We're booked on a tour to Devonport, 12 minutes across the harbor, tomorrow. There is supposed to be a "vintage" bookstore there!!! I'm going back over what I've written so far and trying to see what I have left out - before my last brain cell gives up the struggle. I'm enjoying every minute of this but still ready to be at home - snow and all! We're here three more days so do write if you get a chance.

One update from Rachel and Ross, apparently a number of the NZ volcanoes are indeed still active, and as I actually saw steam rising from one of them I don't know what I was thinking. More soon.

Two more photos

The library in Wellington and the two fat broads in Art Deco heaven - Napier

On land at last

Wow, the cruise is over, no more butler service, fawning attendants, hot tub, chocolates on the pillow, constant updates from Dottie the cruise director, and exclusive news coverage by FoxNews. Well, not to quibble, it was pretty fabulous but enough already.

I can't tell you how bizarre it felt to be watching the inauguration (I had to get up at 4:30 am NZ time) on board the ship in the big theatre/lounge on three large screens with the handful of other democrats on the boat. When I tell you that there were 48 members of the Texas Aggies Association and a Wine Tasting Club on board you will understand that I didn't expect to find a lot of other Obama-ites sharing the excitement. We were a small band but we were excited and watched and cried and cheered and sang along with our compatriots at home. In the ultimate irony (and source of irritation to us all) the only channel that the ship had was Fox so you can imagine how much we all loved the commentary. Several people actually tried to throw shoes at the screen on a couple of occasions but were restrained by the stewards in attendance.

As I left the lounge to go back to the stateroom I stopped to thank the steward who had been providing coffee and tea and pastries for us since 5 am., he was a lovely man from Portugal (I think) and I said this was such a great day for us to which he responded "It is a great day for us all." I was very touched by that. Everywhere I went later in the day - we were in Tauranga, a lovely beach-side town - people asked me if I had been watching. Apparently there were a lot of New Zealanders up at 5 am too - I've saved the front page of the "Bay of Plenty Times" with Obama on the front page.

We docked in Auckland sometime in the night and had to be out of our staterooms at 8am this morning. Once we disembarked we were shepherded on to a coach with our luggage (now sadly expanded) and taken on a time-killing tour around the city. This is the cruise-line's idea of how to do the "free" boat to hotel transfer. They pack you on a bus and drive you around for as long as they can and then deliver you to the hotel where of course our room still wasn't ready. By this time everybody is tired and cranky. Well, let me speak for myself. I was pretty tired and cranky. At least we got to have some wonderful views of the city, we saw a volcano (there are reported to be 48 in New Zealand, none currently active I think). Once again the hotel selected for us by the cruise-line is located on severely inclined streets - but it is quite nicely appointed and best of all (after 3 weeks) it has a washing machine and an outfitted kitchen!!!!

Catherine is off to the casino and I'm catching up now that I have a reasonable connection. I haven't uploaded all our pictures from the last two days but I'll try to put some up soon. I will gradually recount some of what we done and seen since I last wrote but I think I'll sign off for now. More soon.

It's Sunday and I'm in Wellington

This will be short as I don't have much time to see Wellington but as I'm in a wireless hot spot I'm taking advantage. I see that the NY Times has a feature on New Zealand today - it is certainly a beautiful place - we have wonderful views of the coastline as we enter and leave port - the sun doesn't go down til about 9:30 and the lighting effects on the mountains and on the water are spectacular beyond description. So now I'm off to shop and see the museum and then back to the ship and on to Napier - will write again tomorrow. I'm feeling a bit homesick so please write - I miss you all. Martha

A couple more photos

Catching up from Christchurch

In a Starbucks in Cathedral Square, Christchurch

We've had a fun morning shopping at a street market in front of the Arts Centre followed by a tram ride around the city and now I'm resting while Catherine goes in search of more wildlife. Here's what I wrote last night:

Milford Sound, whether or not featured in LOTR, was spectacular. We entered the sound at about 8:00 am and believe it or not I was up and dressed and up on the 10th deck getting windblown and freezing and snapping away with the best of them. Knowing full well that the photos won’t begin to do justice to the grandeur of this place I spent a good bit of time just drinking it all in with my eyes. We saw some seals basking on rocks on the way in but too far away to get really useful photos. It took about an hour to get in to the head of the fiord and then we turned around and sailed out. The captain (and now I’m having déjà vu – I think I wrote about this already – if so I’ll edit later) practically pulled the ship right up to a particularly lovely waterfall and I nearly had a stroke as from my vantage point (by this time I was back in our stateroom on our “veranda” with Catherine) it looked like we were going to smash right into the damn thing. There must be a huge drop from the edge of the rocks for the ship to get that close.

Today, the 16th – god it is easy to lose track of time on this trip! – we arrived in Dunedin at about 9 am. We had signed up for a wildlife tour which got cancelled at the last minute. Instead we planned to take a leisurely stroll around the Octagon in central Dunedin. To that end we got a taxi at the pier/lumber yard in the port. Without a backward glance we abandoned our original plan and placed ourselves in the hands or our driver. Fortuitously he was willing to spend the day with us and after negotiating a very reasonable price we were off. We drove into town so I could see the university and the railroad station – great high-Victorian buildings! Oh, and we have determined that the correct pronunciation was Catherine’s – duh-NEE-din.

Then we headed out the Otago Peninsula on a fairly hair-raising road that twisted and turned along the harbor with not one guardrail in sight. I got fairly queasy I admit. But our intrepid driver, Alex, was supremely competent and we arrived safely at the Penguin Place, our first stop. The Penguin Place is a preserve that has been set up by a private individual who happened to discover the rare, and nearly extinct, yellow-eyed penguins nesting on his land. They have set up a very ingenious trail of covered and camouflaged hides that groups are led through in order to see the penguins in their natural habitat. We saw four penguins all together – a dad and chick together, an almost grown-up chick who was home alone, and a mom who was one her own, presumably chick was hiding. Both Catherine and I managed the walk without much problem which was great.

Tearing ourselves reluctantly away from the penguins we belted on down to the end of the peninsula to the Royal Albatross Colony. This was a lot of pain for not such great albatross viewing. The climb up to the damned observation point was like something out of San Francisco, very steep. Yes, Dunedin does boast the steepest street in the world, but this wasn’t it. I thought I’d die before I got there, but my 70-year-old friend with emphysema passed me going at a goodish clip and so I staggered on. Catherine too made it up and back but not without pain.

We collapsed back into the car and drove down to see some seals – they were at the bottom of the hill from the RAC in something called Pilot’s Beach. There were also about a million sea gulls – they have some interesting varieties here, particularly a nice red-bill version, but they still poop all over the place. We saw three BIG seals, up close and personal – two of them were so relaxed and blended into the rocks that I almost missed them. If they had had a few drops of bird poop on them I WOULD have missed them!

From the seals we went on to a short side trip to see Larnach Castle – another marvelous high-Victorian pile which has been lovingly restored and which has dazzling gardens. We didn’t linger here alas but pressed on back toward Dunedin and a late lunch. Our guide had suggested an ocean-side place in a neighborhood called St. Clair – right on the water, a place called the Esplanade where we had a simple but delightful repast. By the time we were done it was time to hustle back to the ship, snatching a few snaps of the railroad station as we drove by.

So all in all it was a great day for seeing the local wildlife. In addition to the penguins and albatri (?) we saw an Australasian Harrier Hawk (gorgeous!), a couple of Spoonbills, terns, Oystercatchers (Catherine says they’re birds not guys), some exotic black ducks – possibly Shelldrakes, and a colony of Shag (cormorant equivalents as near as we can tell).

We postponed our last dinner at the posh Italian place in favor or room service tonight and that was a very good decision. So, dear reader, we are retiring, tired but happy, deeply in awe of the beauty of New Zealand as far as we have come.

Jan. 17
Just in case I don’t have another chance for a couple of days, we’re in Lyttleton and on our way the Christchurch for the day. We’ve promised ourselves a less strenuous day than yesterday. So I’ll be in search of an internet café and Catherine will be shopping! And tomorrow we’ll be in Wellington. This part is going too fast and there is too much to see.

Steaming towards New Zealand

Today is our second day at sea after leaving Hobart. The departure from Hobart was quite beautiful and we were fortunate that we were having dinner at a window table on the side of the boat that looked out over the cliffs as we passed. Supposedly we passed the southern most tip of something – conflicting statements abound here alas and one is constantly thrown back on the guidebooks to confirm some of the assertions. Anyway we are definitely in what is referred to as the “frightful forties” or the “formidable forties” or the “furious forties” - sorry Catherine is asleep or I would check with her – we’re at the longitude that gets real windy because there is no land between here and the bottom of Africa or something like that. Don’t take my word for it, go look at a globe – it’s pretty scary to think about actually. We are cruising along at a steady 14.5 knots and even though it is windy on deck and a bit chilly there isn’t much of a swell (that is good). I, of course, did not pack enough warm clothes and am wearing out the one pullover (a lovely lavender fleece from Land’s End for those of you who want to know) that I did bring. I will probably feel compelled to shop for something warm when next in port!

Tomorrow (the 15th) we will be cruising along Milford Sound – a 10-mile (16km) fiord that is part of Fiordland National Park. According to our butler, Claudiu, the fiord is featured in Lord of the Rings. I cannot personally vouch for this as I only saw parts one and two and wasn’t concentrating on the scenery too much. Catherine may be able to confirm as she is more expert on this, except when distracted by Vigo Mortensen.

Once we leave the Milford Sound we will travel overnight to our first New Zealand port which is Dunedin. We’re booked on the Otago Harbor Wildlife cruise that morning and hope to walk around the city in the afternoon (I’ll be looking for large-sized warm clothing). Would someone – Rachel or Ross if you are reading this – please settle a dispute on the pronunciation of this town? I’ve been saying it as though it was Scottish as in dun-eh-DIN and Catherine says dun-EH-din – I don’t suppose either one of us is right but would like something more definitive before attempting to say it in front of others.

…Catherine just awoke for long enough to tell me that it is the “roaring forties” – frankly I think my versions are more interesting, what did those ancient mariners know anyway.
That concludes my ramble for the day. I’m going back to some strenuous resting. More tomorrow.

Written last night

I'm posting this in a great internet cafe just a few blocks from where the boat is docked. It is called the Drifter's Cafe and is filled with wonderful Errol Flynn memorabilia - I'll try to get a photo before I go.

Here's what I wrote last night which for some reason (I'm using Safari, not by choice) I can't cut and paste, so much for saving time:

This is day five of our cruise an already I'm restless. There's just too much of nothing to do if you know what I mean. And it's distracting me from my good resolutions - whatever they were. Today was an "at sea" day and we were in sight of the coast of Tasmania for most of it. We've seen lots of sea birds, including albatross (god knows what the plural of that is), and some dolphins cavorting near the ship. But nothing much happens besides eating and lounging around unless you are into ping-pong or bridge. So I'm forced to relax, wow what a concept that is. I don't actually think I'm doing that weel as I'm still sure I could be getting stuff done. Tomorrow I'll look for an internet cafe in Hobart where I can upload this entry and check email. I don't like feeling this cut off - please send messages!!!  Hope you enjoy the snaps of Catherine and me with the birds. M

Before landing in Hobart, Tasmania

Off the coast of Tasmania

We're on our way to Hobart and have been sailing off the coast of Tasmania all day. I'll keep this brief to save on my expensive minutes. We had a fun day in Melbourne yesterday and just saw enough to realize that there is too much to see! I am trying to get some work done but it isn't easy. I've realized that my way of working is so completely tied to having the internet right there that I'm stymied when I can just click and find the answer. Anyway - cheers to all and I'll write more if I can find an internet cafe in Hobart. M

written January 9 – at sea - posted from a Starbucks in Melbourne January 10!
It turns out to cost an arm and a leg to get connected to the net on board this banana boat so I’m going to keep it short until I get ashore and can find an internet café. I’m currently cruising along at 17.5 kph on the Tasman Sea just in sight of the coast of Australia. Sydney was wonderful although the weather turned yesterday and our first night at sea was bumpy. Here’s an excerpt of what I wrote to Manley:

This is a marvelous city with lots to see and the amazing thing is it seems to be all focused around the harbor. They have commuter ferries that you can get on for about $3.00 and the views are incredible. Our first day we walked from our hotel to the Opera House and it was great. The second day was for Catherine’s expedition to the shopping district. They have a couple of “malls” – interior spaces filled with shops but right in the heart of the business district – sort of like the old Arcade in Providence…

…The third day was the best by far. We had arranged for a car and driver for the day and he picked us up at 9am and we went first to a Koala Sanctuary in the suburbs. It was so much fun. We got to pet a koala and look at lots of other interesting animals and birds and then we fed some kangaroos (see the pictures). One kangaroo got right up in my face – an experience I will never forget!!!

…From there we drove to Manly and took the Manly ferry back to Circular Quay where we reunited with our driver and headed further out to a place called Watson’s Bay – home of a famous seafood restaurant called Doyle’s where we had a memorable lunch – the prices were staggering but I’ve seldom enjoyed a meal more. Then we headed to Bondi (pronounced bond-eye) Beach which is deservedly world-famous. It was a very hot day and the beach was completely swarming with people – mostly looking pretty buff – we would have stayed to ogle but we thought John the driver might think it odd. Coming back John drove us through various parts of the city and I got a really good look at some of the local architecture which I’m fascinated by – lots of cast iron railings used as decoration especially in the area known as Paddington.

… Yesterday we checked out of the hotel and were taken on a long bus tour arranged by the cruise line. We got another look at Bondi Beach and some more views of the city and suburbs. Finally we got to the ship and were processed and deposited in our “suite” – it isn’t huge but we have a large balcony with deck chairs and a tub in the bathroom which is extra nice. We had a snack lunch in the Terrace Room and then got unpacked. Then… after short but refreshing naps we went off to the Grand Dining Room for a late dinner. We had a table beside a window which a direct view of the Opera House so we got to watch the lights come on and change as it got darker – pretty much beyond description.

On our last day in Sydney we took a ferry to the Aquarium early enough to beat the holiday crowds and got a glimpse of the cute platypuses and the dugong (which looks like a manatee to me). Catherine was very happy with all the creatures, I could have left after the platypi!

Back at the ship we had our first lifeboat drill. I kept humming “Nearer my God to Thee” which I found vaguely comforting, while thinking of Molly Brown. It was so cold and windy by the time we sailed that it was hard to enjoy our last look at Sydney harbor. But I just kept drinking it all in with my eyes.

I’m going to try uploading a few photos to my Google pictures album but it may not be possible over this onboard connection so stay tuned for more. And now on to Melbourne.

Quick addenda from Melbourne - our tour this morning went up into the "mountains" which gave us some great views. Also had another encounter with native wildlife - birds this time - which I again fed out of my hand! Think Tippy Hedron with cockatoos!! Will write more from Hobart day after tomorrow - loving this trip! MM

Our second day

It is just fantastic here. Where else could you find a newspaper headline that actually says "Complaints beaver away at tampon ads"? Follow the link if you don't believe me!

Yesterday was another gorgeous day but a bit hotter than the first day. We had breakfast at the hotel and then set out to conquer the shopping arcades of central Sydney. Catherine thrives on retail-tourism but it isn't my favorite thing. We took a cab to the Pitt Street Mall which is a pedestrian area and went directly to the Borders - I kid you not. I wanted to see what Australian authors I could find and Catherine is ever in search of more magazines with pictures of Hugh Jackman. We made a few modest acquisitions. They are shockingly under stocked in any of the Australian writers I was looking for. One fortuitous find however was a book called 30 Days in Sydney by Australian ex-pat novelist Peter Carey. I'm already well into that one and it is fascinating. Catherine found about 4 lbs. of magazines which I then toted around - along with my books - next time we won't go to the bookstore first! Both the Pitt St. Mall and the Queen Victoria Building (or QVB as it is referred to here) have lots of up-market jewelry and antique shops - Catherine was in heaven, I was worn out much faster than usual. We made a stop for refreshment that enabled me to push on to yet one more mall but it was rough!

So without too much whining we wended our way back to our hill-top retreat. We had a refreshing swim in the hotel pool and then went to the spa for manicures and pedicures in preparation for the cruise. Thoroughly restored (well sort-of) we then headed out to Sydney's Chinatown area for supper at a restaurant that Cath had been longing to visit. I wasn't too keen at first but the food was definitely worth the trip.

This morning we woke up to overcast skies but still high temperatures. We're being picked up at 0-915 hours by our car and driver for an expedition out to the Koala sanctuary and then a tour of the outer Sydney beauty spots. Boy are we doing this in style!

Tomorrow we board the ship and that will mean getting repacked tonight but then we will be safely ensconced and won't have to worry about the luggage for 15 days. Here are a few snaps from the shopping expedition!

We're here

Safely arrived, tired but ready to explore. The flight out was indeed endless but being in Business Class was great. The seats reclined completely and we each had our own entertainment console with a 15" screen and lots of movies, TV and computer games to choose from. I watched two movies and then slept and read. We were whisked through customs and into a car laid on by the cruise company and so were at the hotel by about 10AM Sunday morning (having left LA at about 10PM Friday). So we left our luggage and set out to explore.

The Shangri La Hotel is up above the harbor and the hills are quite reminiscent of San Francisco. There are stairs everywhere and Catherine isn't able to manage them too well (nor am I come to that). We found our way down to Circular Quay. The weather is spectacular and the air is so fresh - hard to believe it is January. Our first purchase was sunscreen - yes, we brought some but it was still in our bags naturally. We had a great time leisurely making our way along the Quay with various stops for shopping and finally arriving at the Sydney Cove Oyster Bar where we parked ourselves and worked our way through a wide variety of local seafood.

Much refreshed we then staggered on to the Opera House. Can we talk steps??? As we were clearly nearing the end of our day one stamina we explore the ground level of the Opera House complex until we found the stage door. There the door-keeper summoned a minion who conducted us to an elevator and up to the box office level. Because this is school holiday time and thus high season not a ticket to be had but we did make a few select purchases in the shop.

Back down the elevator, courtesy of the same charming young man, and then out to explore the stalls that were set up along the way. We chatted with a local photographer who already had some spectacular color views of the fireworks from New Year's Eve. He told us about his adventures taking the images and how he spent the last two days rushing them into print. We bought postcards from him and they are really neat.

Finally into a cab and back to the hotel where we finally got into our room. So we feel like we are off to a great start. More to follow.

Not quite there yet

Well, we got as far as LA safely and had a good night's sleep at the Westin LAX. Our flight to Syndey doesn't leave until 10pm so we are lounging around the hotel today and not bothered by the fog/smog that seems to be socked in here. Once I successfully navigated the internet hookup here (thanks Linnea, the little connector thing is great) I have been checking the Australian papers and it seems to be pretty warm down there. They are concerned with global warming and that is an issue that appears in all their papers and like us they are concerned that the changes in the economy mean that potential retirees are working longer. Their slide shows on the news pages seem to be more fun than ours, today's included a Canadian couple in wedding garb in the surf in Vancouver, and this wonderful view of Siberian tigers performing in China.