History&Wine Posted March 15 Author #26 Share Posted March 15 My journal entry from the last two stops in New Zealand: Tauranga is the largest city on the Bay of Plenty and the fifth largest city in New Zealand. It is the largest port in all of New Zealand. I did a quick tour of the docking area and decided to hike the peak of the nearby peninsula, Mauro. This was a strenuous hike of about 95 minutes but yielded great views of the bay, beach and city. I stopped several times to view sheep as they crossed the trail. In the afternoon we world cruisers boarded buses for a trip to Hobbiton. This is where the movie Lord of the Rings was filmed. Our excellent guide pointed out scenes from the movies and trivia. New since my last visit here: two Hobbit houses have been expanded to very detailed seven room Hobbit cottages, complete with working fireplaces and furniture with all the items necessary for a Hobbit to live comfortably. Of course, the houses are not tall friendly, so I had to watch my step…or rather my head. Our next stop was on the South Island, Picton. Since the harbor was shallow, we had to anchor and tender in to the town. This is a quintessential small tourist town dotted with cafes and shops nestled in the hills so prevalent in New Zealand. Nearby is the famous Marlborough wine region, but I judged the distance too far to risk a trip. Why so many hills/mountains in New Zealand? The country is situated on the boundary of two major tectonic plates. As these plates collide, rocks and earth are moved up, creating hills and mountains. New Zealand also has a history of volcanic eruptions. The Oruanui eruption of the Taupo volcano is the largest known eruption in the world in the last 70,000 years. It occurred around 26,500 years ago and deposited 1,200 cubic km of material. By comparison, the Mt. St. Helen eruption in 1980 deposited less than 3 cubic km of material. The good news for New Zealand is that the rich volcanic soil helps New Zealand to bring a tree to timber maturity in 25 years. The same tree normally would take 65 years to reach maturity in Canada. We have two days at sea….luxurious 25 hour days….before our next port in Sydney, Australia. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
History&Wine Posted March 15 Author #27 Share Posted March 15 Scenes from Hobbiton. Note the scale of the furnishings 12 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seasack Posted March 15 #28 Share Posted March 15 March 16 - Reflections and dinner menu. D5D07C12-8552-4ABD-B1BF-8524715C92C6.pdf 67890A85-413E-4096-87C9-A7BE405F9A84.pdf 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theobald Posted March 16 #29 Share Posted March 16 (edited) Serenity today, from the Sydney Harbour Bridge Edited March 16 by Theobald File doesn't want to attach; will sort it later Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theobald Posted March 16 #30 Share Posted March 16 Serenity today, from Sydney Harbour Bridge 10 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seasack Posted March 16 #31 Share Posted March 16 March 17 - Reflections and dinner menu. 66FB72BB-4BF9-41D3-A6E0-FC95985C94F8.pdf 6A3F14B3-E169-4EBE-B78A-3F6FA7FEAA5C.pdf 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seasack Posted March 17 #32 Share Posted March 17 March 18 - Reflections and dinner menu. E538D335-8734-4D8F-B38B-59087973B539.pdf 013905B2-6338-4D61-9935-9E455A9F1B95.pdf 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seasack Posted March 18 #33 Share Posted March 18 March 19 - Reflections and dinner menu. 63B5C184-0877-4C51-82B6-C5F86339C90E.pdf 7AC18992-A030-4668-9827-C2BF7E78A71F.pdf 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seasack Posted March 19 #34 Share Posted March 19 March 20 - Reflections and dinner menu. AAB1C580-05D6-42E8-B544-C4FB961BB453.pdf 01BA8F46-1736-435C-AEE8-BE600FAB91E1.pdf 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seasack Posted March 20 #35 Share Posted March 20 March 21 - Reflections and dinner menu. 48FD1A14-2932-4997-B0F3-E6A24F62CAF2.pdf 9A7E4F58-5FCF-4295-A085-09F0C8E57EA0.pdf 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare rafinmd Posted March 21 #36 Share Posted March 21 I do hope @History&Wine is just busy enjoying the cruise. Roy 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texas Tillie Posted March 21 #37 Share Posted March 21 4 minutes ago, rafinmd said: I do hope @History&Wine is just busy enjoying the cruise. Roy I'm going to guess that all is ok as looking at his history here there is often a 2 to 3 day gap between his posts. Patty 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seasack Posted March 21 #38 Share Posted March 21 March 22 - Reflections and dinner menu. 40D2DB1B-C233-4A04-89E5-BF4261BD457D.pdf D6118188-9CC0-487B-BEE6-E1E35EE2EDFC.pdf 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seasack Posted March 22 #39 Share Posted March 22 March 23 - Reflections and dinner menu. 9F914912-2A1D-4376-87A2-E1CA875E4A72.pdf 10851FEB-AE4A-4E07-84BA-10BEB63FC962.pdf 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seasack Posted March 23 #40 Share Posted March 23 March 24 - Reflections and dinner menu. FEEE8A00-7C10-4261-8AC7-49BB6D299652.pdf D5A72C35-301D-421D-B4BF-A7C9E499BC51.pdf 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seasack Posted March 24 #41 Share Posted March 24 March 25 - Reflections and dinner menu. 9A67D40F-F711-4319-A759-64222DD74776.pdf 1F8C0BC3-E2C2-4B82-B883-860A74ABD8AC.pdf 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
History&Wine Posted March 25 Author #42 Share Posted March 25 I’m well. Not a lot to report as I have spent time in ports walking. The fruits at the market in Adelaide are huge as the Australian harvest has just come in. Calm and sunny today, our last sea day as we cross the Great Australian Bight. Seasack is doing a great job posting Reflections and menus! 6 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seasack Posted March 25 #43 Share Posted March 25 March 26 - Reflections and dinner menu. 7A95E428-9821-488B-AAD5-77A6EEC7F638.pdf 98566EBE-53BC-4561-9250-46E37B1A1622.pdf 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theobald Posted March 26 #44 Share Posted March 26 Serenity today, anchored at Busselton, Western Australia 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seasack Posted March 26 #45 Share Posted March 26 March 27 - Segment final Reflections. 8BB8CE3A-D6FE-42EC-8257-413071816515.pdf 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Port Power Posted March 28 #46 Share Posted March 28 I had the pleasure of touring Crystal Serenity in Fremantle yesterday. I was impressed! It is a beautiful ship, with lots of open public spaces and lounges. The cabins have been elegantly upgraded. The restaurants and menus were impressive. I have cruised Silversea quite often, but had never considered Crystal, for no real reason. I am now seriously considering booking Crystal’s 2026 world cruise. 8 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saminina Posted March 28 #47 Share Posted March 28 (edited) On 3/10/2024 at 11:38 AM, History&Wine said: I like to visit a supermarket in new cities to see how the locals live. One can tell based on the space allocated to each item. I also look at prices. A shared hobby. IGA in my town is tops.....worth the visit. Edited March 28 by saminina Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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