A really lovely lazy sea day. We must have been very tired from three land days on the trot because we didn't stir until after 9 and then didn't get up till about 1030!!!! At that point it didn't seem worth bothering with breakfast so we took our Kindles and coffees out onto the rear open deck and enjoyed the warm sunshine. Very calm weather today as we headed north up the coast of North Island, New Zealand. Clear sun and a pleasant 22C with very calm s...

Friday 13th again! And I saw Freddy Krueger at breakfast.... Today was our last day in New Zealand, fittingly in the capital, Wellington. We were just coming into the harbour when we woke up. By the time we had finished breakfast, the ship was all secure on the berth and we could go ashore. We had nothing particular planned for the day other than to ride the cable car, see the Botanical gardens, have a walk around the city centre and most importantly get...

See Akaroa Blog

Another lovely day in the South Island of New Zealand, fast becoming our new Must Revisit country. We arrived in Akaroa at about 7am, passing through the Heads and into a long but reasonably narrow inlet. There was another cruise ship ahead of us, Sea Princess. Akaroa is the port of call nearest Christchurch for cruises these days since the terribly earthquake that devastated that city a few years ago. It's a lovely little place, maybe only 400 permanent re...

What a great day we've had in Dunedin, New Zealand South Island. Firstly, the weather was kind, sunny periods, dry and no mist. A nice temperature, perhaps 19C. We were booked to travel on the historic Taieri Gorge railway and the train came right to the dockside to meet the ship. We managed to get on in the first compartment which was great because it meant we had an outside viewing area between us and the engine allowing for taking photos in the air. ...