Back from Overland

We are back from the 5-day overland adventure across Australia.  Currently one sea day out of Cairns, Australia nearing Papua New Guinea en route to Guam....

Burnie, Tasmania, Australia

We arrived in Burnie, Australia this morning after crossing the Tasman Sea. Beautiful day today--clear and cool. Tomorrow we are at sea followed by Sydney the day after. We will be meeting friends for a fun filled day. The day after that we will be doing a 5-day overland across Australia. Our trip goes to Alice Springs, Ayres Rock, and then up to Cairnes to the Great Barrier Reef. So we won't be posting until after that trip.

Auckland, New Zealand

Sunshine was the theme of the day as we arrived in Waitemata Harbor on February 18^th.  What a great view of the downtown area of Auckland, New Zealand!  In short order, the ship was cleared by the local officials and we were off to meet our dear friends Grant and Jenny.  We had originally met the both of them a few years ago while cruising and they were kind enough to meet us here in Auckland on last year’s world cruise.  Again this year they were very gracious and planned to travel over an hour from their home and meet us at the pier for another fun filled day in the countryside.  We were nearly the first people off the ship and in minutes we had located Grant and Jenny.  It was off to our favorite street side café along the beach for a great Kiwi breakfast at the Mission Bay Café.  The food is always good and the bowls of coffee are excellent.

After a good breakfast we were off for a trip up the Matakana Coast to wine country, about an hour from Auckland.  Up Highway 1 to Warkworth then across country roads through Matakana and on to Leigh.  There we got grand views overlooking Matheson’s Bay.  Plenty of shoppers were found in and around the local market in the small town.  Afterward, we headed back toward Matakana and down Tongue Farm Road to the Morris & James factory and outlet.  Our hosts had arranged for us to get a private tour of the factory by a member of the staff.  Each piece of their pottery and sculptured ceramics is hand-decorated by the experienced artisans in vibrant colors.  Morris and James has a great place to relax and have a good meal.  It is called The Pottery Café. 

Back on the road again after a great lunch, we headed toward Auckland and on to the Kelly Tarlton’s Antarctic Encounter & Underwater World.  You would never envision a live underground penguin colony made up of King and Gentoo penguins.  We boarded heated Snow Cats and entered the frozen landscape where we viewed penguins in and out of the water.  Also part of this exhibit is a Stingray Bay enclosure and an adjoining Underwater World full of stingrays, eels, sharks, sea turtles and over 1500 fish all viewable as you walk through clear acrylic tunnels. 

We can’t say enough about our hosts, Grant and Jenny and how much we appreciate their hospitality and friendship.  Hopefully, we can convince them to return to Las Vegas in the very near future so we can show them the sights in Nevada and Arizona.

The Pacific Princess headed out of the harbor from Auckland at around 11:00pm.  We will spend two days at sea prior to arriving at the Fiordland National Park on February 21^st.

Bay of Islands, New Zealand

Just prior to sunrise on February 17^th our ship passed cape Wiwiki and Cape Brett as we entered the bay on the northern coast of New Zealand.  This area on the North Island is known as the Bay of Islands.  It is the place where in 1840 the British made a pact with Maori chieftains known as the Treaty of Waitangi.  Our passage into the bay was beautiful with low clouds and fog hanging over the hills on both sides of the ship.  We got a wonderful view of the small town of Russell in this early predawn light.  We were extremely surprised by the number of dolphins who greeted our ship and stayed with us until we were anchored.

Once we were anchored in the bay, we went ashore using the ship’s tenders.  The ride ashore took about 20 minutes.  The local community of Paihia provided very nice buses to take us from the pier at the yacht club were the tenders docked to the downtown area.  We spent some of our time there walking the Paihia wharf and downtown shops and restaurants.  The local community had a craft fair arranged for us on the green in front of the library.  Of course Cindy couldn’t resist looking at some of the handmade ancient Kauri wood bowls and platters.  Most of this wood has been dug up and reclaimed after being buried for thousands of years by previous tsunamis.    

After a beautiful sunny day, the weather did begin to change a little for the worse.  The ship waited for about an hour for some thunderstorms to clear before we departed the bay at around 6:00pm.  We caught a good view of some flying fish as we departed.

Our next stop tomorrow, February 18^th is Auckland, New Zealand.

Dravuni Island, Fiji

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On Monday, February 13^th we arrived inside the Great Astrolabe Reef which surrounds the islands in the Kadavu Group which are part of Fiji.  The area has some of the most beautiful water in the world.  As we dropped anchor, we could see Dravuni Island, one of the Pacific’s most unspoiled destinations.  It has one of the smallest populations in the Fijian islands, less than 200 people live there.  Crystal clear waters and a breathtaking secluded beach make Dravuni Island as close to a deserted island as you may every get.

We tendered from the ship to shore in some rather rough water.  It had been so rough the previous evening, that the floating pier at the island had been broken.  The Captain sent an engineering party ashore ahead of us to repair the pier.  To our surprise we were greeted ashore by some of the local tribesmen.  Just a few hundred feet from the shore was the Meeting House for the village council.  It is an open sided thatched roof structure with a woven matt covering the floor.  There we met the Chief and some of his Council.  These structures are found throughout the South Pacific in each and every village.

As we walked through the very small village we were greeted with Bula Bula (Welcome) from the local villagers.   All of these people were friendly and each wanted to know where we were from.  We spent considerable time talking with many of them.  One happened to be the local minister.  He explained that they ate bread fruit, coconut, mango, taro roof, fish, and some chicken and pork.  As we continued walking the village we had the opportunity to look inside many of the homes.  Most don’t have screened windows.  All of the homes collect rain water in large tanks for drinking. 

During our walk along the beach area, several passengers reported being stung by jelly fish.  None of them was seriously injured since the jelly fish were very small.

We departed Dravuni Island at 6:00pm traveling west to avoid Cyclone Jasmine that was headed to our original destination, Tonga.  Due to the cyclone, this port call we canceled.  Next stop is Bay of Islands, New Zealand on Friday, February 17^th.

Pago Pago, American Samoa

On Friday, February 10^th we made our approach to the harbor at Pago Pago, American Samoa.  The Samoan Island chain lies in the center of the South Pacific about 2300 miles southwest of Honolulu.  The island is the only American Territory in the Southern Hemisphere.  The harbor is surrounded by lush volcanic mountains and is a processing center for Starkist Tuna

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Once we were secured alongside the pier at Pago Pago, we made our way into the small town of Fagatogo.  On our list was to check out the open air market; find some Internet access, and just see how much the town had changed since our last visit which was one week after the 2009 Tsunami.  As we walked into town, we saw plenty of the local buses lined up to take passenger around the island.  They always decorate the buses with plenty of palms and flowers.  The buses are not air conditioned and only have padded bench type seating.

 

We weren’t the only passengers seeking Internet access.  The local Internet Café was full of passengers attempting to get online.  It was extremely slow using this café because too many people were attempting to use one connection.  After about 30 minutes we gave up and proceeded down the road to the market.  The market was full of vendors selling coconuts, fruits, roots, and local fruit beverages.  Also in the market were clothing and souvenir vendors.  We did stop by one of the small restaurants in the market where the cook was deep frying some great smelling chicken. 

Our next stop was the local general store.  We always go to this store because of it being so unique.  It has virtually anything you might need.  Everything from rubber boots to laptop cases and all the food traveling bus passenger might need.  The bus station is just outside its main door.  They have a full stock of school clothing for each of the local schools.  Basically the school boys wear the traditional bright knee-length wraparound skirts called Lava Lava.  The girls were white blouses and skirts with their school color.

In American Samoa, the beaches are not open to public access, rather each is privately held and some charge a small fee to use them. 

We departed Pago Pago at around around 5:00pm for our next stop Dravuni Island, Fiji.