Cruising to safaris – sea level to high altitude – life is an adventure!
We are disembarking in Perth and trying to figure out our options from here. I will get the rest of whatever portions we take onto blogs so I have the memories. What an adventure for good or bad…around the world! We feel they probably don’t want to be 10 days out on the seas with a virus that shows up and then have to try to treat people. Guess I can’t blame them.
Hugs from downunder. Jacque
We sailed into Kangaroo Island and took a tender into the little port called Penneshaw. We all noticed how the harbor had some of the clearest waters we’ve seen yet. The island is mostly composed of limestone and granite.
We boarded a small bus and trekked over to Dudley Wines on the Dudley Peninsula on the some of the bumpiest roads so far. They had delicious wines and a fabulous view. I saw a photo where they use to have a sign over the tasting bar that said Wine N Wool Baaaar. In their little gift shop they had wool items from across Australia. I’ve included the adorable driving range below.
You can see the little boats if you look closely on the left photo. I guess that’s how far you are trying to drive. The boats made us all smile. The drivers left there that you can use as mentioned by real golfers would not be real useful to get the ball as far as the furthest boat. The views are to die for. The wine was good and Kangaroo Island a place all three of use would live. The roads – mostly dirt and bumpy. Traffic jams non existent. The coldest February on record once again. We could not have asked for a more beautiful day weather wise!
They have a wine called Porky Flat Shiraz after porcupines which the Europeans thought they had seen but they were actually Echidna’s!
Next up was walking around the lighthouse. Reading about historical boat wrecks, enjoying the views and seeing the kangaroos in their natural habitat. These kangaroos are slightly smaller and hairier than those on the mainland.
Our guide, one of the best so far told fabulous stories. He had two kangaroos in his front yard this morning foraging and hit one last night on his way home. …and yes he has a roo bar on his vehicle! Kangaroos remind me of our white tailed deer at home at the beach. Pests. Visitors to Dillon Beach love to take their photo – oh aren’t they cute. We hate to hit them with our car since we’d ruin it. Maybe I need a roo bar?
He also told the story of living through the Sun Vista sinking in 1999. No we do not feel threatened by our ship going down! Folks think that the Sun Vista sinking was for the insurance money…great stories on the internet to read if your interested.
Just for a bit of trivia…The formulation of kangaroo milk changes constantly over the year+ a joey nurses. Its complex, so to summarise: Tiny newborn joeys get a watery, high protein and simple carb, immunity-rich milk; older pouch joeys get high carb, high protein and some fat; big joeys at foot get massive fat and protein and low carbs.
But wait, there’s more. Kangaroo always – she has two unique milk compositions coming out of different nipples at the same time. It’s a general fact that kangaroos don’t have twin joeys. But they do have joeys 9-12 months apart*. Big sister joey @1 year old will leave the pouch just before her little sister is born. Little sister climbs up into the pouch, finds a small teat (there are four, but only three are small enough for her to gobble) and hangs on tight.
Big sister joey shoves her head in the pouch to suckle from ‘her’ nipple. It is huge by this time – the nipple stretches as the joey grows – and sometimes even hangs out of the pouch. Big sister will nurse until she’s about 18 months old. So that’s six months of sharing an increasingly tiny bedroom with big sister. No wonder kangaroo girls have the occasional disagreement!
In fact, they don’t poo or wee until mum tells them to. A boon for a fastidious working mum. You will often see a kangaroo mother put her head into her own pouch. She is keeping it clean. She licks it out regularly to ensure no dirt accumulates. While she’s at it, she gives joey a thorough wash.
On the way back to the boat after Dudley Winery and the Lighthouse, we stopped and hiked to one of the many stunning beaches around the island. There were six people not counting us and we figured it was a 2-3 mile beach. The water was amazing- well I would have actually gotten into it if I had had a swimsuit and that is rare for me – ask my family. 18 degrees isn’t that warm but my feet certainly enjoyed it! We collected our sand with smiles on our face.
There are about 4,000 locals on the island. There was no recent aboriginal history after the ice age. The Island was originally founded by a group of European folks that included a Buick. His brother went to the United States – guess what he did? The first crops were wheat and barley and of course sheep and cattle.
There are ZERO traffic lights and ZERO taxi’s. Cruise ship guests are lost when they can’t find a taxi. I doubt they have UBER but we didn’t ask. The have a maritime climate here and are very isolated. I asked about fog and he pretty much said what fog. I said I’d happily give them a little of ours from Dillon Beach!
Now you may wonder what happened since many of you may have heard that 50% of the island burned in January? The lightening strike originally started in a ravine. It stayed confined in the ravine for two weeks. A local farmer wanted to clear a fire path to keep it from spreading. The local tree huggers said no way this area is a national park. If that had been allowed they would still have their entire island in tact. Now there is no longer a national park.
Two weeks later the fire storm took off and burned all the way to the south, turned around a burned all the way back to the north in a V formation and wiped out pretty much everything on half the island in ONLY 24 hours! (reminds me of the Tubbs fire in 2017 and the damage it did in 24 hours!) We never even saw a hint of burned areas since this is the third island size wise in Australia. Their tourist industry from the Adelaide area is just now starting to pick up via the ferries. Smoke taint which might be expect on their wines didn’t happen since the winds keep moving in all direction so taint didn’t happen to their grapes. Most of the smoke taint hit the Adelaide area. Sorry folks!
Now the update. The next morning before we started our trip to visit animals and a winery, we were given our new itinerary. Mostly sea days to Cape Town and then sea dys to Rio De Janeiro and mostly sea days to Miami. Miami to San Francisco is unchanged so far. We love sea days. That certainly made it easier to decide.
We understand many are choosing to leave in Fremantle/Perth and head home. Many due to underlying health issues. Others don’t want to go around Africa. If any of the starred ports on our itinerary come to fruition we will be thrilled. Like the Seychelles or seeing Buenos Aires again and especially Devils Island. One lady is leaving because her kids want her home…she is leaving her aunt behind who is adorable and refuses to leave. One husband is staying while his wife is leaving. He had big smiles on his face!
We just have no reason to get off a perfectly healthy at this point in time ship and get into Sydney or points east where the virus is (think Tom Hanks) or even airports at home and the TSA. We imagine there might be 100-150 at best World Cruise passengers left and a full set of crew. No passengers are getting on in Fremantle – we’re not sure about any new crew. Things have become tighter with restrictions of things like game boards or the library or dances, but we imagine as we head across the Indian Ocean some of these restrictions might lift. We have our Italian teacher and his girlfriend, our cruise director and his wife, our butler who will miss his family in India due to the itinerary change. And then there is our captain who would not go home to Italy even if he could! We have Ben our Georgia friend who has one acoustic and one electric guitar so there might be more jam nights! Larkin has her some of her board game friends staying – others haven’t decided.
Michael has a list of wine aficionados who want to talk about wine. He will make that happen. We have games and cards and books and knitting and art work that I have not been able to get to!!! I need to edit my book and I will have no excuses if I don’t work on it! Italian will continue to be our brain challenge. Maria Louisa from Mexico in our Italian class is staying on board and she said she’d teach us Spanish.
Those who are left have a great adventurous attitude and spirit. The ship needs to head to the states, we will be on the ship. We are worried more for our friends at home as the virus spreads so rapidly. Pray we stay healthy and we continue to pray for your health!
Thanks Sienna! Until my Port Lincoln blog, Stay away from crowds! Love and Hugs!
On our trip to Australia in October 2019, Michael and I enjoyed a trip with the Golden Gate Wine Society up into the hills of Adelaide but we didn’t stop at this lofty point called Mt Lofty. It reminded me of the view of Boulder and the Colorado plains from Flagstaff House sans the water view of St. Vincent Gulf.
After berthing on the Adelaide Cup Monday holiday weekend, Larkin and I walked the pier at Port Adelaide and headed down to the beach for our sand. We had to walk through all these unique little balls which Larkin researched and found out were called algae balls. Very interesting. Worth researching. Not at all bad things.
We also woke up the next morning to the Queen Mary 2 pulling in front us. We heard they sailed from Sri Lanka to Sydney – but it may have been Fremantle – in one fell swoop over 14 days, but not sure if that was true. If they did and no one got sick then they definitely had no issues entering Australia. We have a feeling we’ll have quite a few more sea days than we expect and we look forward to it!
Adelaide is a beautiful city with lots of parks and green areas. Of course wineries are in valleys on all three sides of the city. These areas include the Barossa and Clare Valley the to the north, McClaren Vale to the south and the Adelaide Hills to the east. Fifty percent of Australian wines come from South Australia.
As we walked back to our bus at Mt Lofty this little koala was up a tree snoozing in his native local. The koala photo was taken by a fellow excursionist. The little Koala turned away right as I was taking the photo…I have his back side – thank you very much.
After Mt. Lofty we headed to O’Leary Walker Cellar Door. It is near the town of Handorf and was not far from The Lane which we visited in October. We tasted their wines and actually bought their Syrah. The others were so so. Our tour guide on the bus had run on of the mouth and just didn’t stop talking. We heard from folks that took a city tour the night before that he must have been their guide too. Nice enough but incessant chatting. We all were in need of a bathroom and lunch the minute we pulled up to the ship. Egads I could have used a drink but I waited until dinner…
Port Fairy’s Basalt winery, our previous stop, had limoncello gin. So I bought some for the family and Shane the owner told us to mix it with Mint and Prosecco. We had it on the ship in Adelaide prior to dinner as a cocktail before our Indian food. It was actually quite delicious if you ever run across Mt. Gambia gin it is one of the Great Ocean Road distilleries in Australia. The piece de resistance was the 1955 Cabernet Sauvignon which we were saving for friends when they joined us in Rome. Well Rome is not happening and many cruisers are canceling. The wine went very well with the Indian food. It was our third Indian meal by the chefs and maybe the best. These dishes were stunning.
We left late last night after dinner. Larkin and I spent time seeing the southern cross on the Observation deck. We embarked Adelaide at 11 pm to only drift across the Back Stairs Passage to Kangaroo Island, our next stop and my next blog!
We drove from Portland and our port on the Great Ocean Road through Port Fairy where we stopped at the only winery, Basalt Vineyard in the area of Killarny. This area was heavily settled by the Irish. Port Fairy used to be called Belfast – and is what most locals still call i. Shane the owner was a hoot. He planted the vineyard in the early 2000’s and does Riesling, Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir, Tempranillo and a no oak Shiraz. He called Pinot Noir a wine that is neither here nor there but just good drinking. We all believe that Australia has simply burned up due to excessive heat. Well contrary to public belief, this area has had the coldest summer on record! He is hoping the grapes get ripe. Harvest is at least a month late at this point in time. When we asked our tour guide what the water temperature of the ocean was she told us freezing – it comes straight from the Antarctic. So much for cold California waters. Their water seems colder in the Southern Ocean!
We learned that Falling off the Twig means a person has died. New slang terms are always interesting We love how other English speakers call them Vin Yards and we Americans call them vinyerds. All alcoholic products down here seemed to be referred to as booze. We Americans prefer our wines to be wines – booze has no class – but call a spade a spade. Names of everything are shortened down here. Salvation Army is Salvo. McDonalds is called Mac’ers. A gas station is a Servy. BBQ as we all know is a Barbie. Why waste syllables? Not such a bad idea I guess.
We were just lucky the Port Fairy Folk Festival was happening over Victoria’s Labor Day holiday. It is the largest Folk Festival in Australia. The center of the main street had a street fair and every nook and cranny had musicians playing. All the stores were open on this special Sunday. We didn’t try to go to the main tent because we were only there for a little over an hour.
We walked quite a way from where the bus could drop us off so we enjoyed walking past many basalt buildings and all the beautiful flowers in their yards. When we got back to the little Fish and Chips place on the estuary we wanted food but they were closed. They did have drinks, ice cream and the chef walked over with the best calamari I have ever eaten. The waitress showed me the boat on the dock they received their seafood from. I think that makes it real fresh!
We truly enjoyed our time walking the streets of Port Fairy formerly known as Belfast. The drives on the Great Ocean Road were lovely. We had no time in Portland and it was Sunday but we had access to a beach next to our pier so we were able to abscond with sand!
We pulled into Adelaide today around 3pm. Larkin and I took a nice walk by the pier to a beach and yes, once again collected sand. Tomorrow is Adelaide Hills after driving through Adelaide. Can’t imagine it will be near as much fun as our time with Golden Gate Wine Society!
Cheers from South Australia!
We anchored off village of Rhyll on Philip Island and took a very long tender ride into a their tiny dock. It was a very short walk to our catamaran to take us to Seal Rocks Island. The ride was bumpy and windy with swells as we followed the north shore of the island past the western edge to this little seal and bird only island. We were at the Bass Straight between Australia mainland and Tasmania. Known for its bumpy seas. We had thirty minutes during the high tide to enjoy the SMELLS, sights and sounds! Mostly cows and their pups but a few bulls. While we stayed there it went from cloudy to sunny. The ride back was much smoother!
After our ride, the three of us decided to take a 20 minute shuttle bus to the town of Cowes. When we packed in January we were thinking all summer clothing was what we needed. HAHAHA! With a change of venue came cooler days. Larkin and I needed and found a few light weight sweaters on the streets of Cowes! Michael got bored and headed back to the long tender ride to the ship. Larkin and I walked all the way to the beach and pier from where they dropped us off. We collected our sand and enjoyed the volcanic and sand beach. We enjoyed seeing the people, the dogs and the birds. As we walked back to the shuttle bus we found a very busy and good inexpensive sushi restaurant and partook of their offerings! After the tender ride back we got ready for a Thai food night with friends. Once again the staff did a spectacular job! One Georgian and two Arkansans (and my Arkansas roots) and two dancers from the last cast…and our friends from Southern California!
Memories of Johnnie Carson in the 1970’s when we had a run on toilet paper. We are hoping the cruise ship has enough in case we are suppose to restock and find ourselves up a creek without supplies! As so many ports are closing, Regents and all cruise ships have no clue where we’re headed. We just know we don’t want to head home on a crowded plane if they are even available through crowded airports. We wouldn’t mind around South Africa but don’t think that is in the card. We want to see Petra and Istanbul. Most world cruisers realize we’re just happy being on the ship. Take us where you can! These ports around the southern side of Australia have all been places Larkin and I have said we’d be happy to live! Next up Port Fairy and Basalt Vineyard.
Larkin decided – hey mom n dad – maybe not so many wine tastings and a wool museum instead! So I joined her for the wool museum and gaol and Michael headed off to a wine tasting on his own. He told us other than one wine he tasted, they were not memorable. He did meet some new wine friends! Must admit folks are creative though with their cellar doors and old boots! This provincial city had a gold rush in the 1850’s not long after California. The area has tons of history and charm.
Larkin and I were on the bus for the Wool Museum that started with a drive around Geelong -the waterfront, through parks and the bat tree, schools, and nice homes. Apparently the bats were driven out of Melbourne with loud sounds and music and our driver said Geelong is known to accept every one and every thing. Hence the bats now live around Geelong. It was interesting to see an entire tree with upside down bats take off with the sound of the bus horn.
The Wool Museum was staffed with docents who had a passion for what they were sharing. Larkin had an almost private tour and the woman came up to me and said how delightful my daughter was and that she should be able to buy anything she wanted in the museum store. Delightful actually it was. Needless to say we did find a few things to spend money on. I remember the smell of money but it was actually the paper mills in Pine Bluff! Women actually had an important part of wool history in Australia including breeding! The left side of the pano spool picture is where Charles was standing at the loom.
Next up – the GAOL! We had a wonderful walk about at the Gaol with characters telling us the stories of the previous inhabitants. Larkin and other cruisers were able to feel what it was like in solitary confinement. The three sisters was the place out back where prisoners received floggings with a whip of their own creation. It was not pleasant and women were not immune and received even worse floggings. This prison was not closed until 1991.
After the Gaol we had lunch near the pier with Gail and Russell and decided to Uber to a wool shop. Larkin and I both have started knitting. We have no idea how many days we might have on the open ocean as our ports keep changing. Might as well have a new hobby or two. After we headed back to the center of town, we stopped by a government building and found a stunning Venetian glass mosaic which reminded me of a mosaic in Philadelphia. The Art Museum which was across the street was unique in its architecture.
Next blog up includes seals and Folk festivals and wine! We sail into Adelaide tomorrow. We are gaining a half hour as you all at home are loosing an hour! Happy time change. Stay healthy and wash your hands!
Our first stop in Burnie, Tasmania was Ashgrove Tasmanian Cheese farm. Mostly British style cheese – very good but not something to take back on the ship. We did find our Bush Dust and some Mustard to bring home.
Next stop Anvers Chocolate for tea and a chocolate tasting which ended up being a cup of fabulous hot chocolate and hugs chocolate desserts. Larkin finished hers, Michael ate half and I had a bite. We did pick up some Fortunato No. 4 which a special Peruvian type of chocolate that was thought extinct but found in the Marañón Canyon and through genetic testing they were found to be 100% Pure Nacional. That ”Mother Tree” lives on the Fortunato Family farm. Most other Pure Nacional had been destroyed by disease. According to a website:
The chocolate is intense, with a floral aroma and a persistent mellow richness. Its lack of bitterness is remarkable. One reason may be that Nacional cacao has a rare and precious characteristic: some of the beans are white, not the usual purple, and those from the Marañón Canyon are about 40 percent white. White beans, which Dr. Meinhardt said have fewer bitter anthocyanins, produce a more mellow-tasting, less acidic chocolate. Dr. Meinhardt said white beans are mutations that happen when trees are left undisturbed for hundreds of years.
We enjoyed the little bites of chocolate we had and it was onto tasting wines!
Can you tell Larkin and I were enjoyed the bumblebees more? You can actually pet the bees. (I guess they can sting but I was brave. They are soft!) They are not indigenous to Tasmania and probably came in from New Zealand and parts north before that. Michael and I tasted the wines which were all very delicious and Michael brought three back to the ship. Our day was very cool and cloudy which in many ways lent for better photos. When we made it back to the ship…Michael headed up to the room and Larkin and I headed to the beach for sand and photos!
The geology was incredible on the beach, the birds fun to watch and rocks were ripe for the picking as we collected our beach sand. Interesting enough the grey skies made for fabulous photos and there was NO ONE on the beach except the birds. There are 1 foot fences along the highways because fairy penguins come up at night after feeding and they would die on the roads. The excursion to the the penguins march sounded interesting but there were no photos allowed. After 12 excursions in the Antarctic taking tons of photos I just couldn’t imagine not taking photos so we did wine, chocolate and cheese. I think maybe the penguins march only at night and the flash could bother them. Understood!
Until Geelong. Buona sera…
For those of you remembering Larkin was in quarantine, she was released by Australian authorities about 11 am February 29th as we sailed in to White Bay Cruise Terminal. Therefore she was a GO for attending SIX the musical. In October Michael and I found ourselves in Sydney on both ends of our Golden Gate Wine Society wine trip to Australia. We dropped by the opera house to find out what was playing. We bought tickets for SIX for February 29th in October. The Leading Men, a quartet of singers from Australia on our cruise told us they heard SIX was great but they couldn’t get tickets. It was sold out! We felt lucky. We met another couple in the Observation Lounge that went to the matinee on the 1st. We all felt blessed – What a fun show.
Divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived; Aragon, Boleyn, Seymour, Cleves, Howard, Parr – two Catherines, one Katherine, an Anne, an Anna and a Jane. I think if I try hard I might remember the women and their stories. Without these six women Henry the VIII wouldn’t have been as famous. The music was empowering, the banter humorous and the story well written. If you get a chance to see it in the states – GO!
The first night we saw a Norwegian Cruise Line ship sail away and another empty Norwegian Cruise Line ship we had passed earlier in the day pick up passengers and sail away. We found out this was a free thank you trip for the fireman who are mostly volunteers that had fought the recent fires. It was wonderful to see these families line up to sail on this ship!!! We had heard that some passenger ships were used to houses fire fighters also.
Our full day in Sydney we boarded a brand new beautiful luxury bus for the Blue Mountains National Park. We only had 18 people so we could spread out. Larkin enjoyed the two hour ride by napping stretched out on the back seat. When we got to Echo Point near Katoomba we found the loo and walked to this stunning view. The folks in orange are the State Emergency Services. It was clean up Australia day and they were vertical rescuers so they practiced rappelling down and picked up bags of trash that had blown off the vista. The three sisters are weathered sandstone peaks that were formed through thousands of years of erosion. The valley below is the Jamison Valley. The blue haze is the eucalyptus oil dispersed in the air – no pollution. Once again it was a very rare stunning day. Interesting that we were told our bus would have to move away while we enjoyed the views then they noticed there were no Chinese tourist due to the Corona virus so there was room to stay parked. Nice to have some nice things occur positively with this famous virus!
Scenic World which is private property in the Blue Mountains was a short ride away from Echo Point. We took the Scenic Skyway down to a previous area where they mined coal. We walked along a flat trail among the rain forest trees and palms, past coal mines to the old almost vertical train to ride back up to the top. Once we were vertically challenged back up the hill, we rode the Scenic Cableway across the forest. There were opaque floor tiles that would go clear as we rode across. The view of the forest whizzed past. We knew when we went back across we would stay on the uphill side and enjoy the waterfall views.
Very much like what the Americans did to our native Americans, the British decided to tell the Aboriginals that they must not have fires in the forest like they always did in their historical past. The fires were the only way that eucalyptus trees reproduce just like California redwoods can only procreate with those fires! So part of Australia’s issue with forest fires are the same as ours. When fires cleared out the brush periodically that is the best way to manage the forest. Speaking of fires, we saw no burned out areas but we were told there were a couple of towns nearby that were affected. The British also never thought to ask the Aboriginals how to cross the blue mountains because they knew better…it took them decades to figure it out! Hint-stay along the ridges!
On our last day in Sydney we took an Uber with a fabulous woman driver to the Queen Victoria building and found our favorite Aboriginal art gallery/store. Larkin found a stunning cotton blanket that she has quickly embraced…!!! Of course I found a scarf or two. Larkin also chose one small original painting and we found another one for our house. We walked down Pitt Street and into a restaurant called Spice Temple that Michael and I had been to in October. Its unique with a great atmosphere down old stairs to a basement. However, the food was salty and not as flavorful as it could have been and all the dishes were very spicy. Our last dish was lamb and fennel dumplings – the highlight dish if there was one. We walked to the Quay from lunch and headed back to the ship via Uber.
Our last afternoon in port when we arrived back from downtown Sydney saw Larkin sleeping as she needed more rest to recover. Michael napped and I decided to don a swimsuit and head to the pool. After a drink and settling into Ellen Crosby’s The Sauvignon Secret, I was nearly blown away by a gale that didn’t stop. Everyone on the pool deck packed up and headed in. So much for a swim or a hot tub.
As we sailed out about 6 pm we went to the Observation Lounge to enjoy the sail away. The wind had not died down and the clouds had taken over the skyline. We passed the Crystal Serenity and a Celebrity ship moored in the harbor using tenders to get ashore. Their dinner views were off the Sydney Opera House…not a bad view. The Queen Elizabeth was at the Circular Quay Dock when we sailed away.
Our next blog will be from Tasmania…the first few hours of our sail was bumpy once again and the wind is still howling, but the seas have calmed. There might even be a sunset tonight! Buona Sera!
We sailed into Wellington and had a few hours before our Weta Workshop tour. Larkin and I met up with Sun and Jeong from Wisconsin to take a bus ride in to Wellington prior to our afternoon tour. The four of us mostly walked and enjoyed the beautiful day before we had to take the bus back to the boat for our tour of the workshop. As we waited the only shade was a tree that was adorned with beautiful orange flowers. It was incredible to watch the bees and bumblebees zoom in and out. Live capture on Apple photos made finding the best shot easier! Love the bumblebees tiny wings – now how can he fly?
Michael and I did our very first cruise in 1994 on the Holland America Maasdam. Michael lectured on wine as we sailed from Papette, Tahiti to Los Angeles. We still have wonderful friends Bill and Val that we met on the ship. We learned after 6 days at sea you CAN smell land – or at least LA. For the Maasdam it was the end of a world cruise. We knew over 25 years ago we wanted to take this World adventure. Having Larkin in the intervening years and having her join us after graduating from college is just a wonderful bonus.
As we drove around Wellington on our way to Weta Workshop in Miramar, we passed a few unique painted walls. The one on the left is called the Shark wall that is famous enough it could be the Shark Selfie wall. The middle is a “lift” and it is how many people on this steep part of the city get to their homes. No garage…no stairs..just a lift. I answered the questions correctly when he asked how do you think people get their couches and refrigerators up…helicoptered in on a nice day like the day we were there. This little area reminds me of Sausalito near us north of San Francisco. Normally the wind screams at about 30 miles an hour. They have a fountain in the Bay that only works at under 20 miles an hour – so we saw it running! It was yet another amazing day of weather off the ship!
If you look at the photo on the left at the bottom you can just make out the Wellington sign. The bus drove right by the sign into the little split between the hills to reach Miramar. This community can create a movie from start to finish. Amazing what a few creative locals can do to create a needed industry. New Zealand is now famous for its Hobbit and Lord of the Rings (LOTR) movies. We were able to see filming sites in 2018 on our trip to Queenstown and the south island and now we have been able to see Weta Workshop where they created so many feet, hands, noses, helmets, arms, swords, you name it, they can create it. We were not able to take photos of the great props as they don’t own the license to many of the items.
Double Vision Brewery is owned by the studio and it must keep the minions on Miramar very happy! After we finished touring the Weta Workshop in Miramar we headed to Mt. Victoria to hike to the sites of filming and then the gorgeous view from the top. Larkin was one of the brave ones to go down to the almost cave and have her photo taken. Our guide would show us photo from the film and the Monterrey Pines in the backdrop to the film that are still in the forest. When they needed leaves they realized pine tree only have needles so they went to the Wellington Botanic garden and picked up oak tree leaves. The forest photo on the left is fairly flat with Wellington in the background. The forest photo on the right is actually very steep. When we watched the film that night we saw the trees and it made it personal. The black rider was near where our bus was parked. The director couldn’t figure out how to get the horses exhaling and be able see it but not the rider who is suppose to be dead…one of the extras had a snorkle in his car and suggested it would work – voila he gave it to the rider who put it in his mouth and back down his back. Problem Solved.
Samwise’s character decided to get in shape before filming. OOPS. He was suppose to be the fat hobbit yet he came to New Zealand in shape. He spent six weeks eating KFC and donuts to gain about 30 pounds. By the time they had to run up the hill on the right he couldn’t do it so the other three hobbits ran up and down over at least a dozen takes and Samwise would join popping out from behind a tree near the top. Whatever works! It helped that he knew someone so they didn’t have to find another man to play his hobbit part.
Originally the powers that be did not want a premier for The Lord of the Rings to be held in Wellington even though it was filmed in New Zealand. They thought the city was way to small. However by the time third segment in the trilogy came around in 2003, The Return of the King, they brought it to Wellington. There were only 250,000 people at the premier!!! The country turned out to see this premier and the New Zealanders were so proud of their countrymen for producing it.
Executive chef Roland showed us around the kitchen with a couple of dozen fellow travelers. There are 63 chefs…and 24 hours of chefs doing pastries..From Canapes to trays of petit fours they know how to create, prepare and serve seemlessly in four different restaurants.
We had a wonderful Mexican meal created by our chefs. We had no clue our chefs could create such a scrumptious meal. We were all impressed – and the reposado margaritas were delicious! Ole!
On the two days across the Tasman Sea we enjoyed the high seas and higher waves! Interesting crashes as items slid off dressers or tables…glad it was in the middle of the night. At least by the time we cruised into Sydney Harbor the seas had calmed.
Its filling up next to our door…They make us smile!
The flat land in the distance on the left came up from the ocean during an earthquake in 1931. One of the rivers went backwards and an estuary was lifted up on the south side of Napier. Our friends Malcolm and Anne Reeves picked us up from the Visitors Center and toured us around the area. Hawkes Bay wine region is named after the Hawk Bay. There was lots of new land and geology to see. …and graffiti.
In New Zealand they export gigantic quantities of sustainable Monterrey Pine which grows better in New Zealand than in America. This wood does not need a container as we saw them loaded on as is in bundles. It is cheaper to buy new containers for imported items. Go figure…Therefore they have stacks and stacks of empty containers around all of their ports. Sure seems like there is some creative use for these containers! These containers, just like in the USA, make for great graffiti signs at least.
Cows and hedges or hedges and cows? Which came first? The cows outside the fence reminds me of home. Our Marin County Sheriff’s know where the cows are most likely to get out and which rancher to call. They also carry bolt cutters and repair items for fences as needed. The bus you can see was off our ship and they got to mosey around the cows too as they were on both sides of the road and the cows did NOT like the sound of the bus.
Hedges? My goodness New Zealand folks could you have any more wind break hedges made out of every imaginable bush or tree? I think a few square feet may have been missing one! They don’t make for quality photos when on a bus.
We passed cheese factories that became churches – Cheeses of Nazareth maybe??? Maybe they made swiss cheese since it becomes holey? Unique winery names like Red Barrel and Black Barn, Black Bridge, Elephant Hill or Wool Shed( how creative are those???).
Craggy Ridge Winery is at the bottom of the hill where you can sort of see vineyards. There is a river across the middle. In the far far distant galaxy you can almost make out water and the hill behind where our ship was docked.
LDBD – Last drink before I die…our waiter wanted it to be a wine called Enigma…I choose MSquared! A guy from the next table came over to ask what wine we were tasting and why it looked like an AK47 was serving it? It was a Coravin – or wine saver – that does look unique. I guess New Zealand has a gun by back in case you want to sell your AK47 to them.
Unique sayings like “back in a tic” or WIT as in whatever it takes. Loved the side of a porta potty that didn’t say “here’s Jonny” but Wee Doo Loos! How about the Tuki Tok River? Napier had just had its Art Deco festival and we enjoyed seeing all the beautiful art deco architecture around the town. Larkin has chosen Napier as her favorite stop so far on the trip due to its geology and “rock” beach.
After Malcolm and Anne dropped us off at the Visitors Center, we headed back to the ship but Larkin and I forgot to get our requisite sand so she and I headed right back and made sure we loaded up a baggie with the little pebbles as it is “new” land and not sand yet. We took a walk back toward the pier and picked up the shuttle and head to the ship for our sail away to Wellington and our last New Zealand stop!
THE TRAVELING MARTINI'S 