Well the time has come to finally go home. We dropped off Jean and Netta at the Auckland Airport this morning with our fingers crossed for some good seats for them. Then we headed downtown for a little tour and photography. The weather was planned to be horrible, but it turned out to be a great, hot, sunny, sunny day. The sun here is sooooo much hotter than in the north, you really need to be careful as you walk around. Auckland is a nice city, maybe a little to...

Well today we headed to Sheepworld after a nice breakfast on the deck. It was a glorious day weather wise so we thought we'd head up Hwy 1 about 30 minutes to see a sheep shearing, herding demonstration. It was nice to see those dogs, two distinct dog types - one of the typical Australian border collie but with a whippet mix. The another dog that was a much larger dog, but with a throaty, deep bark that apparently chases the sheep out of the bushes and thistles....

Orewa, is a town in New Zealand's North Island. It lies on the Hibiscus Coast, just north of the base of Whangaparaoa Peninsula and 40 kilometers north of central Auckland. It has a population of about 7,400 people, which is an increase of about 1,500 people over previous estimates - it's mainly because Orewa is one of NZ fastest growing places and is one of the most expensive areas in which to buy a house. Today our plan was to head to the Bay of Islands near ...

Yesterday was our last night on the Maasdam, so we thought we'd play in the $25,000 Bingo round, just in case. No, I didn't win the big bingo prize, but I'm getting to the good news. At lunch Ian & Wendy bought some raffle tickets for a free cruise - mainly because on their Asian cruise two separate couples won a free cruise. I thought, what the hell - three chances for $20.00. Anyway the story starts at the last bingo game, a full card and doesn't Jean win...

The plan was for me to rise with the sun this morning. We were scheduled to do some scenic cruising in the Bay of Plenty and the Coromandel Peninsula at about 06:00 a.m. While I slept just a little later than planned I pulled back the curtain in our room and I could see sailboats. Damn, I overslept I thought so I quickly pulled on my shorts and headed up to deck 12 to get my shots. Just as soon as I got on deck, I thought - "I've been here before". Because Taura...