Bay of Islands, Russell, New Zealand

Bay of Islands, Russell,  New Zealand                                    Saturday, February 24, 2018

               The Bay of Islands has 144 islands with secluded bays and superb marine life.

Larry and I boarded the tender boat into the dock of Paihia.

From there we caught the town shuttle  passing by the Maori Waitangi Treaty Grounds before dropping us off in the village of Paihia.

The last time we were here, we took a 25 minute walk up this beach into the village and then wandered around the shops and craft market with a very misty overcast sky. Today was the exact opposite. There were blue skies with a sparkling sun making the area more enjoyable.

The scenery today was oh so nice.

From the Paihia dock, we took a local 20 minute ferry boat to Russell, the first capitol of New Zealand in 1840. Russell was once nicknamed “the hell hole of the Pacific” due to being a lawless and bawdy port for whalers and rowdy sailors to get provisions after a long voyage.

Today it is a quiet little town that attracts vacationers with pleasure boats for sailing and big game fishing.

The antique colonial homes that line the picket fenced streets are well maintained and add to the charm of older days in Russell.

                           Larry and I enjoyed visiting the old Duke of Marlborough Hotel.

Original furniture and pictures on the walls made this a unique historical part of Russell’s past. 

                                                                  Maori Art                                                                             

We enjoyed a walk along the scenic waterfront before catching the ferry back to the bus that took us to the tender boat back to the ship.

Auckland, Waiheke Island, New Zealand

Auckland, Waiheke Island, New Zealand                                              Friday, February 23, 2018

Gorgeous sunrise as the ship docked in Auckland.

                                                                                                                

This morning Larry and I walked off the ship and went to the ferry terminal next to the dock of our ship.

We caught a 40 minute ferry to Waiheke Island, 12 miles from Auckland. Waiheke is Maori for cascading waters.

We were excited to pass Rangatoto, an old extinct volcanic island that we visited in 2016.  Sights of Auckland from the water were awesome.

                                We rented a scooter and hopped on it to tour the island.

We passed by Oneroa Bay on Ocean View Road and rode through a neighborhood of summer homes to Palm Beach.

                                 From there we wound up and down hillsides.......

                                                       to find Onetangi Beach.(Oh-na-tan-gi)

Larry took me to the end of the road along the beach to find a bench with “Kay’s Way” engraved onto its backside. Was that an unbelievable surprise? Yes, it did fit my desires of a place to have my name…. almost 2 miles of golden sands and blue waters stretching out into the Waiheke Bay.  GORGEOUS!

Larry dreams about having a boat that could be driven to the water....no trailer.

                                                                     

                                      We enjoyed watching a horse gallop down the beach....

                              but the scooter was calling us back to  explore the rest of the island.

      From here we rode the scooter passed Poderi Crisi and Passage Rock Vineyards to Orapiu Bay.

Lots of sheep in pastures

                                                                  What a scenic ride!

Blue skies and rolling hillsides with an absolute solitude of colorful blue and green waters….what else could we ask for on this scooter ride? 

We found our way back to the ferry dock just in time to return the scooter and catch the 6:00pm ferry back. What a marvelous day! New Zealand never lets us down for a moment!

Mo'orea, Society Islands of French Polynesia

Mo’orea, Society Islands of French Polynesia          Saturday, February 17, 2018

Around 9:30am we had a lovely tender boat cruise into Opunohu Bay to the village of Papetoai, landing at  the oldest European church in the South Pacific.

                                          It’s octagonal-shape makes this structure unique. 

The Queen Elizabeth was anchored in Cook’s Bay. We were greeted with fine Polynesian music and dancers.

Upon our arrival, the Avis Rental Company picked us up and took us to the Inter-Continental Hotel to finalize the paperwork. What a fantastic structure….open air. No air conditioning except in the restrooms and dining rooms.

                                              The views of the water were splendid.

We drove the car east heading for Belvedere….a winding road up a narrow paved path to the highest peak that can be reached by car.

The views of the sea, the jagged peaks of Mount Rotui and surrounding mountains were incredible.

We saw pineapples growing on the hillsides, as well as cattle and horses grazing in the limited flatlands.

We enjoyed the ride up and down the mountainside and then continued to stop along the waterfront to take in some of the gorgeous scenery.

                                                   Larry always enjoys  talking to the locals.

 There was only one gas station on the island. Not one traffic light. Most of the populated areas were basically villages with a Quickstop store and a few  small businesses.

We watched the car ferry arrive…around 50 cars got on and off. The high schoolers travel by a smaller ferry everyday at 5:30am to school in Papeete, 12 miles across the sea. Now that is an unusual ride to school.

We stopped at the Jus de Fruits de Moorea and sampled the Tahiti Punch, a blend of pineapple juice, vanilla and alcohol.

                                                                               Tasty!

                                   The famous huts overs the blue waters look very inviting.

Mo’orea is famous for its black pearls…quite an expensive investment for the perfectly round ones. They are farmed on all the islands and take five years to produce.

The island basically caters to the tourist trade with restaurants, hotels, and activities like jet skiing, golf, scuba diving, and parasailing. It was very laid back.

We covered 48 miles driving the entire circumference (37 miles) of the island. Our plans to snorkel were nixed by a tropical downpour.

We tendered back to the ship around 4:00pm …with the sail away at 5:00pm. Wheeee….another great day in a tropical island paradise.