Australia/New Zealand: Part One

Tauranga, New Zealand

We’ve officially come full circle.  When we first retired in 2022, we set off on our first adventure where we bought a camper in New Zealand and spent six months travelling the North Island.  We had every intention of returning the following winter, but the opportunity to sail the world presented itself and we couldn’t resist.  Three years later we’ve finally found ourselves back in New Zealand.  We can honestly say that despite everywhere we’ve been since, this is still by far one of our favourite places in the world. 

When the ship reached Tauranga, we took the opportunity to get off for a few days to catch up with friends.  One of our new friends and fellow residents was kind enough to offer us the use of their car.  We spent the day exploring the Mount Manganui area of Tauranga and when Katrina returned to the ship, we took her car and drove to Arapuni to stay with friends.  We would then drive down to Wellington to meet the ship.

We had a lovely time catching up and spending time in the countryside while the ship experienced a bit of chaos without us.  The two day stop in Tauranga was reduced to one as the ship needed to sail out of New Zealand waters to have the hull cleaned before proceeding any further.  The weather conditions made this difficult for the dive team doing the cleaning, so it took three days.  The delay resulted in the cancellation of the next port of Napier and the first day in Wellington.  Once the hull was cleaned and the report filed the authorities determined that our hull still presented an environmental risk which further restricted our itinerary.  New Zealand has incredibly strict biosecurity rules to protect their islands. We were only allowed to stop in Wellington, Christchurch, and Dunedin and only for 24 hours each.  Our stop in Bluff was cancelled as well as cruising Milford Sound and the fjords.  It was a crushing blow and especially disappointing for those visiting for the first time, but such is life. 

Wellington, New Zealand

On the Monday we drove down to Wellington and explored a bit until the ship finally arrived on the Wednesday.  It was a bit late due to a storm they encountered; the rough seas slowed them down.  We were sent videos from friends on board and I’m super grateful that we missed that section.  It was by far the roughest water our ship has seen since setting out. The weather in Wellington wasn't great either, so we did not take any photos. Our hotel room had a kitchenette and laundry, so we spent time cooking and washing clothes. I really do miss being able to cook for ourselves. It may seem lovely to not have to fuss with shopping, cooking or cleaning up, but it also limits your choices. While the ship offers variety you are still stuck choosing from a set menu. We did explore town a little, but we didn't take the camera.

After we reboarded the ship and dropped off our luggage we headed to the Weta Workshop for a tour.  The Weta Workshop is the film production company that worked on Lord of the Rings along with several other films.  They handle special effects, costumes, props and much more.  It was a fun experience, and we got to see several props from high profile movies. They have another setup in Auckland which we toured back in 2023 and if I'm being honest we both preferred the Auckland experience. I think because it was purpose built and a little more hands on. The Wellington experience was added on to the actual workshop which added authenticity, but also made it feel a bit like an after thought.

Lyttelton (Christchurch), New Zealand

Our next stop was Lyttelton which provided access to Christchurch.  We arrived and hopped a bus straight into the city to explore.  Christchurch is beautiful and full of gardens and street art.  We saw both the Christchurch Cathedral and the Cardboard Cathedral which was constructed from cardboard to replace a church damaged in the 2011 earthquake.  Then we walked along the Avon River, explored the Botanic Gardens and ate some delicious meat pies from the Butcher’s Pie Shop at Riverside Market. 

We hopped the bus back to Lyttelton and after dinner we walked around the small town.  It’s a beautiful little town.  With the 24-hour restriction in place, we had to leave by 11:00 am the next morning, so we did not go out the second day.

Port Chalmers (Dunedin), New Zealand

Our final stop in New Zealand was Port Chalmers for access to Dunedin.  We arrived at 4:00pm, so the first day we just explored Port Chalmers, and I have to say it was absolutely lovely.  We hiked up to the Flagstaff Lookout, walked around Peninsula Beach Road and back through town then up to Lady Thorn Dell Lookout.  For such a small town it had a lot to see and stunning views of the harbour.  We wrapped up the day with fish and chips from a local takeaway and headed back to the ship.

The next day we were up early to catch the bus into Dunedin.  It was neat to be back somewhere familiar to us, but it was also new since we were only in Dunedin briefly on our first trip to New Zealand in 2017.  There are several stunning buildings in town, and the train station was straight out of a fairy tale.  We also stopped by Speight’s Brewery to top off our water.  Unfortunately, the busses only run once an hour on the weekends, so after a quick stock up at the grocery store, we headed back to the bus stop.  All aboard was set for 3pm and with so many people on the ship vying for public transportation we made sure to head back to Port Chalmers with plenty of time to spare. We still had some time, so we did another lap around town before returning to the ship.

We now have five sea days as we make our way back to Australia.  We were fortunate to secure a day in Melbourne and an extra day in Hobart to make up for some of the lost port days in New Zealand.

Melbourne, Australia

It was a bit of a bumpy ride, but we made it safely to Melbourne.  We arrived early and had to be up and ready for Immigration at 7:00 am.  Some ports require what they call a ‘Zero Count’ where all residents must pass through Immigration before anyone is allowed back on the ship; Melbourne was one of them.  So, we were packed and ready to go for the day and we hit the streets at 8:30 am.  Surprisingly, early morning on a Saturday the Port Melbourne area is quite busy.  There is a beautiful waterfront path running down the coast and it was bustling with joggers and bikers.  We stopped at a small waterfront café for a coffee and a breakfast sandwich and then walked along the water.  We popped into the St. Kilda Botanical Gardens and then returned to the waterfront and walked until we reached Point Ormond Lookout.  After soaking in the views, we made our way back to the ship.  It was a long day with a lot of walking, but it was great to be up and moving after so many sea days.

Hobart, Tasmania (Australia)

We were lucky enough to secure an additional half day in Hobart in lieu of our lost time in New Zealand.  We arrived around midday and after lunch we headed out to explore the Queens Domain.  It’s a large green space with trails, sports fields, and the Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens.  There were all kinds of birds that we had never seen before, and the botanic garden was very impressive.  It even had a Subantarctic Plant House which we’ve never seen before in a garden.  There were more plants than I expected that grow in those conditions, but it was a bit chilly in there. 

The next morning, we explored the Battery Point Sculpture Trail.  There are several sculptures detailing the history of the area; it was quite interesting and a fun little adventure to find them all.  We finished up in the Salamanca Arts area where there are cute shops and restaurants.  Waterman’s Hotel drew us in with the promise of pizza and it delivered much more.  The pizza was delicious, but the most memorable part was definitely their bathroom set up.  There were tinted windows looking out into the courtyard and the men’s room had the urinal trough right against said window. 

Afterwards, we wandered around the central business district in awe of the stunning architecture throughout the city. We finished off at the Railway Roundabout which has pedestrian underpasses into a sunken garden with a fountain. It is by far the most unique roundabout we've seen in our travels.

On our final day in Hobart, we walked about an hour out to Cascade Brewery, the oldest continually operating brewery in Australia.  The company was established in 1824 and operated originally as a sawmill, but in 1832 it was converted into a brewery and has been brewing ever since.  We weren’t allowed to take photos inside the brewery, but the tour was very interesting, and it was neat to see the inner workings.  Unfortunately, the façade is in need of some restoration and is currently covered in scaffolding, but it’s a very impressive building. 

We really enjoyed Tasmania and it's too bad we only have the one port of call. It's a pretty large island and 2 and half days isn't nearly long enough to explore. After Hobart we head back to Melbourne for our original call.  Luckily, we had that extra day in Melbourne prior to Hobart because our first day is being cut short.  We were supposed to arrive just after lunch; however, there are military exercises taking place and our arrival time has been pushed back to 5:00pm.  We’ll still have two full days to explore though and maybe enough time for a quick trip to Costco!