If I were to return to Australia, Melbourne would be at the top of my list for go-to places. I generally find a population of over 3 million daunting, but this city had appeal. Then I realized that it has something in common with Vancouver – both are considered in the top three of most…

Excuse this post, out of order travel-wise. I mentioned in the Akaroa post that the next stop was Tasmania, when in fact there was one more port of call in New Zealand. It was a rainy day so we stuck close to the ship, not making it into Dunedin, the Edinburgh of New Zealand. Dunedin…

Had to share this moment of the two sweet grand boys: Apparently he was surprised by the flash and not doing a Home Alone imitation. Wishing all a Christmas filled with joy and peace.

It's frustrating to read a book that jumps back and forth in time. You begin a chapter with a feeling of disorientation until you realize what's going on. That's what's happening here, this being a brief interlude of updating prior to slipping back into the latter part of our time down under.  I've been writing…

Two sea days, finally my favourite part of a cruise vacation, total relaxation and relinquishment of control. The first day, though, was filled with spectacularly dramatic scenery in New Zealand's Milford Sound. At first it seemed similar to our British Columbia Howe Sound. Then it turned into the sights of an Alaskan cruise. But then,…

Akaroa, a quaint village (population 650, 33% being seniors), 80Km from Wellington, was first settled by NZ'a indigenous Maori,who were Polynesian settlers arriving by canoe in the 1200's. Long complicated story made short: the British arrived in the 1800's, skirmishes ensued, treaties were formed, French arrived a short time later, having bought part of the…

This is a busy cruise, with port calls almost every day. Today put us in the capital of New Zealand, Wellington. It was a beautiful day, not living up to its Windy Wellington reputation, in this reasonably sized city (population 412,500) with a manageable pace of life. We rode the famous cable car, of the…

Our next port was Napier, the Art Deco city. The city's architecture was "revitalized" after the great earthquake of 1931. What survived the quake, burned to the ground. The municipal  powers-that-be took advantage of the opportunity to start from scratch.  They researched current architectural style and liked the Deco design that allowed them to incorporate…

Riding back through the Marlborough wine country to the airport in Blenheim, we left the magical South Island by prop jet to Aukland. We'll board Holland America's Noordam in the afternoon. The sailing  of our ship was moved up to an earlier time so there was no room for delay or we'd have had to…

Last night's sleep was really good. Lulled by the sound of the water in the bay it was like sleeping on a ship, only better still, it wasn't moving. Brekkie was once again, an OSM bar and yogurt. The owner of the resort dropped us off at the track, saving us we figured an additional…