2/14/2010 Hearts and Flowers in Napier Today we’re in Napier New Zealand. When we first booked our shore excursions last Oct they didn’t have any listed for Napier yet and by the time they did we decided we might like a day without one since there were 6 New Zealand Port days in a row. So we slept in a bit and then headed up to breakfast and to do our daily puzzles. When we returned to the room I found a surprise of a dozen roses waiting for me from John for Valentine’s Day. This was in addition to the lovely heart necklace he’d already given me when we had our Valentines Dinner in the Pinnacle. We then took the shuttle into town and did a bit of shopping at the Opossum Store which had ... read more

Fri 2/12/2010 Unprepared for Picton Downpour Today we were in Picton New Zealand. We arrived around 8 but our tour wasn’t scheduled until 1:30 so we spent the morning doing laundry, posting previous blogs, doing the daily suduko, and eating (of course). It appeared to be a nice day and the Daily Program indicated it would be in the 70’s so John decided to wear shorts and we didn’t think we’d need jackets. However, as we were waiting for our tour to be called someone said it’s pouring out there and boy were they right. So he ran down to change and grab an umbrella and my jacket. As we went down the gangplank it was very wet and people were trying to get back on from the morning tours and out for the afternoon ones ... read more

Wed 2/10/2010 Wild Things in Dunedin Today we were in Dunedin New Zealand which is said to be the most Scottish town outside of Scotland. We took to the “Nature’s Wonders - Wildlife Cruise and Penguins” tour which was a full day one that left just after 8. Note it was rather chilly (about 60) but the boat provided jackets and binoculars for everyone. Along with coffee and very good cookies. It started with a boat cruise thru the harbor and out to ocean to view the many birds including Black Swan, Spotted Shag, Black Bat Gull, Royal Spoonbill, Shutty Shearwater Shag, Southern Albatross, Northern Albatross, and White Capped Albatross. One of the Albatross even landed on the water near the boat for a great photo op. We also saw some chicks in the Royal Albatross ... read more

Mon 2/8/10 Super Monday Down Under It was another lazy sea day aboard the Volendam in the Tasmanian Sea. We got a late start having lost another hour to get to New Zealand time so headed to the Dining Room for a late breakfast before posting the previous day’s blog. Later that morning we went to the Theater to see “Cooking with Drew” where they had the Cruise Director making a Black Forrest Cake with the Executive Pastry Chef and an audience member. It was pretty funny but no one wanted to eat his creation for some reason. We had Lunch in the Dining Room Hamburger for me and Flounder for John. We then headed back to the Culinary Arts Center for a demonstration on decorating cupcakes that looked like ears of corn, Sheppard’s pie, and ... read more

2/6/10 Keeping our Eyes Skinned in Tasmania These aussies really have a strange way of talking. They greet you with G’Day, tell you no worries mate, and now we have to keep our eyes skinned. This was all as we were traveling on our Taste of Tasmania Tour yesterday in Bunie. Our guide was a semi-retired govt worker/ business developer and apparently a volunteer for the guide job as were most we saw all day. We started out about 9 am with the skies slightly overcast but the sun came out later and it was a very nice day. We travelled first to the Chocolate Factory and our bus was first so we got to have Tea first. Tea meant very desserts like chocolate mint cheesecake and chocolate orange mousse cake for us. Plus a sampler ... read more