Blogs from Oceania - page 14

Oceania » French Polynesia » Fatu Hiva December 25th 2023

Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas 2023!! The Marquesas Islands…. A trip we have looked at for a couple of years and finally decided to do it! It was the year of the every 4 year Matava’a O Te Femua Enata or The Marquesas Islands Arts Festival. Started in 1986 to promote cultural exchanges between the 6 Marquesas islands. And it was fascinating! We attended 2 of the 4 days of it which included multiple dance troupes, a communal lunch and several evening shows. The 12 day cruise on the Aranui is a combination freighter/passenger boat. The front third of the boat is loaded with the cargo including multiple shipping containers, forklifts, pickup truck and 2 buses to shuttle us to the festival sites. At each island stop we watched the shipping containers off loaded onto ... read more

No Visa, No Cruise – Quite a Disappointment in Brisbane, Australia

Oceania » Australia » Queensland » Brisbane December 22nd 2023

Brisbane Central Business District

retiredfflarry

Tour Days 64-74 – My plan for this holiday revolved around two cruises which included a cruise from San Diego, California to Auckland, New Zealand aboard Holland America’s ms Noordam and then a cruise from Singapore aboard Holland America’s ms Westerdam that made four ports of call in Vietnam as well as an overnight stop in Shanghai, China. To fill that eight–week interlude (26 NOV 2023–17 JAN 2024), I planned to visit friends as well as travel a bit in New Zealand and Australia and find some land tours of, perhaps, Tasmania, Indonesia or Philippines. I spotted a 29–day (Bangkok to Bangkok) land tour of southeast Asia that included Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia that fit perfectly into my time slot. A long, complicated Vietnam “tourist visa saga” led me to abort the four–country, 29–day land ... read more

Cyclone Jasper Is Coming to Cairns, Australia

Oceania » Australia » Queensland » Cairns December 12th 2023

Big Cat Green Island Reef Cruise

retiredfflarry

DISCLAIMER: Bill Gates decided to remove the “ability to capture a still photo from a movie” tool during his latest “update,” so you’re missing out on some tremendous scenic shots of the Great Barrier Reef. Thanks again, Bill! Tour Day 61-63, Cairns, Australia – Part 2 Big Cat Green Island Reef Cruise I selected this particular vendor for the Great Barrier Reef trip because the advertising touts free hotel pick-up. What I saved in two Uber trips damn near paid for the excursion itself and definitely made it much, much cheaper than any of the competition. The ride to Green Island was just over an hour. I had paid the premium for both the glass-bottom boat and the semi-submersible experiences and was scheduled for the former shortly after we were moored to the Green Island dock. ... read more

There Were Rumors of a Storm Brewing in Cairns, Australia

Oceania » Australia » Queensland » Cairns December 8th 2023

Amaroo at Trinity Beach

retiredfflarry

DISCLAIMER: Bill Gates decided to remove the “ability to capture a still photo from a movie” tool during his latest “update,” so you’re missing out on some tremendous scenic shots of the train trip. Thanks again, Bill! PHOTO NOTE: After finishing the verbiage for this blog, I uploaded the photos just as I always do. All that appeared where the photo belonged was the file name of the photo. Closer examination revealed, “We hope you enjoy the new version of Photo Upload! If you experience any problems, report them here.” Yes, I did and yes, I did. Hopefully this will all self-remedy soon. Tour Day 57-60, Cairns, Australia – Part 1 Kuranda Scenic Railway and Skyrail Rainforest Cableway As I noted in my last blog, I arrived at Amaroo at Trinity Beach (Trinity Beach is a ... read more

Auckland, New Zealand Days 8 & 9

Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Bay of Islands » Russell December 4th 2023

Around the Weekend Getaway

retiredfflarry

Tour Day 55, Auckland, New Zealand Day 8, Sunday, December 3 2023 – All good things must come to an end. It was time to head back to Auckland and prep for my Monday flight to Cairns, Australia. I helped where it made sense, like drying the dishes, but mostly just stayed out of the way. Outside, I documented some of the driveway work to be undertaken. We stopped at a nice midway point for a pizza lunch. Not Italian, not American; perhaps it was a Kiwi pizza. Go figure! After lunch, we diverted to a more scenic coastal route for my benefit. Tour Day 56, Auckland, New Zealand Day 9, Monday, December 4, 2023 – I had a late morning flight and a 3-4-hour layover in Melbourne. There are no direct flights from Auckland to ... read more

Bay of Islands, Russell, New Zealand – Ninety Mile Beach and Cape Reinga Tour

Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Bay of Islands » Russell December 2nd 2023

Ninety Mile Beach and Cape Reinga Tour – North Island, New Zealand

retiredfflarry

Tour Day 54, Bay of Islands, Russell, New Zealand Day 7, Saturday, December 2, 2023 – Ninety Mile Beach and Cape Reinga Tour Ninety Mile Beach is on the western coast of the far north of the North Island of New Zealand. The beach is actually 88 kilometres long. Its southern end is close to the headland of Tauroa Point, to the west of Ahipara Bay, near Kaitaia. This 88-mile stretch of coastline features sand dunes & cruising tours via 4-wheel drive vehicles. Somewhere in the translation, 90 (almost) kilometers beach became 90–mile beach. Eighty–eight kilometers actually is 54.68 miles. Paul and I took the passenger ferry to Paihia to catch the tour “bus.” Right off the bat, the driver/tour guide emphasized that the “bus” was not at all a bus, but rather a TRUCK. Indeed, ... read more

Bay of Islands, Russell, New Zealand – Russell Museum

Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Bay of Islands » Russell December 1st 2023

Russell Museum

retiredfflarry

Tour Day 53, Bay of Islands, Russell, New Zealand Day 6, Friday, December 1, 2023 (The first day of Summer in Oceana) – Paul’s plan was to take the Cape Reinga and Ninety Mile Beach Tour on Friday and return to Auckland on Saturday; however, the tour providers didn’t consult him when they cancelled the Friday tour for lack of enthusiasm (only four people had signed up). Plan B was to visit the Russell Museum which shares the stories of Kororāreka (Russell) and Īpipiri (Bay of Islands). It tells the stories of the first Polynesian arrivals in the Bay, through to the development of Kororāreka (Russell), from a small Māori fishing village, to a port of call for visiting ships and whalers to today's tourist town. Although first discovered by Dutch explorer Abel Tasman (Tasman Sea, ... read more

Bay of Islands, Russell, New Zealand Day 5 - Hole in the Rock Cruise

Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Bay of Islands » Russell November 30th 2023

Hole in the Rock Cruise – Bay of Islands, New Zealand

retiredfflarry

Tour Day 52, Bay of Islands, Russell, New Zealand Day 5, Thursday, November 30, 2023 – The Hole in the Rock Cruise actually begins in Paihia, New Zealand but makes a stop in Russell to maximize the number of paying customers on board. It was quite windy, making it a little cool for an Arizonan standing on the bow, so I moved back and forth between the protected cabin and the open bow. A young lady from Switzerland stationed herself on the bow and never faltered. Disgusting! She deserves to sleep on the ground and luxuriate in a hostel so she can shower periodically! There’s not much to say so I’ll let the photos do the talking.... read more

Bay of Islands, Russell, New Zealand Day 4

Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Bay of Islands » Russell November 29th 2023

Auckland Museum

retiredfflarry

Tour Day 51, Bay of Islands, Russell, New Zealand Day 4, Wednesday, November 29, 2023 – In the morning, we returned to the Auckland Museum to “finish the job.” The afternoon, however, found us driving to Russell, New Zealand – location of Paul’s “weekend getaway.” The drive to Paihia, New Zealand was about 3 ¼ hours and almost 150 miles. In Paihia, we boarded the car ferry for the short trip through the waters of the Bay of Islands to Russell. Paul gave me a short driving tour of Russell before we went to the “cottage.” Work was in progress at the rear of Paul’s property on a retaining wall to keep the neighbor’s driveway from slipping into Paul’s back yard. Paul has had the posts delivered to his property for the same endeavor – driveway ... read more

Everything I didn't tell you in the last three weeks

Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Queenstown November 28th 2023

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giovannapiro

It's been three weeks and I had the beginning of a new psts sitting in my drafts for like half that time. Anyway here a rundown of the things that happend since the Milford Sound cruise: I lost my wallet in Milford Sound and only noticed after we had driven two hours out of the national park. 16 hours later I got it back thanks to really nice Australiens that brought it to the next Police station. Another day later we made our way to Queenstown. Ina spend thursday afternoon charging her portable charger in a cafe for her hike and I walked around Queenstown. In a bakery I found german multigrain bread that after two months of toast almost brought me to tears. Besides that I won a 50 dollar discount for indoor skydiving, which ... read more