Yes, we’ve crossed the International Dateline and are totally confused about what day it is, let alone what time it is, but that hasn’t stopped us from having a great time. Who cares what day it is!?!
The seas were too turbulent to go ashore in Rarotonga in the Cook Islands (the landing platform was being flooded) so we headed to New Zealand one day ahead of schedule.After four days at sea we pulled into Tauranga, a beach town on New Zealand’s North Island. There was a very nice beach and great seashells, but the town was boring.
We also visited Whangarei, an historical site where the British signed a treaty with the Maori in 1840, which lead to the formation of the sovereign nation of New Zealand, a British protectorate.
Next stop Auckland, a big city on the North Island, which was just that, a large city. But we did manage to find a nice neighborhood to visit, have a decent lunch, visit the botanical gardens, and watch a game of cricket.
Auckland brought a big change, 200 people left the ship and more than 200 new passengers arrived.We are now on our way to Wellington, the capital of New Zealand. We spent the day at sea and the highlight was a wonderful school of dolphins that swam with the ship, around it and under it, entertaining us all for about 15 minutes.
We’ve been asked about the passengers and in summary can tell you that we have met people from France, Germany, the UK, Australia, and many parts of the U.S. The median age is probably 70 and most people are retired. One couple from Maui were the inventors of wind surfing, two other couples were in the shoe business, one person was the president of Starkist Tuna, a subsidiary of Heinz, a retired heart surgeon from the UK and a retired orthopedic surgeon from Zurich. There are people who seem to enjoy drinking, others who are more enthusiastic about exercise, a modicum of sun worshipers, and others who spend most of their time indoors. There are also 380 crew members, representing more than 24 different nationalities.
6 comments:
More people photos, please! Love keeping up on where you are and what you're doing. Miss you both! Sending hugs from me, wet kisses from Dally and purrs from all the meowsers!
Happy Valentine's Day to both of you. Great update, sounds as though the adventure continues to be informative and enjoyable. Ditto with Lauren, more people photo's.
Hugs and kisses from us. Love and miss you.
Tina, Don & Bella
So basically you're telling us you're the youngens on this boat ride?
Do your cruise mates do the Disco or just Waltz?
Or dance to He's Nothing But A Hound Dog?
(that last one was for Chuck:)
xoxoxo
Very fun to read about your adventures and also to read between the lines. Like the description of the passengers----material for a shipboard novel?
Thanks so much for sharing your travels---takes me to other worlds on this gray day. Does Wellington remind you of old SF just a wee bit?
Jeannie
Hi there Chuck and Gene....finally just got caught up on your blog....wow - what a great trip! So in 1983 (I'm not really good in math but that seems like 28 years ago or something)I was in French Polynesia...backpacking around, trying to get a job as crew on a yacht going anywhere. I would hang around the marinas in Pappeete, Bora Bora, etc. talking to yachties trying to catch a ride....with absolutely no sailing experience. Finally some old salt said "look kid - you either have to navigate, cook or fuck if you want to hitch a ride on a boat" and so I flew on to Vanuatu. I spent a month on Bora Bora with a bunch of other backpackers..we rented a house...and then on the way back to Papeete on the boat that came by only once per week we got off on Raiatea when the boat made a 2 hour stop to load/unload cargo and people. We were having a beer at a dockside bar and then someone looked up and saw the boat about a half mile out to sea...with ALL our stuff still on board. The 10 of us were stranded with whatever we were wearing for a full week...some hot sexy Tahitian surfer girl took us all in and we crashed at her house right on the beach. She was a government teacher, employed by the government, and furnished with a great beachside house. Of course it was the Italian guy that got her...not the Portuguese....anyway, fortunately one of our crew was ill and stayed aboard the ship while it docked and she was able to gather all our backpacks and belongings and get them safely off the boat, into a cab and she took them to the airport and locked them all up in lockers for the week. She said the Tahitians on board were fighting over our stuff the minute the boat pulled away and they realized we all got left behind. Good times!
Looking forward to your future updates. Safe travels. Writing this from the plane, on my way back to ATL from SF, somewhere high over America. xoxoxo
Okay.... Finally, my "green" with envy is gone. All because of your rough seas experience. My Dad was a deep sea fisherman and I spent many days on a boat, green for other reasons, in the Bahamas and off the coast of Miami. They didn't have the motion sickness bracelets then and dramamine (sp?) put me to sleep. I would however, be willing to give up something really big to be able to say, "Who cares what day it is?" That is pretty high up on the bucket list. Would love to see more photos of New Zealand. I had two roommates that were Kiwi's and I never met another group of people that had so much traveling in their blood. Don't forget to share any juicy "dirt" that's happening on board. There's gotta be some crew members partying too much or getting involved with passengers, or maybe that cute little couple from somewhere has stowed away their kitty, or something worthy of a soap opera. Not even some local food somewhere sending you running to the bathroom? Sorry, just looking for a good giggle.... Only because you're going to have to top Kevin's stories when you get back... (big smile) Miss you guys!!!!
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