Pictures

Gisborne on the walk into town from the port.

Christmas atmosphere on the Golden Princess

One of Gisborne's3 rivers

Afternoon tea on the boat

From an exhibition on protest in NZ.

A wake at Te Papa

The violinist whose music I enjoyed.

Akaroa 

Dunedin 

Aramoana 

Albatross colony 

Milford Sound

Melbourne and More

Had a short day in Melbourne, getting off to a hot and humid day after 10 or so.  By the time we got off  the ship,went through Customs, got our myki cards for public transport, walked to the tram stop it was already mid-morning.

Found Target and had a browse but didn't see anything wearable for myself.  Dieter got himself a dashing new short sleeved shirt, navy with Australian wildflowers in red and white, and another dark blue t-shirt. 

Couldn't get my bearings for some reason and as we had to be back on board by 3pm we didn't have enough time for the art gallery which I had been looking forward to.  Another time, another trip hopefully.  Did make time for a good cup of coffee at a trendy cafe.  By this time it was lunchtime and the streets and trams were packed with people out and about for lunch.  

Found the right tram and the right direction to get back to the port, then a warm walk back to the ship and the long queues of people waiting to get on. In-transit passengers had their own shorter queue, thank goodness.  Now there are 2000 new passengers on board, milling around familiarising themselves with the different venues and restaurants.

This is the second of three days at sea, so a lot of sleeping, eating and reading are our main occupations. The Christmas decorations are up and I heard Christmas carols being played in the background at breakfast this morning.  The patisserie buffet even has a delicious stollen which we have been indulging in.  

Haven't found the aerobic studio yet but it sounds a bit energetic to me.  The decks are also a bit windy for promenading.  It is warmer than it was in NZ waters and the larger number of children and teens are enjoying the pools.  Don't think my bathing suit will get wet somehow.  I will be going to the gym next Monday to get fit again once I am home.  

There are more family groups aboard now, and quite a few Asian travellers.  Have not come across many of the Kiwis aboard. We blend in like our feathered counterparts.

Today I went to a technology session, making the most of your Smartphone, all about apps.  Unfortunately my iPad was out of action for a couple of days and wasn't loading but it has come back to life again and I will be busy answering and reading my emails.  

Tonight is a formal night and I will be dressing up in my finery for the occasion.  The Rhapsody Trio is playing at 6 pm so better get a move on now. 

Dunedin and Fiordland

We  spent Saturday cruising round the sounds.  Doubtful Sound was cancelled as it was too windy, rough and cloudy but later in the morning we went up another sound, Thompson Sound, Thompson being an early surveyor, and then on to Milford Sound.  The weather improved a bit but was windy out on the deck where you had to go to hear a commentary. There  is a man from DOC on board commentating as we go and he also gave a presentation in the cinema on the fauna and flora of the area. It is certainly an easy way to travel and to see the essence of a place. Now  on our way out of the sound heading to the open seas en route to Melbourne.  

Listening to some lovely Gypsy-style violin music, easy listening I suppose you would call it. Puts me in a good frame of mind for the evening.  There is a full programme each day and night. Last night we went to a programme Dancing through the Decades  and I managed to get Dieter up to dance when it got to the 70s.  YMCA and the ilk. Anyway I enjoyed it all and we hadn't had a dance like that for quite some time.  There was an even older lady than me up dancing.

The food continues to impress. Last  night it was lightly pan fried orange roughy that I enjoyed for my main.  For dessert I had a stack of 3 meringues filled with cream and garnished with strawberry and a coulis. I usually manage an entree and salad as well as main and dessert. 

Friday  was Dunedin. My friend Pat came and picked us up at 10.30 and we drove straight to Olveston, a lovely home which had belonged to a well-to do family, the Theomins .  It was crammed full of beautiful china, clocks, oriental antiques, lovely artworks. We went on a an hour long conducted tour which was the only way of seeing the place anyway and was well worth it. There was a lovely garden as well. I took quite a few photos outside but unfortunately there was no taking photographs inside.

We then drove out to St Clair for lunch. St Clair is where I grew up and we went along the beach where we spent a lot of time as children, past our old family home which looks like a very small villa.  The sunporch down one side has been demolished and a carport put in its place.

Had lunch at a lovely cafe overlooking the water with the sun streaming in the window. Sampled the famous South Island cheese rolls.

From there we went to my sister Mary's grave. I always try to visit it when in Dunedin. She died in September 1966.  Last time I was there I arranged for a lovely china red rose to be put on her grave and it looks very nice.

After that it was time to drive back to Port  Chalmers and get on the boat again. They  had a highland pipe band playing on the wharf which added to the atmosphere. We had very good weather up and until including Dunedin and now that we are on the ship for a couple more days until we get to Melbourne it doesn't really matter that it is a bit overcast.

The days pass very agreeably with a lot of eating  and resting on our part. One meal blends in with the next. The range of food and delicacies from around the world are amazing.

 Starting with breakfast there are delicious pastries, breads and cold cuts plus all the usual cereals fruit and eggs done every which way. Lunchtime there an array of salad ingredients, hot and cold dishes, cakes and desserts to tempt the palate,

Dinner in the dining room is a selection of 5 or 6 gourmet choices for 5 or 6 gourmet courses.

There is entertainment right through the day and night at a number of different venues something for everybody I would say.  I am happy doing nothing but have been enjoying the Rhapsody Trio with the Hungarian violinist every evening - if we can get a seat.

I could very soon get accustomed to this shipboard life.

Breakdown at Sea

Today Sunday the 6 December the Golden Princess broke down for a couple of hours or more.  

Suddenly there we were no lights, then very dim lighting and the ship bobbing around going nowhere fast.  The automatic system for getting the generators going had failed and the engineers were using  a manual system.  In the meantime the NZ Coastguard had been informed!

Rushed to the cabin to have a drink of water and use the toilet before neither was available.  There were updates fro the Captain which stressed how the engineers were making progress.  The finally after a long couple of hours we started moving again.  The loos are flushing again, water is flowing through the taps and hopefully I will get that cup of tea my tongue is hanging out for, now that the lifts are running again.

Don't know how the NZ Coastguard would have coped with 2938 stranded passengers and 1000 crew stuck out in the Tasman somewhere!

Wellington and Akaroa

With 2938 passengers and over 1000 crew it takes a while to disembark each day with queues for shuttles and sometimes at the buffet at breakfast time.  We were bringing some bound volumes of coin magazines that Dieter was bringing to get to a collector in Upper Hutt saving about $10 in postage by doing so. I was nearly foiled by an officious woman from the boat's crew who informed us we couldn't "offload" anything without getting a clearance from Customs who arrived on board at 7 am and had been and gone 3 hours previously.  Nothing would move her.

Struggled back to the cabin with this carton all done up with string, Sellotape and stamps and disembarked for the day and with the aim to get that carton off by hook or by crook.  Anyway helpful NZ security people,  who couldn't have been more helpful contacted Customs who came back to the boat,  looked at the parcel from the outside, xrayed it to make sure it had no drugs in it and off we went off the ship with it to a Post Office downtown and it is  now on its way to Upper Hutt, freeing up a shelf in one of Dieter's bookcases at home.  What a kerfuffle.  We got a shuttle to town and back as the wharf was some distance from town. 

Went to the public library for some respite after that episode to pick up and send emails, then went to Te Papa to look at the NZ  art, then a collection of Modernist decorative arts collected by Walter Cook, who in a moment of confusion I thought they were referring to Captain Cook but no, this latter day adventurer and collector acquired  stuff from Wellington design shops and antique shops  from the 1960s onwards.  My kind of stuff too.  

Looked at another permanent exhibition of refugees' sobering stories of what they escaped from to settle in New Zealand over the decades.

Dieter wanted to look up an old friend  who worked at the NZ Film Archive near the Cuba Mall which we did and spent a half an hour catching up. He and his wife had a cute little cottage in Thorndon, a bit like our first Clarence St house filled with collectibles and treasures.  When their 2 kids got older they shifted to a bungalow which looks just as beautiful, and much tidier than our place ever will be with their collections of this and that all displayed beautifully. 

We then got the shuttle back to the boat by which time we had missed lunch and it was just refreshments and afternoon tea.  I had nachos, a scone and a piece of delectable pecan slice.  

We have been dining a bit later as there is some very nice gypsy type music  being played by a trio in one of the foyers every evening from about 5 to 7 with a couple of intervals between.

Today was Akaroa, a very  picturesque place with it very old wooden cottages, roses and plentiful cafes.   Once again we had to get a tender in to shore because the ship was anchored about 18 nautical miles out.

We walked  from one end of the village to the other and back again, stopping to look in shop windows.  Everything was crowded with us passengers  everywhere.  Some went on daytrips further afield as far as Arthur's Pass but we were content with the local scenery.  

This is the view from our cabin window when  we got up this morning.  

There was a very warm norwester blowing  by about 1 pm so we queued up to get a tender back and lunched back on the ship at 2pm.  Met a couple of nice women from Melbourne at lunch today and had a good chat.  At breakfast time where we usually join others at a table people  are not so talkative. At night we could join others but it is quite nice being together being waited on like in a restaurant.  Well it is a restaurant.  Today they had turkey at lunch time so a foretaste of Christmas.  And cherry pie for dessert.  It was a buffet with lots of choices.  My clothing is getting rather tight.  Will need that last week's exercise at the gym before Christmas.

Tomorrow is Dunedin and another story.

 

Gisborne

Just been listening to some lovely gypsy-type strings music played by the on-board Rhapsody Trio.  The foyer where they are playing is all sparkling with Christmas lights on garlands swathing the staircases and there are two big Christmas trees adding extra atmosphere.  

We have left Gisborne now and are sailing ever so smoothly to Wellington where we will be tomorrow Wednesday morning.

For our visit to Gisborne this morning we had to get a tender into Eastland Port, as the ship is anchored out about half an hour out of the Harbour.  It is not deep enough for such a huge ship.  We were greeted by local guides in bright green t shirts and straw hats answering questions on where to go and what to see.  It was just a 10-15 minute walk into town following a route chalked on the footpath along the waterfront then over a bridge and there we were.

It was another warm day so made our way to the library to pick up emails and send off another one or two.

There was a craft market there in a local square for cruise passengers' benefit.  Am conscious of not accumulating more stuff so after duly admiring some  mosaic-framed mirrors and chatting to the Maori woman who made them, moved on to the museum  over the side of the river again.

There was an exhibition of old portraits and other photographs by W. Crawford, an early local Gisborne brewer turned photographer who recorded local family and social life.  Round the turn of the 19th century and later.

The local Maori history formed the greater part of the main exhibition area.   Te Kooti and the battles round Gisborne feature.  

Another collection of beautiful Lalique vases in the most beautiful colours were in another room along with other decorative arts collected by the same collector, Professor W Richards if I remember rightly.  

After all that walking  and culture we decided to walk back to the city centre and get a shuttle bus back to the port and get the tender back to the ship.    

Lots of other passengers had the same idea and we had to queue for a half an hour before it was our turn to ply the waves back to the ship.  

Had a very late lunch, a rest and read in the cabin, and now this lovely music to herald the evening. Will be dining round 7.00.

Tauranga

We had a lovely day for our first day ashore. We didn't hear or feel the ship moving from Auckland to The Port of Tauranga which is actually at Mt Maunganui 4 km from Tauranga.  Another huge cruise ship the Nordaam was in port too so there would have been at least 4000 extra people seeing the sights in Tauranga and places further afield like Rotorua.  

We got the local bus in to Tauranga, forgetting to flash my gold card so paid for the trip but remembered on the way back after we had visited the Art Gallery,the library and The Elms, a very early mission house, built by Archdeacon Brown who came to the area in the 1830s. It was a lovely old house, full of antiques dealer artefacts.  A very knowledgable guide  showed us around house library and garden.

It was a long hot walk into town where we got a bus back to the ship where we indulged in a very late buffet lunch.

Feeling Cruisy

We embarked on the Golden Princess yesterday at Queens Wharf.  It is so much easier to get on a cruise ship two kilometres from home without having the long trip to the other side of the world, which was the case in the past when we explored the rivers and waters of Europe.

The Golden Princess is a large ship . There are 14 floors with 2000 Aussies and 350 Kiwis on board.  It helps if you are good on stairs as it is quicker to use them for a couple of floors at least,than wait for a lift which just may be full of people going where you want to go.  

Our cabin is very nice and comfortable, plenty of wardrobe space and has a porthole. We met our nice Phillapino steward early on who explained things to us and got us an adaptor.  Hope we can pick up TV at least when we are in port .  So far we have only managed to tune into The Sound  of Music and a documentary on Picasso.

Dinner was fine dining in one of three general restaurants. We chose Anytime Dining with a table for two when we booked our cruise as our travel agent suggested.  It is like going out for dinner a deux which is what we would like to do at home without having to make small talk with people you don't know, can't hear properly and don't have much in common with. That said they asked us whether we would like to join others which we will no doubt do at other mealtimes when we have relaxed enough to share pleasantries, news and views with our cobbers from across the Ditch. We are all much of a similar age with a sprinkling of wheelchairs and walking sticks.  

The menu was very inviting with lots of seafood.  I chose crepes stuffed with crabmeat for an an entree and seared scallops with a tomato and caper sauce  around a small mound of ratatouille which was topped with some  wilted spinach, all very artistically presented, for  a main. We both chose creme brulee for dessert, a very generous-sized dish too.  Time enough for healthy options tomorrow or the day after.

New Market in Western Springs

Friend Fr told us about this new market over next to Western Springs College on  the edge of the Motat aviation park .  It is a food market with all sorts of yummy things to buy and sample as well as  a few collectible and antique stalls.

Wasn't anticipating buying much but in the end made the most of the opportunity . There was a stand from Clevedon selling  fresh lush looking herbs and vegetables as well as beautiful posies which D bought one of for me.

 I put them in a lovely willow pattern jug that he bought for me in 1974 in a Tinakori Rd op shop for just $7.

Also bought some radishes, the first of the season to go in our daily salads for a few days.  Here they are in a Katie Gold bowl shaped like a boat which we bought from her studio in Upper Moutere some many years ago.

Next was an Indian food stall, Mum doing the cooking, Dad the marketing,offering passers-by samples of the cauliflower and onion ring pakoras, and son serving up one's purchases.  Bought 3 samosas with tamarind sauce before ambling on to the next stall to catch my eye, one selling Christmas goodies - cakes, little mince tarts as well as traditional NZ baking treats.

Decided to get some little mince tarts and a Christmas cake so that I have something on hand when we come back from holiday on 12 December.  

Here is the cake sitting on one of the cute table mats I got from friend A in Edinburgh .

The little mince tarts are sitting on a Christmas tea towel from friend P.

Last but not least I bought some meaty pork sausages with no preservatives from the Neat Meat butcher (of Ponsonby Central fame) which we had for our tea last night. 

Home after that to be greeted by  E with the tragic news of the Paris terror attacks which  has cast a pall over the rest of the day and weekend.

Waiheke

Approaching Waiheke and in Oneroa in reverse order! 

Object no 3. The Ginger Jar Vase

Decided that this was something I could do without and listed and sold it last week. It only meant something to me, not the others, and I have other vases I use and prefer,  especially for leggy flowers like these tulips. 

Right through my childhood in Dunedin I remember seeing this vase on the mantelpiece filled with flowers or blossom from the garden -  wallflowers, roses and japonica blossom, especially the japonica. There was a prickly hedge of it down the side of the house with salmon pink blossom heralding the coming of Spring.   

My father had been given the jar of ginger by a Chinese man with whom he had dealings through his job at the Inland Revenue. Or so the story goes.  

Extra Long Weekend On Waiheke

Made the most of the good weather by extending our Labour Weekend on the island by a day, going over Saturday returning Tuesday. We hadn't been over for several weeks. 

Sunday was an auspicious occasion of the birthday variety .  Started the day with Mass at St Peter's overlooking Little Oneroa and followed that by a visit to the Blackpool Car Boot Sale en route to Solar for our customary coffee and muffin. They have the most delicious muffins there, roast vegetable with a hint of cumin for the savoury ones this time and berry and white chocolate for the sweet, both super-fresh and moist. 

Back to the bach for lunch after buying some local Turkish bread from the Waiheke Fruit  and Vege Shop which we enjoyed with a tuna salad, a bit like salad Nicoise but my version of it.  

In the afternoon we had a long hot walk up to an art studio of one of my favourite Waiheke artists, Katie Trinkle Legge. She does lovely big paintings of fruit often with or in retro containers like enamel pitchers, old bottles etc.

In the evening  we went to Vino Vino in Oneroa for a celebratory dinner. Friend Shona from across the road came too and Frances was with us for the weekend so there was a bit of a party atmosphere.  The restaurant was full and had been recently renovated and looked lovely. 

Started with a glass of bubbles followed by a delicious meal of tender salt and pepper calamari with salad and a rice dish.

Spent Monday in Surfdale, going for a walk along the beach and having lunch at local French cafe, Frenchot.  Had a lovely baguette stuffed full of delicious rare roast beef.

It is where I practice my French - bonjour, merci etc.

Tuesday was warm and breezy and made the most of the morning by getting the bus to Oneroa to go to the Red Cross shop to drop off a few things, and  Upcycle to see what the enterprising creative craftswomen of Waiheke have been making. 

 There were some lovely little heart brooches made of small pieces of embroidered doyleys and some other brooches made of coiled zips, and some others with an old fashioned button inside a decorated bottle top.

Back to the bach for lunch and tidy-up time before the usual rush to the bus stop to get the bus to the wharf and ferry back home.

Saturday in Auckland

Had a full Saturday with visits to two galleries to look at jewellery -  souvenir paua jewellery at Objectspace, and contemporary New Zealand jewellery  at the City Art Gallery.   Both were very interesting.  Then we went  across the road to look at Fingers at jewellery to buy! The rings I liked were $600 and $700, so too much for moi and unfortunately D thinks so for him! 

As part of Art Week there was a retrospective Ans Westra exhibition of photographs , the earliest from Washday at the Pa days, a delightful picture of a young girl holding her dog.  This was at a new gallery Bowerbank Ninow at 312 K Rd. this is a lovely light airy gallery with friendly staff.

From there to St Kevin's Arcade via an op shop where I tried on two jackets from the $2 specials rack out front. At that price I was pleased they fitted me like a glove. The arcade was buzzing with people setting up for an afternoon tea experience with fancy china and dainty food to match. Watched some people doing ceramic painting and wished I had my whole life over again to do all the things I would like to try my hand at. 

Then we took in Divali celebrations in Aotea Square and in part of Queen St nearby and enjoyed some delicious food from a Penang stand.  Freshly made  naan  bread with  dhal was my favourite.  But we tried curry puffs, samosas and pakoras too. 

The crowd  with the women and children in colourful saris was like Little India and a wonderful atmosphere to stumble upon and enjoy. There was music in the air and dancing  We are lucky Auckland has such a wealth of sights and activities to enjoy. 

Art Week and other Amusements

Art Week followed on the heels  of Heritage Week and as  we were still in the spirit of getting out and about we joined a walk round Ponsonby Galleries led by the knowledgeable Edward Bennett who did a lot of the local heritage week walks and talks we attended. 

We started off at Black Asterisk which had an exhibition of sculptures and large framed photographs of flowers, one of which of hydrangeas appealed to me.  

We moved on to Objectspace a few doors along which had a memorable retrospective display of Ruth Castle baskets.  I once did a basket-making workshop in the 70s when I was in the Handweavers Guild and still have a little basket I made over at the bach on Waiheke.  

There was a display of paua jewellery of earlier decades when brooches were popular souvenirs.  Must get back there and take a photograph of them.  There must have been a couple of hundred examples. I remember having a paua shell cross on a gold  chain myself. 

Across the road we looked at the murals on two sides of the old reservoir.  This is a photo of part of a new mural.

Then into Studio One, formerly Art Station, formerly Outreach.  There was a bit of art in the downstairs gallery  which we looked at, then toured the various outhouses which served as the cells for the Police Station in a previous century.

Onwards to Western Park which has some interesting sculptures and pebble mosaic paving then on to Whitespace Gallery which had a good exhibition of artworks created from sheets of stamps featuring fish and other aquatic creatures, drawing attention to marine ecology and pollution.  By this time I was feeling cold and tired so we snuck off and got the bus home.