Review of Silver Whisper Jan. 29 to Feb. 14, 2024 (Auckland to Sydney)

[Host Jazzbeau]

This is a review of the Jazzbeaux trip to New Zealand and Australia from Jan. 21 to Feb. 17, 2024, including a 16-night cruise on Silver Whisper, from Jan. 29 to Feb. 14, 2024.

 

Since this is being published on Cruise Critic, the review will focus on the cruise portion.  The day by day blog, including the land days before and after the cruise and lots of pictures, will follow in subsequent posts.

 

I went on this cruise thinking “all Silversea has to be is Azamara with better ships.”  At the end of the cruise, I’m not sure it hit that level.  Certain things were better than Azamara, but others were worse.  Depending on which of those things you value most, one or the other may be the better line – but the difference isn’t dramatic.

 

We loved everything about this cruise with the exception of the food, which was only ok.  But that was a big fail!  And that is very important to us.

 

•  We were on Silver Whisper, which is one of the older ships in this line, built in 2001 (roughly the same as the Azamara R-ships, built from 1999-2001).  The ship fits our style, and while showing its age in a few aspects is still in excellent condition and has a classic nautical feel which we love.

•  Our cabin (a Deluxe Veranda, 285sf + 60sf balcony) had plenty of room, plenty of storage, and a good layout.  [By comparison, on Azamara we book either a Club Continent suite with 232sf + 57sf or a CW Owner’s suite with 603sf + 213sf – all three choices are fine; the DV and CC are comparable in size and price, while the CW is often available as a last-minute upgrade at a reasonable price.]

•  The combination of Butler and Cabin Attendant gave us an elevated level of service which was welcome (even though we are low maintenance).  [Azamara CC and CW suites also get a Butler plus a Cabin Attendant.]

 

•  The Restaurant had plenty of room every night (since many guests chose to dine elsewhere) and was practically empty for breakfast and lunch every day, had plenty of staffing at all times, and all the waiters were both professional and personable.  [The main dining room on Azamara does get more crowded and noise levels can be high.]

   •  There were two nights when the servers were at sixes and sevens:  the first was blamed on a printer failure in the kitchen, so the orders were not being transmitted from the waiters’ iPads; the problems on the final night were apologized for but not explained.

   •  The menu is more extensive than on any cruise we have been on, and varied from day to day (not completely different each day, but with a good rhythm that allowed us to bank something in the main section for a future night).  [We had no trouble finding good choices in the MDR on Azamara.]

   •  Our dining experience improved throughout the cruise as we learned to avoid Silversea’s weak areas (like fish) and to interpret their menu language.

•  La Terrazza is a nice step up at dinner, if you order the right things (again fish is a weakness, but Saltimbocca Romana was terrific and pasta is always reliably good) – the wines here are also available throughout the ship, and it was good to learn about some availabilities like the Valpolicella.  [The specialty restaurants on Azamara – which are free for suite passengers – were better.  Maybe the newer SS ships, with more restaurant choices, are better than on Whisper.]

•  La Dame is not worth $60 – many of the menu items are not really different from offerings in The Restaurant, and all of the wines poured there are also available throughout the ship (I think an extra-cost restaurant should pour better wines) – I will be monitoring this forum for reports from Nova and Ray about what they are doing to elevate the experience to justify the new $160 price.  [The Chef’s Table on Azamara, at $95 with special wine pairings in 2022 (now $125 or 3 for $295) was much better than on Whisper, and is cheaper than on Nova.]

•  Boulangerie and Patisserie were not good – not up to land cafés or even to other cruise ships.  And coffee was always weak – even a latte in the Panorama Lounge.  The contrast was especially striking when we got to Sydney and I had the most wonderful croissants and lattes at Guylian’s on Circular Quay.

•  Breakfast was just ok, whether in The Restaurant or La Terrazza.  [On Azamara, suite passengers have a much elevated breakfast in the Aqualina specialty restaurant.]

•  The bottom line is that while the served meals were always beautifully presented and certainly edible, they rarely delighted – certainly not above the level on Azamara (if even that good) and well below our ‘old’ Crystal cruise in 2014.

 

•  Entertainment was very good – the 2 singers and 4 dancers put on a show about every other night and all were good; we would have preferred dancers with more grace at the expense of the obvious athleticism of our pairs, but the Cruise Director announced that this staffing was done “from Monaco” and the cast pairs change when their contracts are up.  He did say we had the best of all the groups – and they did seem to fit the song selection and choreography of the shows.  It’s just that we would have preferred less energy and more familiar (to boomers) tunes.  [The shows on Azamara were more to our liking, and the range of performances was increased because the Cruise Director and Assistant Cruise Director each did their own shows.  We were surprised that the CD on Whisper doesn’t perform.]

   •  There were also two Guest Artists – an Australian woman who is in love with the American 1960s folk era and the earlier female pop singers (Peggy Lee, Doris Day); and an Australian violinist who is a great cruise ship showman.  The two lead singers each did a personal show, which highlighted their strengths (and weaknesses).

   •  The Show Band was terrific, although it was only a rhythm section (keyboards, guitar, bass guitar and drums).

   •  The Lecturer was good (many presentations, good coverage of the culture and wildlife of New Zealand and Australia, no selling of shore excursions), but he was somewhat hard to follow because it seemed like he was condensing 90-minute lectures into 45 minutes, and he often got confused about the terminology he had earlier established (maybe he needs to consult his notes more often...).

   •  Trivia was excellent – good tough questions (and the B2Bers were assured that they would have all new questions on their upcoming segment), points liberally awarded to many teams (3rd place got 1 point; 2nd got 3 points; and 1st got 5 points – and in the case of ties all teams at each level got their points).  [This was similar to how Azamara handles trivia, and so were the crappy prizes.  But it’s not about the prizes – it’s about the fun and keeping it non-competitive!]

   •  Bingo was apparently the same deal – no money involved, a friendly atmosphere for the near-meaningless points.

   •  At the end of the cruise they had a display of logo merchandise to redeem your points (with great luck at trivia and the daily contest we had accumulated a total of 76 points, which was enough for a t-shirt but way short of a baseball cap) or you could turn in your points in for a certificate to bring on your next Silversea cruise (which they rounded up to 90 for us – good deal!).  [This was better than Azamara, where you had to ‘use it or lose it’ – we ended up giving our points to a honeymoon couple who were thrilled to be able to select higher end stuff.]

   •  We never visited the casino, spa or fitness areas, and rarely heard the guitarist or pianist in the bars or the DJ.  [It was the same for us on Azamara; this isn’t our thing.]

 

•  We book cruises primarily for Itinerary, and this delivered – there were two changes between the original listing and the final reality, but we felt that both actually improved our experience (an overnight in Melbourne was cancelled because of port congestion but replaced with calls at Geelong and Eden; and later the short evening stop at Phillip Island was replaced by a later departure from the overnight at Hobart).  [Azamara also has terrific itineraries, and is good about making last-minute changes to make the best of it.]

   •  Unfortunately they didn’t make good use of the extra time on the second day at Hobart, so when our arrival was delayed by a port workers’ strike we had to choose between our included tour to Port Arthur and our extra-cost evening tour to Bonarong.  They should have added more excursions on the second day, so we could have done Port Arthur then.

   •  Other than that, the included tour offerings were extensive and interesting.  We did book several extra-cost excursions, which were all excellent and worth the cost – but there were good choices among the included tours every day of the cruise.  This makes Silversea’s move to included excursions an okay change for us (except for the recent reports that tours initially listed as included are being cancelled and reinstated as extra cost – that’s dirty pool and should stop).  [Azamara often offers mega-OBC discounts for early bookers and for early payment, which then allows you to purchase their shore excursions and keep the onboard bill down.  Our onboard bill on this Silversea cruise was $1,154 for 16 nts vs. $1,004 for 12 nts on Azamara in 2022 – comparable.  I was just able to book our excursions for the Silver Ray cruise in 2026 – I chose all included tours, so the onboard bill is shaping up to be $0 which puts that cruise high on the value spectrum.]

 

At the beginning of this review I said, “all Silversea has to be is Azamara with better ships.”  At the end of the cruise, after reviewing my notes from Azamara in 2022, my conclusion is that they are more similar than different.  Silversea ships are certainly better, especially if you book veranda cabins.  We were happy with Whisper, and would be even more so when the coming dry dock adds the Arts Café, and we are really looking forward to our upcoming cruises on Endeavour (in Svalbard) and Ray (in the Caribbean, with a relaxed dress code that fits that area and our style).  But Silversea needs to raise the level of food in the main restaurant, the buffet, and especially the specialty restaurants to match its claim to be a level above Azamara.

 

Silversea is on our short list for future cruise planning (along with Azamara, Crystal, Noble Caledonia, and Windstar).  Choice is good!

[Host Jazzbeau]

Blog Introduction

 

This is a blog of the Jazzbeaux trip to New Zealand and Australia from Jan. 21 to Feb. 17, 2024, including a 16-night cruise on Silver Whisper.

 

We flew from JFK to AKL on Qantas; stayed 3 nights at the Hilton Auckland; then flew Air New Zealand to Queenstown, NZ for 2 nights at the Hotel St Moritz Queenstown-Mgallery; then back to Auckland via a 4-hour stopover in Christchurch to see the International Antarctic Centre and 2 more nights at the Hilton Auckland; then the Silversea cruise from Auckland to Sydney, Australia; 3 nights at the Four Seasons Hotel in Sydney; and finally Qantas to LAX and American back to JFK.

 

During the trip, Jazzbelle kept detailed notes and I [Jazzbeau] took lots of pictures.  After returning home, I revised the notes to remove names [to protect the guilty, as we say…] and put it in my voice to avoid confusion.  Jazzbelle became ‘DW’ in internet parlance [‘Dear Wife’].

 

Planning for this trip extended over many years.  We initially booked a Ponant cruise around New Zealand for March 2020; when Covid cancelled that (the day before we were to fly out!) we rescheduled on Ponant for Jan. 2021; when Covid also cancelled that we took a pause on New Zealand until this Silversea itinerary beckoned.  Thanks to the Ponant planning and Fodor’s Essential New Zealand guidebook (2021) among others, I already knew a lot about NZ.  For the Australian ports I relied on Fodor’s Essential Australia (2022) and National Geographic Traveler Sydney (2013; dated but still the best).

 

The next blog entries are a day-by-day account of the trip, with a selection of pictures.

 

Enjoy!

 

PS – If you have any questions, please reply to this thread – or email me at jazzbeauster@gmail.com

 

And if you found this blog helpful, here’s a link to all our other travel blogs: jazzbeauxblogs.wordpress.com

 

[Host Jazzbeau]

Sunday January 21, 2024 – On the Road Again

 

Our son helped us get the luggage down the stairs and the limo driver carried it to the limo [we’re getting too old to heft 50 pounds any more...]  We left around 2:10 pm and arrived at Terminal 8 at JFK before 3.  DW dropped her gloves in the street but realized it before we checked in and retrieved them from the roadway [run over a few times, but still ok]

 

Checked in and through TSA Pre security.  On to the Admiral Lounge [a ten minute walk] only to learn that as Business we could use the nicer ‘Greenwich’ lounge.  So back we went.  Best lounge!  We both enjoyed chicken with mushrooms & garlic, and a side of broccolini.  I also had a cookie and brownie [this was the first time I ate all day, so I was hungry!  I found the self-help wine bar, too...]

 

Though there was no indication on the flight board, we thought it was time so we headed down to the gate.  We were the last on line but it moved quickly.  The Flight Attendants offered champagne or sparkling water, and then we pulled away from the gate on time at 5:30 pm.  

 

There were only 13 passengers in our section plus a girl toddler who was very good.

 

The Qantas 787-9 business pods are very nice, but there was no overhead lighting that we could control.  Each pod had its own personal reading lamp.  Period.  Cabin lights were dimmed in an effort to get us quiet and sleepy.  Very nice Qantas grey knit pajamas were distributed [and used throughout the trip!]

 

Then the bar carts started to roll.  The FAs were very solicitous, especially DW’s (Ima).  [I had chosen two seats together in the center, so I was on the other aisle]  Drinks and a knish were offered.

 

We had already ordered dinner from a printed menu, and despite being in row 12 we were able to get everything we wanted [on other recent flights they ran out of the most popular main choice by row 3!]  Both of us started with smoked salmon salad with grilled asparagus, red (roasted peppers) capsicum, caper purée, almond tarator (purée).  Then I had halibut and DW some kind of beef fillet (not mignon).  We both got a couple of veggies plus potatoes and a blah green salad.  For dessert I had pecan pie with crème fraiche and DW a tiny container of Häagen-Dazs vanilla ice cream.

 

We did not opt for mid-flight snacks like a “NY hot dog” [so I don't know if it would pass muster to a real New Yorker...]  DW did her usual: took a while to see what movies were available and ‘favorited’ 25 of them (but never watched any) – but did watch 2 of a 3 part National Geographic special on Elephants that I had spotted on the TV channel.  Namib Desert and Savanna.  What marvelous animals!

 

I slept a long time and even DW copped a total of 4 hours in 3 shifts.

[Host Jazzbeau]

January 22, 2024 – [ ]

 

There was no Monday for us:  the non-stop flight from JFK to AKL ‘only’ takes ~17 hours, but you arrive in Auckland on the third day thanks to the International Date Line [Sunday to Tuesday, in our case]  Does this mean we will live one day longer than we would have???

[Host Jazzbeau]

Tuesday January 23,  2024 – Auckland – The Big Foody Tour

 

Breakfast:  we both had scrambled eggs, bacon, mushrooms, grilled tomato.  I also had coffee and a croissant and DW had muesli [this surprised me, since she hates muesli; she hated this muesli!], chamomile tea, and apple juice.

 

We landed bumpily [after an amazingly smooth flight] at 4 am.  Retrieving our luggage we had to go through bio/agriculture declaration area to explain about our packed food and hiking shoes [since we had been so honest on the forms].  We passed.

 

We took a curbside taxi to the Hilton Auckland, as Uber was not available that early in the morning.  We had been upgraded to a corner room [same category as booked, but a limited view of the harbor and I think the room is a little larger]  DW grabbed some fresh fruit salad and juice from the included continental breakfast, then we both napped.

 

It began pouring around 1 pm but let up just in time for us to walk over to meet The Big Foody Walking Tour led by Elle (assisted by Lena, with Barbara in training) at 2:30.  There were four American couples, two of whom had just finished a cruise with daily tandem bicycle adventures.

 

Our first stop was the patio of Rodd and Gunn, a men’s clothing store but also the home of The Lodge Bar.  Elle poured us all some Auntsfield Estate Single Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc.  A hit!  Then they brought each of us a round ball which was a mini mince/cheese pie.  This was made with ground venison and beef.  Delicious!  Rich!  We also had a tiny crisp puff pastry with fish topped with pickled onion [which they called ‘Fish and Chips’!]  Really good, and a definite destination for dinner later in the trip.

 

We walked across the street to the harbor to look down at an art installation that includes green-lipped mussels growing on seaweed-covered ropes.

 

01 Harbour art installation

 

02 Harbour art installation

 

We then went to look at Queens Wharf, where immigrants landed by ship.  Next to it was the ‘temporary’ Cloud Building, now preserved and used for exhibits, etc.  As we walked, Elle spoke of local history and development of businesses, particularly restaurants in Auckland.  Covid, of course, had a major impact.

 

Our next Foody stop was the Britomart branch of the Miann Chocolate Factory, where we could choose a cup of gelato in the flavor we desired.  [Elle recommended the 'black charcoal' flavour, but DW and I stayed with the safer pistachio and salted caramel]  We ate and strolled, at times dodging rain drops and at others seeking shade against the intense sun.  It was only around 77 F, but there is no ozone layer in NZ to protect you so your skin begins to burn in 15 minutes of exposure!

 

We walked to the restored Art Deco Hotel de Brett where we sampled a selection of NZ cheeses (brie, cheddar, blue), two kinds of crackers, red and green grapes, figs and strawberries, and the famous NZ specialty Manuka honey (and learned of some of its medicinal benefits).  The drinkers imbibed Pinot Noir.  The hotel also afforded the opportunity for a potty break.

 

On we tramped to Honest Chocolate where we each had three pieces of chocolate confections:  dark ganache, hazelnut, and strawberry.  Then we had mini cups of chocolate tea made from ground up cacao bean husks.  [Not a big hit with our group!]

 

Our final venue was in the Commercial Bay shopping mall, the second tier being a food court with mostly Asian cuisine.  We went to the far corner to Gochu.  Sort of Korean/French fusion.  We had a pork and rice roll up of cabbage with a vinegary sauce, and a fried chicken/pickle slider.  Water to drink.  Interesting, but we didn’t feel called to go back for dinner.

 

At 5:30, we all made our farewells.  The two of us walked around the harbor area exploring possible eateries.  Returning to the Hilton, DW took a nap.  Waking up after 8:30, we found that all the restaurants closed at 9 pm!  [We’re not in Spain on this trip!!!]  So we went to Bellini, the bar in the Hilton, for lighter fare.  DW had a Caesar salad and I had two small plates: calamari and jamon fritters.

 

Then it was time for bed!

[Host Jazzbeau]

Wednesday January 24, 2024 – Auckland – the HoHo bus adventure

 

A few points about New Zealand.  It is made up primarily of two long narrow islands in a line above one another.  The North Island where we landed is tropical and humid.  The South Island is dry and cooler [being closer to Antarctica – it was confusing that Down Under north is hotter and south is colder...]  Total population of the country is 1 million people.  And the South Island is prettier, but seems particularly quiet.

 

Even though they supposedly speak English, there are times we did not understand anything they said.  They seem to pronounce any word with E in it as having a long E so for head, they say heed.  For bed, beed.  There are other variations, too.  They tend to be soft spoken as well.  And of course they use British spellings...

 

We had breakfast on the first floor of the hotel [meaning the ground floor, not the second floor which they call the first floor...], with a nice view of the ‘harbour’ on three sides.  We were entitled to the continental kiosk, or we could have paid extra for the hot buffet or to order from the menu.  [Being cheap, we filled our faces from the continental spread and got our acts together for a day of sightseeing...]

 

We had HoHo bus tix, but skipped the nearest stop and walked to the Sky Tower, the tallest structure in NZ at 328 meters.  It is a telecommunication and observation tower in Auckland.  It looms above everything in the city and can be seen from distant points, and in our opinion is quite unattractive [and, to quote Mrs. Slocombe ‘I am unanimous in that’...]  In addition to the basic admission for the view, you can upgrade for a bungee or free fall type experience [it should be no surprise that we didn’t...]

 

01 Sky Tower

 

02 Rangitoto Island

 

03 Waitematā Harbour

 

04 Maritime Museum

 

05 Westhaven Marina

 

06 One Tree Hill

 

07 Views from Sky Tower

 

08 Views from Sky Tower

 

We waited quite a while for the HoHo bus to come [and had an 'interesting' chat with an American who had apparently done no research before or after booking a supposedly cheap package tour – and was outraged that it didn’t include anything beyond the flight and hotel; he was also surprised that his basic HoHo tickets didn't include admission to the Sky Tower.  Finally the bus came and we separated...]

 

Our next stop was the Auckland War Memorial Museum where we bought special tix to the Maori cultural performance.  It was a vibrant glimpse of Maori culture culminating in a lively version of the world-famous haka.  We had time before the performance to explore the Maori world exhibit, with exquisitely carved houses and boats (one being over 30m long).  Afterward we looked at exhibits about other aboriginal peoples in Samoa, Figi and Tonga.  We especially enjoyed the children’s section of the museum with life size stuffed kiwis, Tasmanian devils, wombats…

 

09 Auckland Museum

 

10 Auckland Museum

 

11 Auckland Museum

 

12 Auckland Museum

 

13 Māori Cultural Performance

 

14 Wombat

 

15 Tasmanian Devil

 

16 Emu

 

We headed outside at 3:00 and a HoHo bus came along, but it was switching from red line to blue so we would have had to wait for another bus.  We decided it would be quicker to walk to Holy Trinity Cathedral (Anglican)– only to find it locked [closed at 3:00; missed it by ten minutes!]  It had a beautiful rose window high up in the sanctuary and a very large combination-crucified/risen Christ window over the entrance.  There were stained glass windows along both sides of the nave, which had all non-fixed seating.  It would have been very nice to see from the inside with the windows illuminated by the sun, but c’est la vie...

 

17 Holy Trinity Cathedral

 

Then we headed down Gladstone Road to the Parnell Rose Gardens where there were hundreds of rose bushes – old standard tea roses and newer hybrids.  It was open, and free – and lovely.

 

There was a HoHo bus stop right at the rose garden entrance, but it didn’t show on the current brochure – the nearest stop now is ½ mile away.  Meanwhile a woman we had seen at the cathedral came along and asked about the bus.  I spotted a cab parked at a small motel across the street, and the three of us piled in and headed for Bastion Point Lookout and the Michael Joseph Savage Memorial.  There was a beautiful garden and a sweeping lawn which gave us views of the harbor and downtown Auckland.

 

18 Bastion Point Lookout

 

19 Bastion Point Lookout

 

20 Bastion Point Lookout

 

21 Bastion Point Lookout

 

Our cab driver Simba waited for us, as the HOHO buses had stopped running.  After much picture taking, we returned to the cab and he took us to our hotels [which thanks to rush-hour traffic ran up a hefty price on the meter – oh well, ‘it’s only money’...  He also agreed to pick the two of us up the next morning to drive us to the airport for our flight to Queenstown; Uber would have been cheaper, but we had already been burned by Uber unavailability so we gave Simba what must have been the most lucrative 24 hours in his career!]

 

We had no rain today but it was extremely windy at times.  The high was in the very low 70s.  [Pleasant enough weather, especially as DW didn’t blow away...]

 

We went back to Rodd & Gunn’s The Lodge Bar for dinner.  We were not disappointed.  We shared a salad of mixed greens, ricotta and seeds in an (onion?) champagne vinaigrette [there were definitely onions somewhere...]  I had rack of lamb (four perfectly cooked chops) with spinach and DW had ragu of lamb with rigatoni and roasted tomato.  I also ordered duck-fat roasted potatoes for a side and lemon tartlets (four) for dessert.  The Auntsfield Estate Single Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc wasn’t listed on the ‘by the glass’ wine menu, but they poured it for me and I enjoyed it again.

[Host Jazzbeau]

Thursday January 25, 2024 – Queenstown – Skyline Gondola

 

Blue skies greeted us as we arose early, having to leave the Hilton at 9 am.  We had a not too satisfying breakfast at the hotel buffet [we’re still cheap...] and then finished re-packing our belongings – we were leaving most of it with the hotel concierge until our return in two days.

 

Simba, our Sikh driver from yesterday, pulled in at 8:59 to take us to the Auckland Airport for our flight to Queenstown.  We were on the airport grounds by 9:30.  [Simba assured us he could return to take us back to the Hilton when we returned on Saturday, but since his metered fares were not a bargain we decided to try for Uber in the future]

 

A small airport, AKL is fairly modern.  Kiosks are provided for self check-in and staff members are omnipresent to help make the experience pain free.  Moving on to security clearance, my belt buckle must have triggered the alarm.  [We’re used to Global Entry’s easier TSA Pre rules.]  A minute’s delay and we were on our way to Gate 32 for Air New Zealand to Queenstown.  We found the last two seats in the waiting area together.  Upon walking to the gate for departure, we learned of a short delay.  We got to our destination about 10 minutes behind schedule but caught an Uber to our hotel, the St Moritz Queenstown-M gallery.

 

After settling in a bit, we walked to the Queenstown Gardens and did a loop around its peninsula.  It was a popular but not overcrowded attraction.  There were some pretty flowers in bloom but the grounds were dominated by a variety of stands of evergreens.  There were also small groups playing frisbee golf.  The grounds also contained tennis courts and an ice arena for hockey.

 

01 Queenstown Gardens

 

02 Queenstown Gardens

 

03 Queenstown Gardens

 

04 Queenstown Gardens

 

We were surrounded by rugged mountains which didn’t register as being real.  They almost seemed to be movie backdrops.  [Like the Grand Canyon, which my brain can’t process either...]

 

05 Queenstown Gardens

 

06 Queenstown Gardens

 

We poked around town, checking out the sites of our two upcoming dinner reservations, before returning to the St Moritz.  We got lots of steps in as we walked up and down steep hills.

 

After a brief catch-our-breath turnaround, I called Uber to take us to the Skyline Gondola for a ride up Bob’s Peak.  The gondolas seat 10 and come swiftly, climbing up 480m to an observation deck overlooking Lake Wakatipu, the town and soaring peaks—Coronet Peak, the Remarkables, Walter and Cecil Peak.  For those who want more action, there are luge rides, bungy jumping…

 

07 Skyline Gondola

 

08 Skyline Gondola

 

09 Skyline Gondola

 

10 Skyline Gondola

 

11 Skyline Gondola

 

After killing time at the gift shop, we were called in to a corner table in the Stratosfare restaurant with a view of the lake and mountains [this is the ‘premium’ in the Gondola + Premium Dinner package...]  We then helped ourselves to a buffet style dinner complete with carving station, salad bar, etc.  Although there was plenty of food, it could be called mediocre at best.

 

Entertainment was provided by a female singer who was not obtrusive, but we realized after a while that all the songs blended together and we couldn’t really give any of them a name.  More fun was watching a family of goats graze near the luge track, as they scampered down to the picnic tables for a free meal once it had closed.

 

It began to rain lightly as we headed down.  We opted to walk back to the hotel via a shortcut I had discovered.

 

“And so to bed...”

[Host Jazzbeau]

Friday January 26, 2024 – Queenstown – Paradise Valley Discovery Tour

 

Mostly overcast today, rain held off (except for a few sprinkles) until after dinner.

 

Early breakfast in the Lombardy Restaurant of the St Moritz Hotel.  A large buffet with eggs and pancakes cooked to order.

 

We met our driver/guide, Charles, at 9 am in the hotel lobby for our Paradise Valley Discovery Tour.  He was friendly, knowledgeable, a fit hiker (but he accommodated our slowing down and lack of stamina), flexible, and sensitive to our goals for this excursion.  We had a full day from 9 am to 4:30 pm.

 

This unique opportunity included access to private farm land by 4WD and hiking trails on Mt. Earnslaw Station in the Glenorchy region, hiking, Lord of the Rings sights, Dart River views.

 

01 Paradise Valley Discovery Tour

 

Charles was a capable driver who took us from Queenstown west along the shore of Lake Wakatipu to where the Dart and Rees Rivers (a braided river system) empty into the lake at Glenorchy.  We could see Mt. Alfred in the distance (about 4,500’ high).

 

He drove us over farm land where the young lambs, already weaned and segregated from the ewes, scattered to make way for the Land Cruiser.  He explained that the sheep business has taken a nosedive.  Where once there were 90 million of these woolly creatures, there are now only 25 million.

 

The breed the owners raise in this area are very hearty, almost self-sufficient.  They’d better be able to make it pretty much on their own because no vet is called in or special attention given to them if they can’t cut it.  He pointed out a ewe with a ruptured gut and said she wouldn’t last much longer.  (This is not a James Herriot feel-good episode.)  He took us through the shearing house, where the sheep are shorn once a year.

 

02 Paradise Valley Discovery Tour

 

The sheep-raising industry has little support in New Zealand except from the farmers themselves.  The Green Party is after them for producing too much methane.  [On the other hand, they promote installing synthetic [petroleum-based] flooring in the local schools...]

 

Male lambs are separated from the herd once shorn and go the slaughter house.  Most females are kept to reproduce, and for wool.  However, it is not fine wool but more course stuff used for rugs, and it hardly pays for the shearing.

 

The farm to which we had access was 15,000 acres, with 4,500 sheep and 500 black Angus cows.  This breed of cows has more marbling in the meat than other breeds.  They also fare better in this climate because they are dark colored, so they don’t get skin cancer like the Herefords.

 

We occasionally saw sheep and cows in the same pasture; that can help control pasture growth.  [The fields around Glenorchy all have bushes of tough thistle among the grass, a relic of weeds mixed in the seeds brought over by the original Scottish settlers]

 

After hiking part way up the hill overlooking the farm to get good views of Diamond Lake and the mountains and the farmland below, we returned to the Land Cruiser and Charles drove us through a beech forest, where part of Fellowship OTR was filmed, with the sunlight filtering down through the leaves.

 

03 Paradise Valley Discovery Tour

 

04 Paradise Valley Discovery Tour

 

05 Paradise Valley Discovery Tour

 

06 Paradise Valley Discovery Tour

 

07 Paradise Valley Discovery Tour

 

He took us to get a glimpse of Arcadia Station, an 11-bedroom home finished in 1901 and recently sold for 20 million NZ$.  It originally had 1,200 acres in Paradise and a sad history.  As is often the case, the building was designed as a present for the owner’s wife but by the time it was completed she had died.

 

08 Arcadia Station

 

Charles was excited to show us the next natural wonder: the drumlins.  They are glacial moraine deposits covered with grass; they are natural formations, but look like burial mounds.  The sheep enjoy climbing up the sides of them and sometimes go to the top.  There were dozens of them spread about on several acres.

 

We passed trekking horses.  Once used for harness racing, they now are taken by tourist groups on trail rides.

 

At 2 pm we opted for a café lunch (Dutch treat) at Mrs Woolly's General Store in Glenorchy, just minutes from Paradise.  We shared a venison pie [a local favorite].  Yum!  I tried ginger beer [another local favorite; also very good]  Charles had pizza [he is local, so no need to go for local color...]

 

Glenorchy has a population under 400.  Sort of a hippie community.  Because he knew of our background in librarianship, Charles was excited to show us the original library building.  It was perhaps 8’x12’ [and probably measured in feet, back when it was built...] and perhaps a couple of hundred of the original books were still on the shelves.  Though weathered, the original rules for library use were still outside the wooden structure.

 

 09 Glenorchy Library

[Video – no sound, be patient while it loads!]

 

Our last stop of the day was closer to our starting point.  We parked in the lot at Bob’s Cove Recreation Reserve and started to hike in the forest.  Charles pointed out various trees and leaf sizes.  He stopped to listen to bird songs, trying to identify them and point out the singers.  We heard a Tui and a couple of Fantails and a Finch.  We walked along the shore of the cove and took photos of the old lime kiln.  Time to return to the car and head back to Queenstown.  A full, enjoyable tour.  We had hiked 5 miles in total.

 

10 Bob's Cove

 

11 Bob's Cove

 

Once back in our room, we needed to address all the thistle seeds we had accumulated in our hiking shoe soles and in our hiking socks.  It seemed to take forever.  [We were aware of New Zealand’s strict biosecurity regime, and wanted to do our part.]

 

We had an 8 pm reservation for dinner at Jervois Steak House.  We shared a king cut prime steak, fries and quasi-Greek salad.  We left nothing on our plates.  It was all delicious.  The dessert menu was not enticing, so we walked to Mrs. Ferg’s and each got a cup of gelato—I had rum raisin, DW double espresso/dark chocolate.  A yummy way to end our busy day!

[Host Jazzbeau]

Saturday January 27, 2024 –International Antarctic Centre, Christchurch

 

Today is a travel day with one big stop(over).

 

After a filling breakfast, we packed up our belongings and checked out at 11 am.  An Uber driver took us in heavy one-lane traffic to the Queenstown Airport.  The skies made for dramatic views of the lake and mountains.

 

01 Queenstown

 

02 Queenstown

 

Once again we checked in quickly using the kiosk system.  We headed to Gate 1 for our flight to Christchurch, but never found the Security check point.  A passenger was sitting near the gate and said that our plane was so small [an ATR72] that we didn’t have to go through that process.  She was right!  [I guess it didn’t carry enough fuel to be a hijack threat...]

 

We had 2 flight attendants for the whole plane, which seated under 70.  They brought around coffee/tea/water and tiny snacks and hard candy.  The flight took 55 minutes.

 

We landed in our first taste of summer.  It was 82!  We walked with our small amount of hand luggage to the International Antarctic Centre on the outskirts of the airport.  We entered the building via the café and decided a bite of lunch might be a wise idea.  I ordered a mince pie and DW ate a ham & cheese sandwich from the hotel breakfast buffet.  We then headed to the reception desk and paid the senior rate before checking our luggage in a general storage room.  [Trust system: no charge, but nothing was tagged and no receipts were given]

 

03 International Antarctic Centre

 

04 International Antarctic Centre

 

We moved along to what we thought was a movie about penguins, but it turned out to be a live feeding of the Little Blue Penguins they had in their keep.  All rescue animals.  The keeper told us they exist on short naps [just like DW]  When on land they can even stand for a few minutes and doze [yup...]  There are 600,000 of these blues around Australia/NZ.

 

[Our cruise was supposed to be taking us to Phillip Island to watch these small birds, called Fairy Penguins in Australia, come back to their burrows after a day of fishing – but that stop was cancelled so we were glad to have this opportunity to see them.]

 

05 Little Blue Penguins

 

06 Little Blue Penguins

 

We opted not to go into the 4D experience as we didn’t want to be shaken up.  [Too 'Disney' for us...]

 

We observed other museum goers trying to keep warm in the locked Cold Storm Room.  They were given parkas to put on to stave off the frigid temps and gale-force winds for 15 minutes.  [But some women had bare legs.  Ouch!  No thanks!]

 

We saw the recreation of Scott’s hut.

 

 

07 Scott's Hut

 

We visited the Huskies exhibit.  Four beautiful young dogs (age three and under) were brought in and encouraged to mix with the museum goers.  Three were Siberians and one a Greenland.  DW was in ecstasy with all the puppies.  Then suddenly one of Siberians cried out and couldn’t be consoled.  The trainer called for a couple of extra crew to come assist and they were all led outside.  Show over.

 

08 Huskies

 

09 Huskies

 

10 Huskies

 

We visited the remaining exhibits, reclaimed our bags and took a few photos of the outdoor trekking vehicles.

 

11 Hägglund Field Trip

 

12 Hägglund Field Trip

 

Then we headed back to the airport for our flight to Auckland.  Here security was a little tighter, but they would permit water to be carried through if it was in a sealed container.

 

We were on a larger plane [A320D] but the snacks and beverages were the same skimpy offerings.  The sky was very cloudy so we had no view of the mountains as we made our descent.  [Glad we had seen Mt Cook so clearly on the way down.]  The flight took a little over an hour.  We collected our bags and caught an Uber in a matter of minutes.

 

A half hour later we were back at the Auckland Hilton and reclaimed the bags we had left behind.  We checked into another corner room, two floors directly above our previous room.

 

We opted to eat in Fish, the hotel’s restaurant, but had to hurry as they would stop taking orders in 15 minutes.  DW had grilled octopus with black garlic nero and furikake and a mixed leaf salad.  I had the market fish (snapper) – a large fillet done in a skillet served with confit tomatoes, golden raisins, fennel à la grecque and galangal.  We shared a piece of Basque cheesecake topped with coconut yogurt and served with fresh berries, grapes and a lovely raspberry preserve.  A good dinner: we made the right choice staying home.

[Host Jazzbeau]

Sunday January 28, 2024 – Auckland

 

An overcast, misty, rainy day but in the mid 70s.  Humidity lay heavy on everyone.

 

We had a late breakfast and took an Uber west to Kelly Tarlton's Sea Life Aquarium.  It claims to showcase over 30 live animal exhibits, habitat displays, including the world’s largest sub-Antarctic penguin colony exhibit, and amazing underwater viewing tunnels (of which he was the inventor).  As you walk through these glass tunnels, sharks and rays swim around and over you.  The sharks are intimidating with their sharp teeth that can be replaced naturally over and over again.  [One shark in its lifetime can have as many as 30,000 teeth.  What a saving on dental bills!]

 

 

01 Kelly Tarlton's Sea Life Aquarium

 

02 Kelly Tarlton's Sea Life Aquarium

 

As we entered the facility we passed through a complete recreation of Scott’s Hut in the Antarctic.  Amazing what conditions these men endured!

 

03 Scott's Hut

 

04 Scott's Hut

 

05 Scott's Hut

 

Next we met the penguins.  King penguins with their yellow gold highlights and smaller Gentoos.  Many of the latter were molting.

 

06 Penguins

 

There were small tanks holding jellyfish, tropical fish, corals, sea stars (aka starfish), seahorses.  [Did you know it is the male seahorse who gives birth to the newborn and nurtures it?  We should have remembered this factoid for the trivia sessions on the Silversea cruise...]

 

There were tanks with huge lobsters, others with long finned black eels – and supposedly turtles, though we never caught a glimpse of one even where there was a talk being given on them.  ???

 

There was a big tank containing two Tuatara.

Tuatara (Sphenodon punctatus) are reptiles endemic to New Zealand.  Despite their close resemblance to lizards, they are part of a distinct lineage, the order Rhynchocephalia.  The name tuatara is derived from the Māori language and means ‘peaks on the back.’  [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuatara]

 

There were activities for children and feel tanks for them to use under supervision.

 

We had expected to spend a couple of hours there but we were through the place in about 45 minutes.  We have had longer experiences in the aquaria in Brooklyn, Chattanooga, and New Orleans.  [But as Spencer Tracy said in Pat and Mike, “There's not much meat on her, but what's there is 'cherce'.”]

 

Since it was only 12:30, we Ubered to St Kevin’s Arcade and meandered past the shops and down the stairs to Myers Park to see a reproduction of Michelangelo’s Moses statue.

 

07 Myers Park – Moses

 

08 Myers Park

 

09 Myers Park

 

We exited the park and walked past Auckland Town Hall, part of which is used for theatrical performances.

 

10 Auckland Town Hall

 

Aotea Square has performing platforms/shells and places for those pushing their political agendas to gather and try to proselytize.  Today we saw a group Ukrainians for peace and one aging hippie for Palestine.

 

11 Aotea Square

 

12 Aotea Square

 

We passed the Civic Theatre on our search for the Auckland Art Gallery, which is a free admission venue unless you opt for their special exhibits.  We looked at everything available for free and felt we got what we paid for...

 

13 Civic Theatre

 

14 Auckland Art Gallery

 

We then strolled through Albert Park [you know, Queen Victoria’s husband].  Lots of flowers were in bloom.  There were circular beds of red/white/blue blossoms, a large stand of Canna lilies, marigolds…

 

15 Albert ...

 

16 ... Park

 

17 Albert Park

 

We left the park and saw the University of Auckland’s Clock Tower building, the Victorian Merchants’ Houses (many now in use for the university), the yellow Old Government House before walking steeply downhill to Courthouse Lane and then Vulcan Lane.

 

18 Clock Tower

 

19 Victorian Merchants’ Houses

 

20 Victorian Merchants’ Houses

 

21 Old Government House

 

22 Vulcan Lane

 

On the way, DW spotted a Krispy Kreme store so I stopped for lunch to go.

 

Reaching Queen Street, we saw the old Bank of New Zealand Building, the Queens Arcade, the Old Customhouse, and the Ferry Building.

 

23 Bank of New Zealand

 

24 Queens Arcade

 

25 Old Customs House

 

26 Ferry Building

 

At that point, it started to rain lightly and we weren’t far from the Hilton.  We had lunch in our room—I ate my Krispy Kremes and DW had her ham/cheese sandwich from the breakfast buffet [best date/wife ever!!!].

 

27 Hilton Auckland on Princes Wharf

 

28 view from Hilton Auckland

 

29 view from Hilton Auckland

 

We took it easy for a while and then got ready for 7 pm Mass at St Patrick’s Cathedral.  An Uber got us there in the downpour and dropped us near the door.  He took off and we discovered we couldn’t get in that door.  Turning around, DW spotted a woman running across the street in our direction.  DW asked about Mass or if there was another chapel and the woman was about to direct us to a different area when she spotted the sign listing Masses – “Sunday evening at 7:00,” but a small sticker added “not in January.”

 

Here we were with no other Mass to go to and our dinner reservation wasn't until 8:30!  I called the restaurant and the chap said he’d hold a table for two if we could get there soon.  Off we went in a different Uber to Jervois Steak House.  [We had enjoyed their Queenstown branch so much that we decided our last dinner in Auckland should be at their Ponsonby branch here.]  They seated us promptly and we had a leisurely dinner observing other diners, with DW looking out the window at her elbow and giving me weather updates.

 

We ordered two entrees: rack of lamb [four chops] and a venison tenderloin, plus a bowl of shoestring fries and a beetroot salad with goat cheese, citrus and rocket.  The meat was lovely as were the salty fries.  The salad was nice but never has DW consumed so many beets at one sitting!  Even at several sittings!  The rocket was barely a tablespoon’s worth.  And I wanted no part of it.  I did order a dessert which was a rice pudding with pineapple – accompanied by a scoop of coconut sorbet which DW ate.

 

We Ubered back to the Hilton in the rain.  I asked the desk clerk for an extension on check-out and she gave us 1 pm.

[Host Jazzbeau]

Monday January 29, 2024 – Silversea Silver Whisper

 

When we went down for breakfast we could see our ship Silver Whisper backed into its slip.  Weather was sunny with some clouds and a threat of showers later on.

 

Today was Auckland Anniversary Day and the harbour is the setting of the Regatta.  We think we watched the tugboat race from our breakfast table.  There seemed to be six participants.

 

01 Auckland Anniversary Regatta

 

We packed up and left our room around 12:30, and gave our luggage to the concierge while we walked over to Silver Whisper to see about the check-in process.  We had been told it started at 2 pm, but they were already letting guests board so we returned to the Hilton and ordered a taxi.

 

After checking our credentials at a couple of points and putting our carry-ons through the security x-ray, we finally got onto Silver Whisper around 1:30 – too late to eat lunch in The Restaurant (as the main dining room is called), so we went up to La Terrazza (the buffet) for lunch.  We both had salad and I opted for cottage pie and pork scallopine while DW had chili beef and sliced turkey breast plus chocolate hazelnut brownie.

 

We then went to our room and met our butler, Sikandar, who showed us the ropes.

 

DW then spent way too long in the 6th floor laundromat washing, drying [or rather trying to dry—the dryers acted like they were built for 220v but were only getting 110v...], ironing clothes, and instructing other newcomers in the use of the equipment.  She made the acquaintance of Ed, Lila, Sue and ‘the lady with the sling’ (bike accident).

 

In the interim, I unpacked my luggage and checked about a shore excursion for which we hadn’t gotten our tickets [they said not to worry].  DW then unpacked her bags and we watched the mandatory muster station drill on TV.  Then we went to the actual drill on deck 5.

 

We headed down to The Restaurant for dinner around 7:30 and asked for a table for two.  [DW was tired after the laundry and had done all the fraternizing she cared to do down there.]  We had Joji as our waiter.  Excellent service.  I had foie gras, duck breast, dauphinoise potatoes and parsnips before having butterscotch pie for dessert.  DW had mesclun salad, scallops with red onion mashed potatoes and fennel; for dessert she opted for lemon meringue tart and two scoops of coffee ice cream and a pot of chamomile tea.  Dinner was just ok, but we really enjoyed dessert.

 

We went to the 9:45 show called Emotions which introduced the two singers and four dancers.  [I thought it was supposed to be an introduction to the shows they would be doing throughout the cruise, but looking back none of the later material featured in this show at all.  That’s a pity, because the later shows were much more suited to the generation of the actual audience...]

 

DW walked a mile in- and out-doors.

[Host Jazzbeau]

Tuesday January 30, 2024 – Tauranga – Hobbiton Movie Set

 

We were docked near Mount Maunganui.  We had clear, blue skies and lots of sunshine.  Low 80s.

 

We both had breakfast from the buffet in La Terrazza before heading out at 9:30 am for our all day bus tour (till 5 pm) to the Hobbiton Movie Set.  Thirty-four of us got on coach #3 with Bruce as our driver and guide.

 

He told us that 85% of all kiwi fruit is grown in NZ.  There are green, gold and red varieties.  They are grown on vines over supporting structures, and exist on whatever rainfall they get.  We also saw avocado trees, and pine trees for the lumber industry that mature at 25-27 years.

 

Hydrangea and fuchsia were in bloom, as was the sunflower crop.  Maize (not corn) was being grown for food for cattle.  And plastic-wrapped rolls of green silage was being kept for winter feed.  [These replace the need for silos.  Who knew?]

 

Bruce pointed out a small hydro plant.  He told us that NZ relies on hydro, geothermal and wind for power.

 

We saw fields of sheep and others of cattle.  The South Island has more sheep for meat (not so much for wool anymore) and the North cows for dairy.

 

DW got a chuckle when we passed a warehouse-looking structure whose sign read Simply Cremation.  [I wonder if the next step will be DIY Cremation...]

 

After an hour on the road he took us to The Red Barn in Waikato, which became a wedding venue 12 years ago, starting with a dozen weddings the first year, and now does 77 plus weekday lunches for groups like ours.  We started off with free drinks: wine, beer, soda, juice… and then sat at well-appointed tables of seven for our meal.  Lamb roast, sliced chicken breast, roasted potatoes, avocado green salad, honey roasted carrots, rolls and butter.  Dessert was three different mini pastries (donuts, cream puffs, pots de chocolate) plus hot beverages.  A truly delicious meal!  And their rest rooms were the cleanest we have ever encountered.

 

Back on the bus to Hobbiton for our assigned departure times of 12:30 and 12:40.  Since we were in the back half of the bus we were in the later group, with an enthusiastic young man (Keelan) as our tour guide who welcomed us to “The Shire.”  We were at the home of the Hobbiton Movie Set where The Lord of the Rings and Hobbit movies were filmed.

 

In September 1998, Sir Peter Jackson and New Line Cinema discovered the Alexander Farm during an aerial search for suitable film sites.  Six months later earthmoving machinery moved in.  A road was made.  Thirty-nine Hobbit Holes were created [exteriors only].  A mill and bridge were built.  After the LOTR movies were finished it was all removed and the farm went back to raising sheep.

 

Ten years later the set was rebuilt for the Hobbit movies.  This time the farm owners required that they use permanent materials and set up a joint venture to run the tourist attraction.  [The smartest move this farmer ever made...]  Construction took two years.  Today the set is maintained to keep the magic of The Shire alive.  This past December two new Hobbit Holes were created and the first interiors were designed and opened to the public for touring.

 

There were 12,000 sheep on the Alexander Farm, but Peter Jackson did not like the look of any of them for filming [New Zealand sheep are hardy but not photogenic...] and had more attractive ones flown in.  He also wanted a special look to the tree at Bag End, so they created an artificial tree with 200,000 silk leaves.  [You can’t make this stuff up!]

 

After an hour and a half of walking in the Dell, the apple orchard, past most of the Hobbit Holes and taking pictures, we walked up to the High Road and back down to the new furnished holes before heading over to the Green Dragon Inn for free drinks.  Its roof was being re-thatched by craftsmen flown in from England.

 

[pictures at end]

 

At 3 pm we returned to our starting point—the gift shop where one can purchase a Gandalf hat for $399 NZ, which is $240 US!  [DW and I remain hatless...]

 

We rendezvoused with our bus driver, Bruce.  He promised not to continue his guide schtick so that we could rest on the ride back.  Many of us napped.  He woke us up about 15 minutes before our destination to drive us along the public beaches where many hardy souls were swimming and/or surfing in the cold water.  He then pointed out the trees lining the edge of the beach near the road—Norfolk Island Pines from Australia.  [DW had asked about them on the ride out, and he remembered.  Thanks Bruce!]

 

As the bus approached the cruise pier we had to go through a security checkpoint and show our ship ID and an official photo ID.

 

We were back onboard before 5 pm and DW discovered that her room key no longer worked.  Upon bringing it to Reception, she found out it had gotten demagnetized.  The clerk re-magnetized it and it worked again.

 

Silver Whisper pulled out at 6 pm.  Tonight was classified as Informal night, not to be confused with Casual (last night) or Formal (tomorrow).  [more on this later]

 

We had a wonderful meal.  We both started out with Prawn Ginger Sleeping Bags—three small fried shrimp with a zingy ginger dip on the side.  I then had a poached pear and pecorino salad [“Best salad ever”] followed by a prawn curry with just enough punch.  [Thankfully ‘prawn’ in Silversea-speak means medium-size shrimp with the tails removed.]

 

DW started with sweet potato minestrone soup, which was hot and chock full of veggies.  Then she savored a tender, flavorful venison with asparagus, red cabbage and scalloped potatoes.  We both ordered the dark chocolate/orange dessert with Grand Marnier ice cream.

 

DW went solo to the very entertaining disco show called Boogie Fever.  Loved it!  No walking tonight.  [Hobbiton did us in.]

 

Rough seas rocked us in our bed all night.

 

01 Hobbiton Movie Set

 

02 Hobbiton Movie Set

 

03 Hobbiton Movie Set

 

04 Hobbiton Movie Set

 

05 Hobbiton Movie Set

 

06 Hobbiton Movie Set

 

07 concrete 'bread'

 

08 Hobbiton Movie Set

 

09 Hobbiton Movie Set - Bag End

 

10 Hobbiton Movie Set - Bag End

 

11 Hobbiton Movie Set - Bag End

 

12 Hobbiton Movie Set - new Hobbit Hole

 

13 Hobbiton Movie Set - Hobbit Hole interior

 

14 Hobbiton Movie Set - Hobbit Hole interior

 

15 Hobbiton Movie Set - Hobbit Hole interior

 

16 Hobbiton Movie Set - Hobbit Hole interior

 

17 Hobbiton Movie Set - Hobbit Hole interior

 

18 Hobbiton Movie Set - Hobbit Hole interior

 

19 Hobbiton Movie Set - Hobbit Hole interior

 

20 Hobbiton Movie Set - Hobbit Hole interior

 

21 Hobbiton Movie Set - Hobbit Hole interior

 

22 Hobbiton Movie Set - Hobbit Hole interior

 

23 Hobbiton Movie Set - Hobbit Hole interior

 

24 Hobbiton Movie Set - Hobbit Hole interior

 

25 Hobbiton Movie Set - Hobbit Hole interior

 

26 Hobbiton Movie Set - Hobbit Hole interior

 

27 Hobbiton Movie Set - Hobbit Hole interior

 

28 Hobbiton Movie Set - Hobbit Hole interior

 

29 Hobbiton Movie Set - Hobbit Hole interior

 

30 Hobbiton Movie Set - Hobbit Hole interior

 

31 Hobbiton Movie Set - Hobbit Hole interior

 

32 Hobbiton Movie Set - Hobbit Hole interior

 

33 Hobbiton Movie Set - Hobbit Hole interior

 

34 Hobbiton Movie Set

 

35 Hobbiton Movie Set - The Mill

 

36 Hobbiton Movie Set - The Green Dragon Inn

[Host Jazzbeau]

Wednesday January 31, 2024 – At Sea

 

DW got up late and caught the end of the buffet breakfast in La Terrazza.  The worst eggs ever!  And the rolls are soft and gummy.  She was glad she always starts with her own cereal, so there’s something she can rely on.  I grabbed an indifferent croissant in the 8th floor lounge.  Since the coffee in La Terrazza was weak I ordered a latte from the barista – it was weak too!

 

We both attended the Destination Lecture with Jim Rowe called Nature of New Zealand with highlights of our ports of call.  He really didn’t get into the ports but more the geology of Milford Sound and biology of sperm whales, dolphins, penguins.  Interesting but sometimes confusing.  [I wondered if he was condensing 90 minute lectures into 45, as he skipped over some of his slides.]

 

At noon, Captain Julian made his midday announcement and acknowledged that we’re in rough seas; then the cruise director let us know the changes in the afternoon schedule because of the weather.

 

I went to lunch in The Restaurant and was surprised to find a British Pub Lunch buffet – it had been moved from the pool deck because of the weather – but the lunch menu was also on offer.  [I forget what I had.]  DW went to La Terrazza and got a huge salad and even a half avocado sliced on request, plus some yummy Thai seafood stew.

 

At 2:30, DW went up to the bar on deck 8 for Salsa Lessons given by Dmitrov of the dance team.  There were quite a few of passengers weaving and losing their balance as the ship pitched, and DW felt sympathy for the dancers who have to perform with the ship moving under them...

 

At 4:45, we both went to the bar on deck 5 for Team Trivia with Cruise Director Bob.  We formed a team with a group of people who happened to be sitting together, and DW suggested we name our team The Fjords as we were heading to Milford Sound and the couple on the couch was from Norway.  We all contributed something to the 20 questions asked.  And we won first place as we scored 20 out of a possible 24!  [Some questions are multi-part.]

 

We stayed and chatted with team members and then zoomed back to our cabin to shower and put on our formal duds, aiming for the 6:45 Meet and Greet the Captain (Julian Albici from Romania) who seemed to enjoy this aspect of his job, especially when he was on stage.

 

We teamed up with two gals from Denver (Nancy and Debbie) for dinner.  Tonight was the first of three Formal nights.

 

Silversea has a fussy old-fashioned dress code on most of its ships.  Casual requires that men wear collared shirt and slacks; Informal ups the ante to mandatory jacket and optional tie; Formal demands tie and jacket for dinner (but a full tuxedo or kilt is welcomed) and a jacket is required in public areas after dinner (although the latter was not enforced).

 

Our cruise, at 16 nights, had three Formal nights.  Originally the other nights were to be heavy on Informal (8) versus Casual (5) but when we boarded they had switched this – and any day with long and strenuous shore excursion choices was Casual [thank God!]

 

Luckily the two newer Silversea ships (Silver Nova and Silver Ray) have a more relaxed dress code, and the expedition ships are even more so.  [Rumor has it that the older ships will switch to the Nova code later this year – it can’t come too soon IMHO.]

 

But I’m not a rebel, so I had packed a navy Brooks Brothers suit and leather shoes which I pinched on over my Hobbit feet.  [But I’m also not a sheep, so I wore a bow tie with pink flamingos as my modest protest against the man...]

 

For dinner, I opted to go for the daily special menu (tonight called Secrets of the Sea😞 coconut-crusted prawns with lime mousseline and mango confit, mulligatawny of seafood in a curry broth, and grouper fillet in tomato ragout.  DW also got the mulligatawny and then had lobster thermidor.  I didn’t like the grouper and asked our waitress (Molly) to bring me the lobster instead; it was out in minutes.  For dessert, DW asked for fresh mango and mango sorbet.  [The mango was not ripe yet but she ate it.]

 

Before we knew it we had to get going to the show – Mickaela Sands: The Magic of Stage and Screen.  She had a lovely voice but her mic needed boosting to match the volume of the music.  [I later mentioned this to CD Bob, who said he has been telling the sound guy the same thing – it did seem better later in the cruise, so maybe a passenger’s voice carried some clout...]

 

[no pictures today]

[Host Jazzbeau]

Thursday February 1, 2024 – Picton – Sheep Farm & Winery, and an Old Ship

 

Here in Picton a beautiful day awaited us—clear, sunny skies, mid-70s.

 

We exited Whisper before 9:00 am and were directed to a full-size coach for only 12 of us!  [Extra-cost excursion, so fewer people signed up]

 

Our driver/guide was an older chap named Allan.  A former pilot, he now takes people around by bus.

 

He told us that Picton is the second largest city on NZ’s South Island, with a regular population of 6,000-7,000 – except when the ferry is in; then you’re looking at up to 12,000.

 

Picton is in the region/district [formerly Province] of Marlborough and is the major port for exporting trees/lumber – which comes from trees not native to NZ: the Monterey Pine of the U.S.  Lumber is also shipped out of Shakespeare Bay, the port next to Picton.  Most of it goes to China.

 

We drove past the Para Wetlands where willow trees are being killed in an effort to return the swamp to its original habitat and to encourage native wildlife and birds to thrive again.

 

Making our way to the largest city, Blenheim (with a population of 36,000), we saw all sorts of flowers including rows of red-flowering Mimosas.  After passing lush green mountains, we were now in the arid area and saw the Wither Hills which were brown and lacked any significant vegetation.

 

Our first stop was 40 minutes from the dock.  Allan carefully maneuvered the bus onto the property of Meadowbrook Station Farm.  We passed a huge retaining field called Pedro’s Pond and were soon off the bus and meeting our hosts for the next 90 minutes.  Simon and Tash own these 12,000 acres of flatlands and rolling hills and raise thousands of sheep and about 500 head of cattle with the help of six incredible dogs used for herding the sheep.  This young owner couple have one full-time helper (who owns four herding dogs).  When they need workers for special projects like shearing, they try to hire extras.  Not always easy!

 

01 Meadowbank Station Farm

 

02 Meadowbank Station Farm

 

03 Meadowbank Station Farm

 

Simon works on training the dogs daily, and it showed.  Three of the dogs were related to border collies and were the eye/focus dogs.  They were fast moving and one dog could stare at the sheep and they knew exactly what to do, where to go (and did it).  The other three dogs were much larger animals.  Black with brown trim, they were the barkers.  They made noise from behind the sheep to get them to move.  As they finished their assignments, they would take turns jumping into a cistern to cool off.  [Dogs only sweat through their feet so they need to regulate their body temperature.]

 

04 Meadowbank Station Farm

 

05 Meadowbank Station Farm

 

06 Meadowbank Station Farm

 

07 Meadowbank Station Farm

 

We then went into a wooden building used for shearing.  It definitely smelled like a barn!  There were only four sheep in it.  Two were there for us to see the difference between a crossbreed sheep and a Merino.  Good Merino wool brings a premium price for its wool.  [A sweater can run $400NZ or $240US.]

 

08 Meadowbank Station Farm – crossbreed (L) & merino (R)

 

The other two sheep were for the demo.  Simon and his assistant each sheared a sheep.  It is hard work!  The sheep are not happy about it but it does not hurt them.  However, they feel threatened.  At the end, they covered the sheep’s eyes with some of its shorn wool and that calmed her down.  Hence the term, “pulling the wool over one’s eyes.”

 

 

 09 Meadowbank Station Farm – shearing

[Video –be patient while it loads!]

 

We then moved into another part of the barn for refreshments.  Tash had tea, coffee and lemon water for us to drink along with her home baked goodies—mini scones with jam and cream, brownies and banana cake.  [I counted and there were enough for two scones per person, but some didn't eat any so I had a third because they were so good.  Tara saw this and offered me more, but they were very filling!]  They seemed happy to answer questions posed to them or talk about their lives, their family or the farm.  It’s a tough life!

 

Allan got us back on the bus and we had a short ride to our next destination, Forrest Winery (one of the many vineyards dotting the map).  NZ is known for their Sauvignon Blanc, but Forrest is a boutique winery that features unusual varietals so we tasted 4 wines, none of them being SB.  We started out with a Rosé, next a Chenin Blanc, then ‘PRP’ aka a mistake (an unintentional blend of Pinot Grigio, Riesling, and Petit Manseng), and finally a straight Petit Manseng.  They were all quite nice.  [That’s a great compliment coming from DW, who normally drinks water exclusively!]

 

Off we went on the bus and Allan made an unscheduled stop at Makana Chocolate Factory where they gave samples of their product and did not pressure anyone to buy.  We stayed on the bus as we knew we would not purchase anything.  However, several of our group came back with treasures in small shopping bags.

 

We drove past vineyard after vineyard, one even being for sale.  There was one apple orchard, the sole survivor of a thriving industry years ago.  [Grapes are now much more profitable.]

 

Once more we crossed the Wairau River, the main source of water in this dry valley.  The river also feeds underground aquifers, and when the river is low the farmers can pump water for irrigation.

 

We returned to Picton 45 minutes later than scheduled, so we rushed up to La Terrazza for buffet lunch.  I opted for a spicy meat, paella, and bread and butter pudding with custard sauce.  DW went for a big salad, chicken korma, and cherry meringue (a tiny coconut cake) and a chocolate triangle.  She preferred the coconut.

 

We regrouped and left the ship to take the free shuttle bus into Picton.  We spent our time at the Edwin Fox Maritime Museum which houses the remains of the last true East Indiaman clipper ship.  There was a half-hour movie and ample exhibits and recreations to give the visitor a good sense of what life was like on this ship that was built in just 10 months in 1853 for English owners – in Calcutta because the British shipyards were too overworked.

 

10 Edwin Fox Museum

 

11 Edwin Fox Museum

 

12 Edwin Fox Museum

 

13 Edwin Fox Museum

 

The Edwin Fox is the survivor of the sailing ships that brought settlers to NZ and Oz.  It is the only surviving Australian convict ship, the only surviving troop transport of the Crimean War (Florence Nightingale was even onboard!) and was the oldest merchant sailing ship still afloat.  It is no longer afloat but in permanent drydock where it is being preserved, not restored.

 

More than a thousand trees were needed to complete a ship this size.  She was built with the highest quality Indian teak.  Teak is one of the world’s most durable timbers.  It doesn’t decay, warp or crack.  Unlike oak which rusts iron, the resinous oils in teak preserve iron and repel termites.  The Edwin Fox is almost all solid teak.  It was clad with thin copper plate to try to keep the sea worms from eating it.  It is amazing to look at the remaining hull and know that it is 170 years old and had a hard life.

 

14 Edwin Fox Museum

 

15 Edwin Fox Museum

 

16 Edwin Fox Museum

 

17 Edwin Fox Museum

 

We caught a shuttle bus back to Silver Whisper and got ready to meet our Fjords team for the next round of Team Trivia.  We won again!  So we each received another 5 game points to be redeemed for special prizes [of Silversea logo merchandise...] at the end of the cruise.  DW had received 5 in the morning for winning the daily quiz contest.

 

DW then did two loads of wash in the quiet laundromat and walked the deck for a while in between washing and drying.

 

Dining tonight was Casual but the dinner orders got all fouled up.  There was some kind of electronic glitch so the orders weren’t being transmitted from the waiters’ iPads to the galley printers – some people didn’t get their entrées and others got the wrong thing.  DW had ordered filet mignon but what came was a sirloin strip.  She also got radish sticks and a few fries.  Her salad was supposed to be mesclun but it was long-in-the-tooth Iceberg.  I had potato leek soup (bland) and sea bass.  At dessert our waiter went to the kitchen himself, for us and those at the next table.  DW had coffee ice cream and I had an éclair with strawberry topping.

 

We went to the show which was Motown.  Well done, especially by the male singer (Daylin Sass) who not only sings well but knows how to project and work the crowd.  He leaves the stage and comes up into the audience for better eye contact.  He will go far.

[Host Jazzbeau]

Friday February 2, 2024 – Kaikōura – Whale Watching

 

We awoke in Kaikōura to an overcast day with threats of rain.

 

We met in the Show Lounge for our tour and proceeded together to a tender leaving from Deck 3.  After a ten minute ride to the harbor we lined up for the whale watcher, but an employee informed us we would be delayed until 11:30 while we waited for more passengers from our ship.

 

01 Kaikōura

 

02 Silver Whisper in Kaikōura

 

03 Kaikōura

 

We poked around the ruins of the South Bay Whaling Station and chatted with a couple from Kent (south of London) before boarding the modern catamaran, equipped with engines that minimize underwater noise and toilets that don’t pollute the sea.

 

04 South Bay Whaling Station

 

05 South Bay Whaling Station

 

06 South Bay Whaling Station

 

The main passenger area is enclosed and air-conditioned with comfortable seating, while outside decks offer great viewing and photo opportunities.  While the boat was in full throttle, we had to stay inside in our seats.  Once marine life was spotted, the boat slowed down or stopped at which point we were free to go outside for a better view.  DW opted to stay inside and view from the dry comfort of the wind-free cabin.  She saw perfectly well and had no intention of taking pictures.  [I braved the elements on the deck and risked my camera ‘in the interest of science’ – both I and the camera came through unscathed...]

 

07 Whale Watching Excursion

 

Our first sighting was of some common dolphins and a large Wandering Albatross.  These birds have a huge wingspan and fly like a glider, using dynamic soaring when flying long distances.  They can live more than 50-60 years and will return to the same nesting area with the same mate.  We saw several albatrosses on our tour.

 

08 Wandering Albatross

 

Moving along, next up was a pod of Orcas aka Killer Whales.  There was a male – easy to see with his big, black dorsal fin.  Males are usually twice as big as the females.  He was accompanied by three females and a calf.  We followed them for about ten minutes.  They feed on rays, which they know how to flip over so that the deadly barb on their tails are not a problem; the ray is then available for feeding by the whole pod of Orcas.  They also will kill sharks by gashing their backs and eating only their livers, which can make up 1/3 of the shark’s body.

 

09 Orcas

 

10 Orcas

 

11 Orcas

 

The captain headed farther out in search of a male Sperm Whale.  This time of year, they are the only big ones available in this area.  Humpbacks have relocated for the season as have the female sperm whales.  We lucked out as our guide Mal spotted a whale spouting.  We looked out and there he was!  Around 50’ long.  Grey.  Cutting through the very deep waves.  (It was a rocky ride out there and several people got sick.)  We had ample time to watch this sea creature before Mal warned us he would soon dive.  And sure enough, down he went and we were rewarded with his fluke.

 

12 Sperm Whale

 

13 Sperm Whale

 

14 Sperm Whale

 

15 Sperm Whale

 

16 Sperm Whale - we have a winner!

 

Sperm whales are the fourth largest species of whales and the largest of the toothed whales.  (They use teeth for grabbing, not chewing.  They swallow prey whole and their stomachs digest it.)  They weigh between 40 and 55 tons [although they may be even heavier than we thought if the guide meant metric tonnes...]  Their blow holes are not centered but off to the left, which makes them easy to identify among other whale species.

 

The particular sperm whale that we watched is named MSS40.  He was first spotted in 2007 and has been seen at least annually since 2015.

 

Once he dove, he would be down for at least 45 minutes.  So the captain turned the boat around and headed back.  It had started to rain and those who had gone outside seemed relieved to return to the shelter of their seats.

 

As we got closer to shore we sighted our ship anchored out at sea, and our catamaran headed towards a coastal beach where the captain had spotted some dolphins.  There were a number of Hector’s Dolphins, which are the smallest dolphin species.  They are about 4’-5’ long and weigh from 88-132 lbs.  There were a number of them swimming and diving near our vessel including a fairly young calf which can be distinguished not only by its size but by fetal folds in its skin.  Their coloration is an attractive blend of greys, black and white.  Their dorsal fin is distinctive because it is round, almost looking like a Mickey Mouse ear.

 

17 Hector’s Dolphins

 

18 Hector’s Dolphins

 

A bonus was a young small blue penguin swimming nearer the shore.  Mal thought perhaps it might be a fledgling.

 

We then headed back to the dock having had a rewarding time out.

 

19 Whale Watching Excursion

 

20 Whale Watching Excursion

 

21 Whale Watching Excursion

 

As it was raining and we weren’t near the town, we opted to take the waiting tender back to the ship.  Thankfully, lunch time had been extended in the buffet at La Terrazza to accommodate all of us latecomers.  I had salmon with a lemon butter sauce and some pizza before enjoying a couple of desserts—a Madeleine and a blueberry cream.  DW had a salad and curried seafood stew.  She finished it off with pineapple upside down cake and a chocolate confection.

 

We finally returned to our suite where we dealt with various things and took a short nap.

 

Then we met up with our Fjords team for trivia—Day 3.  It was a really tough set of questions today and we were sure we’d broken our winning streak, but no one did well and we tied for first place with two other groups.  [As I always said in school, “the curve is your friend...”]

 

We went to a solo show by the young male singer, Daylin Sass.  He did a full show of ballads, love songs from artists like Celine Dion and Josh Groban.  At 25, he is  very talented and doing well but knows he still has a ways to go.

 

DW tried walking outside but the wind was fierce so she walked the corridors for a while before getting dressed for Informal night in The Restaurant.  We were assigned a different waiter, Deepak, who was humorous and attentive.  I ordered Lasagna alla Fiorentina for my appetizer and DW had the ‘mesclun’ salad which again was pretty much dead Iceberg.

 

[Deepak asked how it was and DW was honest, which led to a discussion re the ship’s difficulties securing fresh produce for the cruise due to NZ’s strict biohazard regulations.  It seems that Sydney – at the beginning of the cruise before ours – was the last time fruits and vegetables had been purchased.  That explained a lot...]

 

I had chargrilled swordfish with spinach, tomatoes, portobellos, capers.  A hit!  DW tried the veal tenderloin which was tender and delicious.  For dessert, I asked for the special Bananas flambé with vanilla ice cream, and DW had two scoops of coffee ice cream and a pot of chamomile tea.

 

Then she walked a mile in the corridors before doing this journal.  Good night!

[Host Jazzbeau]

Saturday February 3, 2024 – Akaroa – Christchurch

 

We anchored off Akaroa.  After breakfast we met our tour group in the theatre at 9 am so we could travel downstairs to the tender together.  It was a smooth 15 minute ride to the dock, where we were quickly ushered onto our waiting buses.  We were assigned to #7 which was a clunker.  At times, it didn’t want to shift into first gear.  It struggled up the many hills on our way to Christchurch.  [We have adopted a strategy of trying to be in the last group on excursions, because they are usually not full.  But this time it meant that we got the short end of the stick...]

 

Akaroa is a drowned volcanic caldera (like a smaller version of Santorini, but a peninsula).  It makes a good harbor, but is a long drive to Christchurch.  The trip took an hour and three-quarters, and in all that time we had no narration from the bus driver other than to fasten our seatbelts.  There was no tour guide.  Since the scenery looked pretty much repetitive and the animals, too, many of us dozed off.  Once you’ve seen brown mountains, fields littered with sheep, cows and chickens and small, basic houses, you sort of zone out.

 

01 Akaroa

 

When we reached Christchurch Gondola the driver told us one time to be back at the bus and the ticket taker told us an hour earlier.  They put their heads together and came up with a compromise.

 

We rode to the top in about 10 minutes and walked around the observation deck and poked through the merchandise in the gift shop.  A tea towel with a map of New Zealand attractions caught my attention and I bought it.  [DW adds: “Never to be used by you!”]

 

02 Christchurch Gondola

 

03 Christchurch Gondola

 

04 Christchurch Gondola

 

05 Christchurch Gondola

 

06 Christchurch Gondola

 

07 New Zealand tea towel – [Hah!  I used it for this...]

 

We caught a gondola back down and met our tour mates in the bus.  Off we went to Christchurch town center.  We had an hour and ten minutes to return to the same place.  It took almost that long to find Bacon Bros. Burgers in Little High Eatery.  LHE is considered the coolest and most unique space to eat out.  One can experience nine different local and family-run businesses inside a modern marketplace with plenty of shared indoor and outdoor seating.  DW ordered a Lil Boy smashed Angus burger with cheese, pickles and mayo sauce.  I had an Andy the Electrician which added bacon to the above.

 

[What's the deal with smashed burgers?  This goes back to the 1950s when my father did this to burgers on the grill.  It squeezed out all the juice then, leaving the burger dry – and it still does that today.  Give me a thick burger grilled medium rare – and do not squeeze the life out of it!!!]

 

We walked back to the bus with 15 minutes to spare, but there was little one could go see in that time.  The bus pulled out at 2:30.  Again there was no narration.  On the return trip the driver pulled over three times for photo ops but never said what was of interest there and it was only at the third stop that he let people out to take pictures.

 

As we continued to Akaroa, we passed such arid areas that the vegetation seemed to be holding on for dear life.

 

We pulled into Akaroa much later than planned, but that seems to be the way of the tours we’ve been on.  We hurried to the tender and were among the last on.  The tender ride back was extremely slow and wet as the water was very choppy.

 

All eight of our Fjords trivia team were onboard the same tender, but only six of us struggled into the bar area and Team Trivia had already gotten up to question six without us.  CD Bob repeated the first five questions for us.  They were tough.  Not only didn’t we win first place but we didn’t even get into third place and earn any points.  But we tried!

 

Bob stopped DW to invite the two of us to join him for dinner in a few nights at The Grill.  We don’t normally like to eat outside, and weren’t attracted by the Hot Rocks grill-your-own-steak concept – but we like to be sociable so we said Yes.  [In the event it was cancelled due to bad weather.]

 

DW then tried walking outside but the wind was too strong so she did some hallway hiking.

 

We arrived at the reception for First-Time Guests late and missed the hors d’oeuvres.  I got a flute of champagne and DW wasn’t offered anything else.  We sat and chatted with a couple from Canberra, Australia who invited us to dine with them in The Restaurant.

 

Martin was our waiter.  We both had the asparagus appetizer and the white bean soup as starters.  I had sole for my entrée and DW had prime rib.  For dessert, DW had her coffee ice cream and I had Lemon Delight.  And then we all shared the pistachio confection.

 

In our conversation at dinner we learned that our new companions were world travelers, with even more cruises and trips than we have!  Something to look forward to!

 

Then the two of us went to the 9:45 Kaleidoscope show.  Well done!

[Host Jazzbeau]

Sunday February 4, 2024 – Dunedin – Olveston House & Botanic Garden

 

After breakfast we headed outside to the Port Chalmers dock to catch the ship’s shuttle bus into Dunedin.  

 

They left us off at the Octagon Reserve, where we glimpsed the Municipal Chambers, City Council, Art Gallery, and Burns Statue.

 

01 Octagon Reserve

 

02 Dunedin Municipal Chambers

 

03 Dunedin City Council

 

04 Dunedin Art Gallery

 

05 Burns Statue

 

We had a long, strenuous hike uphill past the Stuart Street Terraces and the former Trinity Methodist Church to find St Joseph’s Catholic Cathedral.  There was a full house for 10:30 Mass.

 

06 Stuart Street Terraces

 

07 Trinity Methodist Church

 

08 St Joseph's Cathedral (RC)

 

09 St Joseph's Cathedral (RC)

 

After Mass, we walked back to the city center and stopped into St Paul’s Anglican Cathedral to take a look at it.  It had suffered a fire over 50 years ago so that the entire sanctuary section of the church had to be rebuilt.  That part is concrete and modern.

 

10 St Paul's Cathedral (Anglican)

 

11 St Paul's Cathedral (Anglican)

 

12 St Paul's Cathedral (Anglican)

 

13 St Paul's Cathedral (Anglican)

 

14 St Paul's Cathedral (Anglican)

 

It was a welcome relief to be outside as the sun had come out and it was no longer 50 degrees (F).  We walked back down to the Octagon, seeing the Regent Theatre and the First Church of Otago (Presbyterian), and then met our shuttle bus.  Two of our trivia mates were onboard so we chatted part of the way back to Silver Whisper.

 

15 Regent Theatre

 

16 First Church of Otago (Presbyterian)

 

I went for lunch in The Restaurant:  asparagus & avocado salad, and linguini with garlic broccoli.  DW went upstairs to La Terrazza to get a real salad with fresh greens other than dead Iceberg.  She also had caponata and a curried beef.  For dessert she had gluten free apple crumble.

 

This afternoon we took an excursion to historic Olveston House, which was designed by London architect Sir Ernest George and built between 1904 and 1907.  The home is set amidst an acre of manicured gardens and abuts lush parkland, the Town Belt, that surrounds the center of Dunedin.  We had a guided walking tour of this 35-room Edwardian mansion filled with treasures from all over the world.  Great guide!

 

17 Olveston House

 

18 Olveston House

 

19 Olveston House – Entry Hall

 

20 Olveston House

 

21 Olveston House

 

22 Olveston House

 

23 Olveston House

 

24 Olveston House

 

25 Olveston House

 

26 Olveston House

 

27 Olveston House

 

28 Olveston House

 

29 Olveston House

 

30 Olveston House

 

31 Olveston House

 

32 Olveston House

 

33 Olveston House – window to keep tabs on the party

 

34 Olveston House

 

35 Olveston House – Safe [on a pully so it can be accessed from several floors without unloading]

 

36 Olveston House

 

37 Olveston House

 

38 Olveston House – Frigidaire [still works, unlike anything you bought 5 years ago...]

 

39 Olveston House – bell pull board ["You rang, m'lord?"]

 

40 Olveston House

 

41 Olveston House

 

42 Olveston House

 

43 Olveston House

 

44 Olveston House – classic Fiat

 

45 view from Olveston House

 

Our tour bus driver was also informative as he took us from site to site.  He told us that the Scots were the first to settle the Dunedin area.  Dunedin like San Francisco was a boom town because of the gold that came through.

 

And in another nod to San Francisco we had a photo op at Baldwin Street, officially recognized as the steepest street in the world.

 

46 Baldwin Street, Dunedin [officially the steepest street in the world]

 

Our next stop was the Dunedin Botanic Garden (NZ’s oldest public garden, sited next to its oldest college, Otago University).  Established in 1863 and extensively enlarged during the early years of the 20th Century, this 72-acre oasis forms part of Dunedin’s Town Belt, a circle of green that surrounds the inner city.  At the Botanic Garden we started by strolling through the very fragrant rose garden.  We passed some Peter Pan sculptures and encountered numerous beds of dahlias, astroemeria, bee balm and even the invasive agapanthus. 

 

47 Dunedin Botanic Garden

 

48 Dunedin Botanic Garden

 

49 Dunedin Botanic Garden

 

50 Dunedin Botanic Garden – Tequila Sunrise

 

51 Dunedin Botanic Garden – Spirit of Hope

 

52 Dunedin Botanic Garden

 

53 Dunedin Botanic Garden

 

54 Dunedin Botanic Garden

 

55 Wendy Group Sculpture

 

56 Wendy Group Sculpture

 

57 Wendy Group Sculpture

 

58 Dunedin Botanic Garden

 

59 Dunedin Botanic Garden

 

60 Dunedin Botanic Garden

 

61 Dunedin Botanic Garden

 

62 Dunedin Botanic Garden

 

63 Dunedin Botanic Garden

 

Back on the bus, we passed by the former Dunedin Gaol [now, somewhat ironically, an Escape Room...] and the Dunedin Railway Station, a jewel in the area’s architectural crown.  Port Chalmers and Dunedin were the first places that we visited in NZ that had any notable architecture, some dating back to the mid-19th Century.

 

 64 Dunedin Gaol

 

65 Dunedin Railway Station

 

On the way back to Port Chalmers we passed stacks and stacks of lumber, bound for China, and the walking path that links Dunedin and Port Chalmers (alongside the railway).

 

66 Dunedin - timber for export

 

67 Railway & walking path to Port Chalmers

 

We returned to the ship a little after 5 pm.  Unfortunately, we missed Team Trivia; three of our members held the fort but didn't finish in the points.

 

At 6:15, we went to the evening show, Casino.  Lively and well done.  [Sometimes the show would be at 9:45, other nights at 6:15.  It wasn’t always clear why, except this time because rough seas were forecast.]

 

Then we returned to our cabin to batten down the hatches before the predicted 5m swells…

 

At 8 pm we presented ourselves (all gussied up) at La Dame, one of the specialty restaurants.  [You aren’t required to do the full Formal dress code at La Dame, but we felt the heightened experience deserved a gesture.]

 

We had a 4-course dinner with a lemon sorbet palate cleanser halfway through.  I had foie gras, lobster bisque, filet mignon, and pistachio souffle with dark chocolate sauce.  DW had lobster salad, lobster bisque, duck breast, and chocolate mousse.  Petits fours were presented at the end of the meal.

 

[I was disappointed overall, and that has been my opinion of the food served so far on Silver Whisper.  Nothing to send back or ‘unedible', but nothing delights – and for an additional $60 per person I expected to be delighted at La Dame.]

[Host Jazzbeau]

Monday February 5, 2024 – Milford Sound

 

Oh, what a night!  Despite our securing things, drawers flew open in the closet, and a spare clothes rod and full-sized umbrella came flying out.  No harm done!  Just startling.

 

I opted to sleep through breakfast.  [No point in getting out of the safe bed...]  DW always goes for nourishment.  It was entertaining for her to watch everyone weave their way down the corridors or to their tables in La Terrazza.  The sea was so rough – we had 18’ swells on the sides of the ship that looked as if they’d swallow us whole and then we had pitching front and back.  Silver and glassware flew off the tables, empty coffee carafes toppled to the floor, artwork became unhinged…

 

Some passengers took these conditions very badly.  A maître d’ acknowledged that he couldn’t remember such turbulence in eight years.  And a younger waiter said that it reminded him of the time they had to prepare for a cyclone.

 

At 11 am, DW met 2 other trivia teammates for the daily competition.  The three of them managed to score 13, which felt good but it wasn’t enough to garner any points.

 

Some activities were cancelled so DW did not get to try a new Latin dance after lunch in La Terrazza where she had a big salad, some Soba noodles and beef, and a chocolate coconut cake.  She wisely chose to take a nap instead.

 

I finally got up for lunch in The Restaurant [safer to be sitting and served, also the restaurant is down on deck 4...] and had “dynamite shrimp” and spaghetti.  For dessert, I enjoyed Banoffee pie.

 

Because of the ocean conditions, we were late getting to our special destination, Milford Sound.  We were scheduled from 4-7 pm but didn’t get there till 6:30.  Luckily sunset was late enough that we had plenty of light for viewing, and the weather was very good for our visit.

 

Milford Sound is a fjord [or fiord as they spell it in NZ], not a sound – but it’s too late the change the name now!  It is the most spectacular part of the large area of the southwest corner of the South Island called Fiordland National Park.

 

It rains 280 days/year there, with a total accumulation of 270” [about twice as much as the Amazon!], and it had been raining heavily before we arrived.  We had no rain, but the waterfalls were still full of water – win/win!  We could see everything clearly and passengers could go out on deck or on their balconies to take photographs.

 

We saw Fairy Falls with water so pure you can drink it and a huge number of smaller falls that weren’t identified by name.  Then we spotted Stirling Falls, 151m tall cascading from a U-shaped hanging valley.  The most impressive waterfall was Lady Bowen Falls, the highest at 162m and the most forceful with a hydro plant upstream providing all the power for Milford Sound township (with a population of 108) and their drinking water for the year from the Bowen River.

 

There were wonderful rock formations, and a pod of dolphins seeking shelter from the stormy seas outside the fjord played around our ship for a while.  The calves of this particular species nurse for 8-12 months.

 

[videos and pictures at bottom]

 

Because of all the fresh water runoff from the various falls, the water in the sound has a top layer of fresh water called the halocline which is 20-30m deep.  Below that is brackish water, and the bottom layer is salt water.  The water is clean but you can’t see into it because of the tannins from the native pines.  Black coral grows in the salt water layer.

 

Unfortunately we had to leave the calm waters after an hour and head back into the sea.  [It seemed like enough time for viewing – it was just that we dreaded two more days of rough sailing across the Tasman Sea.  But the worst was behind us, so the crossing was no problem at all for these two intrepid sailors!]

 

It was Casual night, and we had dinner in The Restaurant.  I had lobster bisque, spicy lamb Rogan Josh, and bread and butter pudding.  DW had prawn and ginger sleeping bags, oven roasted veal shank, aloo gobi (curried potato and cauliflower – which we shared), and coffee ice cream.

 

We then went to the show which featured Ami Williamson, an Australian woman who is a big fan of the American folk revival of the 1960s.  Quite enjoyable.

 

We turned the clock back one hour tonight, and will have to do so again tomorrow to get on Tasmanian time.

 

Videos – no sound, be patient while they load!

 01 Milford Sound

 

 

 02 Milford Sound

 

 

 03 Milford Sound

 

 

 04 Milford Sound

 

Photos

05 Milford Sound

 

06 Milford Sound

 

07 Milford Sound

 

08 Milford Sound

 

09 Milford Sound

 

10 Milford Sound

 

11 Milford Sound

 

12 Milford Sound

 

13 Milford Sound

 

14 Milford Sound

 

15 Milford Sound

 

16 Milford Sound

 

17 Milford Sound

 

18 Milford Sound

 

19 Milford Sound

 

20 Milford Sound

 

21 Milford Sound

 

22 Milford Sound

 

23 Milford Sound

 

24 Milford Sound

 

25 Milford Sound

[Host Jazzbeau]

Tuesday February 6, 2024 – In the Tasman Sea

 

It was another rough night!  And it’s raining, too.  So as usual DW went to breakfast and I stayed in bed.

 

We both went to Dr. Jim Rowe’s lecture Cetaceans – Whales and Dolphins of the Tasman Sea in the Show Lounge.  The smallest cetaceans are the Dusky Dolphins.  The largest are the Blue Whales.

 

We learned that the Southern Ocean behaves differently than the Pacific and it affects the Tasman Sea.  The larger beaked whales like the blue and humpback are usually not found in coastal waters but out in the ocean or the Tasman Sea.

 

Whales have 6-9x the lung capacity of humans.  They exhale more thoroughly than we do and faster (at 300mph).  They need to because of the extremely deep dives they take to find food.

 

Some dolphin species reproduce every 2 years and are maintaining their numbers pretty well.  The Hector’s Dolphins only reproduce every 4 years, and as a result are having trouble maintaining their numbers.

 

While our suite was being cleaned we headed up to the Observation Lounge on the top deck (10) right over the bridge – where we could really feel the pitch.

 

[I chose our cabin for the smoothest ride possible – had to pay up for a Deluxe Veranda because on Silversea’s classic ships all the cabins are in the front section of the ship, and it’s only when you get to the Deluxe Verandas on deck 6 that you can get aft of the centerline.  Classic Verandas, Superior Verandas and Deluxe Verandas all have the same layout and amenities and differ only by location.  This visit to the lounge 'up and forward' proved what a difference our cabin location made!]

 

Time for lunch!  Seafood Invictus spread at La Terrazza.  We both tried some lobster [meh; we’re spoiled by our summer trips to downeast Maine].  I also had a slice of shrimp pizza, then bread pudding with custard.  DW had her salad and some curried chicken, rhubarb, and apricot cake.  We chatted with a couple from Worcestershire; he was born in Oldham in 1952 to the Vicar and his wife.  My penfriend from Junior High School lives in Oldham, so we had a nice Lancashire connection.

 

DW went back to the Observation Lounge, and then did two loads of wash.

 

Our entire team showed for Trivia today, and we came in 3rd place.

 

I went down to the Shore Excursions desk to check on our excursions for Hobart, Tasmania – a planned Pilot’s strike was going to delay our arrival by three hours.  We had two excursions booked, an included one from 9:30 to 3:30 and then an extra-cost one from 5 to 8:30.  Because of the delay they had pushed all morning excursion to 11 and that caused a conflict for us.  I was hoping they would add another departure of our included excursion for the next day, which would have had plenty of time for it – but no.  So we cancelled the free one and kept the more interesting paid one...  We got on the waiting list for another tour, but never heard back.

 

The seas remained rough enough that tonight's dinner with the Cruise Director at The Grill was cancelled [it is an outdoor venue].  So it was back to Formal attire in The Restaurant.  I ordered Fantasia di Salmone (3 different styles), Carré d’Agnello (rack of lamb), and Illy coffee and chocolate mousse trilogy.  DW asked for a small portion of Grilled Marinated Eggplant Wraps with Mozzarella, Filet Mignon, and Baklava with coffee ice cream.  Excellent dinner!

 

Went to the show Silversea Favorites.  The tall dancer couple did a great tango!

 

We turned the clock back again.  Now we are on Hobart and Sydney time.

 

[no pictures]

[Host Jazzbeau]

Wednesday February 7, 2024 – Still in the Tasman Sea

 

A much calmer night for sleeping!

 

DW had breakfast.  I slept in.  [Do you see a routine here?]

 

At breakfast, DW had a visit from Nicholas who is in charge of Food and Beverage for the ship.  They had received our mid-cruise evaluation and wanted to address the produce issues we complained about, namely the lack of fruit other than honeydew and cantaloupe and the dead iceberg substituted for mesclun in The Restaurant.

 

DW went to the Show Lounge for a cooking demo by head chef Patrice Falantin, a Frenchman who started life in his family’s small hotel in France and kept working and educating his way up the culinary ladder.  He prepared Polenta with Portobello Mushroom, Spinach and Gorgonzola Cheese (and garlic, of course).  Meanwhile his kitchen crew made enough for everyone to have a sample.  Not being a big polenta fan, DW enjoyed the sauteed spinach and mushrooms more than the mush...

 

I went down to lunch at The Restaurant and DW went up to La Terrazza.  [Another routine...]  I had wonderful lasagna, and sacher torte.  DW had salad, and an Asian chicken strip dish, plus carrot cake and a gluten free macaroon for dessert.

 

At 2:30, DW joined others in the Panorama Lounge on deck 8 for dance lessons with Susanna, who did her best to teach some jazz basics.  She was of good humor besides being a patient teacher.  But afterward DW said: “My aching legs!!!”

 

DW rested a bit before Team Trivia.  Today all eight of us were there.  We scored 18 and came in 3rd place.  Then we chatted with one of our mates for a while before going to hear Ami Williamson again.  This time she switched gears from folk songs to hits from the 40s and 50s, with songs made famous by the Andrews Sisters, Peggy Lee, Doris Day, Perry Como, etc.  Very entertaining!

 

We had dinner reservations at La Terrazza and declined the antipasto tray as soon as we sat down.  We did accept the bread basket and olive oil.  We shared an order of duck ragu with bolognese sauce over ribbons of pappardelle.  Then I had the fish of the day, corvina,  which was grilled and served with capers on top and some veggies scattered about his plate.  DW went for the king prawns (4) with barley in a creamy cognac sauce.  For dessert, I had 1 scoop of pistachio gelato and 1 of almond; I really liked the pistachio so asked for another scoop – and got two huge scoops!  [I was full, but I was raised not to waste food so I waisted it...]  DW had a small piece of tiramisu and two scoops of coffee ice cream.

 

DW tried to walk the corridors but the ship was rockin’ and rollin’ too much.

 

We filled out our immigration forms for Australia for the morning.  [We had done this online, but Silversea gave everyone a printed form so we figured we should just go with the flow.]

[no pictures]

[Host Jazzbeau]

Thursday February 8, 2024 – Hobart, Tasmania [day 1]

 

Breakfast and 10:00 Team Trivia.  All eight of us were there, but we came in last with 10 points.  Ugh!

 

Beautiful weather today—70s and sunny.

 

Big delay in our docking in Hobart, Tasmania!  Dock workers and harbor pilots on strike for a few hours.  The ship finally got to the pier at 11:30.  Those on tours were called for immigration check first.

 

Since we had to cancel our morning tour, we headed out on our own at 12:30 to explore the Hobart waterfront.  We walked as far as the Salamanca section and bought lunch in Banjo’s Bakery.  DW had a small Hawaiian pizza [I know that many consider this a heresy, but I love her anyway...] and I got a bacon/meat pie and a custard pastry.  Nothing great but it took care of the hunger.  We then had energy to explore a number of art galleries for which that neighborhood is famous.

 

01 Silver Whisper in Hobart

 

02 Hobart Harbour

 

03 "Heading South" Sculpture

 

04 "Heading South" Sculpture

 

05 "Heading South" Sculpture

 

06 "Heading South" Sculpture

 

08 "Heading South" Sculpture

 

09 "Heading South" Sculpture

 

09 Salamanca Fruit Market

 

10 Parliament House, Hobart

 

11 Parliament House Gardens, Hobart

 

We headed back towards our debarkation site and popped into the tourist bureau to find out about buses to Mt Wellington for tomorrow.  We returned to the ship with an hour to regroup before heading out on our 5 pm excursion.  DW had a snack and quick nap.  [It's amazing how much energy she can get from a 15-minute Power Nap.  Me?  I'm with Yogi Berra, who said he liked to take a 2-hour nap from 1-4 pm...]

 

Off we went with two other buses for the Exclusive Nocturnal Night at Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary.  The driver told us that Tasmania is the wildlife capital of the world and also its roadkill capital (1 million killed annually).

 

12 Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary

 

Bonorong is not a zoo – its aim is to get rescued animals healthy and back in the wild, if possible.  Each animal in their care undergoes a meticulous assessment to ensure they are happy and healthy.  Every one of these animals has a story to tell.  Some animals at Bonorong are extinct everywhere except this island refuge.  The ever-changing menagerie of survivors includes Forester kangaroos, wombats, Tasmanian devils, quolls, many birds, lizards, snakes and emus.

 

We were led around by a knowledgeable guide, keeping our distance from most of the residents.  However, we had about 10-15 minutes to feed and pet the Forester kangaroos.  They ate out of our hands, although since this was the last tour of the day they seemed pretty blasé about the whole thing.  They evidently knew that the real feeding time would come as we were leaving.

 

 13 Forester Kangaroos

 

14 Forester Kangaroos

 

15 Forester Kangaroos

 

A highlight was watching two Vets operate on a bird in the on-site hospital.

 

16 Bonorong Hospital

 

We also saw Bare-nosed wombats, Tasmanian Devils, Short-beaked Echidnas, Blotched Blue-tongued lizards, Eastern and Spotted-tailed quolls, Laughing Kookaburras, Sulphur-crested and Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos, Rainbow Lorikeets, Galahs, Common Bronzewings, and Tawny Frogmouths.

 

17 Bare-nosed Wombat

 

18 Bare-nosed Wombat

 

19 Tasmanian Devil

 

20 Tasmanian Devil

 

21 Short-beaked Echidna

 

22 Short-beaked Echidna

 

23 Blotched Blue-tongued Lizard

 

24 Eastern Quoll

 

25 Spotted-tailed Quoll

 

26 Laughing Kookaburra

 

27 Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo

 

28 Sulphur-crested Cockatoo

 

29 Rainbow Lorikeet

 

30 Galah

 

31 Common Bronzewing

 

32 Tawny Frogmouth

 

At 8 pm we were back on our buses for our return to the ship.  The Restaurant was still open, so we freshened up a bit and headed down.  DW had a vegetable mezze for an appetizer and then chili-dusted ribeye before her usual two scoops of coffee ice cream.  I chose cannelloni, miso black cod, and then pistachio gelato.

 

DW got a notification and five Points for a second time for a win of the daily Silver Quiz.

 

We also found a bottle of wine and some chocolates from Nicholas, the Food and Beverage Manager, in our suite.  Another (tangible) thank you for our comments.  [And quite a nice bottle of wine.]

[Host Jazzbeau]

Friday February 9, 2024 – Hobart, Tasmania [day 2]

 

We both ate breakfast in La Terrazza as we had to leave at 8:30 am for our included excursion, the Hobart Storyteller Walk. Fourteen of us met our guide, Louise, in the terminal building.  She promptly took us to a large wooden shed next door, which turned out to be MACq 01, a ‘storytelling hotel.’

 

She told us she was taking us to her favorite room which was full of bottles.  Indeed it was.  It was the bar.  However, there was much more of interest there than liquor bottles.  There were many nicely displayed showcases filled with fossils.  In fact, one case had to be 12’ tall with a full skeleton of Bruce the Bear, a prehistoric creature with more lumbar vertebrae than a bear today.  There was a dinosaur egg, crab fossil….  The owner has invested a fortune in collecting them.

 

01 Hobart Storyteller Walk - MACq 01 Hotel Bar

 

02 MACq 01 Hotel Bar fossils

 

03 MACq 01 Hotel Bar fossils - Bruce the Bear

 

04 MACq 01 Hotel Bar fossils

 

05 MACq 01 Hotel Bar fossils

 

06 MACq 01 Hotel Bar fossils

 

07 MACq 01 Hotel Bar fossils

 

08 MACq 01 Hotel Bar fossils

 

09 MACq 01 Hotel Bar fossils

 

10 MACq 01 Hotel Bar fossils

 

11 MACq 01 Hotel Bar fossils

 

12 MACq 01 Hotel Bar fossils

 

13 MACq 01 Hotel Bar fossils

 

14 MACq 01 Hotel Bar fossils

 

Louise invited us to sit down while she introduced us to the history of the CBD of Hobart.  Hobart is the second oldest city in Australia after Sydney.  Straddling the Derwent River, it was founded as a penal settlement in 1803.  An attractive city (NZ cities for the most part, especially on the North Island, were not), it has close-set colonial brick-and-sandstone shops and homes lining the narrow, quiet streets.  Its population is 215,000.

 

Life revolves around this port, one of the deepest harbors in the world.  Here warehouses that once stored its major exports of fruit, wool, corn and products from its former whaling fleet still stand alongside the wharf today.

 

Louise was an excellent raconteur and before we set off from the hotel, she handed out old-fashioned Viewfinders™.  [OK, I know I'm old, but I resent hearing toys from my youth called 'old-fashioned'!]  She would lead us to a spot and point out a building, tell its history, and ask us to look in the VF to see the difference between the 1800s and now.  The buildings are well preserved but there were always differences—some major and others minor.

 

We started at the waterfront at the “Footsteps” sculture honoring convict women and their children taking their ‘footsteps to freedom’ in Van Diemen’s Land.

 

15 "Footsteps" sculpture

 

16 "Footsteps" sculpture

 

We also saw buildings like Henry Jones IXL Jams.  Originally a jam manufacturer owned by Peacock, it employed a very young convict named Henry Jones to paste labels on the jars.  He paid close attention to every detail of the business and when he was 20, he became the foreman.  At 28, he bought the Peacock Co., expanded it and called it Henry Jones IXL.  Louise asked us if we had any idea what IXL stood for.  I guessed correctly that it was Henry’s way of patting himself on the back: “I excel.”  Henry wasn’t literate so he thought IXL was the way to spell it.

 

17 Henry Jones & Co

 

18 Henry Jones & Co

 

She pointed out the Old Customs House, which was rammed by an errant Navy ship [whose young captain had this one and only day of glory/infamy] and a resulting crack in the bridge footing.

 

19 Old Customs House

 

20 crack from collision

 

We left the waterfront and Louise led us to other historic buildings over the next 90 minutes or so.  One interesting sight that you wouldn’t know without her explanation was the whetting marks on a stone wall, left when the butchers apprentices were taking their lunch breaks – right below the Mayor's office.  [She suggested they were preparing for the afternoon shift, but also sending a message to the mayor...]

 

21 marks from whetting knives (at bottom of grey stone)

 

Another interesting sight was an old bank advertisement on the side of a building, which had previously been on the corner and therefore much more visible than it is now.  No matter – that bank is long gone...

 

22 old bank ad

 

A statue to Rear Admiral John Franklin, arctic explorer and Lieutenant-Governor of Van Diemen’s Land, brought forth stories of his poor performance at both pursuits but talent for self-promotion that led to this statue (and one in London).

 

23 John Franklin statue

 

24 Franklin Square

 

One of our final stops was St David’s Park, the original cemetery where flooding had been problematic and tombstones had been moved around.  Many are now embedded in a concrete wall surrounding the courts.  

 

25 St David's Park

 

26 St David's Park

 

27 St David's Park

 

28 St David's Park

 

Our final stop was the site of Ma’s Pub in the Salamanca neighborhood, once run by a diminutive Irish woman who had a bar downstairs and a brothel up.

 

29 Ma's Pub

 

Louise collected our Viewfinders [the tour description said we would keep them, but we really didn’t need them anymore and it would be one (two, actually) more things to schlep home...] and headed back to our starting point for those who wanted to walk with her.

 

Those of us who stayed with her got to see the Lifting Bridge open to let an old wooden sailboat motor through.

 

30 Lifting Bridge

 

31 Lifting Bridge

 

32 Lifting Bridge

 

We returned to the ship.  DW had the rest of yesterday’s sandwich from the fridge before we headed out for our afternoon trip.  We took a private company tour called the Mt Wellington Explorer Bus, a two and a half hour round trip to the top of the tallest peak in the Hobart area.  Mount Wellington was named for the duke who defeated Napoleon at Waterloo in 1815, and is now also called by its Maori name kunanyi [although they didn't defeat anybody of note, nor did they inspire a wonderful beef entrée...]

 

We had an excellent driver/guide named Greg who took us 1,270 meters above sea level to experience spectacular views over Hobart and southern Tasmania.  We enjoyed the drive to the top beginning with a good view of the architecture and businesses as we passed through the capital.  One service station had a sign over one of its bays, Procrastitorium.  Inside was a very old car that the mechanic works on slowly as a project.  Part way up, our driver pulled over for a ten minute photo op and to answer any questions.  As we got nearer to the summit, we could see the impressive cliff face directly below known as the Organ Pipes.

 

33 Procrastitorium

 

We had a half hour plus of free time at the top.  There were rocks on which to climb and paved trails, a boardwalk, an enclosed observatory and toilets.  We started on the rocks and although it’s one of DW’s favorite activities, she got off them as quickly as possible as they were unsteady, and so were we with the powerful winds [and she didn’t have her hiking shoes on as we didn’t expect this level of activity]  But the views were terrific.

 

34 Mount Wellington

 

35 Mount Wellington

 

36 Mount Wellington

 

37 Mount Wellington

 

38 Mount Wellington

 

We were back in town by 3 pm and strolled back to the ship along the waterfront.  We and only two other teammates showed for trivia, and although we scored 20 we did not place in the top three, so no points.  However, DW has now won the daily quiz (available in the library) 3x, earning a total of 15 game points.  It will probably garner a luggage tag at the end of the cruise.  Haha!

 

Before dinner we went to the Show Lounge for Limelight, with songs from Broadway and London shows.  We sat with our pals from Denver and then went to dinner with them in The Restaurant.  I had smoked duck breast/veggies, then filet mignon.  DW had Thai green curry vegetables, and lemon grass beef “Naam Tok Nua-style.”  We both had coffee mousse and ice cream for dessert.

 

Then we all headed to our suites to secure everything again before the predicted waves and wind hit.  They did, but died down within a reasonable amount of time.

[Host Jazzbeau]

Saturday February 10, 2024 – At Sea

 

On our way from Tasmania to Geelong, Australia which is near Melbourne.  Calm seas.  Sunshine.

 

This morning we went to the naturalist’s talk Geelong and the Great Ocean Road out to the 12 Apostles (our included excursion for tomorrow).  Although Melbourne is the larger city and was known for wool production, then had a gold rush, and then became a manufacturing center for paper, rope, etc. – it was Geelong that had the deeper port and developed because of that.

 

He also spoke about the local kangaroo population, which is a larger species than those on Tasmania.  The Eastern Grey kangaroo males can grow to a heights of 9 and a half feet tall.  The female chooses her mate, but he is hers only for about an hour and then takes off.  Females are often pregnant all the time, having different embryos and babies developing at different stages.  If there is a shortage of water or grass, they can put the fetal development on hold.  The ‘roos are grazing animals but that exposes them to predators, so they spend most of daylight in the bush and come out to feed late afternoon and dusk.

 

I went to The Restaurant for lunch and had avocado toast, and beef stroganoff.  I was stuffed, so I planned to take my dessert (cheesecake) to our room.  Then I mentioned to my waiter that we hadn’t seen any fresh bananas on the ship, and he offered to get me a couple.  Then he said ‘Why schlep?’ [or words to that effect...], and said he would have room service deliver.  That turned out to be a mistake because room service did me a favor and sliced the bananas – I had wanted to keep them whole until they were nice and ripe...

 

DW went up to La Terrazza and had her usual big salad, then sweet and sour beef, apricot tart, and summer pudding with raspberries and custard.  She did not finish either dessert.

 

She walked around a bit and then went to dance class with the pros Andre and Ilona to try to learn Bachata.  Lesson 2 is yet to come.

 

All eight of us made it to Team Trivia this afternoon and we came in 3rd place.

 

D did two loads of wash.

 

This evening’s entertainment was provided by Ian Cooper, a violinist, who played classical, gypsy, country and Irish music.

 

Dress for tonight’s dinner in The Restaurant was Informal, so I had to wear a sport coat over my golf shirt.  I had vegetable vol-au-vent (baked puff pastry with vegetables and cream), glazed venison leg, and raspberry crème brulée.  DW had mesclun salad [and it actually was a mix of greens again, so Iceberg-gate is over!], jumbo shrimps and scallops with sweet and sour vegetables plus extra green veggies (but no rice), and tiramisu and coffee ice cream.

 

[no photos]

[Host Jazzbeau]

Sunday February 11, 2024 – Geelong – The Great Ocean Road

 

Up early.  Despite a delay in anchoring, we were expected in the Show Lounge at 8:05 am to gather for tendering to Geelong [pronounced like the GI in gigolo, with the stress on the long].  About 30 of us boarded our coach for an almost 10 hour excursion along The Great Ocean Road, stopping a couple of times before reaching our destination of the Twelve Apostles.

 

Our driver, Craig, pulled away from the pier and began driving through Transvaal Square, past private and public hospitals and out of Geelong (which is the biggest regional town in Victoria) crossing the Barwon River.  He headed for the GOR winding along Victoria’s windswept shoreline, a rugged area known as the Shipwreck Coast because ~700 ships have been lost there. 

 

The Great Ocean Road is one of the world’s most famous coastal drives, spectacular and breathtaking and we had the perfect weather for it.  The GOR was built by returning servicemen as a depression-era stimulus project.

 

01 The Great Ocean Road

 

The beaches we passed were peopled by surfers, swimmers, fishermen, and people on jet skis.

 

02 The Great Ocean Road

 

03 The Great Ocean Road

 

We had a 10 minute stop for photos before we wound our way through subtropical rainforests to the town of Lorne where we could avail ourselves of the potties, browse in a few shops and take pictures of white cockatoos and the rare Gang Gang cockatoo which is smaller and has a grey body and bright red head.  These birds are all poseurs, waiting to be photographed!

 

04 Lorne

 

05 Gang-Gang Cockatoos

 

06 Gang-Gang Cockatoo

 

Our first big stop of the day was around noon in the town of Apollo Bay.  Craig parked a short distance from the main drag which was teeming with people just out for the weekend or celebrating Chinese New Year.  We walked towards the shop with Margaret, a Tourist Information centre volunteer, who was doing her best to act as tour guide.  She led us to the Apollo Bay Bakery with long lines but efficient young counter attendants who served each of us a scallop pie.  We three found a table on the sidewalk and wolfed down the yummy lunch.  She then recommended walking a block farther to the ice cream shop which we eventually did.  Lines were out the door, but DW got a cup of coffee ice cream and I had salted caramel.

 

We walked around Apollo Bay until it was time to return to the bus.

 

07 Apollo Bay

 

08 Apollo Bay

 

09 Apollo Bay

 

10 Apollo Bay

 

Margaret was not trained as a tour guide but tried using her experience from the Tourist Information centre and as a resident of the area to enlighten us.  At times however she was somewhat discouraging by telling us what we couldn’t go to visit because large tour buses were prohibited, rather than what we were going to see.

 

As we drove along we all were looking for kangaroos and koalas.  One of our Denver friends spotted a koala and our Kent pal, some kangaroos.  Luck of the draw!  [But the driver didn’t stop, so no pictures...]

 

The rest of us did get to see plenty of cows (Herefords, Murray grays…) and sheep, horses, birds (egrets, spoonbills, ducks, black swans).  There were plenty of eucalyptus, beech and fern trees in the forest.  There were Norfolk Island Pines and red flowering gum trees along the road.  These gum trees look a lot like the NZ Christmas trees.

 

We finally reached the Twelve Apostles (in Port Campbell National Park) and the site of a tragic, yet romantic shipwreck at Loch Ard Gorge around 2:45 pm.  The joint was jumping!

 

Extensive boardwalks and viewing platforms help you experience the sweeping, awe-inspiring vistas while marveling at the rugged cliffs.  It was a stunning view marred only by the crowds, and by the attacking horseflies who were relentless.  [And where was our OFF!? Back on the bus...]  We made it full circuit and Marg even took a photo of us.  We returned to the gift shop to get out of the reach of flies.

 

The Twelve Apostles are sandstone stacks.  20 million years ago, the forces of nature began weathering the soft limestone of the Port Campbell cliffs.  The resulting islands of harder rock, up to 144 feet high, were left isolated, standing just off-shore ‘as if a group of apostles were waiting to be sent.’  The Apostles are wearing away.  Fewer than 20 years ago, one toppled and remains in a collection of pieces around the original site.  Some say there are only 8 left, but it seemed to us as we walked the various boardwalk loops that there were at least 11 [not counting Judas].  Anyway, any number, it is a spectacular natural site.  And having such beautiful weather only enhanced it.

 

11 Twelve Apostles

 

12 Twelve Apostles

 

13 Twelve Apostles

 

14 Loch Ard Gorge

 

15 Loch Ard Gorge

 

16 Loch Ard Gorge

 

17 Loch Ard Gorge

 

18 Loch Ard Gorge

 

We left Port Campbell NP around 4:15 and headed away from the coast for more main roads to take us back to Geelong in a more timely fashion.  Craig stopped in Colac for toilets and then off to Geelong.  By the time we got off the bus, walked to the tender and got back onboard Whisper, it was 7:00 pm.

 

Unfortunately, we had no time to explore Geelong and see the 100+ bollard statues that  dot the waterfront.  Some are painted as lifeguards, cooks, firefighters…  [We did see a few from the bus.]

 

We got ready for dinner and went to The Restaurant.  I had smoked duck salad, kangaroo carpaccio, and roasted corn-fed baby chicken.  DW had aloo palak (curried veg), and malabar chicken (also curried).  We both had lemon meringue pie.  Yum!

 

Then we sat with the Denver girls for the last show done by the singers/dancers called Dance on Fire.  Excellent.

[Host Jazzbeau]

Monday February 12, 2024 – At Sea

 

Our last sea day, but it is calm as we hug the coast on our way to Eden.  However, for a while we were in fog and it was eerie to hear the fog horn blast regularly.

 

I went down to the Show Lounge to watch the Super Bowl, and had half a hot dog from the buffet that they had thoughtfully set up at the entrance.  DW went up to the business center to blog and give the cabin attendant a chance to clean.

 

At halftime we both cased the Indian buffet on the Pool Deck and I stayed there but ordered a delicious Reuben sandwich.  It was huge, so I didn’t eat any of the sides or condiments that came with it.  Meanwhile DW went to La Terrazza and got a big salad, oriental spicy beef strips, roasted sweet potato chunks, a macaroon, and an apricot galette with fresh strawberries and raspberry.

 

Upon returning to Deck 6, she poked her head into the Show Lounge and saw that the Super Bowl was tied at 16-16, so she went to to our cabin and found the game on ESPN – and waited for Patrick Mahomes to work his magic.  And he did!

 

I returned at the end of the game and took a nap.  DW went up to deck 9 and walked laps for about 45 minutes.  The wind was strong but the temperature was good for walking.

 

She woke me at 4:30 pm for Trivia; six of us showed and we did not earn any extra points but we enjoyed being together.

 

We got ready for dinner and went to the Show Lounge to hear Ian Cooper play the violin.  Extremely accomplished and very humorous.  [And pretty amazing that the band was able to learn his accompaniments with only a short rehearsal squeezed in around the Super Bowl broadcast!]  We chatted with the Denver gals, had our photos taken, and traded contact info.

 

They went to The Restaurant and we up to La Terrazza where we had a great meal and good exchanges with our waiter.  I started with spicy spaghetti and DW with cacciucco, an Italian seafood stew in a thick tomato broth.  We both had veal scallopine.  Our waiter was able to get crêpes suzette from the DR for me, and DW had tiramisu and coffee ice cream.  Excellent meal!

 

We then met our Butler, Sikandar, and chatted with him about Silver Endeavour on which he had served [and we’ll be on for Svalbard next year]

 

[no pictures]