At Sea …

November 18, 2024 / thebloggingbritblog / 4 Comments

Finally, I was able to take a photo of our ship, the Silver Muse, pictured above.

She has 11 decks, an outdoor pool, pictured above, gorgeous relaxing lounges for whatever you want to do; sit and read, stare out to sea, play cards or board games, attend an afternoon trivia quiz, learn how to play bridge, or speak Italian or just laze around when you are not tripping the light fantastic on tours!

Educational lectures dot the daily schedule, sip champagne while having your jewelry cleaned, pound the outdoor track to reach the daily step count or, as Mike likes to do, enjoy a cigar in the Connoisseur’s lounge.

Thankfully there is a decent gym and yoga room onboard to help control the intake of calories!

All of a sudden it’s 7 pm and champagne time before heading out to dinner, watching a show, listening to the pianist in the lounge and heading to bed. Tomorrow, we will repeat! It’s exhausting!!

Windy Wellington!

November 17, 2024 / thebloggingbritblog / 2 Comments

Wellington, the capital of New Zealand, sits near the north island’s southernmost point on the Cook Strait. It is a compact city that encompasses a waterfront promenade, sandy beaches, a working harbour and colourful timber houses on the surrounding hills.

The hilly capital has an inordinately high number of incline lifts or personal cable cars. Some look like glass lifts and others resemble giant fiberglass buckets, but in Wellington cable cars snaking up suburban slopes are a common sight!

Mount Victoria (where the photo was taken) provided a filming location for the first of the Lord of the Rings trilogy directed by Peter Jackson, himself a devoted Wellingtonian.

Strong winds through the Cook Straight give it the nickname of “Windy Wellington.” It lived up to its name the day we visited. The wind was seriously cold and it was difficult to keep the baseballs hats on our heads!

Art Deco Napier

November 16, 2024 / thebloggingbritblog

In the aftermath of a devastating 7.8 magnitude earthquake which ripped through the region in 1931, it was decided to rebuild the town of Napier, north island, New Zealand in the style of the time, Art Deco!

Visitors to the self proclaimed “art deco capital of the world” can take a leisurely stroll through the town or hire one of the many vintage cars with a deco-dressed driver. For us, it was a rainy, cold day, and so we opted for a coach tour and a soggy walk to take some photographs.

The home of The Daily Telegraph is considered to be one of Napier’s classic Art Deco buildings. In 1931, Art Deco was fashionable, suited the needs for safe construction as many of the Art Deco structures were built of reinforced concrete. Plus, the geometric designs in low relief reduced the potential risk of masonry falling off buildings during an earthquake and they were economic to construct.

The Masonic is a boutique hotel in Napier, just a hop, skip and jump away from the Pacific Ocean.

Many residents choose to live in houses on the hills surrounding Napier. One assumes that the higher the house the better the view of the ocean!

Sweet as … Gisborne

November 15, 2024 / thebloggingbritblog / 3 Comments

New Zealand speak: Sweet as

Translation: Thank you, it’s all good, no worries, you’re welcome and that’s cool!

Recognized as one of the ‘fruit bowls’ of New Zealand, Gisborne’s climate and fertile soils create a perfect environment in which to produce an abundance of fruits and vegetables including citrus, kiwi fruit, sweet corn and grapes!

Our first wine tasting was at the privately owned Matawhero vineyard. The region enjoys a good spring rainfall and a long dry summer and using this combination, wines from the Matawhero brand are not irrigated at all. They rely solely on rainfall and the quality of the soil to produce their grapes.

When the sun rises on the first day of a new year, Gisborne is the first city in the world to see it!

And, to date, it has been my favourite town to visit. For me, it encapsulates the essence of everything we have seen in this beautiful country. It is as green as green as far as the eye can see. Towns are nestled in valleys surrounded by rolling hills and grazed by fat sheep.

Standing above Gisborne. Small world moment … for Brits familiar with Woodford Green, the couple who took my photo live by Bancrofts School! They walk past my former home at 389 to attend the doctor’s surgery!

Keeping Traditions Alive

November 14, 2024 / thebloggingbritblog

Te Puia, where we visited yesterday, is also home to the New Zealand Maori Arts and Crafts Institute.

The mission of the Institute is to teach students the traditional methods of carving wood and whale bone using the tools their ancestors used.

It is a three-year programme taught by Maori masters. When sufficiently competent, students are encouraged to apply their skills using modern tools and machinery to work on commissioned pieces or produce works for sale in the shop.

Any Whale carcass that washes ashore anywhere in New Zealand is automatically owned by the Maori People who will harvest bones for use at the Institute, pictured above.

There is also a weaving programme where, again, students learn how to weave using traditional skills and materials available to their forefathers. It is a two-year programme led by a Maori weaving master, pictured above.

While at the Institute, we were treated to a display of Maori dancing:

Oigh, geyser!

November 13, 2024 / thebloggingbritblog / 1 Comment

We remain on the north island of New Zealand but have moved to Tauranga where we spent a fun day at the Te Puia reserve thermal valley.

It’s fascinating to see the range of thermal activity going on in the valley and quite a sensory experience. Steam creeps out of fine cracks in the rocks everywhere, and it winds around stubby shrubs perched perilously on ledges. Even in some of the boiling hot pools there appears to be some type of plants or algae growing.

Maori traditionally used thermal mud to treat cuts and burns. The fine acidic mud contains many different minerals and it was found to help the skin heal and rejuvenate. It was also used to treat arthritis and rheumatism and to cleanse skin.

The Pohutu Geyser is the largest in the southern hemisphere and is among the most active, erupting up to 20 times a day at heights of over 90 feet (30 meters)

With all of this there was the ever present smell of sulphur wafting up the nostrils!

Eye level Auckland!

November 13, 2024 / thebloggingbritblog / 2 Comments

Mike and I enjoyed a lovely walking tour of Auckland which, in some ways, reminds me of San Francisco but with less steep hills yet providing a great work out!

Our tour guide, a native of Auckland, describes the city as a work in progress. The city council is trying to install an underground train network and Brits know how messy that process is! The city wants to become pedestrianized, much to the dismay of retail owners. Sneaky Auckland City Council is slowly widening the pavements and eventually drivers will realize that a two-lane road is now one way! Can you imagine this being done anywhere else?

Down at eye level, the city is charming. There is unique street art.

Alleyways packed with more coffee shops than you can shake a stick at, dedicated children’s book shops, the complete rainbow of restaurants, trendy pubs and bars and the usual who’s who of retail outlets alongside locally owned boutiques.

The City of Sails

November 11, 2024 / thebloggingbritblog

We are now in Auckland, north island, New Zealand. With a population of some two million people, it is the country’s largest city.

The best views of the city are to be seen from the Sky Tower offering amazing 360 degree viewing decks with the highest one sitting at 722 feet (220 metres).

Westhaven Marina is located a short walk from the city centre and is the largest marina in New Zealand. The bridge behind it is the Auckland Harbour Bridge, an eight-lane motorway over the Waitemata Harbour. There are more boats per person in Auckland than in any other place in the world giving it the nickname of “The City of Sails”.

Viaduct Harbour Marina is located in the heart of Auckland’s inner city waterfront precinct and is home to 70 berths.

The Auckland War Memorial museum is one of New Zealand’s most important museums and war memorials. Its neoclassical building constructed in the 1920s and 1950s stands on Observatory Hill, the remains of a dormant volcano.

Land ahoy!

November 10, 2024 / thebloggingbritblog

After 3 1/2 days at sea, our ship has finally arrived in New Zealand where our first port of call is the Bay of Islands on the North Island.

The Bay is home to 144 islands, ranging from rocky outcrops to large inhabited islands with private farms. A couple of the islands are privately owned.

The Bay of Islands was given its name when Captain James Cook stopped here on his round the world journey in 1769. Anchoring his ship at Robertson Island, pictured above, Captain Cook was rowed ashore and made contact with the local Maori People with whom he began trading.

Cape Brett’s lighthouse was built on the Coromandel Peninsula, barged up the coast and winched into place. Lighthouse keepers lived here from 1910 until 1978, when a new automated light went into service.

At the end of the Cape is Motukokako which Captain Cook named Piercy Island. It is commonly known as the ‘Hole in the Rock’ due to its 60 feet (18 metres) passage running through the island. Our tour captain steered our boat through the passage!

Peckish …

November 9, 2024 / thebloggingbritblog / 1 Comment

Here’s what’s available on board!

The Atlantide restaurant is open for breakfast, lunch or dinner. This is an a la carte experience and is the main restaurant of the ship.

La Terrazza offering a buffet breakfast and lunch and an al la carte Italian menu for dinner.

Indochine open for lunch or dinner and offering fusion food such as Indian, Thai and Korean.

The Grill, al fresco dining on the pool deck offering a buffet lunch and a “Hot Rocks” experience for dinner where guests cook steaks on the rocks brought to the table.

Kaiseki offers a Japanese experience for lunch or dinner. We dined here on our second night and it was truly spectacular. Guests pay a $40 per person supplement.

La Dame open for dinner only and offering gourmet French cuisine with paired wines for each course. Guests meet the full cost of the experience.

Silver Note offering guests a jazz club experience with Tapas, music and dancing.

Still peckish … The Arts Cafe offers light snacks from 6 am to 11 pm; Spaccanapoli an al fresco pizza restaurant open from 11 am to 10 pm; or, 24-hour room service which is included in a the cruise price!