Sydney

So here we are!  The ship came into Sydney harbor at 5:45 AM -- We had just come through a rain storm, but everything cleared up just as we came into the harbor!  I ran up to the top deck, but then realized that the best picture was from our stateroom veranda!  So here is a series of photos of the Opera House! We thought about just spending the whole day on our deck soaking it up, but we really didn't!   Below is a picture of Ann standing on the stateroom veranda later in the day -- when the light was just right to show off the white ceramic tiles. 

We took a harbor tour and got a picture showing how close the boat was docked to both the city and the Opera House.  Then we took a tour of the Opera House -- really fantastic -- and got this picture of us on the terrace outside of the Opera House with both the boat and the city in the background!  You can't see it but the Sydney Harbor Bridge is just off picture to the right.

Sydney was great -- One day is not enough, we definitely need to come back to explore more!

melbourne

We really enjoyed our 2 days in Melbourne.  What a fantastic city built along the Yarra riverfront!  Magnificent buildings such as the Flinders Street Station were built during Australia's gold rush. We didn't really get to explore as much as we wanted, but it was easy to get around to the various sites with the various trams and tourist buses -- and visit places like the Botanic Gardens!  We'll have to come back!

We can't conclude our trip to Melbourne without more wildlife pictures -- Here is George feeding an Eastern Rosella!  What a beautiful parrot!  Wherever we went there were also flocks of white cockatoo.  Noisy birds, but magnificent to watch!

Emus and Kangas and Koalas -- Oh My!

Good'ay Mate!  

We have had such a good time here in Melbourne.  On our first day we went out to the Serendip Wildlife Sanctuary,  and were treated to a wonderful afternoon and evening.  We were led through the sanctuary by our good guide Roger, who was careful to keep us from frightening off any of these wild creatures.  It was hard to pick out a favorite -- but it was interesting to watch Mary, the koala, come out of hiding in the You Yangs Mountain Range.

Hobart

Out first port of call in Australia -- Hobart, Tasmania!  We loved this lovely town with wonderful shops and buildings -- very easy to explore!  We had a great trip out to the Barilla Oyster Farm -- over 30 acres of oysters producing 3 million oysters a year, most of which are sent over to Melbourne.  George and I managed to have a couple of dozen upon our return to the ship -- wonderful!

Fjords of New Zealand

After our somewhat rocky trip around the southern most point of New Zealand (not to worry -- the rough seas didn't disturb our routine of bridge, exercise, drinking and enjoying the wonderful gourmet food), we found ourselves spending two delightful days in the beautiful fjords of New Zealand.  First we sailed into the beautiful waters of Doubtful Sound and met up with the former Crystal Harmony.  It was quite fun seeing the first Crystal ship, now sailing as the Asuko II and the two captains made quite a show of having the 2 ships sail quite close together in this beautiful site.  (Did you know that if you click on the pictures, you can get the full screen view of the pictures -- It does help especially with these beautiful scenic photos.)


On the second day, we entered Milford Sound, with its snowcapped peaks and magnificent waterfalls.   We spent the entire day just lazily enjoying the scenery and the wonderful views, as the sun moved through the sky.  Then, for our entertainment, the captain nosed the ship into the base of Sterling Falls -- We understand that the various Norwegian captains have a competition on how close to the falls the ship can get.  The official recording for this cruise is 3 meters!

Wellington, New Zealand

In Wellington, New Zealand for just one day -- we walked about the town on a tasting tour.  But first, on the waterfront, we passed by this beautiful boathouse for the Wellington rowers.  It was built in the 19th century as the lookout tower at the edge of this wonderful harbor.

Our first stop on our tasting tour was this wonderful coffee roastery, Mojo Coffee.  George was in heaven!  (www.mojcoffee.com)

Next we were in a marketplace where we could find only the best groceries in Wellington.  We didn't buy anything (who needs any food when you have the chefs of the Crystal Serenity at your beck and call), but we did do some tasting of the wonderful jams and chutneys of New Zealand's best -- Ruth Pretty.  She also does a wonderful fruitcake for Christmas!

We also stopped at a wonderful chocolate shop, Schoc chocolates (www.chocolatetherapy.com) -- and tasted many different flavors of chocolate.  

After our tasting tour, we had a great lunch at a restaurant on the waterfront -- Shed 5.  We tasted some great New Zealand wines here with our lunch -- Stoneleigh Pinot Gris  and Red Rock Gravel Pit Merlot Malbec.

We ended our day in Wellington with a trip to the Te Papa Museum which was celebrating its tenth anniversary.  The museum was crowded with people participating in all of the special events, but we were still able to wander through and view the exhibits which highlight the culture and history of the New Zealand heritage.  This is a beautiful Maori temple - the fine carving in and on the temple is a hallmark of the Maori people.

Christchurch

From Christchurch, we took the Tranzalpine Express up into the mountains. We were very lucky to be on this wonderful railroad adventure as it was raining in Christchurch when we docked.  After traveling up into the mountains to Arthur's Pass, we had lunch at the Wilderness Lodge, which is in the middle of a working sheep station.  So we were up close and personal with the sheep on the ranch.

We enjoyed a great lunch at the ranch with some great wine --George managed to stow a bottle back to the boat -- 2004 Stonewall Marlborough Merlot!  We slept most of the way back to Christchurch -- but George managed to get a few great pictures when we stopped for photos.

Back in Christchurch, we stopped at the Arts Center for a few brief moments of shopping.  Ann managed to buy a few skeins of beautifully hand dyed New Zealand wool.  So it was a very successful day!

Down Under in Auckland

Here we are in beautiful Auckland, New Zealand. As the signpost indicates, we're truly a world apart -- approximately 10500 KM away from home! However, Auckland feels a lot like San Francisco on a good day.  The trees and ferns seem familiar to us -- redwoods and monterrey pine have been imported here over the years.  Many hills and mountains -- all really part of a large volcanic landscape.  The pictures here were taken from the top of Mt. Eden which we walked down under the guidance of a Maori guide who led us through the city showing us various Maori cultural sights -- too many pictures to include -- you'll have to come visit us on our return to see the slideshow...

On our second day here, we traveled inland to Rotorua to view the lake and visit the warm springs.  We took a gondola up Mount Ngongotaha and had a wonderful lunch  after which George decided to take a luge ride down the mountain!  He had a great time.  I was ready to throw him in the warm springs!
The Warm Springs at Whakarewarewa were really quite amazing -- and I didn't throw George in.

Fiji

How exciting -- A welcome greeting from Fiji Warriors!  We enjoyed a hot, humid day in Viti Levu, one of the larger Fijian islands.  A beautiful island famous for its scenery and its orchids. 

We visited a Rotary International project in the middle of the island where Rotary International is building a model village for disenfranchised Fijians. The picture below is an Indian dance performed by children of the village. The village has 120 homes currently with another 160 projected. What a wonderful project!

Bloody Marys on Bora Bora

So enough of the beautiful vistas here in paradise!  George and I spent part of Superbowl Sunday here at Bloody Mary's having Bloody Marys and watching the Superbowl in French! We had just taken a long, bumpy ride around Bora Bora and really needed a drink!  

George started out the day walking on the ocean floor -- He absolutely loved it! He got some great pictures too!

But I can't leave you without a beautiful image of one of the many island hotels that are built out on the motus -- picture perfect and so idyllic!

Tahitian Pearls

Welcome to French Polynesia!  We docked on Wednesday at Raitea.  Again, calm seas, a little overcast and weather in the 80's.  Here you see the welcome we received from the locals as we took a pontoon boat out to the island of Tahaa where there was a pearl farm.  We enjoyed the demonstration, learned that it takes 4 years with a 2% success rate to obtain a saleable pearl, and bought no pearls!   BUT, the island of Tahaa is the largest producer of vanilla beans!  We were successful in buying Tahitian vanilla beans in Papeete, a few days later!

Running with the Dolphins

Here we are anchored at the most beautiful island of Moorea!  It is Thursday and we had a perfect day here.  First of all, the island is the ultimate paradise, relatively unspoiled.  Now we know why we are here -- words and even this picture cannot describe....Then we went out on a pontoon boat with a Marine biologist, Dr. Michael Poole, from UC Santa Cruz who has been living on this beautiful island for 20 years and found a school of dolphins!   It was a wonderful trip -- even if we hadn't found the dolphins!