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You can lose everything, but nobody will take away what you saw and what you experienced...
............ 
Feb 09, 2019 10:00 PM Last day in Auckland
Our ship stayed overnight in Auckland and since the cuise berths are here just in downtown I had a chance to see how the city is illuminated, how they change the color of the bridge every few minutes.
Today I was walking around the center... Sorry, the cost of the lift to the terrace of Sky Tower is too high for me (29 dollars) so I took only the picture of this attraction - It kis 192 m high. St Patrick Catholic Cathedral is just nearby,. It is cozy and nicely decorated inside - quite a lot of people came to attlend the Sunday mas.
Then it was already the time to return to the ship. In the afternoon we are sailing back to Australia. It will be 2 days at sea, so do not expect any messages since the internet on board is very expensive. Ahoy, dear friends - keep your fingers crossed for the calm Tasman Sea! :)
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Feb 08, 2019 10:00 PM Meeting friends in Auckland
The sea was rough in the night when we was sailing around the nonth tip of New Zealand. In the morning Looking into the monitor in my inside cabin I recognized, that the bow of our ship is almost on the street. We are already in Auckland - the biggest city in New Zealand!
Once I climbed to the upperdeck I saw a wall of the high buildings ahead of our ship. Auckland downtown changed a lot since my last visit 9 years ago -thd line of the old building facing the waterfont almost disappeared and they built instead the skyscrapers....
My friend was waiting for me in tge terminal and I was wery happy to see her. We met in October oo Camino de Santiago in Spain walking thes historic pilgrims route. She took me out of the city - one hour drive from Auckland there is black-sand beach of Muriwai. It is a nice place, but the real sensation was for me the huge ganet marine birds colony at the rocky end of the beach. We were climbing first the hill to the observation balconies. Can you imagine few thousands of birds nexting on the little rocky terraces just few meters from you? Adults cleaning their chickens, eggs in the nests, youngsters trying to fly? She really made me happy - the place was unforgettable...
Back in Auckland we went to the fish market to try "the best fish & chips in the world" Yes, they are very tasty... Local Chinese Colony celebrate Chinese New Year so the noisy, dancing dragons were also around. Thanks a lot dear Friends!
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Feb 07, 2019 10:00 PM Tauranga & Maori people.
I am still in New Zealand - today in the Bay of Plenty. Tauranga is a huge port located in the bay. Not much to see here except the panoramic views from Mt Mauao (or Maunganui) - a conic like a volcano peak just 10 min walk from the port gate. From thd bottom it will take you an hour of hike to climb to the summit. The path is steep, bu once you will be on the level 232 m the view will be breathtaking on the sunny day like today...
Well I decided also to take the organized tour to the Maori marae - community center in the nearby Bethlehem. Maori people from Bethlehem showed us their wonderfully carved meeting house, they talket about their customs, culture, traditions and present life. Then we went to the Mapri school where the youngsters in the national costumes were singing and dancing for us. And it was very good production (but overpriced -in my opinion). It was another great, sunny day!
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Feb 06, 2019 10:00 PM Napier in Art Deco
Today I am in Napier on the North Island of New Zealand. This townwas destroyed in 1931 by earthquake. They rebuilt it in the art deco style, and Imust tell you that it was a good idea! Today's Napier is a cozy, clean and bright town with many samples of nice architecture. There are araucarias or Norfolk pines in the streets and a lot of flovers. People from the ship pay 120 dollars for the excursion to the distant cliffs of Cape Kidnapers, but I just take a trail around the towntothe Botanic Gardens, East Docks and up toBluff Hill - overlooking the port, where we dock. The weather improved - we have again quite nice sun, with a temperature of 22 deg Celsius. First half of my marine voyage is over - soon we will be heading back to Australia...
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Feb 05, 2019 10:00 PM I am in Wellington, but where is the sun?
Wellington - the capital city of New Zealand has nice location on the slopes of the hills going down to the bay. I was here some 25 years ago, but It is always nice to refresh memories after such a long time. But where is the sun. After hot, sunny days on the southern island today is cold and cloudy with a haze on the sea....
From the cruise dock in the port it is 40 min walk to the commercial
city centre and only 20 min to the parliament and government buildings. They provide free shuttle bus going from the ship to both locations.
Let's hope that the weather will be better in the afternoon.
I took a long walk along the coast to the imposing building of NZ Museum. The entry is free here ad there are interesting exhibitions about Maori culture, Galipoli battle and...a lot of gastronomy. It cleared up a little bit later so I will try to climb Mt Victoria....
Later: yes, I did it! The paths heading to the top are steep and gravel so it is better to take the serious shoes. The view from the altitude of 200 m is impressive, even if the sky isn't blue but grey... Airport in the back... Wow, I am hungry! Let's go back to the ship! New adventure tomorrow! :)
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Feb 04, 2019 10:00 PM Marlborough Sound
Hello from Picton. In the early morning we reached our last port on the Southern Island of New Zealand. Picton is a busy ferry terminal receiving ferries from North Island - I used this route years ago. But it has also picturesque location deep in the narrow fjord. Weather is great - 25 deg, sunny with the light breeze. There are green mountains around, so I will be probably climbing one of them for the the view of the Marlborough Sound.
Later: In the afternoon I was walking up the picturesque Queen Charlotte Road climbing up the mountain overlooking Picton. Great views! Also on the other side of the ridge - there is new labirynth of channels and green hills. People from the ship offer catamaran 2 hours tour on these waters for 80 dollars pp. But I am convinced that the aerial views I registered from the road are much more impressive and... free of any charge!!! :) - see my picture gallery.
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Feb 03, 2019 10:00 PM Akaroa - somewhere on the South Island
At 7 am we anchored in the Bay of Akaroa - on the South Island of New Zealand. It is sleepy and beautiful place - rolling hills, cliffs at the entrnce to the bay, deep blue color of water... Little Akaroa has no jetty so we are tendering here - little motorboats took us from the ship to the villa ge. For most of the passengers from our ship this is just a transit point to embark the bus going to the big city of Christchurch. But such an excursionn costs 150 USD and more, so I will enjoy Akaroa with its colorful houses and I plan also to limb the nearest hill for the wide view of the bay (I hane been to Christchurch before). Public library has free wifi access to the internet. That's why I can send you a message and the pictures. The sky is clear and blue and we experience strong, bright sun with a temperature around 27 deg Celsius. That will be another great day! Greetings to you from remote New Zealand!
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Feb 02, 2019 10:00 PM New Zealand - Port Chalmers
In the night we turned around the south cape of New Zealand, the ocean became more calm... In the morning our ship docked in Port Chalmers on the Southern Island. This port is visited to be a base for the excursions to the historic city of Dunedin - the first city in New Zealand lacated 13 kms away. The people for the ship offer round trip bus transfer to Dunedin for 20 USD. Let you know that for 6 NZD each way you can go to Dunedin by city bus no.14 from the main street of Port Chalmers. That's what I did - enjoying the Victorian achitecture of this nice city. Ihave been to Dunedin some 25 years ago - now the city is even nicer... There are many nice samples of the Victorian archutecture including the Courts, Railway station and few churches. I enjoyed especially windows glass in the St Joseph Catholic Cathedral. St Joseph's stands on the hill with beautiful view of the city towers and blue bay.
Imagine that on the way back to the port I was walking all over the way around 13 kms along the coast pof Otago Harbour (the bay) taking great pictures of Otago Peninsula. It took me more than 3 hours. Good exercise isn't it? :)
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Feb 01, 2019 10:00 PM Fantastic fjords of New Zealand
I was praying for the good weather for today because it is the most interesting day on this sea voyage. And the wish came true!
In the morning we entered spectacular Milford Sound. I saw it many years ago, walking thd famous Milford Trek, but the high deck of the ship gives quiet different perspective! Great views of the high mountains overlooking the fjord!
Then It took us 3,5 hours of sailing to the entrance of Hampton Sound, connected to Doubtful Sound- the rocky walls were not as high in Milford, but the sailing was much longer and we used different exit to the ocean from the labirynth of thd warerways. Nice views again and some dolphins...
Then after another 2,5 hours of sailing we reached entrance of the Dusky Sound where cpt Cook anchored in 1773. We have again nice views... I spent almost all day on the deck! What a fjords! What a day!
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Jan 31, 2019 10:00 PM Sailing Tasman Sea
The sea is a bit rough but I do not know what is the sea sickness. It is a big ship - 2 300 passengers on board but I found already friends -a nice couple from Poland and Russians living in Canada. As you know I am in the last expensive inside cabin, but it is not important because I am spending most of the time out, enjoying the music, theatre and meeting interesting people. This line offers unlimited ice cream all the day, can you imagine? Tomorrow we will see New Zealand...
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