New Zealand and Australia Cruise 06

New Zealand and Australia Cruise 06

Wondrous Holidays

Holland America Lines

14 Day Cruise from Auckland, New Zealand to Sydney, Australia

December 22 to January 5, 2007

MS Statendam

Length: 720', Beam 101', Gross Tonnage: 55,451 tons

Maximum speed: 22 knots

Passengers: 1,266 and Staff: 571 (from about 30 countries)

Dining crew; all males and primarily from the Philippines and Indonesia

Under TRAVELS, click on New Zealand 06 and Australia 07 for other parts of this three week vacation.

To speed up downloading time I have used small pictures in place of larger ones. However, please "Click" on any small one and larger pictures in the same group will appear. Click the "Back" button to return to this story.

The Statendam, though built in 1992, had been refurbished in 2005 so was in beautiful condition. Its registry is the Netherlands. While the size was relatively small, the service was excellent.

Our itinerary with port calls is shown below. Click on the picture to view an easier to read version.

Stateroom 575 on the Main Deck was home for two weeks and it was a comfortable abode. The small red rectangle marks 575 on the starboard (top) side.

Auckland's Princes Wharf was just two blocks and a quick taxi ride from our hotel. Check in was easy and took only about 15 minutes. We relaxed by the pool for about an hour before the staterooms were ready.

The crew had gone to great efforts to decorate the ship before releasing us to go to our cabins. The tree in the atrium was just one example. Dotty is going to enjoy our stateroom. Our booking company treated us to four bottles of wine, dinner at the Alternative Dining Room, two Coke cards and a photo taken by the ship's photographers. With Auckland's Sky Tower in the background Larry is happy to be sailing away.

The Bay of Islands near the northern tip of New Zealand is a favorite tourist destination because of the beautiful coastal scenery. There are nearly 150 islands in the area which is where the first permanent English settlement was established. Tendered ashore many of our fellow passengers opted for tours while we stayed on board and enjoyed the peacefulness of a nearly deserted ship.

Dotty in front of frolicking dauphins. These mermaids are at the top of the Christmas tree at whose base Dotty is standing.

Tauranga, on the western part of the Bay of Plenty, was our port stop on Christmas Eve and we didn't get off again. Before departing Tauranga a group of local carolers brightened the ship with their beautiful voices. Our cabin steward made the towel elephant and left a Christmas card to denote the special day.

These pictures were taken as we departed Tauranga. Two of our dinner partners, Joan and David from Tasmania, enjoyed the fresh air before we went up to the restaurant.

At 11 p.m. on Christmas Eve a very large group of crew members performed festive music in their native languages. Many of the 30 different nationalities were represented. The second picture was of the Indonesians and the third and fourth were of Philipinos. As you can see, in some instances they wore native dress.

We remained in the lounge after the show to attend Midnight Mass. After Mass we indulged in the Foods of the World Buffet. Yummy!

Christmas day was spent at sea heading south along the coast to Wellington, the capital of New Zealand. Temperatures were in the mid 60s and the wind was fresh. The first picture was taken at 8:10 a.m. as we were departing White Island, a highly active volcano and major tourist attraction. Elevation is 1,052 feet. The others pictures were taken along the way.

During the day we attended a lecture by Sam Pickering, a Tennessean who was the real world inspiration for the character played by Robin Williams in "Dead Poets Society". Oh how hard we laughed! This was the first in a series of lectures by Sam which we attended.

At 5:00 p.m. Captain Pieter Bos and his senior staff hosted a Welcome Aboard Champagne Reception. Following dinner we were treated to the critically acclaimed voice of Annie Frances in the Van Gogh Lounge (theater). Dinner then the theater was our usual routine.

Wellington city has about 150,000 inhabitants and there are another 250,000 in the immediate region. We explored the city by tour bus beginning at 9 a.m. The winds there are heavy often but relatively light today. Not unexpectedly because of our southerly position, the temperature was lower at around 60 degrees and the sky was overcast. The city is quite hilly and rugged.

The first picture is of the Parliament building. St. Paul Cathedral is second and a sculpture is next. Fourth is the largest wooden building in the southern hemisphere with an exterior made to look like stone.

Our group spent about 40 minutes at the beautiful Botanical Garden. This is December 26th and the first month of summer so not surprisingly the flowers are in bloom and there are new ducklings.

Gas is priced by the liter and is expensive! The needle measures wind velocity and our bus driver said he has seen it horizontal. Must have been hurricane force at least. As we meandered up Mount Victoria, about 600 feet above sea level, I took the picture of the Catholic Church and city.

Near the top of Mount Victoria we could see Wellington's International Airport with one of the shortest international runways in the world. It probably won't be extended because of the expense. Larry stands beside a canon pointed toward Wellington that was intended to protect it many years ago. Figure. Dotty stands beside a monument honoring Richard Byrd and commemorating the Antarctic Treaty. The trash can sculpture replaced an actual one after the city incurred significant earthquake damage in 1942. Because of the frequency of quakes the city is one of the world's leading centers for their study.

Back at the ship at poolside there was live music by the local Irish Band Mickey Finn.

A group of local Maori (New Zealand natives) performers entertained us tonight. The Polynesian heritage is apparent. Lights were dim so any movement blurred the picture. The gentleman at the right picture had a difficult time staying awake. I was afraid he would break his neck as his head fell backward. Cruising wears one out!

Just a short distance south of Wellington is Picton, a small port whose attractions made us decide to stay aboard. The incoming ferry is one of the main events during the summer. Deadsville at other times. Dotty is holding another of our steward's towel creations; a monkey believe it or not.

After an overnight voyage of 182 nautical miles we arrived in Christchurch, the largest city on the South Island. With temperatures in the low 60s, sun and a little breeze who could ask for anything better? Our bus tour guide whose grandfather was a thief but made good after imprisonment told us many things that added to our appreciation of the city and New Zealand. These are some of the views along a relatively long ride to the top of a lookout. The snow covered mountains to the west block some of the heavy rains to the west. Our guide says 250 inches a year there compared to only 25 inches to the east.

At the lookout point our Romanian friends who live in California, Sorin and Catalina, pose then take a picture of Dotty and me with Christchurch at our backs.

A short distance away is this beautiful old castle which is converted to a restaurant.

Enroute to lunch at Mona Vale we passed one of many parks. Our guide said that 5% of the sales price of homes is a tax to buy land for city parks. This lovely house is at the entrance for Mona Vale and once along the walking trail we encountered these ducks enjoying the sun's warmth.

These were some of the homes along our walk. Look expensive and I bet they are.

We had a delicious lunch upstairs in the Mona Vale house then toured the gardens before boarding our bus.

Next stop was the Canterbury Museum in town. First things first; Dotty contributes to the local economy by making some purchases in the gift shop.

Inside the museum were these lifelike displays of life as it existed centuries before.

Transportation displays of vehicles used in the not too distant past.

Stuffed animals and heads along with skeletons made up another section of the museum.

Outside dear friend Ernie Kind from Montana (age 91) waits for daughter, granddaughter and great granddaughter to continue back to the ship. Our Romanian friends depart the bus to shop but Dotty resists the temptation, this time.

Ah, we have arrived at what turned out to be my favorite city in New Zealand, Dunedin. The Scottish heritage, scenery, educational influence and idyllic pace of life captured me. Said to be the best preserved Victorian and Edwardian city in the Southern Hemisphere, it is also the oldest city in New Zealand.

We departed on our bus tour at 9 a.m. from Port Chalmers in the harbor of Dunedin for the short ride to town. A gentle breeze warmed by the bright sun complimented a 60 degree temperature. First stop was one of the most photographed places south of the equator, the Train Station of Dunedin. Dotty stands besides one of the original ticket booths. I coerced a train passenger to wave. The beautiful tile floor covered the entire main part of the station; the picture shows the center portion.

The countryside was filled with clusters of houses and rolling hills. Our bus driver explains a distant object to one of our fellow travelers.

There were open spaces throughout the city. What an impressive campus the Otago Boys High School Campus was. Yes, the building in the third picture is part of the campus. One of the beautiful churches is at right. Dunedin is noted for its University and there are some 12,000 students attending there and other institutions in town. We didn't get to visit the university.

A highlight of the tour was our visit to the Olveston Mansion. It was completed in 1906 and owned by the family until its last survivor, unmarried daughter Dorothy died in 1966. She left the house and all belonging to the city. The vestibule houses an impressive array of spears and shields. Third is the great hall with stairway which led to the sleeping quarters. Our guide allowed me to take the picture of Dotty in Dorothy's room. Other pictures were scanned from post cards.

At left is the dining room set and ready for guests. The drawing room with piano is second. What a billiard Room! It has seats on either side for observers of the game. Just a corner of the large library is pictured at right.

This is the "Octagon" of downtown Dunedin. Notice you can see the train station looking up the street in the third picture. We shopped around a bit before catching a shuttle back to the ship. That part does make you appreciate the states for selection, quality and price.

Port Chambers activity has heavy activity. Our ship is just opposite the container ship. All pictures were taken from the Statendam's Promenade deck.

We sailed from Dunedin at 6:42 p.m. After both performances in the Van Gogh Lounge, our Filipino crew members put on a special show at 10:45 p.m. Some wore beautiful native clothing while others were in weird outfits as you can observe in the second picture. Two of the ladies performed the bamboo stick dance which required lots of coordination and concentration to avoid tripping. They all worked extra time to do this show for us. The audience showed appreciation by giving them an enthusiastic and lengthy ovation.

For some strange reason Dotty made friends with these two jewelry sales ladies. Seems ever day they had something new for her to examine. They asked that I take their picture with her but I must have shaken the camera when they told me the price of the ring she had just purchased.

Our itinerary of cruising all day Saturday took us into the fiords carved by glaciers during several ice ages. They are part of the Fjordland National Park. Located along the southwestern coast of South Island the fiords rose majestically under the blue sky (unexpected) and brisk winds. Temperatures hovered in the low 50s.

The first fiord visited was Dusky Sound then Doubtful Sound and finally Milford Sound, ten miles long and the most visited of all the fiords. It was here that we picked up those who had taken an overland tour from Dunedin. They met us by tender.

During the morning an interesting Exploration Speaker, Rick McKay, spoke on the video he made about movie greats, "The Golden Age: What Made it Golden & What Happened Since". This was the first of a two part talk and we attended both. In the second one, tomorrow, Rick showed parts of what had been presented on PBS in March, 2006. Rick autographed the cover of a DVD we purchased.

In the afternoon we attended another of Sam Pickering's laughter filled lectures. Never a lull moment on this ship! Here is Sam leaving the stage.

We started each day with a workout. December 31st was no different. Dotty did her two miles on deck while Larry worked out in the room. And, each day, we had breakfast in the stateroom after our exercise.

Tonight was another of the three formal nights. All six of us were at our regular table for dinner. We were so fortunate to be seated with two couple from Australia; Tasmania to be specific. Pat and David are closest to the camera and Joan and David are at the right rear. After dinner on our way to the show we encountered our second set of friends from Romania, living in CA, Sorin and his wife Octavia Mariana and daughter Sabrina. That's us on the right.

New Year's Greeting from our cabin steward!

With moderate gale winds and cool temperatures we sailed all New Year's day toward Australia, a journey of about 1,200 nautical miles. Sam Pickering explained the circumstances around his relationship to "Dead Poets Society" in the morning and Rick McKay presented his PBS film after lunch. In between we attended a drawing to see who correctly guessed the fake Amber. We didn't win!

We enjoyed a nice dinner that evening before the show. Our wine steward is serving David and head waiter, Pande, is serving Dotty and Pat. The shot of us is just inside the theater entrance.

At 10:30 p.m. a Desert Extravaganza was held around the sides of the pool. As if we needed to eat anything more! Yummy!

Tuesday morning around 7 a.m., we docked at Burnie, State of Tasmania, Australia. Burnie is noted for paper manufacturing. Tasmania is best know for its Tasmanian Devil which is only found on the island. We didn't see any thank goodness.

There was a strong breeze with a temperature that hovered in the mid 60s. After scheduled tours had departed, we boarded free city buses that took us the short distance into town which is pictured from the ship. Dotty enjoyed looking in the shops to get a flavor of what was offered.

One of Burnie's finest posed in a department store. When I approached her for a picture she had her arms full of purchases but willingly placed them aside. The statue was in front of City Hall, a modern building. It apparently honored early settlers of Tasmania. Next is a hotel in town then bagpipers who piped us back aboard ship. We were impressed with the cordiality of the town folks and their initiatives to welcome visitors.

Dinner that night featured some of the ship's crew entertaining everyone. Our two male dinner companions sure got some pretty attention. Dotty enjoyed the action in her top hat.

That night we were treated to a colorful performance by the Indonesian Crew Members.

There was a female performing and understand she was only one of two Indonesian females on the ship. Notice that spectators were called up to try their hand at native musical instruments. It was a fun show to watch; they were generously applauded.

After a short overnight trip we arrived in Melbourne, second largest city in Australia. Diversity of race is pronounced with about one quarter of the population being foreign born. There are more than 50 nationalities living there and about 150 languages are represented. Its didn't feel like a city of 3.5 million because the pace of activity wasn't typical for a city of that size. We really enjoyed ourselves.

The winds had calmed and the temperatures risen to the 70s as we departed for our 8:45 bus tour of the city.

Under construction!! Four more days to add!

2/8/07