Good morning! I'm going to piggy-back on Olivia's thread to keep things simple. Yesterday we had the most fantastic party in Christchurch at the beautiful botanical gardens on the Avon River. (this was a comp excursion for full WC passengers only). The most gorgeous setting I think I've ever seen. Food, a band, boat rides, crochet games, Maori dancers, period costumes. Tom got picked to dance with the Maori's on stage...funny! I took lots of photos which will follow when I have time to download.

This morning we're in Dunedin, considered "Little Edinburgh" and very Scottish! We're off to tour Dunedin and will end up in Queenstown tonight where we overnight. We'll be staying at the Mecure Grand St. Moritz hotel. Tomorrow we'll be on a jet boat on the Stotover River and go to Milford Sound for lunch etc. then return back to the ship tomorrow afternoon. Another busy day here in Paradise!

IMO, New Zealand has it ALL OVER the FP islands. This should definitely be on everyone's "must see" list!!
Just finished breakfast room service, off to throw some things in an overnight bag and hook up with Olivia.

Here we are a rocking and a rolling our way to Hobart, Tasmania. Capt. Dag has moved our arrival up about 14 hours or so... we are definitely making good “knots. As Cyndi mentioned, the Tasmanian Sea is known for the rough seas. Walking down the hall can even be a challenge!

The last time I posted we had just had our comp0limentary Radisson excursion at the Christchurch Botanical Gardens. It was so beautiful! Our party was outside a home called Mona Vale (tents set up for eating and entertainment). They really did it nice with period costumes, an old 1928 Dodge, crochet game, and even a Maori dance show. Tom was chosen to go on stage to learn this warrior dance.

Saturday morning there were 35 of us that left the ship for our overnight excursion to Queenstown. We drove around Dunedin then in route to Queenstown we stopped for a nice lunch, then on to picturesque Kawarau Gorge to visit the old bridge where bungee jumping actually began in 1988. We really enjoyed watching this and luckily it was a warm sunny day. Upon arriving in Queenstown we went up to the very top of a mountain called Bob’s peak on gondolas. From there you have the most gorgeous panoramic view of Lake Wakatipu and the surrounding mountains. Again, there were bungee jumpers and lots of kite sailing (I’m still not sure what to call these people who glide around in kites but didn’t want to confuse them with what I know as para-sailing where you’re attached to a boat….these dare devils aren’t attached to anything except their kites!) I got some remarkable photos from here!

After this gondola ride, we checked into our very nice hotel called Mercure Grand St. Moritz. Each room had a lakefront view and many had balconies as well... After checking in Olivia and I walked around the lakefront shops but quickly settled into an outside caf to enjoy a nice glass of vino while we people watched and “girl talked” until dinner time. A delicious dinner was served in a lakeside restaurant. We ate with Mike our bus driver and Joe the Radisson tour rep. It was fun sharing stories over Sambuca and is often the case wherever we go, we were the last ones to leave the restaurant.

Sunday morning we all had 7:00 wake up calls. After breakfast in the hotel we drove to the Shotover River for a wild jet boat ride. If you’ve never done this….it is a MUST DO! These flat bottom boats are so powerful and you really haul apples down the river. There are narrow passages which will scare you to death not to mention the 360 turns the drivers do. It was definitely a white knuckler E ride! We wore rain slickers under our life jackets (also in photos) but be prepared to get wet! Oh, these wonderful New Zealanders can find more ways to try to kill themselves! This is a wonderful country for “thrill seekers”.

After this our wobbling legs found their way back on the bus for some more of the most gorgeous scenery imaginable. We stopped in another adorable “Mayberry” type town called Arrowtown. then had lunch in another nice small town. Mike, our great bus driver, surprised us after lunch when we walked out to the bus and he was playing bagpipes...! After lunch we drove through the magnificent Fjordland National Park. There are such huge snow capped mountains, deep gorges, abundant waterfalls, towering trees….just breathtaking! When you exit the National Park you are in Milford Sound with more of these towering snow capped mountains and beautiful waterfalls. Like Tom said, how can fiords anywhere in the world be anymore magnificent than these? At about 5:30 we boarded a private tender to take us to meet the others on the Voyager. We sailed away shortly after boarding. It was a long but absolutely magnificent day! It’s difficult to find the words to describe how much we have loved “Ngaire land” this past week. I honestly think we did it right….saw the marvelous cities on the coast as well as seeing the interior (covered 389 land miles on our 2 day excursion. In many ways, New Zealand can best be viewed from a ship (I’d say the same about the FP islands) to enjoy the greenery and mountains from a distance. If I had to do the past week over again….I don’t think I’d change a thing!

Yesterday was a much needed sea day to catch up with downloading photos, laundry and of course my usual activities like playing bridge and trivia (we won!). Last night was a formal night. We ate dinner with an adorable elderly man I’ve become friends with through bridge as well as the Catholic priest onboard. (he was really a hoot!). I always say that the best way to repent is over a couple of good glasses of wine!  After dinner, Tom and I saw the show, then danced in the Voyager lounge before closing down the casino.

We are schedule to reach Hobart, Tasmania about 5:00 today. Tomorrow we have a wonderful day planned to visit Hobart in the morning then go on a 3 hour afternoon excursion to the Bonorong Wildlife Park to see Australian native animals....kangaroos, wombats, koalas and emus and of course the famous Tasmanian Devil!

It just doesn't get any better than this voyage!

Australia….yet another wonderful adventure begins!! 

I posted my final photos of New Zealand taken the past 4 days 

(There's a great photo of Captain Dag at the Radisson party).
This is best viewed as a slideshow:

New Zealand II (view and edit albums)

Yesterday we were in Hobart, Tasmania...very nice town! Had a great day, as you can see! Later today we'll be in Phillip Island and will see the Penguin Parade tonight.

February 3 2005 - Stormy Weather

From LCTs jhp
"Well, I finally get a computer when internet is available, and have some not very good news. We ran into terrible weather last night. Capt. Dag said it is the worst he has seen in years, and said something about 100 years for the area. Around 3 a.m. there were 96 knot winds, hurricane force. He tried to enter the Bass Strait, but turned the ship in another direction and has been running away from the bad seas all day. Thus, we are unable to have our "Penguin Parade" excursion on Philip Island, and Melborne has been cancelled. We are instead headed to Sydney and will spend the rest of the time in port, arriving tomorrow our time at about 1 p.m."
Marcie's comments:
Capt. Dag just came on the PA and it sure is a good thing we aborted Philip Island and Melbourne. When he made this decision, we were in 40 ft. high swells. After we changed course, the swells got up to 60 ft. high. Many ships caught in the strait had really severe damage with broken windows etc.
Now it's very warm, calm and smooth seas. We'll be arriving in Sydney in 4 hours. We'll dock in a different site: Darling Harbor #3 since we're arriving 1 1/2 days early.
We've had such a wonderful 2nd segment, even with the "angry" seas, it's been great!! I believe they'll have to peel us off of this ship come April!

February 8 2005 - Sydney

Hi everyone! 

..….there’s so much I could say about Sydney that I could probably write a book. I won’t bore you but try to give some of our highlights of our 4 days there. First of all….I don’t think there could be a more gorgeous harbor than Sydney. When you sail in you can see the bridge and all the high rises from far away. As you get closer you realize just how beautiful and CLEAN Sydney is. The Sydney Harbor Bridge (also know as the Coat hanger) is so spectacular as is the Sydney Opera House.

I never realized just how many bays there are….each with spectacular water front real estate, beaches, boat docks (or should I say Yacht docks!), towering sky scrapers… There is so much greenery everywhere you look as well….it really is a site that you need to personally experience

I think for first time visitors the Capt. Cook Harbor Cruise is a must. You go on an open or closed deck yacht (we chose the open air deck above) and the commentator points out all the points of interest (even things like Russell Crow’s home).. We took the 1 hour 15 minute cruise which seemed like the perfect time. Of course, the weather was magnificent which also helped.

We also did the “hop on/ hop off” bus which allowed us to get on and off at our convenience with stops along the route such as the Opera House, Hyde Park, Australian Museum, Maritime Museum, Botanical Gardens, Kings Cross and the famous Bondi Beach. The price was $30 Australian dollars (around $22 USD) and good for 24 hours. We got 2 days worth of this since we boarded the bus the 2nd day within the 24 hours and once you’re on…they’re not going to kick you off. I really enjoyed seeing all the various neighborhoods and the many different types of architecture. Did I mention how CLEAN this large city is? WOW…..puts our large cities to shame I’m afraid!

One afternoon I went to the Toranga Zoo with Olivia. This sits on one of Australia’s most valuable pieces of Real Estate. When you visit this zoo, you’ll know why!! Location! Location! Location! We were able to see the feeding of the Koala Bears, Tazmanian Devils, Dingos, Kangaroos and even a Kimono Dragon (as well as the typical USA zoo animals)..There are even cable cars to ride from the ferry boat up to the top of the zoo! We did not go to the Opera (Carmen) but others raved about it. Also, we did not climb the Sydney Bridge which people raved about (be prepared to pay a very steep price for this one!)

Our trip was enhanced so much by sharing times with Olivia, Joanna and Tony. Be sure and eat at the Lowenbrau Restaurant on Argyle Street (just off of George Street). I know it sounds crazy to imagine going to a German Restaurant in Sydney but it was wonderful..….great food and fun Um-Pa-Pa musicians!! It was a most memorable night for the 5 of us!

Last night was a fun and very lively sail away party on the pool deck. The music started about 10:30 pm with lots of good music, dancing and free flowing drinks. At 11:45pm as we pulled away, the band broke into “Anchors Away”. We cruised under the Sydney Bridge one last time with all the beautiful lights of Sydney.

These are the sights I’ll always treasure and Sydney is a city I definitely will want to come back to. (Some photos below)

It was so tough saying good bye to friends we’ve made during the past )

It was so tough saying good bye to friends we’ve made during the past )

It was so tough saying good bye to friends we’ve made during the past )

It was so tough saying good bye to friends we’ve made during the past )

It was so tough saying good bye to friends we’ve made during the past )

It was so tough saying good bye to friends we’ve made during the past month but especially to Olivia…. Knowing that Joanna and Tony would bade during the past month but especially to Olivia…. Knowing that Joanna and Tony would bade during the past month but especially to Olivia…. Knowing that Joanna and Tony would bade during the past month but especially to Olivia…. Knowing that Joanna and Tony would bade during the past month but especially to Olivia…. Knowing that Joanna and Tony would be boarding hours later really gave us something wonderful to look forward to! It’s hard to describe the closeness and “feeling of family” that you develop with many of your fellow passengers and the staff members. This happens even on short 1 or 2 week cruises but is magnified many times over on longer cruises. I know many of you can relate to this feeling as well!

I’ll continue to try to update you again soon!!

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Marcie