At-sea days are always interesting. We’re often asked when we return from a cruise “How did you keep busy?” First of all our suites are equipped with satellite TV and (125 +) digitally stored movies, room service and a stocked bar. There’s the balcony offering Mother Nature in a passing review. Books, faxed daily newspapers and daily ship newsletters add to the opportunities. Then there are the ship amenities of swimming pool, restaurants, bars and coffee corners, puzzles, interactive games, exercising, spa services, entertainment, enrichment lectures and excursion planning to keep one occupied. This, of course, doesn’t include sightseeing when you’re cruising through the fjords or along a scenic coast or into/out of a magnificent harbor. On days in port you have visitation excursions, individual visits and on board activities to keep one busy. Our ship ... read more

Our last day in a NZ port starts with a gray day as we board the historic Taieri Gorge train right on the dock. After loading a full train of 12 cars with 400 plus cruise passengers, we sip our champagne as the train proceeds along beautiful Otago Harbor, across causeways to the Scottish heritage city of Dunedin (Gaelic for Edinborough). Stopping briefly at the picturesque Victorian railway station built in 1904, we continue across the Taieri plains to climb into the Taieri River Gorge. With jagged rock ledges and cliff faces plus dramatic ravines we climb at a 1 to 10 ratio and marvel at the engineering feat accomplished by skilled railway gangs, stone masons and engineers who constructed the steel latticework viaducts and tunnels. Complementing the views are the local beers and tea served ... read more

A heavy rain overnight settles into a drizzle for our morning stroll to breakfast. Finding a café we enjoy porridge and French toast (covered with fruit) and then try to get our airplane boarding passes at the Air New Zealand office. No such luck but we do get our seat reservations. Passing the WWI Memorial Arch I notice the “Service Above Self” motto prominently displayed and wonder if Rotary International borrowed theirs from this poignant statement. Returning to the hotel our driver picks us up on schedule for the short run to the airport. Checking in is painless at the kiosk where we get boarding passes, bag tags and a kind staffer to assist us. Security is marvelously relaxed without the hassle of our TSA Gestapo and with smiles and kind words to assist. No shoes ... read more

Dawn breaks Friday with brilliant sun highlighting the peaks visible through the picture windows of our B&B. After a filling breakfast we start south toward our next destination. Along the way we divert to see Mt Cook and a picturesque reflective lake. Unfortunately, fog has settled in around the lake but returning to the highway the mountain is brilliantly highlighted for our camera. We also had the chance to view the Fox Glacier through a forest opening on a side road. Continuing on we enjoy the magnificent mountain/valley scenery with winding roads and single lane bridges. These one way Bailey or historic masonry bridges employ “give way” signs at one end to show right of way. The “temporary” structures are replaced when rain swollen rivers sweep down from the mountains. We did fill up the gas ... read more

While on the Regent South American cruise last year we met a marvelous couple from New Zealand, Vicky and Oliver Newbegin, who got stuck with us in Mucho Picchu. On our arrival in their home city of Christchurch Vicky escorted us on a walking tour of center city and shared her love of her native land (5th generation). Going out to dinner with them we learned more about this wonderful place and its energetic people. All over the city you can see the results of last year’s 7.1 Richter scale earthquake. Brick and masonry buildings were the hardest hit with chimneys falling through roofs. Even though it occurred at 4:30 AM the casualties were amazingly low and the citizens have turned to the reconstructive process with enthusiasm. The Anglican Cathedral displays memorial plaques with the nation’s ... read more