Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
Noyelles Travels
- Blog
-
Location Date Europe 1495839600 South America 1491606000 Oceania 
1489276800 Asia 1460329200 North America 1450310400 Africa 1367017200 -
Location Date New Zealand
1489276800 New South Wales 1456790400 French Polynesia 1455840000 Western Australia 1450742400 Queensland 1396738800 -
Location Date Auckland 1489276800 Tauranga
1489190400 Bay Of Islands 1456531200
Saturday 20th February
Still pretty windy with showers but the seas are easing as we move south west towards New Zealand. Did very little today except attend a couple of talks on antiques & crimes at sea, both well presented & joined our quiz syndicate after lunch for another moderately successful run. The other members are a group of friends from South Australia & it are a lively & knowledgeable bunch.
Dinner was another "Black Tie" affair but isn't too formal, thank god.
The show tonight was by an Australian multi instrumentalist who sang, played flute, bagpipes, penny whistle, clarinet, guitar, piano & soprano saxophone at various times. His repertoire was also fairly extensive from classical works to an excellent version of “Great Balls of Fire” & he certainly pleased the geriatric audience. The Arcadia Orchestra is extremely capable comprising 2 saxophonists, trumpeter, trombonist, base player, drummer & pianist who is the musical director & they provide the support for all the visiting acts.
Sunday 21st February
Much calmer today & after a latish start we breakfasted in the Belvedere Dining Room instead of the usual buffet in the Lido. This proved to be a challenge to d*** as the standard breakfast he chose was more than he needed. It was quite nice to be served for a change & the coffee seemed to be better but I think we will continue to use the buffet in future.
Had no luck at the individual quiz today but enjoyed the concert of the two string players. The show in the theatre featured the company of dancers & singers & was very impressive. It is amazing to see such capable dancers & the range of sets & costumes is almost beyond belief.
Tuesday 23rd February
We crossed the International Date Line in the night, lost a day but gained an hour in bed, so no Monday blues for us this week. It all becomes somewhat confusing but now we are ahead of Australia rather than behind it.
Calmer & cooler today as we sail south west towards New Zealand. 2 lectures this morning & the crew show this afternoon to raise money for Cancer research.
Wednesday 24th February
Another hard day at sea in calm weather. A couple more lectures, a quiz & a concert from the 'Opera Boys’.
Thursday 25th February
We woke up in Mount Maunganui near Tauranga, on the North Island of New Zealand & very pretty it looked on a beautiful warm sunny day. It is quite a busy port with a lot of freight traffic. We left the ship at about 8.30 & walked into the local town to draw out some cash. As before, d*** got it wrong & the money was taken from the Visa credit rather than the cheque, account. We spent the next hour on the internet moving money to cover this & trying to get all our emails with moderate success.
Moving on we came to a lovely beach with a small headland into the sea, covered in local trees. We climbed the path to the top where we had good views out to the islands in the area. Returning, we had a coffee & caught a shuttle bus to Tuauranga about 5 km away. Here we walked up to the ‘Redoubt’ where the families of the British settlers had camped during the Maori wars & then on to the little hot house with tropical plants & then to The Elms Mission House & Gardens. The whole town is so neat & tidy without any graffiti or litter & the locals told us that the climate is very temperate with maximums in the mid 20sC. After returning to the ship we went back into the town for a fairly expensive but rather ordinary pair of drinks. The prices of food & drink were comparable with Perth prices which was a bit of a shock to us with memories of our last visit 10 years ago.
In the evening we were entertained again by the multi instrumentalist who played a piccolo & electric violin as well as the massive range he had played before. We both felt it was a true tour de force & we were proud to be fellow Australians.
Still pretty windy with showers but the seas are easing as we move south west towards New Zealand. Did very little today except attend a couple of talks on antiques & crimes at sea, both well presented & joined our quiz syndicate after lunch for another moderately successful run. The other members are a group of friends from South Australia & it are a lively & knowledgeable bunch.
Dinner was another "Black Tie" affair but isn't too formal, thank god.
The show tonight was by an Australian multi instrumentalist who sang, played flute, bagpipes, penny whistle, clarinet, guitar, piano & soprano saxophone at various times. His repertoire was also fairly extensive from classical works to an excellent version of “Great Balls of Fire” & he certainly pleased the geriatric audience. The Arcadia Orchestra is extremely capable comprising 2 saxophonists, trumpeter, trombonist, base player, drummer & pianist who is the musical director & they provide the support for all the visiting acts.
Sunday 21st February
Much calmer today & after a latish start we breakfasted in the Belvedere Dining Room instead of the usual buffet in the Lido. This proved to be a challenge to d*** as the standard breakfast he chose was more than he needed. It was quite nice to be served for a change & the coffee seemed to be better but I think we will continue to use the buffet in future.
Had no luck at the individual quiz today but enjoyed the concert of the two string players. The show in the theatre featured the company of dancers & singers & was very impressive. It is amazing to see such capable dancers & the range of sets & costumes is almost beyond belief.
Tuesday 23rd February
We crossed the International Date Line in the night, lost a day but gained an hour in bed, so no Monday blues for us this week. It all becomes somewhat confusing but now we are ahead of Australia rather than behind it.
Calmer & cooler today as we sail south west towards New Zealand. 2 lectures this morning & the crew show this afternoon to raise money for Cancer research.
Wednesday 24th February
Another hard day at sea in calm weather. A couple more lectures, a quiz & a concert from the 'Opera Boys’.
Thursday 25th February
We woke up in Mount Maunganui near Tauranga, on the North Island of New Zealand & very pretty it looked on a beautiful warm sunny day. It is quite a busy port with a lot of freight traffic. We left the ship at about 8.30 & walked into the local town to draw out some cash. As before, d*** got it wrong & the money was taken from the Visa credit rather than the cheque, account. We spent the next hour on the internet moving money to cover this & trying to get all our emails with moderate success.
Moving on we came to a lovely beach with a small headland into the sea, covered in local trees. We climbed the path to the top where we had good views out to the islands in the area. Returning, we had a coffee & caught a shuttle bus to Tuauranga about 5 km away. Here we walked up to the ‘Redoubt’ where the families of the British settlers had camped during the Maori wars & then on to the little hot house with tropical plants & then to The Elms Mission House & Gardens. The whole town is so neat & tidy without any graffiti or litter & the locals told us that the climate is very temperate with maximums in the mid 20sC. After returning to the ship we went back into the town for a fairly expensive but rather ordinary pair of drinks. The prices of food & drink were comparable with Perth prices which was a bit of a shock to us with memories of our last visit 10 years ago.
In the evening we were entertained again by the multi instrumentalist who played a piccolo & electric violin as well as the massive range he had played before. We both felt it was a true tour de force & we were proud to be fellow Australians.
- comments