Crossings

We’ve had perfect seas. We crossed Cook Strait, one of the world’s most notorious passages of ocean, and it was lake-like. The Captain says our crossing from Dunedin to Fjordland tomorrow night might be rough. I’m not going to believe him! He’s like the Utah weathermen—tells us it’s gonna be terrible weather and then it’s fine. Let us hope.

It was really weird, as we sailed away from Picton, we sailed out from under stormy, black rain clouds and into beautiful clear skies. It seemed that the clouds were just hovering over the land. I guess that’s why New Zealand is called Aotearoa, The Land of the Long White Cloud.

Addendum: In today’s sea-state ‘forecast’, the Captain said it’s going to be really bad overnight and to take our seasickness pills now. Then he said that according to Housekeeping that means it’s going to be a good crossing over to the Sounds because whenever he says it’s going to be bad, it’s usually nice. (That has been our experience so far. We had a GORGEOUS day today, and the crossing last night, while a bit pitchy, was not very bad at all.)

Addendum to the Addendum: I suppose it’s not a good thing when you go out on the back deck, and the benches are lashed to the railings.



Addendum to the Addendum’s Addendum: Interesting development. The Volendam lost power, and we were absolutely dead in the water for five minutes or more. We drifted sideways to the swells and got some really good rolling going. I’m pleased to report that the engines are back online now, and we’ve got forward motion again. I’m not so pleased to report that Dad and Aunt Brigitte decided to GO OUT on the ‘back porch’ to see the swells. Hmmmmmmmmmm. They survived, but I might kill them now. The captain said we ‘dropped an engine’. As if one just fell off or something! Something overloaded the other engine, and it went offline before they could do anything about it. It’s very weird to be in a blackout on a ship. Good thing I always pack a flashlight.

I’m off to take some Meclizine.

Addendum to the addendum to the . . . etc. (by Dad)

The captain just announced that some passengers are smelling smoke in their cabins, but not to worry. Call the front office if you smell smoke!

Oh, really? Wow, and here I thought you were supposed to ignore signs of fire or electrical overload. Silly me!

ps The sea state is now rough (7.5 to 15ft swells) and expected to go higher. No seasickness in our cabin yet. Keep your fingers crossed!

Adventures in Eating

We’ve had some chances to try foods unfamiliar to us on this trip.

At the Hilton in Auckland, I tried Marmite and Vegemite, the yeast spreads Kiwis and Aussies use on their toast. They were an AWFUL, TERRIBLE, HORRID black salty paste. Dad said they tasted like dried up soy sauce-- which is actually a nicer description than the taste. Don’t worry, kids, I’ve got some for you to try!

Fast food choices in New Zealand are many and varied and all of them familiar. KFC, McDonalds, Burger King, Subway, Pizza Hut, etc. We tried a McDonalds on the way to Hamilton. She asked me if I wanted a Coke then what kind. So sodas are ‘Cokes’. (Most places do not give you ice!) She also asked me if I wanted it for here or takeaway. There seem to be no real New Zealand fast foods but the country is dotted with ‘Takeaways’—Thai Takeaways, Chinese Takeaways, etc.We ate in many little cafes. My favorite one was called “A Cuppa ‘n a Cake”. We discovered panninis. VERY YUMMY grilled sandwiches.

On our way to Paihia with Ian, we stopped at a fast food place that had several choices. I had a meat pie. It was YUMMY. When I told Ian I had tried the traditional Kiwi fast food, he said, “Good on ya!” (I suppose that means ‘way to go’.) Dad had fish and chips with the fish battered and fried right before his eyes. It was a kind of fish called Hoki, and he really liked it.

At our Paihia hotel the next morning, I tried something called ‘black pudding’. They looked liked little black brownies so they couldn’t be bad, right? WRONG. Ick, nasty, terrible stuff. Turns out it is sausage. Don’t worry, kids, I DON’T have any of it to bring home!

Wellington, New Zealand

28/10

Today is Day 9 by Dad’s reckoning. Day 9! Almost halfway done. It’s going so quickly! We walked 17,800 steps today. No wonder I’m exhausted tonight!

We cruised into Wellington Harbour early this morning, through an opening so small I’m amazed the cruise ship fit! It is a commercial port. You can take a shuttle for $5 each to downtown or walk. The fellow on the dock said, "It's quite far." But we decided to walk anyway.

Our 'nextdoor neighbor':

After docking, we decided to walk to Te Papa, New Zealand’s premiere museum. It was a loooooooooooong walk. And windy! I almost thought we were in Highland it was so windy. And COLD. I loved it.

Te Papa is HUGE. Three football fields big. We spent most of the time in the Maori area.

After about three hours (including walking time), we taxied back to the ship. (Heh.)

We ate lunch and then worked on trying to upload to the blog and caught a little nap before our ship-sponsored excursion to the Seal Coast. ('Seal Coast Safari')

It was AMAZING. Scary too. We went in a Toyota Land Cruiser. Somehow I was lucky and got to sit in front with a seat belt. Everyone else (Dad, Uncle Mike, Aunt Brigitte and two other passengers) had to rattle around in the back on side-facing bench seats. We drove through the city and then started 4-Wheeling straight up a mountain. Hanging on a tiny, windy (bendy, Kiwis say) dirt road, so far up I couldn’t bear to look down! Especially since my side was on the downward side. EEEEK.

We saw ostriches, wild horses, wild goats, tame horses, cows, dogs (pets), sea birds, seals, and other stuff I probably forgot. The other vehicle got stuck in the sand and had to all get out while they freed it. We got to stay inside.

And it was WARM. After I zipped the liners back into our jackets, dug out gloves and the warm hats, and we wore hoodies. But ten miles away and back at the ship it was FREEZING again. Go figure.

The guide asked us if we wanted coffee or tea for our tea break. He didn’t know how to handle those of us who drank neither. Brigitte suggested he tote along hot chocolate in the future too. We had our break while taking photos of the surrounds and of the seals. There were three there. These are young males who didn’t want to go to, or came back from the mating grounds on the south island. I guess if you can’t get the girls you came hang out at the bach pad! ('Bachs' are what Kiwis call their 'cabins'.)

So off to bed now. We’re getting up at 6am to watch us sail across Cook Straight (one of the roughest bodies of water in the world) and into Captain Cook’s Ship Cove. Then another boat tour. Isn’t vacation wonderful????

Garion's Tree

Imagine our surprise when we hiked to the top of a hill on Urupukupuku Island, turned down the path, and came upon the Vale and Garion’s Tree!!! Isn’t this just the tree you’ve always imagined in your mind when reading about the Vale? I could have sat upon that bench for the rest of my life. (Or maybe only until my next meal anyway….)

If you haven’t read a series of books called “The Belgariad” by David Eddings, you should do so immediately. They are my favorite books ever, follwed closely by his second series “The Mallorean” which chronicles the lives of the same characters

Half-Day Around Auckland and North to Paihia

22/10


After spending the morning having breakfast, returning the car, doing email, and working on the blog, we met our tour guide at noon--Ian Shirley of New Zealand Personal Tours--and took off for our half-day of touring Auckland.

We started by going to Mt. Eden. Auckland has 27 extinct volcanoes dotted throughout the city. Mt. Eden offers gorgeous views of the City of Sails.

Auckland is built on and around 48 volcanoes. One Tree Hill,the largest of Auckland's extinct volcanoes, was the site of an early Maori settlement.

Mt. Eden is the highest volcano on the Auckland isthmus. Rangitoto Island has an even better vista. This volcano emerged from the sea just 600 years ago, no doubt much to the wonder of the Maori people living next door on Motutapu Island. It is thought that Maori settled on the volcanoes beginning in the 14th century, taking advantage of the fertile soils. There's evidence that in the 16th century, the Maori used the cones as defensive pa (fortified villages). Evidence of complex earthworks can be seen on Mt. Eden and One Tree Hill where Maori cleared volcanic stone to develop garden plots and form the terraces that are features of pa.

The Parnell Rose Garden was quite beautiful. Because it’s so early in the spring here, not many roses were already blooming but we did see some. The grass in between the rows of bushes was the most glorious green, and there were NO SPRINKLERS that we could see.. Mom spent a fair amount of time sniffing the flowers that were there. This was the most beautiful rose. Notice a friend crawling on the flower?

We then crossed the Harbour Bridge and went up to Mt. Victoria. Mt. Victoria is also an extinct volcano and was once the site of a 'disappearing gun', a large piece of artillery placed there because Kiwis were worried about Russian invasion in 1899.

After a quick lunch of croissant sandwiches in Devenport, we had a driving tour of Auckland’s mansions overlooking the harbour on our way to the lookout above Piha Beach. Piha Beach is on the Tasman Sea, so we got our first glimpse of that mighty body of water.

Ian then wound the van up and up and up a windy, narrow road (which seems to be the only kind here in New Zealand) to the Takeri Rainforest Visitor’s Center. We saw a statue of a Moa! Moa’s were hunted to extinction by the Maoris. They were HUGE, flightless birds. Kind of like Ostriches.

This is a photo frame they have hanging there to frame the view. Quite clever.

Then it was off to the airport to pick up the rest of the Heuers and our drive to Paihia. We arrived in Paihia about 10pm with a carload of zombies. We were soooooooooooo tired!

Our room at the Paihia Scenic Circle Hotel was lovely. It had an enormous pointed ceiling of some kind of timber planks. Very tropical. Mom was so exhausted, she didn’t care that she couldn’t find her PJs or figure out how to plug in her CPAP. We just crashed as soon as we could.

Day (I can’t remember)

Have you ever been physically desperate to go to sleep? That’s how I’ve been the last few days. I could barely stay awake long enough to get ready for bed, let alone write anything! Jet lag is TERRIBLE.

Our tour was AMAZING. There are not enough words in the English language (or Maori either) to describe the countryside and the things we saw. I think we took about a thousand photos. Every corner (no exaggeration) we turned was another incredible sight.

We arrived at the ship yesterday (Friday our time, Thursday in Utah) about 5:30pm. We were on the ship by 6pm. Very smooth check in. Our luggage made it to our stateroom before we did! (A first.)

Today has been a sea day. We’re going so slowly, the ship can’t use the stabilizers so it’s been a rockin’ and a rollin’. Thankfully, going so slowly means I’m not seasick (which is more than I can say about what happened on our cruise around the Bay of Islands on Wednesday).

We spent hours circling a volcano. Seriously. This is the first time Holland America has done a sea day today instead of just heading right to our first port (Tauranga). They decided to give us a day to ‘adjust’ to the time change instead of having the day in port. So it’s not too far from Auckland which is why we’re going so slowly. And why we spent four hours circling the White Islands. (Google them.)

The ship is listing quite far to port so the shower has become a bathtub because the drain is uphill. Hmmmmmmmmmmmm.

At the show tonight, Aunt Brigitte and I were the only ones awake! Can’t take those other Heuers anywhere.

Now it’s off to bed. I think I’ve turned the corner on jet lag so hopefully I’ll be able to post more tomorrow night. Another full day of touring tomorrow.

Bright, Sunny Auckland--for a moment

Today's headline from the front page of the New Zealand herald (yes, no capital on herald):

Pig-cell transplants today means lollipops tomorrow

Okaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay. To give them credit, it was below the fold, but, seriously 'transplantS meanS'???? Where are their copy editors?????

Yesterday was gloomy and icky and misty so the lighting on all the photos are flat. Today we awoke to a bright, beautiful, partly cloudy day--for a few minutes.

We're off to Paihia with our tour guide soon.

"It's Just like the Autopia!"

So Dad thinks driving on the other side is like a ride at Disneyland. Hmmmmmmmmm. Well, except those other cars? They're NOT on a track and CAN KILL US. Deep breath. Breathing in-and-out. In-and-out. (Dad says it's worse sitting in the 'driver's seat' and not having a steering wheel, and that's why I was so freaked out.)

Day Two Photos

Greetings from Auckland: The City of Sails

We arrived safely yesterday, rented a car, and spent the day driving around alternately terrified (me), having the time of his life (dad), and amazed (both). I had read in many guide books and web forums that the way to adjust to the new time zone was to stay up all day until a 'normal' bedtime, so that was our plan.

Driving on the other side of the road is...interesting. Dad did very well, except for turning on the windshield wipers when he wanted to the turn signal. I declined to try. I didn't think I could pay attention to the shifting and the road at the same time. Several times, even though Dad was doing it correctly for this country, I thought he turned the wrong way, and it scared me to death! So I decided driving was not a good idea for me and appointed myself navigator and map reader which is why we got lost...twice. Heh.

So far what we've seen makes me think this is the most beautiful place in the world. Grandma 'Ceil is going to be nutty over all of the beautiful flowering plants and trees everywhere. It's springtime here so all of the spring-flowering plants are blooming. The rolling hills are the greenest green I've ever seen, dotted with cows everywhere. (That surprised me since I read there are only 4 million people here in the entire country--about the same as Utah--and 40 million sheep. We only saw a few sheep. Heh.)

We went to Hamilton to see the Temple. Oh my goodness! It is located in the Garden of Eden. It must be. I have never seen a more beautiful location for a Temple. It sits outside of town, far from anything, on a hill. Such a pastoral scene. There are many trees located behind the Visitor's Center, and they are just FILLED with birds. Birds singing in every bird-language. Singing beautifully. (I took some video, if I ever figure out how to post it, I will.)

In Otorohanga, we stopped at the Kiwi House and walked through the large aviary there. The Kiwis are nocturnal so they are kept inside in an artificial environment. (No photos allowed.) We just happened to get there as it was feeding time so the Kiwis were very active. They are sooooooooooo cute! And totally and completely defenseless. Small, round, and brown (kind of like a kiwifruit, heh), with a long skinny beak. It's no surprise they are endanged. There is no way they could possibly fight off a predator. New Zealanders are called "Kiwis". I think it's a great mascot.

Then we drove down to Waitomo and the glowworm caves there. The cave itself was much like Timpanogos Cave with a steep descent, beautiful limestone stalagmites and stalactites and pillars and columns. Then we boarded a boat which floated us down the river at the bottom of the cave, through the large cavern to see the glowworms. I'll let Dad describe these to you:

The glowworms are amazing. They light up the dome of the cave like little miniature purple Christmas lights. The light is the most efficient light source in the world (about 97% light and 3% heat) and is the same chemical process used by fireflies, but it is continuous. The tails of the worms are what give off the glow. The light attracts mosquitoes. They drop down a half dozen sticky strands that capture the mosquitoes, which they eat at the rate of about one every four days. After months of this (their total life span is nine months) they pupate and hatch as flies. These flies have no mouths, so they cannot sustain life. They have one purpose--to procreate. The poor flies starve to death after doing their procreational duty. (It's a short life, but what a life!) They live three to four days and the females lay 4 or 5 strands of 20 eggs. The first egg to hatch in the strand eats the rest of the strand (talk about sibling rivalry!), so only 4 or 5 larvae survive. And the cycle repeats.

They are very cool. When you look at them they appear to have halos around them like stars in the night, but if you focus on one it becomes a tiny point of purple light.

Mom: An enormous, gorgeous galaxy of purple stars overhead. It was incredible, and we weren't allowed to take photos! (The light causes them to quit glowing.)

Then it was back to Auckland with a stop for a late lunch at a roadside cafe--BLTs with potato wedges served with the biggest, nastiest blob of mayo you've ever seen. ICK. Just mayo. No ketchup. (Oh, and I found ketchup--it's called 'tomato sauce'. Heh.)

When we arrived at the Hilton we found we had been upgraded to a harbour-side room (NZ spelling). Not bad for a free room booked with Hilton points leftover from Dad's traveling days!

We did our typical "I'm too tired to go out to dinner", and I was even too tired to order room service (which Dad offered to do). So we had granola bars and M&Ms for dinner, barely manging to stay awake until 10pm!

In Los Angeles pt. 2 (back to Mom)

We arrived in Los Angeles safely. We have spent the afternoon at the Radisson LAX. We've been lazing around the hotel room, we went and had lunch, we had a nap, and then I whipped Aunt Brigitte at Cribbage. She demanded a rematch. She's winning....Heh.

We are leaving now for the airport. Our flight is at 9:10pm. Grandma and Dada's and Uncle Mike's and Aunt Brigitte's is not until 11:30! Yawn. Pictures will follow when we have a good internet connection.

In Los Angeles

(Entry by Dad)
We made it on our first leg of the flight to Los Angeles. We checked into the Radisson hotel that is just outside the entrance to LAX airport for a day-stay. We have to leave at 6pm for our next flight. This has given us a place to do last-minute emails (Jeff and Mike), play cribbage (Robin and Brigitte), nap (Dada and Brigitte), and relax (Grandma). And have lunch.

We leave for the airport in about an hour to catch our flights. We hope our luggage makes it again. One down, one to go!

Our next post will be from New Zealand!

(Robin's post saying that going to the Southern Hemisphere causes us to lose a day was inaccurate. It's a geography thing. It's going toward the east that causes it. We pass the international date line which changes the day one day forward (to the West) or one day backward (traveling to the east). With every time zone adding an hour as you go east, or subtracting an hour as you go west, there has to be SOME place where those hours add up and you have to adjust by a day. The International Date Line was placed down the Pacific ocean because it's the most open space on the planet.

So we'll cross the line on our way to New Zealand and arrive an extra day behind. When we return we'll cross it the other way and get the day back. So we'll arrive home before we leave. Fun!

Dad

Back and Forth, Back and Forth

So I'm not the lightest of packers. In fact, I think it would be safe to say I overpack. :D By A LOT. So this trip is a real challenge for me. (Kind of like going to France with Randy, the king of light packers.) Qantas allows 70 pounds per bag, but only allows 106 inches total for the suitcases (length+width+depth). My two medium size suitcases total 105.5 inches! Whew.

I cleared a spot in our closet to hang the things I'm considering taking. I walk in there numerous times a day. I usually stand and gaze at the choices and decide "I don't think I'll need that," grab an article off the rod, and put it back in the usual place in the closet. Then the next time I go in, I gaze at the clothing in the 'going on the trip' spot and decide "I think I don't have enough shirts" and grab the top (sometimes the same one, sometimes a different one) and put it back. (Or pants or sweater or whatever.)

It will be somewhat of a relief to actually cram all that stuff in the suitcases and be done with it!

You've got to be kidding, Qantas!

From the Qantas Web site:

Carry-on baggage should be kept as light as possible as there are considerable distances to walk upon arrival or departure at some airports. However you should carry fragile and valuable items, such as electronic equipment (including laptops, mobile phones), cameras, cash, keys and jewellery etc. in your carry-on baggage.

You should also take any essential medication and prescriptions on board with you.

Personal articles such as an overcoat, handbag, umbrella, walking stick, small camera, duty free items and some reading matter for the flight may be carried in the cabin.

All of this plus my iPod, noise-cancelling headphones, book, crossword puzzle book and pencil, kleenex, chapstick, and eyedrops must fit in one 1 x 115cm (45in) bag, weighing no more than 7kg (15lb). My bag, which is small, not 45 inches, weighs 6.5 pounds EMPTY. And this does NOT include my CPAP. On American carriers, CPAP machines are considered medical devices and are 'free'--they do not count as a carry on. (They're covered, interestingly enough, under the 'Americans with Disabilities Act'. Not so on Qantas.

But I COULD carry on all the duty-free booze and jewelry I want! What is wrong with this picture????

So I will board the plane at LAX wearing my hoodie, coat, my camera around my neck, my iPod in my pocket, my kleenex, chapstick, book, and eyedrops in my other pocket, noise-cancelling headphones around my neck. It all still goes on the plane, only I look even more like a Teletubbie than I usually do. Then I have to take the time to take it all off and stow it once on board! Wouldn't it be faster/easier to just let me carry it on IN MY CASE???? (My case will be full of CPAP, two pair of underwear, medications, and my makeup. (I've had makeup destroyed in checked bags.) I have got to learn to pack lighter!

True story: Friends were flying home from New Zealand in June. They had done their best to weigh their luggage with a home scale, but it was very inaccurate, and they figured they were over. When the gate agent stopped them and weighed their bags as they were boarding, they were WAAAAAAAAAAAAY over. So she told them to take the heaviest stuff out and just hold it while they boarded. They did. Their bags were still overweight, but the gal allowed them to board, holding the all the stuff in their arms! What an absurd policy!!!

Essential Documentation

'Aotearoa' means "Land of the Long White Cloud". And that's a map in the middle. Why did I go to Barnes and Noble and buy a map today? Because we have 'hired' a car for our first day in New Zealand. A car that has the steering wheel on the right and a manual transmission. A car, suprisingly enough, that has the same name as the one I drive here at home--Toyota Corrolla. (I'm sure nothing could be further from MY car!) The gear shift is also located on the right--BETWEEN the driver and door. I can't imagine how that will work. I hope there's a parking lot to learn in before we head out on the highway! Dad thinks it will be an enormous adventure. Ben wants photos of the inside of the car. (I will probably take videos too.) And pictures of road signs and cars coming at us on the WRONG SIDE! Heck, I'm not wild about driving on THIS side, I don't know why they want to drive on THAT side!

We're going to go down to Hamilton, where the LDS temple is located. We want to see it. And take pictures along the way and just enjoy the drive. Or not....

On the left is our cruise documentation. I love that blue folder. I always do a happy dance when it arrives. It has our boarding passes and cruise tickets for the ship, as well as Shore Excursion and Private Tour information. I just junked most of the stuff Holland America sent us and put my own stuff in there.

On the right is my indispensible little pink book. After our last cruise, I got that notebook out of the cupboard and started a list for the next cruise. (Optimistic, wasn't I?)

I made notes like:

Mark baggies with what is in them. (To make packing at the end easier.)

Bring a list of movies we'd like to watch. (Not applicable this trip as I doubt we'll have any conscious time to watch anything, but last time we stood in the library flipping through the list of everything available, trying to remember what we wanted to see--which was A LOT since we hardly go to the movies any more.)

Keep a list of souvenirs we buy in each port. (This is to facilitate the Custom's Declaration we have to fill in before reentering the United States and helps avoid the whole "Honey, what did we buy in Aruba?" "I dunno, don't you know?" conversation.)

But since we booked this trip fourteen months ago, I've also kept track of suitcase sizes/weights (a real problem on Qantas and a subject that needs it's very own post).

And average tempatures of the ports we will visit. (So I know what to pack...or not.)

And ideas for unique items to buy as souvenirs. (Possum socks! No kidding.)

And how far from the airports to our hotels in Auckland and Sydney.

And phone numbers.

And...most of all...packing lists. I have never made a packing list for a cruise. I always just make it up as I go along, but now that I'm getting...er...older, I find I forget stuff. So now I'm making a list I can use in the future so I never have to be this obsessive again. Although, I probably will be anyway, but I can focus on other things than packing...maybe.

Time Travel

We cross the International Dateline on our way Down Under. The time warp really hurts my brain. We crossed the International Dateline when we flew to Seoul to accompany Christopher home from his mission. That didn't seem like such a big deal to me. (Probably because I was too excited to obsess about it.) But this time it boggles my mind, even though I basically understand the mechanics of it. We are, after all, leaving our hemisphere and heading into the southern one.

(Random thought: Will it be weird to look up and see different constellations than I am used to seeing, or will they just look like stars?)

We leave Sunday morning, October 19th. We fly from Salt Lake City, landing in Los Angeles at 11:30am where we wait...and wait...and wait...and wait. Until 9pm! (Using SkyMiles is not always convenient.) The only ones who have a longer wait than we do is Grandma and Dada. They arrive at something like 7am and go out about the same time we do! EEEK.

Once we board our Qantas flight, we will hopefully sleep. While we are sleeping, somehow, even though only about thirteen hours pass, when we arrive in Auckland, it will be Tuesday morning! Where does Monday go and how do we lose it? Sure, I get it back on the way home, flying on the longest Sunday ever. We arrive in Los Angeles BEFORE we leave Sydney! Explain that to me. Am I transported? My molecules all broken up, sent across the universe, and then reassembled again--two hours before I left???? Scotty, beam me up!

Minds immeasurably superior to mine will have to explain this to me. Please use small words and lots of pictures. Thank you.

About our Ship: the ms Volendam

Jeff and I are lucky to have sailed on the Volendam before. We were aboard last fall to the Panama Canal. She is a beautiful ship and just the right size, not too big. We are so excited to be returning to the lovely Volendam!

From HAL's Web site:

Gross Tonnage: 61,396 grt.(One registered ton equals 100 cubic feet)

Length: 780 feet

Beam: 105.8 feet Maximum speed: 23 knots (maximum)

Ship's Registry: The Netherlands

Passenger capacity: 1,432

Crew: 588

Dedicated: November 1999 by tennis professional Chris Evert

The beautiful garden theme of the ms Volendam is reflected in an artful floral motif throughout the ship's spacious public rooms and elegant staterooms. "Flowers" can be found in abundance in the forms of floral fabrics and tapestries, as well as huge vases of tropical floral arrangements and chrysanthemums.

In addition to fresh flowers throughout the ship, Holland America Line has drawn on its collection of incredible artwork to enhance the interior of the ship's public spaces. Everything from pre-Columbian fetishes and sculptures to Renaissance-era fountains imported from Italy are included in its hallway galleries. At the heart of the ship an elegant sculpture by Luciano Vistosi, inspired by the myriad of moods and colors of a kaleidoscope, greets visitors in a soaring three-story atrium.

Ship's Itinerary

• Day 0 24/10 Auckland, New Zealand 11:59 PM


• Day 1 25/10 At Sea


• Day 2 26/10 Tauranga (Rotorua) New Zealand 08:00 AM 08:00 PM


• Day 3 27/10 Napier, New Zealand 01:00 PM 08:00 PM


• Day 4 28/10 Wellington, New Zealand ON 09:00 AM


• Day 5 29/10 Leave Wellington, New Zealand 05:00 AM


• Queen Charlotte Sound (Cruising Only)


• Captain Cook Ship Cove (Cruising Only)


• Picton, New Zealand 10:00 AM 06:00 PM


• Day 6 30/10 Christchurch, New Zealand 07:00 AM 07:00 PM


• Day 7 31/10 Dunedin, New Zealand 08:00 AM 06:00 PM


• Day 8 01/11 Fiordland Natl Park Westbound (Cruising Only) 09:00 AM 06:00 PM


• Day 9 02/11 At Sea


• Day 10 03/11 At Sea


• Day 11 04/11 Burnie, Tasmania, Australia 06:00 AM 06:00 PM


• Day 12 05/11 Melbourne, Australia 08:00 AM 06:00 PM


• Day 13 06/11 At Sea


• Day 12 07/11 Sydney, Australia , disembark 06:00 AM