Te Anau, Glow worm cave and Bluff Feb 26th, 2009 Our last day on the south shore of the south island of the NZ started with a warm meat pie, the best ever in downtown Te Anau. We then boarded a boat on Lake Te Anau to the caves( I don’t like enclosed places). There, holding Terry’s hand I was treated to a new experience. We liked the blue grotto in Capri, this was different but wow! The well organized touring group in NZ has built up the tunnels to the inner cave and with knowledgeable guides the whirlpool, waterfalls and rock walls were exquisite. At the end of which we boarded a rowboat for 12 and were quietly pulled through a very dark cave with a dotted glowing roof which is the home of the ... read more

Auckland to Queenstown to Te Anau to Milford Sound Feb 23rd & 24th , 2009 The flight from Auckland to Queenstown was painless because our plane had GPS navigation instruments; we landed in cloudy fog which is typical around here. The Qantas flight could not take off and another flight could not land and had to be diverted to Invercargill; Qantas is cancelling its contract with Queenstown which is the portal airport for the wild west coast of the south Island. We hired a medium size car and Terry drove on the “wrong” side of the road from the airport to Te Apau, it was a trying experience for me. After finding no vacancy at our first choice for accommodation we were very lucky to walk into the tourist bureau and able to book rooms for ... read more

Rangiroa Atoll in the Tuamotu Archipelago Feb 20th, 2009 Again the Aranui crew was absolutely capable at their respective duties. We were hauled off the boat at anchor in the lagoon, brought to shore and disembarked on a beach. Some went on a glass bottom boat and some of these went snorkeling, others went scuba diving. Terry and I swam a bit on the rocky, coral strewn beach; not conducive to snorkeling as there was a heavy sea and the water had too much turbulence. Then we were brought by air-conditioned bus to the Gauguin Pearl Farm; after an explanation and a tour we purchased a lovely pendant for my naked gold chain, my souvenir of French Polynesia. We then swam some more- I say swim, I mean soaked in the South Pacific, walked to the ... read more

Ua-Huka February 17th, 2009 Alarm set for 5:30 so that we could see a 180 turn of the boat within 2 rock cliffs in the bay of Vaipaee. The sun was coming over the rock cliffs, one side was grey while the other was Grand Canyon red, almost on fire, and changing every moment as time progressed. Sailors were sent to each side where cleats had been cemented to the rock floor; for the photo opportunity, the men wore white t-shirts and white hard hats and to make the maneuver more dramatic, there was a (staged?) pirogue that came flying by the ship with 4 or 5 muscular male paddlers wearing all white headgear. Our days usually start around that time anyway. I have a coffee club (real coffee) at that time on the back deck ... read more

Hiva Oa et Tahuata Le 16 février 2009 La Polynésie française (les Marquises en particulier furent découvertes en 1575 par les Espagnols) est annexée à la France depuis les 1850 isme. La publicité en France amène beaucoup de voyageurs français, et quelques allemands. Ils y a aussi des américains dont nous avons faits de bons amis (Pat & Bruce) et quelques canadiens, nous sommes 5(amie Dominique). Donc nous parlons souvent français. Les guides sont forts en français et en marquisien mais ont quelques fois difficultés en anglais. Nou, les bilingues, devons traduire pur eux. Durant une escalade il y a quelques jours, nous sommes montés par une pente boueuse (il pleut ici 5 à 10 minutes par jour) pour voir 2 meaes. Celle du haut, avait une roche plate au milieu et c’était pour les déchets ... read more