Dunedin, New Zealand

Due-need-in

This is today's port.  Jo and I had a tour of the town with a special stop for a tour of the
Speight's brewery, the oldest brewery in New Zealand.  Here are a few shots from today's outing.

the second picture describes this one

  

In the US our Interstate system has a limit of 6% to 7% grades

This street is at 37%

Definitely would not want to pull our trailer up this grade.

 views from the second highest point in the area @ 600 meters

 lady looking to the future

 father time

 

The city was laid out to match Edinburgh Scotland and this piece of rock was brought here from the Edinburgh Castle

 

 The start of our brewery tour with a statue of Mr. Speight

 

 

 

 

After our sample tasting at the brewery we then continued our city tour on the way back to our ship.

The railroad station, claimed to be the second most photographed building south of the equator, second to the Sydney Opera house

The clock tower does not lean it's just my photography.

Akaroa, New Zealand

Auk-ah-row-a

Today's stop is here but the ship didn't tie up at dock and instead anchored out and shore excursions leave by way of tender boats.  The weather also is a bit nippy and quite windy.  We had a shore excursion scheduled for this afternoon which was a local sailing ketch cruse.  The bad news is that due to the weather that tour has been canceled and the good news is that we don't have to get out in this cold, damp, and windy day.

We learn each day what day of the week it is by looking down as we enter any of the elevators.  They change this tile in all elevators each day.

I took these out our balcony window and they show the grey overcast day views which are the same on each side of the ship.

Wellington, New Zealand

We arrived in port around noon time and then Jo and I had a tour of the town of Wellington for the afternoon.  Our tour began by taking us to the highest point of this area, at about 600 meters above sea level.  This is where I took these pictures overseeing the harbor and the town which is the capitol of New Zealand.

  

Monument to Admiral Byrd, south pole explorer

this arrow is pointing due North and I am facing South

  

Then we visited a botanical garden 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Then we visited a museum but only had time for two displays

these were about the native lore of the creation of New Zealand

This wall panel was explained in detail how it represented that history

I have started to watermark my photos that I post to try and prevent them from being used elsewhere without my permission.  I know anyone can crop or otherwise remove these marks but at least they will have to go to some effort to do that.

Land-Ho

sunset @ sea down under

Day 2 at sea

Actually our third day on board but the second day totally at sea, rocking and rolling.  I could take another picture out our balcony window but it would look exactly like yesterdays so just scroll down and take another look at that one.  These past two days have crossed a time zone each so we are now two hours later than when we were in Sydney.

Tomorrow we arrive at Wellington, New Zealand a little before noontime.  We have a shore excursion scheduled for that afternoon so a chance to rest our sea legs.  The posting after that afternoon should provide some more pictures.  I'm just happy that the ship wifi is good enough to allow picture posting so that I won't have to post them all after getting back home.

Day 1 at sea

Yesterday we left Sydney and set sail for New Zealand, a two day crossing.  This picture is our view of the world today, from our balcony.

If you have already checked yesterday's posting you will want to go back and check again as this morning 2/26/16 I have rearranged and added pics.  g'day

G'day Mate

We arrived in Sydne3y this morning around 7:30 am February 25, 2016.  We were met at the terminal by our tour guide for the day and then enjoyed a superb drive around Sydney with comments about the area we were seeing.  This is what he just sent me of our tour.

I quote from our guide Peter Bailey.
 
"We started today at Sydney Opera House where you did the tour
From there, we went past Mrs Macquarie's Chair, through Woolloomooloo, Kings Cross, Darling Point and Double Bay, then stopped at Bondi's Best for lunch
We collected sand from Bondi Beach, then passed Tamarama and Bronte beaches, and went through Centennial Park and Paddington
We crossed the Fig Tree, Tarban Creek, Gladesville, Iron Cove, Anzac and Sydney Harbour bridges, and stopped in Kirribilli for a view of your ship, the opera house and harbour bridge
From there, we went past Balmoral Beach, then crossed the Spit Bridge for a view of Middle Harbour
We retuned to the city via Roseville Bridge and Northbridge, and went through Chinatown and The Rocks, and passed Darling Harbour, before heading to your ship"

He also sent this map showing the relative size of Australia compared with the US.

 

We boarded our ship a little after 3 pm and have already endured our mandatory emergency muster drill.  Now we have two days of sailing at sea so we can rest up and get rid of our jet lag. 

 our cruise ship at dock

 the Harbor Bridge

 downtown skyline

 the Opera House

 originally designed as elevator, was never built and now a stage production room

 structural details of the shells

 this theator is named in honor of Joan Sutherland

 

 details of the shells

 

 

 the concert hall

the world's largest pipe organ

 

 structural detail

 

Bondi beach

 

the Harbor bridge

 the harbor bridge, our ship, and the opera house

 the middle harbor