Golden Princess New Zealand 11th to 24th February 2016 - Complete Picture Review!

[crochetcruise]

Crochetcruise, I notice this will be your first cruise to. You will love it. She is a beautiful ship. I miss her so much. :eek::(

If you do take photos of the lobby bar can I grab one or two for my photo book please. I took photos all all the areas except this bar and the childrens area because every time I went they were always locked.

 

Sure. I can easily send prints over to you, not sure about sending them digitally-EXTREMELY limited technical knowledge, but can get them printed off and posted over, if that would work for you. I've also noted to get the children's areas-can't do the upstairs in 1 section, but some photos would be better than nothing.

 

I did think about standing by the bottom of the staircase, and taking photos as an attempted panorama photo, overlapping the shots to be sure I cover everything. Would this be the sort of thing you're looking for?

 

In 34 week's time, I will have disembarked in Melbourne. Must check the Port of Melbourne Cruise Ship Schedule, so I'm in the hotel room, logged into the bridge cam of the Golden Princess as she casts off for her Tasmanian cruise.

[hopestotravelmore]

Once off the tender, we were all loaded into a coach with a young girl as our driver/guide. After being spoiled with our last three tour guides, I wasn’t too impressed with this Princess one. I know she was only young, but when she talked it was like she was reading a facts sheet she had downloaded from the internet. It was boring. Hey I’m not usually a whinging Aussie; I am just stating the facts. With our other guides we got to know all about them and their family and why they love this beautiful country – New Zealand.

 

Our drive took us through the city of Gisborne and out into the country to Tatapouri Bay which took about 20 minutes. Not that long at all.

 

Tatapouri Bay was very scenic.

 

 

We arrived at Dive Tatapouri at 9.00am. The owners greeted us and told us that we all had to hop into some designer waders. Holy cow but did we all look sexy in those waders. NOT! And they were rather uncomfortable to wear, especially around the ankles. Then it was a short walk to the shoreline and our guide explained to us what we would see and what not to do. He kept stressing about these Yellowtail Kingfish and that if we wanted to return back to our ship with all our fingers, we should not feed these fish.

 

My God, but they were huge buggers and very greedy. James kept thinking "I wish I had my fishing rod."

 

Then our guide drew pictures of the Stingrays in the sand and told us which parts we could touch safely.

 

Then we all had to line up in one long row and follow our guide into the water. We had one main guide and two others helping out.

 

 

It was low tide and we had to walk over the reef. This was really hard in places. I came close to falling a few times but hubby came to the rescue and saved me… What a darling! I was more worried about my camera getting wet if I fell into the ocean.

 

 

The above pictures show what we had to walk across and at times the reef dropped without warning and I found myself with water up to my knees instead of my ankles. While we were following our guide the other two young men had walked ahead and were feeding the sea creatures and herding them towards us.

 

It took about 15 minutes to walk out and then we all stopped in a line and moved as close to each other as we could. This stopped the stingrays from going between our legs and knocking us over. Heaven forbid if we fell on one, that wouldn’t do said the guide. Don’t worry about us, no! I think I would howl like a baby if I fell next to one. How frightening would that be? I kept thinking about Steve Erwin. But we were perfectly safe if everyone did what they were told.

 

 

 

The young guys did a fantastic job of bringing the Stingrays to us. There were about 6 giant Stingrays. Well I thought they were giants. I didn’t realize they were so big. We got to interact with these amazing sea creatures. We were allowed to pat them on their backs. Gross, they felt slimy and wet. Intelligent I know, but that’s the only way I can describe what it felt like to touch them. We saw Short-tail Stingrays and Eagle Rays. We even got to pat a pregnant Stingray. How cool was that. The Yellowtail kingfish kept hanging around but the guys would direct them away from us with fish scraps. The rays would come up to your legs and touch you, looking for food.

 

 

Then it was time to feed these wild Stingrays. We were all given a piece of fish and told to lay our hand flat on the bottom of the ocean and when the Stingray comes, he glides over your hand and sucks the fish up. Scary but cool.

 

I guess we were in the water for about an hour and then we headed back to the beach and hut for morning tea. Oh Boy what a fantastic spread they produced for us. There were delicious sandwiches, appetizing savouries and scrumptious slices. You can tell I loved that morning tea, can’t you?

 

We found the owners and guides at Dive Tatapouri very passionate about these wild creatures. It was a fantastic experience and one I would love to do again one day. The morning was sunny and dry and the surroundings- picturesque.

 

P.S. I forgot to mention that we all received poles. No, It wasnt to hit the Stingrays or beat the hubby it was to steady ourselves in the water.

 

 

The bus left Tatapouri Bay at 11.30am. We were back on the ship by 12.30.

Edited March 21, 2016 by hopestotravelmore

[hopestotravelmore]

Returning to the ship, we discussed doing a walking tour of Gisborne that I had downloaded and printed out before we left home. I even had an app on my phone called “Out East’, it was on Gisborne and the city’s attractions. James was being a bad sport and wanted to rest on the ship. He said I could go as it was only a 10 minute walk. I thought about it on our drive back to the marina and decided that an afternoon by the pool sounded just like what we both needed. Chicken! Don’t forget we had already spent 3 jam-packed fun days in ports.

 

We actually found the Princess tour great value as we were rested and didn’t have to concern ourselves (or fight about losing our way) with organizing transport to and from our destination. But at $119.95 pp it was pricey for the advantage of being picked up and returned to the ship. If we had booked Dive Tatapouri’s Reef Ecology Tour privately it would have cost $45pp but transport out to Tatapouri Bay would have been our problem. James loves these Princess organized tours for all the above reasons I have mentioned. Me, I would rather do our own thing. But, being our first cruise, I wanted to see how Princess handled it self with their shore excursions. I have to tell you that I was impressed.

 

Now you find us back on the Golden Princess at 12.30. Sail away wasn’t until around 3.30pm.

 

What did we do for the rest of the day you may ask? We had a laidback afternoon. We sat in the shade on Deck 14 beside the Neptune Pool. James went for a swim, I read my book on my IPad, we snoozed some, had an soft serve ice-cream. We managed to have one of those soft serve ice-creams from Sundaes Ice Cream Bar on deck 14 every afternoon. We adored them.

 

At 4.30 we went to the International Café for afternoon tea and sat around waiting for an Evening performance with Rhapsody Strings in the Piazza.

Dinner tonight was in the Horizon Court once again. But I was just too relaxed to even care.

 

At 6.45 we went along to the Vista Lounge for the Production Show Motor City. Then at 7.30 we rushed over to the Explorers Lounge to join in the Trivia game ‘Before they were Stars’. We have never entered in Trivia before but we were not too good.

 

At 8.30 we sat in the Promenade Lounge with a drink and listened to Guitar Vocalist Teodor Perform. Then it was off to bed.

 

Now for a confession. I kind of enjoyed myself having a relaxing afternoon instead of being on the go, exploring a port for 6 to 8 hours. What is happening to me in my old age you may ask. I am usually the one that loves to go-go-go while holidaying. Sleeping by the pool is James domain. Promise you won’t tell him or I will never stop hearing about how he is always right.

 

Here is a picture of the Rhapsody Strings

 

 

And two pictures of the Vista Lounge Deck 7

 

 

Edited March 21, 2016 by hopestotravelmore

[MicCanberra]

It sounds like a wonderful experience, great pics as well.:D

[LC1950]

Maureen, thank you once again for your beautiful pics and great detail about your tours. Very much appreciated. But gosh how brave you were with those stingrays! LOL you wouldn't get me within cooee of one of those creatures! :eek:

 

Oh, by the way, a very relaxing afternoon after lots of full on land touring, is just the best thing. LOL sounds to me like you're 'hooked' on the cruise life. ;) Such an 'unfortunate' addiction, isn't it? :D

[hopestotravelmore]

Sure. I can easily send prints over to you, not sure about sending them digitally-EXTREMELY limited technical knowledge, but can get them printed off and posted over, if that would work for you. I've also noted to get the children's areas-can't do the upstairs in 1 section, but some photos would be better than nothing.

 

I did think about standing by the bottom of the staircase, and taking photos as an attempted panorama photo, overlapping the shots to be sure I cover everything. Would this be the sort of thing you're looking for?

 

In 34 week's time, I will have disembarked in Melbourne. Must check the Port of Melbourne Cruise Ship Schedule, so I'm in the hotel room, logged into the bridge cam of the Golden Princess as she casts off for her Tasmanian cruise.

 

You can just email me the picture if that is ok. But dont worry to much I can always find one online to add to my collection.

[hopestotravelmore]

Maureen, thank you once again for your beautiful pics and great detail about your tours. Very much appreciated. But gosh how brave you were with those stingrays! LOL you wouldn't get me within cooee of one of those creatures! :eek:

 

Oh, by the way, a very relaxing afternoon after lots of full on land touring, is just the best thing. LOL sounds to me like you're 'hooked' on the cruise life. ;) Such an 'unfortunate' addiction, isn't it? :D

 

LC yes I am hooked on cruising. all ready researching our next cruise.

The stingrays were fun but you had to do what the guides told you and then you would be safe. I was more worried about making a fool of myself by falling into the water. It wasn’t an easy walk on the reef.

 

I must say I did love that afternoon relaxing by the poo. It was the best.

[hopestotravelmore]

It sounds like a wonderful experience, great pics as well.:D

 

Mic it was amazing. I would do it again in a heart beat.

[Hawka]

Gosh! We walked a lot today and by the time we returned to the ship we were hot and tired. So we both went for a swim at the Calypso Pool. There was no one in the pool, which is the way I like it.

 

 

 

Then it was snack time…pizza for me and a coffee and cake for James up deck 14, and then I wrote a nice long note to the kids and sent it by messenger through the ships internet. For the rest of the evening we just chilled out on Deck 15, grabbed something to eat in the Buffett and at 6.45 we watched the movie The Intern on MUTS. The pool boys came around with popcorn and cookies and milk. Sigh, I love this sort of life. It’s lovely.

 

The movie was very good and finished at 8.45pm. We decided to have an early night after such a busy day. Tomorrow is another tender port – Gisborne.

that pool was good i dont think i ever saw that one crowded or the one at the aft of the ship though i did not get to swim in any other but i did the calypso pool and the hot tubs there

[Hawka]

Once off the tender, we were all loaded into a coach with a young girl as our driver/guide. After being spoiled with our last three tour guides, I wasn’t too impressed with this Princess one. I know she was only young, but when she talked it was like she was reading a facts sheet she had downloaded from the internet. It was boring. Hey I’m not usually a whinging Aussie; I am just stating the facts. With our other guides we got to know all about them and their family and why they love this beautiful country – New Zealand.

 

Our drive took us through the city of Gisborne and out into the country to Tatapouri Bay which took about 20 minutes. Not that long at all.

 

Tatapouri Bay was very scenic.

 

 

 

We arrived at Dive Tatapouri at 9.00am. The owners greeted us and told us that we all had to hop into some designer waders. Holy cow but did we all look sexy in those waders. NOT! And they were rather uncomfortable to wear, especially around the ankles. Then it was a short walk to the shoreline and our guide explained to us what we would see and what not to do. He kept stressing about these Yellowtail Kingfish and that if we wanted to return back to our ship with all our fingers, we should not feed these fish.

 

My God, but they were huge buggers and very greedy. James kept thinking "I wish I had my fishing rod."

 

Then our guide drew pictures of the Stingrays in the sand and told us which parts we could touch safely.

 

Then we all had to line up in one long row and follow our guide into the water. We had one main guide and two others helping out.

 

 

It was low tide and we had to walk over the reef. This was really hard in places. I came close to falling a few times but hubby came to the rescue and saved me… What a darling! I was more worried about my camera getting wet if I fell into the ocean.

 

 

The above pictures show what we had to walk across and at times the reef dropped without warning and I found myself with water up to my knees instead of my ankles. While we were following our guide the other two young men had walked ahead and were feeding the sea creatures and herding them towards us.

 

It took about 15 minutes to walk out and then we all stopped in a line and moved as close to each other as we could. This stopped the stingrays from going between our legs and knocking us over. Heaven forbid if we fell on one, that wouldn’t do said the guide. Don’t worry about us, no! I think I would howl like a baby if I fell next to one. How frightening would that be? I kept thinking about Steve Erwin. But we were perfectly safe if everyone did what they were told.

 

 

 

The young guys did a fantastic job of bringing the Stingrays to us. There were about 6 giant Stingrays. Well I thought they were giants. I didn’t realize they were so big. We got to interact with these amazing sea creatures. We were allowed to pat them on their backs. Gross, they felt slimy and wet. Intelligent I know, but that’s the only way I can describe what it felt like to touch them. We saw Short-tail Stingrays and Eagle Rays. We even got to pat a pregnant Stingray. How cool was that. The Yellowtail kingfish kept hanging around but the guys would direct them away from us with fish scraps. The rays would come up to your legs and touch you, looking for food.

 

 

Then it was time to feed these wild Stingrays. We were all given a piece of fish and told to lay our hand flat on the bottom of the ocean and when the Stingray comes, he glides over your hand and sucks the fish up. Scary but cool.

 

I guess we were in the water for about an hour and then we headed back to the beach and hut for morning tea. Oh Boy what a fantastic spread they produced for us. There were delicious sandwiches, appetizing savouries and scrumptious slices. You can tell I loved that morning tea, can’t you?

 

We found the owners and guides at Dive Tatapouri very passionate about these wild creatures. It was a fantastic experience and one I would love to do again one day. The morning was sunny and dry and the surroundings- picturesque.

 

P.S. I forgot to mention that we all received poles. No, It wasnt to hit the Stingrays or beat the hubby it was to steady ourselves in the water.

 

 

The bus left Tatapouri Bay at 11.30am. We were back on the ship by 12.30.

 

awesome thank you sad you copped a boring bus driver/guide , when i did the maori village a maori guide hopped on the bus with us to the village and he was very good like your good ones with what he knew etc and sense of humour to boot too it makes a tour so much better when you get someone that knows what they are talking about our bus driver was good too i will get back to NZ and do the rays then i am sure :)

[foodbyjosh]

I am really enjoying your cruise review, thank you very much!

 

I am glad you enjoyed Wellington, its my home town so i have a soft spot for windy wellington! I remember all the earthquake drills we used to do in school.

My mum used to clean an elderly ladys house in hataitai which over looked the flight path to the airport. I would always watch the planes coming into land as they would nearly be sideways sometimes!!!

 

Te Papa is an amazing museam. There was also a really cool maritime museam somewhere too. Im not too sure if it is still around as i thought it was amazing when i was 6 or 7 back in the early 90s!!

 

I look forward to reading about the rest of your trip!!

[utahtea]

Hi Utahtea

 

 

I see you have done an Alaska tour. I so much want to do Alaska.

 

You would love Alaska! We've been three times. The first time we drove from California and what an amazing adventure back in 1992 when we were much younger! The other two times were on cruises.

 

Make sure when you do an Alaska Cruise the itinerary includes either Glacier Bay or Hubbard Glacier! Our last cruise was a 14 day Holland America cruise to Alaska that wasn't just an up and back with many of the same ports...it had ALL different ports. I loved that cruise and want to do it again. I believe Holland America is the only one that offer this kind of two week trip. http://www.hollandamerica.com/find-cruise-vacation/CruiseDetails.action?destCode=A&portCode=&shipCodeSearch=&dateCode=&flexibleMonths=false&noOfFlexibleMonths=1&pageNumber=0&voyageCode=M655&directionCode=L&tabName=ItineraryDetails&fromSearchVacation=true

 

Looking forward to your next port!

 

Utahtea

[MicCanberra]

You would love Alaska! We've been three times. The first time we drove from California and what an amazing adventure back in 1992 when we were much younger! The other two times were on cruises.

 

Make sure when you do an Alaska Cruise the itinerary includes either Glacier Bay or Hubbard Glacier! Our last cruise was a 14 day Holland America cruise to Alaska that wasn't just an up and back with many of the same ports...it had ALL different ports. I loved that cruise and want to do it again. I believe Holland America is the only one that offer this kind of two week trip. http://www.hollandamerica.com/find-cruise-vacation/CruiseDetails.action?destCode=A&portCode=&shipCodeSearch=&dateCode=&flexibleMonths=false&noOfFlexibleMonths=1&pageNumber=0&voyageCode=M655&directionCode=L&tabName=ItineraryDetails&fromSearchVacation=true

 

Looking forward to your next port!

 

Utahtea

Agreed that Alaska is amazing and make sure that Glacier bay is on the itinerary.

:D

[Flamencacha]

Maureen

 

Thank you so much for your review. You are a breath of fresh air. You are so blessed.

 

I too started cruising in my 50's I absolutely love it. Working on 5 and 6 this year.

 

I always wanted to visit your part of the world , so maybe 7 or 8 will be down under[emoji23].

 

Thank you again.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Hawka]

I still have my patters and I think summer if there port newsletters they gave out for the port's we were going into

[hopestotravelmore]

I am really enjoying your cruise review, thank you very much!

 

I am glad you enjoyed Wellington, its my home town so i have a soft spot for windy wellington! I remember all the earthquake drills we used to do in school.

My mum used to clean an elderly ladys house in hataitai which over looked the flight path to the airport. I would always watch the planes coming into land as they would nearly be sideways sometimes!!!

 

Te Papa is an amazing museam. There was also a really cool maritime museam somewhere too. Im not too sure if it is still around as i thought it was amazing when i was 6 or 7 back in the early 90s!!

 

I look forward to reading about the rest of your trip!!

Hi FoodbyJosh

Thankyou for your kind comments.

Welllington was a beautiful city and we sure loved Te Papa.

[hopestotravelmore]

You would love Alaska! We've been three times. The first time we drove from California and what an amazing adventure back in 1992 when we were much younger! The other two times were on cruises.

 

Make sure when you do an Alaska Cruise the itinerary includes either Glacier Bay or Hubbard Glacier! Our last cruise was a 14 day Holland America cruise to Alaska that wasn't just an up and back with many of the same ports...it had ALL different ports. I loved that cruise and want to do it again. I believe Holland America is the only one that offer this kind of two week trip. http://www.hollandamerica.com/find-cruise-vacation/CruiseDetails.action?destCode=A&portCode=&shipCodeSearch=&dateCode=&flexibleMonths=false&noOfFlexibleMonths=1&pageNumber=0&voyageCode=M655&directionCode=L&tabName=ItineraryDetails&fromSearchVacation=true

 

Looking forward to your next port!

 

Utahtea

 

Hello Utahtea

I will be Alaska next year. I have been looking at a Princess one or that Holland America one you sugguested. Boy it looks great.

[hopestotravelmore]

Maureen

 

Thank you so much for your review. You are a breath of fresh air. You are so blessed.

 

I too started cruising in my 50's I absolutely love it. Working on 5 and 6 this year.

 

I always wanted to visit your part of the world , so maybe 7 or 8 will be down under[emoji23].

 

Thank you again.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

Hello Flame

Thank you for your kind comments. You are so lucky to be doing so many each year. Gee I find it so hard just to get one cruise in, what with the farm and working part time.

 

Do come down under. Its a magnificent country.

[hopestotravelmore]

Happy Easter everyone.

 

Friday Feb. 18th Todays Weather 23

 

Tauranga arrive 7am - all aboard 5.00pm

 

 

The Golden dropped its anchor in the Port of Tauranga, Bay of Plenty at 6.47am. On waking we discovered that Tauranga had an inch of rain and a storm overnight. Gentle rain was still falling when we went up onto Deck 15 to check out Mount Maunganui.

 

 

The outside decks were soaking wet especially the chairs and that blue mat thing you walk on. I must apologize for the quality of my photos. As you will notice there will be a smudge spot or two on all these next few pictures. Silly me forgot to clean the lens of rain drops until later on today.

 

Tauranga is not a tender port so we had the pleasure of walking of the ship when we were ready to experience this dramatic port.

 

The name Tauranga is a Maori word meaning ‘a sheltered anchorage,’ and pronounced ‘Tao-wronger.’

 

In 1769 James Cook sailed past Mount Maunganui but it was trader James Farrow who became the first permanent settler when he arrived in 1829 looking to export flax. Tauranga started as a mission station in the mid 1830’and is the largest city in the Bay of Plenty. Its harbour is an important commercial centre and port with its petrol refineries and tons of coal and lumber.

 

 

Tauranga population is 123,500 and is the gateway to the nearby geothermal city of Rotorua.

 

The ship does not dock in Tauranga but the small seaside town of Mount Maunganui at Salisbury Wharf. Distance to the city from the wharf is 6.7km (4.2miles) and you can take a shuttle bus (exclusively for cruise ship passengers), from the i-Site Visitor Centre every 15 minutes to Tauranga i-SITE office in the city. It’s a 30 minute journey and cost $10NZ return.

 

There is also a public bus from Mount Maunganui that takes you into Tauranga City and costs $3.20NZ one way or a day pass for $6.30 NZ.

 

There is free Wi-Fi available (by broadband Provider – EOL) at the Wharf and around Mount Maunganui and The Strand in downtown Tauranga.

 

 

Overshadowing the town of Mount Maunganui is the 232m (761ft) cone-shaped Mount Maunganui. Locals call the town ‘the Mount’ or Mauao which means ‘caught by the light of day.’ It’s only a short, 10 minute walk from where the ship docks to the Mount’s spectacular beaches, shops and cafes.

 

Tauranga was the final port that I had organized our sightseeing. I needed to make decisions about what we would be doing. Since we had already spent 3 days in Rotorua on an earlier visit to New Zealand we didn’t wish to visit again. I wanted desperately to visit Hobbiton Movie Set but knew James would hate such a visit and as I knew we would return to New Zealand I could do Hobbiton then. So being such a caring wife (smiles), I decided that our day was best spent exploring The Mount and all it had to offer. But I forgot how the weather can affect your scheduling.

 

 

Below is a map of Mount Maunganui I copied from the web before I left and help me plan our day.

 

Our idea for the morning – a walk up the Mt Maunganui Summit Track which should take us about 1 hour 20 minutes. Then if up to it, Mount Maunganui Base walk would be next and take about 45 minutes. If we had time hop over to Moturiki Island which Is connected to the beach by a man-made land bridge and features a spectacular blowhole at the far end of the island. Fish and chips on the beach were to follow.

 

 

I had booked for 3pm a 1 hour scheduled harbour cruise.

 

KEWPIE CRUISES http://WWW.KEWPIECRUISES.CO.NZ/

Adults $20.00

 

DEPATURE POINT: Pilot wharf (base of the mountain). Take a leisurely stroll along Pilot Bay esplanade to the base of the Mountain (Mauao). Walk 100 metres along the base track.

 

The Kewpie is a small old ferry that runs harbour cruises from the jetty by the start of the mount base track in Pilot bay. The two wooden garden bench seats upstairs were really rickety and the top wooden back rest of the main seats kept moving around. The harbour cruise involved a trip past Matakana wharf and the Tauranga wharf. Drinks and snacks available on board.

Then if there was time, I wanted to catch a bus (1 hour ride) to Te Puke to visit Kiwi 360 http://www.kiwi360.com/

 

Could we do all this in one day especially when our original time in port was from 9am to 8,30pm (11.30hours).

[hopestotravelmore]

Our day in Tauranga didn’t go as planned. There were 2 issues that created problems.

 

1. The Weather

2. A grumpy hubby.

 

Couldn’t do much about the weather, but what could I do about that grouchy old man? He knew the plans we had for today but he decided at breakfast to become a spoil sport. He complained about the rain, he complained about all the walking we would be doing. James said that he had had enough walking on the cruise and wished for a peaceful morning before our harbour cruise.

 

OK, I told him but I wasn’t traveling this far to not go and explore this port. I can do difficult to you know! So we separated - only for the morning, not for ever. I went my way and he did his own thing. Such a boring old man I told him. Smiles!

 

So I departed the Golden with the sulks and the first thing you come to is the i-Site tourist office (about 150 feet from the dock) where I found so much information and tours you could book. The friendly ambassadors were a wealth of information. Since James was not with me, I decided to go to Hobbiton. I was so excited while I waited in line. I was going to see were the hobbits lived.

 

Finally it was my turn and I asked about a tour to Hobbiton. The young man at the desk said that I was in luck. There was one available space left on the bus going in 15 minutes. Would I like to go? Of course I would. As he began the paper work another ambassador came up and told him that the last seat was taken. WHAT! It can’t be I said. I want to go to Hobbiton. I sounded like a two year old who had just been told she couldn’t have that chocolate bar at the supermarket. “I want! I want,” I felt like screaming. I was ready to stamp my feet and bang my head on the ground, just like my oldest daughter used to do when she didn’t get her way. There would be no hobbits today for me. The young man suggested a tour of the surrounding area. This sounded good until he informed me that the coach wouldn’t return back until 4pm. Oh no! It would return too late for my harbour cruise I had booked for 3pm I told him.

 

The lady who butt in before with that shocking news of the bus being chockfull to Hobbiton, intruded again. But this time she had better news. What about Sights of the city tour on the Hop on Hop off bus? As you already know, I enjoy the Hop on Hop off bus tours. An all-day pass is $27NZ and it’s a 60 minute loop which began at the port.

 

There were 6 stops and I decided to stay on the whole 60 minute loop, especially since it was still raining and then start my exploration. Our bus driver was a woman and a very friendly one she was, with lots of information on Mount Maunganui and the city of Tauranga. She was funny also. I liked her a lot.

 

 

Our six stops were: Mount Maunganui’s Hot Salt Water Pools at the base of Mauao; Downtown the Mount (shopping centre); Classic Flyers Museum (classic and vintage aircraft); The Cargo Shed (arts and craft for sale); Tauranga City Centre; Tauranga Art Gallery – Toi Tauranga and The Elms, formerly the Te Papa Mission Station built in 1847.

 

 

It was a relaxing drive that was over too quickly. I stayed on the bus until it stopped at the Hot Water Pools again as this was the closest stop to Mount Maunganui. I studied the Mount and had another important decision to make. Which would I do first – The Base Walk or The Summit Walk and would I do both. What do you think I did?

 

 

I decided to circumnavigate Mauao’s 3.4km long base track which is New Zealand’s most popular walk. All the guide books say it should take about 45 minutes. I conquered it in 1 hour and 20 minutes. OK, I am not the fittest person alive but I did stop to take lots photos and even sat for a while on one of the many seats to admire the ocean. I also met a lady about 3 times and we got talking each time we met. She had also left her hubby behind…Wait for it…In American and decided to do a tour of New Zealand on her own. Good on her. He didn’t want to come and he is also a farmer. What is it with these farmers? And I didn’t feel so guilty then about leaving James behind on the Golden Princess.

 

 

The walk around this extinct volcano was so scenic. Ocean views around every corner, lots of Pohutukawa trees in bloom, white sandy beaches that looked so inviting.

 

Nearly one million people a year walk up or around Mauao every year. The pathway is wide and easy to walk on. There were many parents pushing strollers and some even jogging.

 

 

At one bend in the track, I came across a lovely paddock with sheep grazing and one even scratching itself against a rock. It felt like home except for the dazzling green everywhere. I love sheep they have such beautiful and fun personalities.

 

 

The sound of the waves crashing against the rocks on the ocean side was piercing as you wandered along the track. The rain stopped as I began my walk. There was even a charming country gate to open and close.

[hopestotravelmore]

Here are some more pictures of my base walk around Mount Maunganui.

 

 

 

 

By the way, it pays to be friendly towards people and pause and exchange a quick word or two while out walking. You do learn a thing or two this way, just like me. While on the track, I noticed a man with a board with lots of flyers advertising tours etc. I spotted the one from KEWPIE CRUISES.

 

As usual, when I see a captive audience, I began a conversation with the poor man and told him I was doing a harbour cruise at 3pm with Kewpie Cruises. “No you’re not,” he said. “They have cancelled their cruise due to the storm last night causing damage to their boat.”

 

We were not having any luck with our organized harbour cruises. That was the second one called off.

 

So I had better hightail it back to the ship and inform dear grumpy hubby. I wonder if he is in a better mood. After the exhausting walk, especially with the humidity, I needed to replenish my body so I returned to the Golden by the wooden boardwalk along the beach front. There were people swimming in the bay. It looked so inviting. But I was on a mission to inform James of our cancelled plans and work out what to do after lunch. Should we climb the Mount?

 

I re boarded the Golden by way of Deck 5 and the aroma of food coming from the International Café stopped me in my tracks. James could wait I thought to myself as I lined up to get some lunch. While scoffing down a Tomato and mozzarella sandwich, I messaged James on Princess Messenger about the called off cruise. Surprise, Surprise but he finally texted me (the first time on this cruise mind you) and his words were “deck 15” - a man of few words.

 

So I headed up to deck 15. James was watching a special on Alaska on MUTS. He informed me that he had a lovely relaxing morning. He went for a swim and read his book in our cabin. And he was a lot happier. Horary! Must have needed a rest from silly old me! I do so much talking it would drive anyone a little nutty.

 

Once the show was over, we headed off the ship and walked into the Mount main shopping village. This was where I discovered something very unsettling. Will talk about this soon. After the walk we decided to get an ice-cream at the shop on the beachfront, just before the Salisbury wharf. It was very nice eating our delicious ice-cream while watching people enjoying the sunshine.

 

Here is a fact I learnt today:

 

Dd you know? The Princess Cruises seawitch logo first debuted in 1967. Prior to that, the Princess logo was a character with a sombrero painted on the stack due to Mexico-focused itineraries.

 

Now for that disturbing news. While at the shops, I decided to get some New Zealand cash out of an ATM machine. As usual, I always check my balance and got the shock of my life, when I realized I was missing $600. We rang our daughter in Australia who logged onto my bank website and sent us pictures of the account. There were about 7 entries in total all withdrawals for different amounts adding up to $645.70. As I am not really a big shopper when on holidays, I knew what I had spent and how much should be in my account.

 

We rang our bank back in Australia and the friendly man said that all these amounts were drawn against the Golden Princess. He informed us that they were not actually taken out of my account, but those funds were not available to draw against. So we felt a little better knowing that my account hadn’t been hacked into.

 

Now I understand that Princess Cruises, throughout the cruise will do dummy transactions to make sure you have enough funds to pay them. They were still doing these four days after we returned back to Australia and after they had taken the money that we owned them out of my account. It was a little nerve racking until they finally stopped doing these withdrawals.

 

We are not getting any younger and can not handle these sort of shocks, so we decided to call it a day and return to the Golden. I needed a drink.

[ozscot01]

Oh I do feel for you at the ATM. We had a similar situation in Mexico of all places when we could not access funds. Same situation, the hotel was gradually putting a hold on our account rather than waiting until we checked out. It was fine in the end once we worked out what was happening[emoji849]

[Hawka]

i never saw those dummy transactions but yes they would give you a fright i know they would give me one too

[anthonyy7]

Wow! This is one of the most amazing trip reviews I've read on CC :D

 

This very cruise is high on my list! We actually had this itinerary booked (Jan 2017) but recently had to cancel due to other obligations so hoping to reschedule soon.

 

Your photos and all the detailed info is very much appreciated. :)

[Woobstr112G]

Continually amazing pictures. Keep them coming.....:):):)

 

Bob

Edited March 26, 2016 by Woobstr112G