We were outside Milford Sound by breakfast time. A very overcast day, no wind, dry, about 18C. At least it wasn't raining and the cloud was not too low. It is not unusual for cruise ships to be unable to enter the Sound as it is very narrow and in low visibility it would be dangerous. In fact, it is what we would call a glacial fjord. The water is very deep, around 300m and the sides are very steep. It is 14km long and surrounded by the wilderness of the Gl...

Pretty much a repeat of yesterday. No wind, about 25C, some swell, haze. I caught up on another painting this morning which was a landscape from New Zealand. It was pretty awful. Didn't like the suggested colours at all so maybe I misunderstood. It looks like a Rorsach nightmare…. Bob went to a cookery demonstration from three of the executive chefs from the speciality restaurants. He said it was interesting. We also did a mega load of laundry which had...

Our last full day in lovely New Zealand! We were up just as the sun was rising and I put a jumper on over my pjs and ran up the road to get a photo of the sun coming up behnd Mt. Doom!!! Then we packed up and went and had our breakfast which was included in the rate. A real hiker's breakfast: the works. Just as well as we didn't get near food again till after 4. And of course, it is Bob's 66th birthday today. We are going to celebrate tomorrow night back on...

It just gets better and better here! We set off from Lake Taupo about 930 after a lovely Facetime call with Lu. It's great to be able to keep in touch so often while we are not at sea. The drive to the Tongariro National Park is about 1 hour 15 minutes from Taupo and a lovely drive along the lakeside for a while and then up through forests as the road starts to climb in altitude. We passed another lake along the way and plenty of streams and rivers. This i...

Another amazing day in amazing New Zealand! There is just so much to do here and we are surrounded by natural wonders and beauty. The weather has really come up trumps too. Brilliant sunshine today and just the right sort of hot to be enjoyable but not uncomfortable. We sadly left Rotorua with a last glimpse of the steam over the lake, and headed towards Taupo on the Thermal Explorers Highway. This road winds through stunning scenery and dense pine fores...