Wednesday & Thursday

Wednesday:  Took a tour of Wellington sights.  Rode a cable car part way up to Victoria Mountain and the bus for the last part.  Could see all of the city and while up there found a monument that had lines to stand on that pointed to the South Pole and the North.  We stayed in the city and had lunch and shopped for a few hours.  Ray went to the Te Papa museum and saw a giant squid. I found cookie cutters in the shape of New Zealand and a kiwi, their national bird.  After dinner we went to see a magic show.  He was great and told good jokes.

Thursday:  Took a morning tour to Kidnapper's Cove and the Gannet colony.  It was very scenic, lots of hills, very steep roads, sheep everywhere.  On the point there were thousands of Gannets who were nesting there.  They have their young and when they can fly, they leave for the Great Barrier Reef off Australia and fly non stop.  They live there for 2 years and come back to the same area to have their young.  Left port early and had a relaxing afternoon.  Went to see the magician show us some of his tricks.  Signed up to do a walk for cancer on Saturday.  Ray is walking for his mom and I'm walking for Jennie, my aunt. Formal dinner tonight.

Sunday to Tuesday

Sunday:  We docked at Port Chalmers and took the shuttle to Dunedin.  Shopped at the markets in the certre of the city called the Octagon.  Met Jennifer and Bill who are friends of Dinie and Matthew and had a lovely lunch.  Afterwards, Jennifer's dad, Jim drove us all over the Otago Peninsula and up to the Albatross Colony.  We saw thousands of sheep and the beautiful hills of the Southern Alps.  Took in a show,  lady singer from Cairns.  Great!
Monday:  We docked at Littleton and took a train through Christchurch and up to the higher mountains of the Alps to Arthur's Pass.  The views were breath taking.  Had tea and scones on the train.  Came back by coach and stopped at the little town of Springfield and had a great lunch in the community centre.  Then down to Christchurch for a look at the city.  In the city square we shopped and took lots of pictures of the lovely buildings.  On the way back to the ship, our tour guide took us to the areas that had damage from the earthquake this past September.  After dinner we enjoyed a show put on by the Phillipino crew members.
Tuesday:  Took the day off from touring.  Went into town of Picton.  It was raining, but most of the stores had awnings so it was no problem.  Went to a Maori museum.  Went shopping and after only an hour we heard about the earthquake in Christchurch.  Many of the buildings we saw yesterday are rubble today and everyone was crowding into any store that had a tv.  It was very sobering to see the devastation and to know that there are people who died.  A quiet evening on the ship, mostly sitting around talking to our friends.

Tuesday to Saturday

On Tuesday we went on a tour in Melbourne to  the Dandenong Ranges National Park.  In the little town of Belgrade we took a ride on the Puffing Billy train, a narrow gauge steam train.  Great fun.
Wednesday we arrived in Burnie, Tasmania.  Tasmania is an island off the south coast of Australia and is also one of the seven states.  On a tour we took a ride into the countryside and was suprised that is was so fertile.  Lots of farms and cows, horses and sheep.  Stopped at a honey farm and had ice cream.  Had lunch at a wildlife park and saw lots of kangaroos, wombats, tasmanian devils, eagles, galahs, kookaburras and really enjoyed our last look at the animals.  On our way back to the ship, we had a tour of a chocolate factory and had dessert and hot chocolate there
Thursday and Friday we were at sea. Saw lots of shows, singers and dancers, a great piano player and ate lots of wonderful food.  Met lots of nice people from all over the world.  Some nights are casual and we've had two formal nights.  Last night we each had lobster and loved that.  We've been shopping in the shops on board and playing bingo, doing trivia contests and listening to the various musical groups. 

Today we got our first glimpse of New Zealand.  Went through Milford Sound at 6:30am, Doubtful Sound at noon and Dusky  Sound at 2pm.  We sailed into the fiords and the mountains were unbelievable.  Tomorrow the first time we go ashore..

Sunday & Monday

Yesterday we shopped at the market outside our hotel after breakfast.  We got a taxi to the Volendam around noon.  After the boarding was over, we had lunch and found our room.  Ray took a tour of the ship and I looked around, too.  We had a welcome party at 5pm and sailed at 6:30pm.  Watched Sydney sights and then got dressed for dinner at 8pm.  Afterward we saw a live show and bummed around for awhile.  I was feeling a bit rocky because it was choppy for a bit.  Okay this morning.  We've been at sea today.  Lots of food. Invited to the captain's brunch at 11am, held for anyone who has sailed with Holland  America before.  Had dinner at the Pinnacle Restaurant (finer dining) because it is Valentine's Day.  After dinner, we did a pub quiz in the Crow's Nest and then saw the show again.  In between we met the captain and crew. Champagne three times today and more food than we should eat in a week.  Back to Melbourne tomorrow to pick up more passengers and we are going to do another tour.

Saturday

We watched the vendors set up stalls outside our hotel while we were having breakfast. Called Clayton and Bax and had a chat, couldn't reach mom. Then took a free shuttle downtown to do our laundry. Walked around while it was washing and saw two streets that were close, one was Mary and the other was Foster. We thought that they met but they didn't. Got a picture, anyway. (My mom's maiden name was Mary Foster)On our way back we watched Psycho Sam, a street performer. He did a lot of crazy things, including swallowing an inflated 3 foot long balloon. Spent the afternoon shopping at the outside market and meeting lots of interesting people on the patio of our hotel. Out for dinner and spending our last night in Austalia. Almost 5 weeks here. Things are a little different here. North is warmer than South, this is Summer, Burger King is Hungry Jacks, Woolworths is a supermarket chain, and there's not a Walmart in sight.

Friday

Started early again this morning. Went on a tour of Sydney and the suburbs. We are in the Rocks area and we saw Chinatown, Darling Harbour, Kings Cross and Double Bay. Sat in Mrs. Macquarie's Chair and spent time at Bondi Beach. Passed Russell Crowe's Condo on the water (we could buy one for only $13 Million! Back home shortly after noon. Had lunch at the Circular Quay and went shopping at a market that was set up for the weekend around the corner from our hotel. After dinner we took a bus to Darling Harbour to look around the area. Walked back to the Quay and listened to a jazz combo. On our way back to our hotel. May stop for a desert.

Thursday

Bus arrived early for our trip to the Blue Mountains. We were still eating breakfast but we made it. We stopped first at Featherdale Wildlife Park and had a great time seeing all the wildlife. Lots of koalas, kangaroos, wallabys, wombats, dingos, cassowaries, all kinds of other birds, snakes and crocodiles. Stopped for lunch at the town of Leura and shopped around for a short time. We stopped at Govetts Leap on the way up to the mountains to see the view of theJamison and Megalong Valleys below and it was unbeleivable. Then we stopped at Scenic World and took the steepest train in the world part way down the mountain, and saw an old abandoned coal mine before taking a cable car back up. Saw the "Three Sisters", a rock formation on one of the mountains. Not a place to be scared of heights but the scenery was great. On our way back we toured the Olympic Site (2000) and drove down to the dock at Parramatta and took a boat back to Sydney, going under the Sydney bridge and passing the Opera House on the way. After a short rest, we are out for dinner and the internet.