We arrived just after 9:00. The Voyager of the Seas moored just after us. She blocked the view of Mount Maunganui from my cabin window.

Martin, one of the passengers on board, had booked a day trip to Rotarua and the six of us were on it. We left the ship early, and were prevented from walking along the docks for over 15 minutes. First because the Voyager was still securing her ropes and after that because her gang plank needed to be put into place.

When we finally found our guide, we had our first stop a couple of kilometres along the road at Tauranga beach, long and sandy with views of surfers, fishing boats and an island where Zane Gray the author used to stay when he went sea fishing.

After that we drove to Kiwi 360, a kiwi fruit orchard near Te Puke. We saw the kiwi fruit vines with the fruit about 2 months from harvesting. We also tried different jams and both green and gold juice. The wine was nice and so were the berries, which I've never heard of. The ice cream was ok.

Then we went to two lakes, Green and Blue, which we could see from a view point. When the sun shone, the Green lake was extremely green, the Blue not so blue but still blue. On into Rotorua, past the airport from where Angie and I flew to Queenstown. After lunch, we went to St. Faith's church, a Maori church by the lake. We were lucky enough to go in. There's a stained glass window of Christ, which, when viewed from the correct angle, appears to show Him walking on water. We then saw hot pools, bubbling mud pools and a geyser.

On our way back to the ship, via a different route through stunning countryside, we stopped off at a Manuka honey farm.

Back on board, Scott joined us for dinner. We then, much to our surprise, won bottle number 26 in the Aurora quiz, before losing dismally in the Syndicate Quiz. Usually, after dinner, we go to Masquerades to see the simultaneous broadcast from the Curzon theatre. Tonight was Julian Smith, some saxophonist who came 3rd in Britain's Got Talent. Voyager left about an hour before us en route to Napier.

Another excellent port day.