Today we took a 3 hour tour in a

catamaran around Papeete Bay, Tahiti

in the shadow of Mt. Otemanu at 2300 feet.

We saw dolphins off the front of the boat,

while lounging on the netting in the sun.

We also saw surfers and coral reefs.

Then from the catamaran, we went

swimming with noodles in the crystal clear

tourquise waters. Perfect temperature,

perfect adventure.

Bev did much better than Drake navigating

and using the noodles, as the

currents were too much for Drake.

Our snacks on board were local fruits, juice

and peanuts, sweet and salty,

just what we needed.

Today, we went to a Glowworm cave

in the Kawiti Caves.

When the lights went dark, the ceiling

and some of the walls were covered

with the glow of thousands of

bioluminiscent worms. With their

spider-like strings to attract prey,

they were about the size

of a match.  It looked like a starry night,

inside a cave. One could easily

imagine patterns in the worm light.

This is an active cave with growing

stalagtites and stalagmites.

Wonderous and beautiful.

We traveled by bus around New Zealand. On

the route, we saw the historic Kerikeri Basin,

beautiful Rainbow Falls, and viewed exquisitely

designed and artistic bathrooms

designed by an Austrian architect.

Had a stopped at the oldest stone house in

New Zealand, which was picturesque, with a

stream flowing alongside.

We decided against doing the Viking

excursion options today. Instead, we took

on an adventure, and found a lot of cool

and fun things to do in Napier.

First off, we took a shuttle from the ship

to the Visitor Centre downtown, and walked

to the National Aquarium of New Zealand.

Inside we saw the staff hand feed the

small blue penguins. Then we walked down

the hall to the large fish aquarium where

we saw 2 scuba divers hand feed a variety

of fish, including stingrays. We saw many fish

exhibits, a hawksbill turtle, a tiny seahorse,

starfish and various others.

Afterwards, we walked on the Napier Beach.

It was all rocky. Along the way we stopped at

a sunken botanical garden with lots of

butterflies.

Then it was on to Centenial Gardens which

had a lovely 30 foot plus waterfall and

various flowers. Very pretty.

On the way back to the Visitor Centre, we

passed a public family pool facility, and of

course we had to take a swim. They had an

expansive sauna pool, that was over 100

degrees, and several large colder water

pools. We met a lovely newlywed couple

from London. A great way to cool off.

Then it was back to the shuttle

and back on board.

After dinner we attended a lecture about

New Zealand’s volcanic past and present.

We are now packing our suitcases for our

overland 5 day trip to south New Zealand.

Tomorrow we fly out of Wellington, NZ to

Christchurch, NZ. We are not taking our

laptop, so we will post updates

upon our return.

We started our day taking a 12 seater

prop plane on a 40 minute scenic flight

over the rugged mountain

landscapes and glacial-fed rivers of

Fiordland National Park and Milford Sound.

The scenery from our plane was

breathtaking as we were just above the snow

capped mountains and valleys of the

Southern Alps. It was a tremendous flight-

like out of a movie.

After our breath taking airplane ride, we

hopped on a boat and took a scenic cruise

into Milford Sound, which is really a fjord.

Towering cliffs and unbelievably beautiful.

We saw seals on the rocks, a huge

waterfall and all that nature had carved

out millions of years ago. 

Upon returning to Queenstown,

Bev took a gondola ride up to

Skyline Stratosfare Restaurnt for dinner.

It was on Bob’s Peak, which is 1400 feet tall.

Drake, however, decided to walk up

the Tiki Trail, which paralleled the gondola

ride. Drake took 67 minutes to walk up this

very steep tough trail to the top to meet

Bev and our group for dinner. This popular

local trail was chock full of switchbacks, tree

roots, stairs, and had a rock strewn path.

We all had dinner watching the gondolas

letting passengers off at our restaurant

which was a staging area for paragliders

and with teenage mountain bikers.

What a day!

Today we went to the Australia Zoo. We saw

and petted koalas. We learned about their lives,

how they cared for their young and their diets.

Then we saw an animal show, with

trainers hand feeding a crocodile.

We petted kangaroos that were very soft to

touch and accepting of all the attention.

Saw hand feeding of a red panda. Saw

Komodo dragons, huge pythons, wombats,

elephants etc.

This morning we had a lecture on

Mars – Exploring the Red Planet.

Our ship docked today after lunch, and we were off

for a visit to the Cairns Aquarium.

There we saw a whole range of aquatic exhibits

that festured Austalian marine life, including sharks,

huge manta rays, colorful tropical fish including

clown fish, and corals galore.

Afterwards, we had a walk back to the ship.

Along the way, we saw shops, their beautiful library,

walked past a casino, many restaurants and the usual

fare. It was hot, muggy and drizziling. But still enjoyable.

This morning, we embarked on an enriching cruise

into Darwin Harbor, encountering biodiversity and

picturesque vistas. We also learned of the WW II

bombing of Darwin Harbor by the Japanese. 

We saw thousands of acres of mangrove forests

that were surviving in 25 feet of salt water. They filter

the water, and many types of marine life live among

their root systems. The tide has a 26 foot ebb and flow,

so the muddy bank shows at low tide.

We also saw ship wrecks of abandonded sail boats

in the harbor as well as a salt water crocodile cage.

They catch the crocs, use them for breeding purposes

and then relocate them to keep the harbor safe.