Cruising the Pacific Ocean

 

Crossing the Pacific Ocean on the P and O Arcadia       Monday, February 8-March 1, 2016

                                                           Adios Valparesio, Chile

Chilean Navy Ship

Our room....B-25 on the seventh floor on the front of the ship

What does one do for 10 days at sea? This is a new record for straight days at sea. Larry and I find that we get into a routine fairly quickly. We have breakfast and then walk the deck outside for an hour or more depending on the weather.

Walking on the outside deck can be very blustery!

We attended lectures on the ports to call as well as informative talks about…..cyber information, the invention of the longitudinal clock, detective/police history in Great Britain, and historic navigators of the seas. We worked out in the gym.

Pool and Jacuzzi.....nice!

 

I loved taking a stretching class first thing in the morning. We enjoyed talking with many of the passengers.

Lots of places to sit around and talk.

Would you believe that there are over 2000 people on this ship....they are all sleeping in!

We watched movies in the screening room and DVDs in our private room. (Favorites  flicks were Kill the Messenger, You’re Not You, Testament of Youth….all true stories) We read. (A Gift of Hope by Danielle Steel ( a true story about the homeless), Mean Streak by Sandra Brown)  After lunch we listened to two audio books. A Destiny of the Republic by Candice Millford and A Long Way Gone by Isheal Beah ....excellent historical biographic novels.

                                  Did we ever use these loungers on the back deck? Nah : )

 

Ooops...caught me in the lounger!

 

Our cabin steward, Camille, took really good care of us.

In the past we have loved sitting on the side decks and spotting wildlife….on this cruise we finally spotted some during the last couple of days of our trip. Larry spotted dolphins jumping the wake of the ship when leaving the Bay of Islands in New Zealand and I spotted whales spouting the day before we arrived in Sydney, Australia….we were thrilled! 

Easter Island, Chile                    February 13, 2016

We sat on the deck to observe Easter Island.

                                                                Rocky Mountains

                                                                   High cliffs

Signs of old volcanos

 Although we spotted some replanted areas...it was mostly a treeless land.

 

For some reason, the P and O Cruise Line decided a couple of months ago to cancel the stop over here….so we are hoping to see something of it from the ship…Larry got one shot of the cool statues of long ago.

                              Get your magnifying glasses out...not too bad for not using a long lens.

Papeete, Tahiti          Thursday, February 18, 2016

The ship docked before sunrise this morning in Papeete, the capitol of Tahiti, the largest of the 118 islands of French Polynesia. We were able to walk right off the ship and into the busy city. Unfortunately it was cloudy and raining. We had purchased an excursion called “Snapshot of Tahiti” before leaving home.

 At 9:00am we boarded a bus that took us through the busy streets of Papeete. We passed by a harbor filled with private yachts and streets full of chic boutiques, designer label stores and restaurants.  The bus took us to Point Venus, Tahiti’s most northern point where the majority of early  explorers and navigators landed.

 

A 75 foot lighthouse of 1867 stood here with a nice black sandy beach…evidence of black volcanic lava. Larry and I could not resist taking our shoes off and walking in the waves that rolled in here.

Calm seas....but breaking waves in the horizon.

 

 We watched surfers and locals paddle boating here. Despite the signs warning of jelly fish, swimmers were enjoying the warm waters.

 

After an hour of exploring the beach, the bus took us to a couple of scenic spots to watch the waves roll into the land. The big white waves were breaking far out from shore along a coral reef.

 

What views...we can only imagine what it would be like on a sunny day!

 

 

 

 

 

Our last stop of the day was at the home of James  Norman Hall , author of Mutiny on the Bounty.

Hall's four room bunglow where he lived and wrote.

 

                                                Authored numerous books that became movies.

                                                        His garden had some nice tropical blooms.

The One Day Hibiscus....white in the morning, yellow at mid-day, orange in the evening....all before it dies.

 The front of Hall's bungalow

 

Larry caught this little family clucking around in the yard of Hall's home.

 

 The bus had us back to the ship right before a huge down pour. Since it was raining, we quickly canceled our plans to catch the local ferry to the neighboring island, Moorea.

We captured the following shots from the ship during the afternoon.

Now this is my idea of a great home on an island....What a get away!

Looks like a great walkway up the coast....if only it wasn't raining.

Actually we were thankful for the cloud covered day in Tahiti. Without the bright sunshine, the hot temperatures and high humidity were much more tolerable.

During the evening, Larry and I took a walk into town....the rain had stopped and the ship was not setting sail until 9:30PM.

 The city was much nicer looking at night.

 

 

Bora Bora  Friday, February 19,2016  

 Canceled due to high winds coming from the on going cyclone in Fiji.

                                                        Our best shots of BoraBora

 Hated missing this island....oh well...guess I'll have to put this back on my list.....hint, HINT, Larry!

 

One of the worst things that happened on this cruise….we lost a day, Monday, February 22 when we crossed the International Date Line. It was weird to go to bed on Sunday and wake up to Tuesday morning.  

       Our favorite spot of the ship....at the very back when everyone else was gone to dinner...

                                                                  we owned this area many evenings!

Tauranga, New Zealand    Thursday, February 25, 2016

 

Tauranga is New Zealand’s largest port….huge  container ships and cargo ships passed by the Arcadia this morning as we had breakfast on the outside deck.

 Mt Maunganui.....the water is really this color! 

                          Tauranga Bay Front....we walked this area later in the evening.

 

 

 

A gorgeous day of sunshine and perfect temperatures met us as we boarded a local bus to downtown Tauranga. The area was full of beauty….rolling hills of extreme green with glistening bay waters….what a sight! After a four mile ride…on the left side of the highway… we crossed the bridge over the Bay of Plenty and headed straight for the walkway along the waterfront.

                                     The streets were lined with gorgeous flowered hanging baskets.

                      

The sidewalks had intricate tile mosaic pictures spaced along the walkways.
 

 

 

 The area was pristine…..clean and fresh….the most groomed town of all our travels. Lots of open air restaurants and coffee shops dotted the area of our walk to the waterside. 

                      My MAN is happy to be in New Zealand, our favorite country in the world!

 

We passed by nice playgrounds and a refreshing water fountain that allowed children to run through and play safely while getting sprinkled.

 

                       Teenagers were plunging off the local dock and enjoying the summer day.

 

We walked through The Cargo Shed, an arts and crafts market with 35 stallholders selling Maori carvings, paintings, handmade glass articles, jewelry and various other souvenirs. We followed the winding pathway as far as it went before heading through a few other shops. We enjoyed the internet here….Tauranga is the first New Zealand city to provide a daily hour of free wifi for its residents and visitors.

During the evening we headed off the ship for a walk about the Tauranga. Here we headed down the beach from the ship toward the famous inactive volcano, Mt Maunganui (761 meters) getting a  stunning sunset view along the way. 

 

It was a fantastic place to just enjoy the evening.

How about being able to wheel your piano out next to the beach to play?....What a fantastic idea!

 

We headed west and walked to the other side of the island heading down the western side of the beach watching surfers glide along the incoming waves.

                                               The open ocean side of Tuaranga

 

Beautiful homes were built between the east and west coast line. We enjoyed walking through this exquisite neighborhood.

                                               I could handle one of these beach front jewels.

 

We returned back to the ship to catch the Australian singer/instrumentalist, Danny Elliott, put on his final show…what an amazing young man….he played the piano, guitar, bagpipes, pan flute, piccolo, flute, clarinet, harmonica….and sang and tap danced. What an entertainer!

Tauranga ranks high on our list of fabulous places in the world. Our kiwi friends tell us that we cannot go back home and spread the word….they want the wonders of New Zealand to be kept secret and we understand completely!

 

Arcadia, in the Bay of Plenty

 

Auckland, New Zealand           Friday, February 26, 2016

 

Up at 6:00AM to watch the ship come into port this morning! What a sight!

                                  The city was lit up and glittering before the 7:00AM sunrise.

                                                              Sunrise in Auckland Port

It was fun to see the city wake up…a quarter of the NZ population lives here….1.42 million people make up in this area known as the biggest Polynesian city in the world.   

The boat docked at the Ferry Building (1912) which is the center piece of busy harbor activity. We watched numerous ferry boats  and sailboats departing for Devonport and other Hauraki Gulf islands.

Auckland is known as "The City of Sails"....most residents own a boat of some sort.

After breakfast, Larry and I had planned to spend the day on the Auckland Hop on Hop off Bus. Although we had visited Auckland seven years ago, we spent most of our time in the outlying areas, not in the big city.  It was great to have our tickets pre-purchased before we left the US. It was a time saver to be able to just trade our voucher for the tickets without dealing with credit cards or NZ dollars….especially with a ship in port.

The bus took us along the Hauraki Gulf and Waitemata Harbour….what fantastic views! Auckland is known as the City of Sails because of the high percentage of citizens that own boats. We got off at Bastion Point Lookout and walked about the area taking lots of pictures.

 

 

 

                                  It was a great park with a lot of fantastic views of the city!


We spotted Rangitoto, an inactive volcanic coned island that brought back memories of our last visit.

From here we decided to forgo the bus ride and walk to the Kelly Tarlton Sea Life Aquarium to catch the next bus.

                                                                 Oh the sights you see!

From there we rode through the city passing Parnell Rose Garden and the Holy Trinity Cathedral getting off at the Auckland Museum where we caught the Blue Line.

 We enjoyed going to the top of Mount Eden, the highest inactive volcano in the Auckland area. We passed Eden’s Park , N Z’s largest stadium….60,000 seats and the Auckland Zoo. We rode through Parnell Village, New Zealand’s oldest suburb, known for its charming boutiques, cafes and galleries. 

The bus took us through the City Center by the Sky Tower, the tallest man-made structure in New Zealand.

 

The day in Auckland went by quickly. We returned to the Arcadia for a great seafood dinner on the back deck veranda. We went to see a movie,”The Transporter Refuelled”, and then went outside to watch the ship pull anchor and head out of the harbor bound for Bay of Islands. We caught a late evening  show with a New Zealand singer, Rietta Austin, belting out hits of Aretha Franklin, Bert Bacarack, and Barbara Streisand.  Days don’t get more perfect than that!

Bay of Islands, New Zealand      Saturday, February 27, 2016

Unfortunately, we woke to a cloudy and misty rainy day that followed us in the tender boat to the town of Paihia.

A friendly Maori (NZ native)greeted all the  passengers as they walked down the dock to the shuttle bus.  OO-LA-LA!

We took a shuttle bus into the town and found a nice little Market Fair going on. The town was picturesque with rolling green hillsides and long slender beaches. 144 islands are scattered among secluded bays. The kiwis were very friendly folks.

Activity was everywhere. Helicopters flew over. Kayaks floated about in the sea and parasailing was spotted in the horizon. Ferry boats offered rides to Russell, the town across the bay and two Maori War ships were spotted paddling up the Waitangi River. There was a lot to do in this little resort town.

One  excursion from the ship  was paddling a Maori War ship with the Maori leader shouting directions to keep the rowers in rhythm with his back side shining toward the rowers..... Now how are you suppose to think about rowing with that free show?

The area was rich in Maori history. Maoris are the Polynesians from the central Pacific who populated  New Zealand  before 1000AD. A historic pact between Great Britain and  Maori chieftains in 1840 was signed here. At that time Maoris accepted British sovereignty and in return the crown agreed to protect Maori possessions and land. This treaty is still regarded highly, affirming Maori rights and February 6 is celebrated by New Zealanders as Waitangi Day.

Baked goodies from the village

After walking about the town, we decided to walk back to the tender boat, taking in the waterfront sights.

                                                             Nice long beach along the way.

   The walkway had international flags painted along the way...we were excited to see the ole red, white and blue.

                                         We walked by a Maori Ceremonial  Ground along the way.

It was too bad that the weather was not sensational today….we felt sure that the area was even more beautiful with the sun shining.

Larry enjoyed spotting his old college roommates ride....Clyde's grandmother's car willed this car to him while at JMU. The back seat brought back some happy college memories! The Kiwi driver was happy to share it with us. WHAT a friendly chap!

                                            An original 1963  Chrysler Imperial....What a beauty!

There was always plenty of entertainment on board to enjoy…We especially enjoyed Georgina Jackson (British singer/trumpet player extrodinair), Sue Holderness (British actress),Adam Hart-Davis (early explorers guest speaker)and ..... 

                                            Danny Elliott (versatile singer, dancer, and musician)

  

On our trip crossing the Pacific the weather basically got hotter as each day passed. Many passengers did not understand the strength of the sun and really got quite a burn. The cyclone in Fiji prevented us from going into port at Bora Bora. It was very windy the two days that followed with the crew putting out those little special paper bags for emergencies....although it was never as rough as crossing the Drake's Passage to Antarctica.  The temperatures  turned cooler ...just perfect.... as we  headed toward New Zealand. We had a day of rain while in Tahiti and  Bay of Islands, NZ....but on the most part the whole trip was really great weather.

                                             All of the days at sea just slipped by way too quickly.

                                          We have many memories of some fantastic sunsets!       

                                Crossing the Pacific on a ship was certainly a lovely way to travel.

 

Sydney, Australia      Tuesday, March 1, 2016

 

What an iconic city to end our cruise in! We got up at 5AM to watch the ship pull into the world famous Sydney Harbor.

                                                Sydney, Australia.....waking up at 5:00AM

The ship passing the Opera House

 

Sydney, once the sun came up! What skyscrapers!

The infamous Sydney Bridge

The Sydney Opera House.....right beside our breakfast table!

 

So ends another leg of our 2016 trip......and  so begins our next adventure....a day in Sydney, a month in New Zealand, and a week in Tasmania....we can hardly wait for it to begin!