Back on familiar territory

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Geo: -36.8474, 174.766

Between Bora Bora and our next stop, Auckland, was a week at
sea. Now heading for places we had visited several times before, the excitement
of sailing and seeing new places rather waned. After over 30 days of travelling
on the Astor we were starting to tire of the lack of variety in entertainment
and especially the poor quality of the food. Fortunately the company was still
good and Roger and Judy, Steve and Sue were pleasant companions.

During this week we kept up with the quiz each morning and
afternoon, often winning or tying for first place or at least thereabouts.
However, there are only so many pens, key rings and rulers to be won. Toby, the
Tour Director, finally restarted the Rolling quiz which had been started about
two weeks ago and the last three nights before Auckland had a new quiz each night.
We had got off to a great start as the first quiz was centred on Greece and
many of the questions concerned Mythology or ancient history. We were leading
by 3 after that one. The second one was a General Knowledge topic and we were
still ahead by 2 points The third night coincided with the show team performing
excerpts from Phantom of the Opera so was based on the works of Andrew Lloyd
Webber. We got 18/20 on that and on the final night found ourselves 5 points in
front. The last quiz was about New Zealand and while the first 10 questions
were relatively easy the last ten were diabolical. However, with our margin we
were crowned quiz champions. Roger and Judy were leaving in Auckland so they
got a “goodie bag” of prizes before they got off. Fletch and I are still
waiting for ours.

The other activity which culminated in a performance the day
before Auckland was our Astor Choir. There were about 25 of us who had learnt
five songs. We had a handful of sopranos, a large group of altos and about a
half dozen gentlemen. Abi and Lauren, two of the performers, conducted the
rehearsals and we sang harmony in three songs and learnt a medley of gospel and
sang Eidelweiss in unison. On Friday we performed to a packed Captain's Club
and did pretty well. It had been fun and certainly passed the time enjoyably.

We also got to visit the bridge during this week. It was
interesting to go inside the command centre of the ship and see the electronic
charts and steering equipment. Though they still have a wheel, most of the
steering is done by the automatic pilot and navigation by the GPS. However, we
were told that hand drawn charts were still used and traditional methods of
navigation employed as back up. The captain came to talk to us though most of
the explanation was done by the First Mate. English was the compulsory language
between a diverse crew consisting of Greek, Ukranian and other eastern European
backgrounds.

The Pacific Ocean had lived up to its name and the weather
had been warm. We spent lunch usually on the back deck and some balmy nights on
Deck 8 with a nightcap or two. However, the Twilight Duo, talented performers
though they are, started to pale as their repertoire of 50s songs became rather
repetitive. We did have some better food when they had a fiesta on the deck
with a huge paella and suckling pig with accompanying salads. Another night we
had make your own burgers which provided some variety. Jeff Chandler's lectures
on WW2 continued to be interesting with him covering the Pacific war and a one
off special on Gallipoli. Not many people were at this one though as we had an
emergency on board with an 86 year old lady having to be evacuated from the
ship by helicopter with severe pneumonia. Many people were rubber-necking on
the decks at this poor woman's plight. We had already had one fatality back in
Antigua with a heart attack and several other people being very ill with this
awful cold which had spread widely though the ship. Fortunately, Fletcher has
still managed to avoid it!!

We sailed into Auckland on Saturday to grey skies and a very
cool wind. We docked right at the end of Queen St, the main thoroughfare and
shopping area. Our first task was to say goodbye to Judy and Roger. We will
miss their company during the next week. We had arranged to meet Steve and Jean
Hollings at 12pm so first did some shopping along Queen street with a couple of
Christmas presents procured. We went back to the docks and got onto free WiFi
at the café where we had arranged to meet and at 12 Jean came bounding up. It
was lovely to see her again. Steve was waiting in the car for us. He first
drove us through the old suburb of Parnell to the Domain which is a large park.
The NZ War Memorial dominates the skyline here. It is a Neo-Classical building
with a cenotaph in front. We, though, went into the gardens where there is both
a hot house and cold house containing several exotic species of flowers. There
were some stunning orchids and other varieties and we spent a pleasant half hour
or so strolling through and admiring the colour and perfume.

From there we went back to the dock area to the Viaduct, an
area developed for the America's Cup challenge. Here there are many restaurants
and bars, with great views over the harbour. We settled at one of these and I
had a great serve of fish and chips. It was lovely to eat fish which was fresh
and moist, and crisp and tasty chips. The sun had come out and it was very
pleasant sipping a cold Sauv Blanc and listening to Fletcher and Steve mainly discussing
Athletics, though Jean and I got in the occasional words about family and
travelling. We also saw a seaplane taking off from the harbour.

The weather then started to deteriorate and we decided to
catch the local ferry over to Davenport on the other side of the harbour. This
is only a 10 minute trip. By the time we got there the rain had set in but we
were able to visit one of Fletcher's favourite bookshops. After a short time
there we returned to the main harbour albeit through driving rain and noticed
that the tanker which had been alongside our ship had now completed the
refuelling and it was almost time to go. We said goodbye to Steve and Jean. It
had been a pleasant day in spite of the inclement weather and great to catch up
with them. We then managed to find a nearby bar which was showing the cricket.
We were missing the Adelaide Oval Test so watched for the last half hour before
the first break. It was not good viewing however, as Australia lost several
wickets during the session.

We returned on board about 7-30pm and after a minimal dinner
went up on deck for the 9pm sail away. It was very cool and though the rain had
stopped, a very brisk breeze was blowing. A pleasant hour or so with Steve and
Sue ensued before retiring about 10-30pm. Now we have another week. Three days
at sea before a day in Sydney and then another two before arriving in Adelaide
at midday next Saturday. I am looking forward to getting home.

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