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Published: December 7th 2009
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New Zealand lived up to its billing as the Land of the Long White Cloud. Even though it is summer down under, we encountered cool, overcast, rainy weather during most of our stay in Kiwi-land. Our Wellington tour guide Murray said, “Australia has a bad climate, but good weather; while New Zealand has a good climate, but bad weather.” We have found this to be true.
Meanwhile, we have been following the adventures of our rescued sailor, Bernt. After he left the Mariner in Dunedin he hired a fishing boat and went in search of his half million dollar yacht. After several days they found Horizons floating around in the Southern Ocean. They towed the boat back to Bluff Harbour which is located on the tip of the South Island where repairs will be done. Bernt posted on his website that he hoped to continue on with his double round the world journey. He mentioned how grateful he was to Captain Stan and the rest of the crew on the Mariner and how touched he was by the concern and warmth shown by the passengers while he was on board.
Napier, which calls itself the art deco capital of the world,
is a great town for exploring on foot. The town was leveled by an earthquake in 1931 and it was rebuilt in the style of the day which was art deco. They have a nice pedestrian street and a lovely strand along the ocean front. While the sea may look inviting, we were told that swimming is not done there due to a dangerous riptide. Given the temperature, I wasn’t too tempted to wade into the ocean anyway. Napier is also famous for its Hawke’s Bay wines. We have noticed that almost all of the cities in New Zealand have vibrant central business districts. Dunedin, Christchurch, Wellington and Napier have downtowns that are alive. The store fronts are full and the streets are bustling. One of the main reasons for this is the absence of large malls on the outskirts of town. As a former urban planner, I applaud this. The only downside is that without Walmarts and Costcos, the price of everything seems pretty high—especially groceries.
In the port of Tauranga we hiked around the base of Mount Maunganui, the area’s geological icon. It looks like Morro Rock in California, but with trees and grazing sheep. This region claims
to have the best swimming and surfing in New Zealand. I can’t attest to that, but we did find the best Chinese restaurant in NZ. The Chinese gooseberry is grown here. Better known as kiwi fruit—it is now the nickname not only of the country, but for its inhabitants as well.
We arrived in Auckland--one of our most anticipated ports. Anticipated because this is where we were meeting up with my brother Steve, his Kiwi wife Deb and their one year old daughter Ellie. Steven is the youngest of twelve children in our family and has lived in New Zealand for most of this decade. Fortunately we usually visit New Zealand once or twice a year so we are able to get together with them on a regular basis. They picked us up at the pier and took us on a tour around the Hauraki Gulf. Because of the weather, there weren’t too many boats on the bay of this “City of Sails.” We went to the small village of Devonport for a wander in the rain and then back to the ship for an afternoon of swimming and ping pong. Ellie is a charmer and came close to taking
her first steps here on the Mariner. I’m sure she’ll grow up to be a cruiser. We adults had a champagne toast on our balcony and then went to dinner in the Prime 7 steak house. We had DiDi, from Reception, babysit. She had her hands full with a very excited baby. But Debbie knew just how to soothe her baby to sleep and we four had a delightful evening talking about home and family.
Our last stop in New Zealand was the Bay of Islands—a beautiful part of the country where more than 140 islands dot the seascape. We were blessed with a spectacular day—weather-wise. So we took a ferry from the quaint village of Russell over to Paihia. Whenever a ship is in, the local crafts people set up a market. We have been here enough times that we have gotten to know a few of the artisans. One couple makes magnets using abalone shells for decoration. I always buy some to give as party favors as they are a nice memento of our visit to New Zealand. As we were leaving we had an outdoor party on the aft deck of the ship. Many of the staff
joined us. Captain Stan, Staff Captain Alain and Safety Officer Mario gave us some more details of the recent rescue at sea. It was a beautiful sail-away as we bid farewell to the “Long White Cloud.”
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Masa Inoue
non-member comment
Many Thanks
Dear susan and Kevin, We (Miyoko and Masa) hope that this mail will reach at you in safe. Masa has sent a mail before but it was rejected at that time. After we read your report on Tokyo, we have been so gald to receive and read your blogs in many countries and places such as China, Thailand ,Indonesia and Australia. You have finally arrived at Auckland in safe. We read the excited news about adventures of rescued sailor,Bernt. It was great so nice adventures by Mariner. We respect the Captain of the Mariner and all staffs and passengers of the ship. And the surprised one is that Bernt took a fishermans boat and discovered Horizons and repaired it. It is great that he would try his double round the world journey. Many congratulations on your meeting with your brother,Steve and his wife and their daughter. You must be so happy. Are you going back to Sausalito after this cruise? We wish you both enjoying Chirstmas holidays anywhere you go. Yours sincerely, Masa and Miyoko