Deedeelynn

Doubtful Sound
Named by Captain Cook in 1770 when he wasn't sure he would be able to get his ship out of the inlet so he never entered it.  As it turns out like Dusky Sound there is a passage we will transit through.  If there was any doubt that we would get to experience this sound today that fear was put to rest.  








Photos do a poor job of showing the scale of the terrain right next to the ship.  It's quite amazing and needs to be experienced in person.

At some point the Captain came on with news of Mlford Sound.  It's a go! 
We are to be the first large ship allowed back in since it was closed from the flooding.
Scheduled for a 4pm arrival we have a few hours of downtime on our way up the coast.








Our progress...

 

A time lapse of our transit through Doubtful Sound.
 

All good things must come to an end and so does our passage through Doubtful Sound.

You could see a distinct difference in the water between the open sea and the sheltered waters in the sound.


Looking North up the coast.

Looking South down the coast.

It's hard to capture in pictures or words but perhaps this time lapse better represents the experience.
 

The open sea appeared in the distance.





 
 

Everywhere I looked was a photo opportunity.  


On both sides were inlets and fjords.








As we sailed along islands emerged from what appeared to be solid land. 

With the sun rising by the minute the beauty of this region became more apparent. 




Like Alaska in some ways this is what sets these cruises apart from a traditional cruise.  It's amazing to see the ship in such close proximity to land and the peaks of the mountains around us.  It has to be experienced in person to fully understand.




Amazing for a ship this size to navigate in these narrow waterways.

Somewhere around 8am we approached the entrance to Dusky Sound.

There was a sea mist in the air that made photography challenging.


At this early hour the sun was low and very bright.  That didn't help with photography.


Pictures don't do it justice.  It was stunning.



Looking forward it was hard to see where we were going or how we would fit in between the islands.

As we slowly made our way forward a path opened up for us.

Day 8 continued...
Kind of a gray dull day but the sea was amazing to watch from my balcony.  It's quite mesmerizing.  I used the day to catch up on this thread.  My Royal excursion for Dunedin was automatically refunded.

Tonight live from the Ed Sullivan Royal Theater... The Australian Beatles!






Very good and quite enjoyable.

Back on the ship here is the bus area for cruise ships at the port.  It's very well organized.


Did I mention trees are a major export for New Zealand?

Some views of the harbor from the ship.

Sail away and back into the Pacific.


I hit the motherload in the Windjammer tonight.  I used to painstakingly carve the skin off with a knife but I've learned there are a lot of nutrients in the skin so after a quick rinse... yum.

Temperature tonight for those keeping score.

I saw more long boats racing in the harbor.

As I wandered along the waterfront I came across the starting line.


It's a very pleasant city to walk around.

In this area I found an underground craft market.

I also found the nest for the long boat participants.




Using my Anchor app I headed in the direction of the second bus stop.

Back to the ship where I jumped on the free shuttle bus back to downtown.
One of the cruise ship shuttle bus stops:



The Beehive as our driver called it.  This is where the New Zealand politicians work.




Very walkable and pedestrian friendly.

The museum has an outdoor area called Bush City.


They have some cave simulations.



Outdoor walking paths lead to city views.



With time up it was time to re-group at the bus outside.

Our next stop was the Museum of New Zealand.  This was unguided, we had an hour to self explore.

Free to enter but there is currently a Wonderland exhibit that has an additional charge.  The rest was free.


From the Endeavour.  



Kiwi birds.

This globe depicts the tectonic plates and one of them runs right through the middle of New Zealand.

Since the Caribbean has had some earthquakes recently here are the plates for that region.

Next stop was in the city so back down the hill with some more commentary  by our driver.
Wellington is known for its winds.  Today is a calm day by Wellington standards.  Our driver tells us sometimes this sidewalk can be challenging for pedestrians and even vehicles on the road can struggle in the winds. 

To maximize land use they have resorted to building houses on the steep hills but with no roads to the houses they have improvised and added private cable cars.  Ran out of milk?  Back in a jiffy after a cable car ride.  Don't want any visitors?  Cut the power to the cable car.  I'm guessing door to door salespeople don't do very well in Wellington.

Sand isn't natural here so they imported some to create a city beach.

Our next stop was atop the Mount Victoria lookout.



A cricket pitch were Kiwi's train to kick some Aussie butt, or at least that's what our driver claimed.

South to Antarctica.  



Rear Admiral Richard Evelyn Byrd was an American naval office and known for his explorations of Antarctica.  

Royal excursion today - Wellington Panorama
Wellington is also a shuttle bus port.  You can't simply walk off the ship and wander into the city.  After meeting in the Royal Theater we boarded our tour bus directly.  As we were leaving the port an endless line of shuttle buses were arriving to carry guests without a Royal excursion into the city.


Our driver provided commentary as he drove around the city.   The road network was originally designed in London, England by individuals who had never been to Wellington, NZ.  They just laid out the roads like Wellington was flat which it isn't. 
Once it came to actually building the roads in Wellington they had to deal with hills that in some places were sharp cliff walls.  Back in the day it seemed logical to simply start and stop streets across these cliff faces.  Stairs or walkways were added for pedestrians.  In modern times though it presents a challenge for GPS where you can find yourself driving into a dead end that ends with stairs to the next section of road.  
Consequently it helps to know Wellington if you are going to drive around Wellington.

Our first stop is a botanical garden.

The centerpiece of this garden is the Lady Norwood Rose Garden.









Also featured is a small section dedicated to peace.



Here one will find the Hiroshima Stone.

The stone is from the former Hiroshima City Hall that was destroyed by the atomic bomb.

Day 7 - Wellington
Morning comes early but it's a beautiful dawn.

The city lights in the morning darkness reveal what a populous city Wellington is.



Our progress so far...

Back to the ship.  Somewhere along the way a guide mentioned that wood is a major export for New Zealand.  China is a large consumer.  The joke is that it goes away as trees and comes back as furniture made in China.

You can see why this is a technical port requiring tugs in and out.  We had to back into that sheltered area and reach the dock by the white buildings on the left.  

Sailing down the coast we had some great scenery as the evening passed.

The beach front has a paved sidewalk or you can stroll on the pebbles of the beach.





It's a very nice area.



Time for a New Zealand beer...

The line for the cruise ship shuttle is right across the street and it was starting to build so I thought I'd wait it out with another beer and a bite to eat..

Some more pictures while I let some time pass.


Well I might as well jump in line.  Actually it went very fast.  They had three or four coaches boarding at the same time so it was only five or six minutes.

Back at the port where the buses dropped us off they had more cars on display.

As well as some live music from the era.

It was a pretty great day.  Everyone in Napier was very friendly and welcoming.  I could definitely see coming back in the future.

Driving back to the port area we drive along the coast for a few minutes.

Back into the city...

We had a choice to get off the bus in town and use the free cruise ship shuttle or to return to the port.  We had several hours and I wanted to explore the city a bit.

These buildings are called the Six Sisters.  A father wanted to keep his daughters close to home so he built each of them a house.  Being of wood construction they survived the 1930's earthquake that struck the area and now they contain different businesses.

Earthquakes damaged or destroyed a lot of buildings in the 1930s.  Much of the town was rebuilt in the style of the era and so Napier is now known for its Art Deco architectural style.  They have embraced that by adding some vintage cars.  Rides are offered.

I'm really glad this tour took us out of the city to see the countryside.

In the far distance is the port area.


Lots of grape vines.

No farmland is complete without some...

Did I mention this region has a lot of wineries?



We continued our drive in the countryside to the sights of Te Meta Peak range.


More rivers at low levels.


Beehives in the foreground.

Stunning views for a bus ride.

Day 6 continued...
Today's excursion is Hawkes Bay Panorama through Royal.  I looked at external vendors but I managed to get this on sale through Royal so it was cheaper than an equivalent 3rd party excursion.   Our bus picked us up on the pier so no shuttle required.
Leaving the port area we see our first glimpse of a local beach.

We drove through town and our driver explained various things about the area.  This next photo shows an outdoor concert tent at the Mission Estate Winery where some big names are playing.  Sir Elton John performed last night and will be performing again on the 15th of February.  That gray tall structure is a stage facing the hillside and you can see people wandering the hillside cleaning up the trash from last night's performance.

Summer season and the rivers are dry so not a lot of water flowing at the moment.

More wineries.

This entire region is fertile farmland.  At one point this larger area was a plantation and this driveway was a tree lined entrance to the plantation house.  Now it's a public road.

We stopped at a fruit shop for a bathroom break and in case anyone wanted to buy some local fruit.