Day 62 12th March 2011 (again)

The clocks went forward one hour last night and we have repeated 12^th March so that today we are now GMT-10 or 10 hours behind UK time. Yesterday we were GMT+13 so the change is quite significant and hard to understand. These time changes make predicting sunrise and sunset a challenge but hopefully from now on the changes will be only one hour at a time.

We are still at sea cruising towards Apia, in Western Samoa. The ship covered 460 miles yesterday and we will arrive in port tomorrow morning. Unfortunately, the people are very religious so that most things are closed on a Sunday so we are not sure what will be open or what we will be able to do.

Last night we listened to the first of five concerts from a group of operatic singers – a tenor, baritone, soprano and alto. It was very interesting not least since they sang in several languages Italian, Spanish, French and English. The next event is on 15^th March when they will be performing songs connected to India.

Chris has spent the day listening to two guest speakers who were talking about criminal matters. The first discussed the Brinks Matt Robbery and the second Serial Killers. I went with her to the second but preferred walking a round the deck to a presentation about gold robbers. The weather is bright and sunny and the sea is calm. When the sea is calm and the sun shines then everyone goes outside and the ship becomes very quiet. On deck many people are simply asleep and the most active people read. On the top deck some people take part in quoits, shuffle board or other activities.

Day 61 12th March 2011

We went to bed with the news that the earthquake in Japan had sent a tidal wave across the Pacific and that the ship would encounter the wave during the night. It was not clear how large the wave would be when it reached us. We were half way between New Zealand and Western Samoa. When it did reach the ship at 5.30am, this morning it was a bit of an anticlimax given that the ship had no probably riding it. One or two people had objectives fall from shelves in their cabins but personally we slept through the event. It was little more than the normal turbulence you encounter.

The ocean has been remarkably calm after the tidal wave. It is probably the most tranquil we have seen the water since we left Southampton. There are few waves and almost no swell. There have been a number of rain showers and visibility is limited although strangely it is far worse on the port side of the ship compared to the starboard.

This is a sea day so the ship is very quiet except for the launderette which is packed as always. I find it hard to understand the desire to spend time in there or that people find so much to wash. It is an unpleasant place with people always watching your every move so that they don’t miss their turn. If you try to iron there are always people asking you when you will be finished? Personally I prefer to use the ships laundry. It does not cost much and you avoid this unpleasant environment.

We went to the port talk on Honolulu this morning and are left undecided if we should just wander around on our own or go on a trip to Pearl Harbour. We are pondering at the moment. We also have to get through American immigration which is often time consuming.

Tomorrow is again 12^th March so that we can catch up with the clock. This international date line stuff is far from clear.

Day 60 11th March 2011

Last night we had the opportunity to eat kangaroo and I decided to try it. It was very tender and tasted similar to lamb. Chris and most of the rest of the people on our table declined and had steak. I don’t know why kangaroo appeared on the menu so many days after leaving Australia perhaps someone forgot they had it. Today the food theme continues in that we were invited to attend the Portunus Gold members’ lunch. This is to say thank you for travelling with P and O. It was very good with champagne and lots of wine. We also met the new woman captain who seemed very pleasant.

We are again in mid-ocean with no sign of other ships although there have been a number of birds flying just above the waves. We are probably not that far from land. The ship is moving a lot today even though the sea state is supposed to be slight. This normally means that the waves are hitting us at an angle so that the ship moves more than normal. When I was walking around the deck this afternoon I was being knocked around a good deal. It often feels like your feet are in midair when the ship falls away or pushing up through you when it is rising. Sometimes the deck rises in front of you so you begin climbing a hill and a moment later falls away to accelerate you down the slope.

This evening the ships theatre group, the Headliners are performing in one of the smaller venues, Carmen’s. It is just the singers tonight who have chosen to sing their favourite songs. After that we are going to an Indian themed night for dinner. So, the food goes on today. We decide to miss breakfast to keep an appetite for lunch and dinner.

Tomorrow we start the process of the two 12^th Marches to get back the day we lost in February. This means that we have two Saturdays. It is quite confusing and I am not sure where we will be in respect of time. At the moment we are GMT +13 or 13 hours ahead of UK time.   

Day 59 10th March 2011

View from Sky Tower

This is our last day in New Zealand. We are in Auckland which is the largest city in the country and a quarter of the entire population live here. The ship has docked in the cruise terminal in the heart of the city. When we looked out of the cabin we saw that apartments where less than 20 feet away from us with a view directly into them. The one opposite had scores of empty bottles on the veranda so we assumed they had had a party.

It has been another warm and sunny day. The temperature was about 20c which considering this is the start of autumn here is good. Apparently it rarely drops below 14c even in winter. The harbour is a mass of yachts and other boats with marinas everywhere. The city is surrounded by dormant volcanoes with several now flooded by the sea to form lagoons.

We went on a trip to go up the Sky Tower here which has a 360 degree viewing platform from where you can bungy jump if you are mad. People were jumping off as we looked out over the city. The view is breath taking and you can go even higher which we did to a second viewing area. For those who wanted a view from outside you can walk around a narrow metal walkway with a harness on. There is no barrier. Again, this is for the insane.

After the sky tower we went to local aquarium to see penguins, sharks and sting rays. It was very good with walkways that take you under the tanks to walk with the fish. It was enjoyable if a little crowded since the local nursery school had come on a visit. There were many small children charging about.

We changed Captain’s today and the new one is the first woman captain in P and O. She will take the ship from here to Southampton. Her name is Sarah Breton.

We will now be sailing towards Apia in Western Samoa on our journey across the Pacific to San Francisco.

Day 58 9th March 2011

Geysers

19 breeds of Sheep

It has been a fabulous day in Tauranga. It was sunny, warm and bright. You can clearly see why people want to move to New Zealand. It is very beautiful with magnificent sea fronts, mountains and valleys. We have been on a day long tour to Rotorua with lots of stops along the way. We left a few minutes after the ship was docked and got back a few minutes before it was due to leave. We did three main activities:

1. We went to the agrodome and saw demonstrations of sheep shearing, different breeds of sheep, sheep dog work and milking cows. It sounds weird but it was done with humour and the dogs were simply amazing and so where the sheep.

2. We saw some Maori singing and dancing. This was excellent with a large group of performers in a theatre within the Holiday Inn where we stopped for lunch. I managed to try some more local beer. This time Tui Gold. It was very good and so was the lunch.

3. Finally we went to see the boiling mud pools and geysers of Rotorua. Around the town the familiar sight is steam coming from the many different pools. The high spot of this stop was actually getting to see a couple of Kiwis. These are remarkable birds and rather larger than you imagine. There were also demonstrations of Maori woodcarving and weaving.

The ship left at 6pm and the sail away passed many wonderful beaches and exciting scenery.

The ship has collected over £4000 for the earthquake appeal with one day left to make contributions. It is for the Red Cross.

Tomorrow is our final stop in New Zealand and we shall be in Auckland in the morning.

Day 57 8th March 2011

Art Deco Napier

Another day and another port, today we are in Napier which was largely destroyed in an earthquake 1931 and then rebuilt in an art deco style. Most of the city centre buildings are art deco and this is Napier’s call to fame. It felt like being on the set of the set of a Hercule Poirot episode.  It is a quiet place with a marine parade and gardens. It reminds me of Southport and could be a retirement community. We noticed that you could park in most places and for a working day there were few people about the place. I managed to try the local beer and drank Nap’s Classic (draft) and Speight’s Distinction (bottle). The Speight’s got my vote. The pub was being done up and was another art deco building although inside was a little run down but the beer was good.

This was another dock in a container port with piles of timber so we were given a shuttle bus from the ship to the town centre a few minutes away. They did have a wheelchair accessible bus in that a ramp could be dropped down. It was a warm pleasant day so we could wander around the city. There was a nice park with a duck and duckling nesting in a fountain. I wonder why they choose there to nest. A jazz band played while we prepared to leave so a friendly departure with us sitting on our balcony having a drink.

We are continuing to sail north towards Tauranga. We will arrive tomorrow.

Day 56 7th March 2011

Maori Show

Storm Coast

Export Wood Pile

We travelled overnight to our next destination of Wellington, the capital of New Zealand. It is on the north island so we also left behind the south and Christchurch which would have been our next call except for the earthquake. Yesterday, the Cruise Director, Leon announced that the ship was organising a collection for the victims of the earthquake. Last night when we returned to our cabin we discovered that we had tour tickets for Wellington. We had been on a waiting list but had given up hope of getting on the trip. The tour was called “The Storm Coast”.

Last night’s show was a Maori Cultural group who performed many traditional songs and dances. They were very good and even the surprise that one of them played a guitar to provide the music did not diminish their impact. They even managed to persuade a few volunteers to join them on stage to participate in the dances. The best of these groups always explain what you are seeing and hearing and this group provided an explanation of each dance with some humour. They are staying on aboard until Auckland so we will have the opportunity to see them again.

We arrived in Wellington at 9pm this morning and it took a little while to satisfy the immigration formalities so we were a little late getting off the Aurora. The coaches for the trip were waiting on the quayside. You are not allowed to take any fruit or other foodstuffs off the ship for fear of importing organisms into New Zealand ecology. This does seem rather like locking the stable door after the horse as bolted since you hear an endless story of settlers who imported rabbits, stoats, possums, gorse and many others plants and animals. The hills around Wellington are covered in gorse which was imported from Scotland to hedge in the sheep. It liked the conditions so much that it ran wild and can be seen every where.

The trip was along the coast out of Wellington. The route was largely a single track gravel road between the gorse covered steep hills (almost cliffs) and the rocks of the coast. It was wonderful scenery with the waves crashing in. There have been literally hundreds of vessels sunk along this coast. The only reason a track exists here is that they mined the hillsides for gravel for the building of  Wellington. At the end of the track is a sheep station called Pencarrow. This is on top of the cliffs and reached up a very steep track. I was amazed the coaches could climb up the slope. It was a cold day with wind and rain so the roaring fire in the station with tea and cakes was well received. The cliffs and steep hills have many wild goats and the sheep from the station also migrate to these areas where the dogs cannot easily reach them.

Alongside the ship is an enormous area covered with tree trunks which are waiting to be exported to China to be turned into planks and wood pulp for paper making. We were told this was a billion dollar industry. We met several huge lorries bringing more tree trucks to the docks as we went on the tour.

Wellington looks a busy city with a population of 600,000 people. Many of the best houses are built on the hillsides and can only be reached by cable cars. There are apparently 400 personal cable cars serving homes in this area. However, given that this city sits on a four fault lines and has regular earthquakes it seems mad to build on stilts on the sides of very steep hills. They will surely collapse in a quake.

We left Wellington at 6pm and now sail north towards Napier, our next port tomorrow morning.