Milford Sound - 米尔福德峡湾
Feb 27, 2020 (Day 37) - s the captain expected, the ship was rocking and rolling last night. A big storm hit the ship really hard……
Day 37 - Feb 27
As the captain expected, the ship was rocking and rolling last night. A big storm hit the ship really hard. We could hear water running as the boat swept back and forth. We were woken up several times as waves hit the boat. It was the worse experience at sea we ever had. In the morning, we decided not to go up to the Marketplace at Deck 12 for breakfast. Instead, we went down to the Bistro at Deck 6 in midship to eat something. We felt a little bit better at Deck 6.
As we approached Doubtful Sound and Dusky Sound in the morning, the weather turned for worse. The Serenity skipped both sounds (a narrow water passage between land) and went directly to Milford Sound in hope that the weather would be better. At 1:30 pm, the park ranger was on board and gave a presentation on Milford Sound. In the afternoon, the sea started to calm down and the rain stopped. At the end of the scenic cruising, even the sun tried to break out. Milford Sound was beautiful. Water was rushing down on both side of the sound. We never saw so many waterfalls in one place. That is definitely one of the highlights in this trip.
At Dunedin, NZ - 新西兰达尼丁
Feb 26, 2020 (Day 36) - We anchored at Port Chalmers, ten miles away from Dunedin. This time we did separate shore excursions for ……
Day 36– Feb 26
We anchored at Port Chalmers, ten miles away from Dunedin. This time we did separate shore excursions for the first time on this trip. Chenggang went hiking and Connie did Dunedin Architectural highlights. The hike took him to Mount Cargill Summit. It was not a hard hiking but it was pleasant.
The architecture tour took her to see buildings around two. The train depot building was the best. After both tours, we went out to town together again and had fish and chips for lunch instead of eating on the boat. We strolled around town and took a lot of pictures of various buildings. The weather was perfect. We had a starter, Fish Liver from Umi Uma.
The next few days we would sail cross the Tasman Sea. The captain spoke on the PA today. There were four major storms emerging in the sea. He expected 10-15 meter high waves in Tasman Sea. He said no mariner would cross it under such sea condition and decided to skip Port Hobart and going directly to Sydney. We would have an extra port day in Sydney. Tomorrow we plan to do a scenic cruise in Doubtful, Milford and Dusky Sound in New Zealand.
As we were leaving the harbor, we passed by an Albatross colony at the outlet, the largest one in New Zealand. We took some pictures with long lens and enjoyed nice weather for the moment.
At Akaroa, NZ - 新西兰阿卡罗阿
Feb 25, 2020 (Day 35) - Akaroa is a small town on Banks Peninsula in the Canterbury region of the South Island of New Zealand, not ……
Day 35 – Feb 25
Akaroa is a small town on Banks Peninsula in the Canterbury region of the South Island of New Zealand, not too far away from Christchurch. Since Christchurch was damaged by a 2011 earthquake, all cruise ships have been anchoring in Akaroa. We didn’t go to Christchurch and instead picked a tour of “high country adventure”, which we were attracted to because it seemed more adventurous. It was 2.5 hours driving to Springfield, a small town not too away from Christchurch. It was longer than everyone on the bus expected. Plus the driver went to a wrong place. The tour has two main parts, off-road drive and jet boat ride. The jet boat ride was fast and exciting. The speed can go up to 50 miles per hour. The driver did several 360 degree turns. We recorded the journey with our action camera. The tour ended in nine hours.
At Akaroa
Picton, NZ - 新西兰皮克顿
Feb 24, 2020 (Day 34 ) - Picton is a town in the South Island, not too far away from Wellington. In order not to damage the coral reef,….
Day 34 – Feb 24
Picton is a town in the South Island, not too far away from Wellington. In order not to damage the coral reef, the sailing speed of all ships was limited. We arrived at Picton in the morning and signed up for kayaking again. The weather was very nice. We kayaked about 5 km in 2 hours in Queen Charlotte Sound. We saw two stingrays pass by our boat. Kayaking was very satisfying. We had great time on the water.
After the tour, we went back to the town for a quick walk. We had a Hokey Pokey ice cream, a New Zealand favorite.
Logs are stacked up in the port because the import to China is stalled.
Wellington, the Capital of NZ -新西兰首都 惠灵顿
Feb 23, 2020 (Day 33) - Wellington is the capital of New Zealand. We docked in the morning and then went on a shore excursion with ……
Day 33 – Feb 23
Wellington is the capital of New Zealand. We docked in the morning and then went on a shore excursion with Wellington Harbor & Sheep Station Visit. The coach bus took us along the coast line. We stopped at the oldest lighthouse in New Zealand. We visited a sheep station to see sheepdog demonstration. However, two sheepdogs there were in training so the demonstration was a bit disappointing.
After the tour, we strolled around the downtown area by ourselves. Wellington is beautiful and the weather was perfect in the afternoon after a windy morning. We visited the Parliament Buildings and the guided tour was full so we didn’t go inside the buildings. The famous Beehive building has an interesting architecture. We also saw the Government Building, one of the largest wood building in the world. Finally, we rode the cable car up to the hill to view the panoramic Wellington city.
Wellington, NZ
Art Deco Festival at Napier, NZ - 新西兰纳皮尔装饰艺术节
Feb 21-22, 2020 (Day 31-32) - Crystal Serenity arrived at Napier at 6:30 PM today. We were the first few in line to get off the ship. Napier was ……
Day 31-32– Feb 21-22
Crystal Serenity arrived at Napier at 6:30 PM today. We were the first few in line to get off the ship. Napier was destroyed by a devastating 1931 earthquake. It was rebuilt with art deco landmarks. The Art Deco Festival was held this weekend. The moment we got off the shuttle bus, we were fascinated by the hundreds vintage cars lined up along the waterfront and by the people dressed in Art Deco attires. Some of the people were also enjoying picnics on the lawn next to their cars. An airshow was also happening. People over there just know how to have fun. The city is well maintained and designed. We had a great time over there. We walked back from downtown to the ship.
Air show at Art Deco Festival at Napier
We stayed overnight at Napier. The next day, we joined a shore excursion to see a Gannet colony at Hawkes Bay over Cape Kidnappers. It was quite a long distance and a rough drive over rugged mountains. There were thousands of birds in the colony. The parent birds have golden heads while the baby birds have grey heads. Since the young ones can’t fly, they are fed by their parents. Some youths are the same size as their parents or even bigger. We took a lot of pictures.
After the tour, we went to the ship to have lunch and then went out to the town again. The town was filled with joy and festival air.
At Tauranga, NZ - 新西兰陶朗加
Feb 20, 2020 (Day 30) - Tauranga, New Zealand is a beautiful small resort town in the north island. It is also a birthplace of kiwifruit…….
Day 30 (Feb 20)
Tauranga, New Zealand is a beautiful small resort town in the north island. It is also a birthplace of kiwifruit. We also learned something about “kiwi” in New Zealand. The kiwi is the national bird. It can’t fly and it comes out at night. The Kiwi is the people of New Zealand. The fruit of the kiwi is called kiwi fruit. We had a wonderful shore excursion of “Redwoods Treewalk, Geothermal Reserve & Maori Home Visit”. California Redwoods were introduced to Tauranga 100 years ago. Redwoods are too soft to have any practical use so someone had the great idea to build a treewalk suspended high in the ancient redwoods. It is about 700 meter long and 20-40 meters high in air. It is a popular tourist place. It is our first time to do treewalk. We had a great time.
Redwoods Treewalk
Then we went to the Whakarewarewa Thermal Reserve to watch the soaring Pohutu Geysers. The geysers were wonderful but can’t compare to our own Yellowstone geysers. We also saw a kiwi living in a dark room within the conservation center.
The tour also took us to a Maori village to have a lunch in a Maori home. The village is located within the geothermal area. The steaming was everywhere. At some locations, they fenced out the boiling waters inside the holes on the ground. It was just fascinating. They prepared lunch on the steamers from the geothermal. After lunch, they had a traditional dance in the church for us. The Maori home visit definitely is one of the best experiences we have had so far.
AT A MAORI VILLAGE
We went out again after a quick late lunch. We did a walk around Maungatapu mountain. Tauranga also has impressive beach front houses. We also saw two stingrays.
Another day in Auckland - 在奥克兰的第二天
Feb 19, 2020 (Day 29) - The ship stayed overnight at Auckland. On the second day, we took a ferry to Waiheke Island, a beautiful wine ……
Day 29 - Feb 19
The ship stayed overnight at Auckland. On the second day, we took a ferry to Waiheke Island, a beautiful wine country. We bought the tickets for Explorer Hop on/off bus. We started the trip earlier. When we got off the ferry, the first Explorer Bus was still 30 mins away. We were told that the first stop, Oneroa Village, was 13 mins walking distance away. Instead of waiting for the bus to come, we decided to walk to the village. After about 13 mins walking, there was no sight of the village. We asked a local woman again and were told the village was just on the top of the road, another 15 mins away. Once we got to the village, the Explorer Bus stop was not clearly marked. After checking with several people, we finally found the bus stop. Fortunately, the bus was late and we were just in time to get on the bus. We rode the bus to Onetangi Beach.
The morning at the beach was beautiful. We walked on the beach little and took a few pictures. Then we ordered a latte from a restaurant on the beach. There was a lot of people there for breakfast and the service was slow. When the latte showed up, the next bus was already there. We hopped on the bus and got off at a seafood market to have a dozen oysters and a cup of raw fish salad. The oysters were very good. After a quick taste of seafood, we got on the bus again to visit an winery. The winery had a nice wine tasting room and a restaurant with a beautiful panoramic view of the bay. Instead of riding the bus back to the terminal this time, we walked back to the terminal following a hiking trail. The Waiheke Island was very beautiful and we wish we could spend more time there.
After back to the city, we went out again to see if we could buy a pair of Allbirds shoes in New Zealand since Allbirds shoes use New Zealand’s wool. Unfortunately, we didn’t buy one since the price is more expensive than in the States. We did have a coffee and pastry in the city.
At Onetangi Beach
Waiteke Island
Crystal Serenity at Auckland’s “the land of long cloud” terminal
Winery
Auckland, New Zealand - 新西兰奥克兰
Feb 18, 2020 (Day 28) - We docked at Auckland at 8:00 am today (Feb 18). After breakfast, we joined a free walking tour at 10:00 AM……
Day 28 - Feb 18
We docked at Auckland at 8:00 am today (Feb 18). After breakfast, we joined a free walking tour at 10:00 AM. Typically, the walking tour is free but they accepted tips or donations. Liz was our tour guide. She communicated well with a large group in a very noisy environment. She took us around the downtown area and talked about the culture and history of New Zealand. The walking tour lasted about three hours. We had done free walking tours in Chile before and found them informative and inexpensive. We really liked them. After the walking tour, we went back to the ship to have lunch.
After lunch, we hopped took an Uber to visit Auckland War Memorial Museum. Then we went to Mt Eden, the highest hill in the downtown area to have a panoramic view of Auckland. Again, we took an Uber to see the Yacht Club. There are hundreds of Yachts there. Many of them are on sale. It is the best season to buy boats in Auckland. We had dinner at Prego.
Mt Eden
After dinner, we went out again to experience night life near Princess Wharf. There are a lot of restaurants and bars. Then we went back to the ship to see the show. After all the activities today, we were exhausted and slept soundly.
Bay of Islands - 新西兰岛屿湾
Feb 17, 2020 (Day 27) - After two days at sea, we arrived at Waitangi, Bay of Islands. We did Waitangi Estuary by Kayak excursion. …..
Day 27(Feb 17)
After two days at sea, we arrived at Waitangi, Bay of Islands. We did Waitangi Estuary by Kayak excursion. One way kayaking adventure was fun. We saw flying penguins from a distance. We were not very good at kayaking and we were always behind the group.
Waiting Estuary by Kayak
After kayaking, we took the ferry to Russel Island, the first permanent European Settlement in New Zealand. We had Fish and Chips. Both fish and fries were fabulous. We visited Russel Museum and Pompallier Mission Print house. We also did a hike up to Flagstaff Hill. It has a stunning view of the bay. Russel is worth of visiting. The town is well organized and maintained. New Zealand is beautiful and the people is very nice. Speaking English there makes things little easier.
Yesterday, we had gone up to Deck 13 (the top deck) to see stars. The sky was clean but with the lights on the ship, it is hard to see anything. At 10:30 pm, the captain had turned off the lights on the top deck to let us see stars. Once the lights off, the sky was seen with filled stars. The Southern Cross was hanged in the southern sky. It is the first time for us to see it. The Orion was easily identified. Our own Milky Way galaxy was seen as a pale strip cross the sky. Today, we went up to Deck 13 little earlier to see the international space station again. At 10 to 9 o’clock, the space station just was seen flying cross the sky. We also observed the Venus.
From Russell Island
