Monday, Day 30 - Feb 5 - 8am to 6pm, Bay of Islands, North Island, New Zealand:

In 2009 we spent almost two weeks doing a driving tour on the southern tip of New Zealand’s North Island and most of the South Island. It was a wonderful time and the beginning of our love affair with the country. In 2015, on the Queen Elizabeth,  we visited Bay of Islands and Auckland on the North Island for the first time. This trip we get to spend eight days visiting New Zealand ports of call both on the North and the South Islands.

 "A Bay of Islands" was how Captain Cook described this area well over two centuries ago and the simplicity of his name masks the diversity of its charms. The Bay of Islands is the finest Maritime Park in the country with 144 islands, secluded bays and an abundance of marine life. It is one of the most popular fishing, sailing and tourist destinations in the country, and has been renowned internationally for its big-game fishing since author Zane Grey publicized it in the 1930s.

The Bay of Islands, the birthplace of the nation, is the northernmost New Zealand cruise ship port. Its 144 islands are a beautiful marine playground, with secluded beaches and abundant wildlife. Dubbed “the angler's El Dorado” by American novelist Zane Grey in the 1920s, it is an area rich in Māori and European history. When we were here on the Queen Elizabeth in 2015, we took the local bus to Paihia and walked around the market. Then we took the ferry over to Russell and strolled around the cute town. We then reversed our trip and visited the Waitangi Treaty Grounds. Today we are going over to visit Russell and find some lunch.

After arriving in the Bay of Islands and anchoring in the inner bay, a long tender ride takes us to Waitangi wharf where cruise ship ambassadors are waiting to greet us. They direct us to the free shuttle bus to the main hub of Paihia. Once there Dick heads off looking for an ATM to get some New Zealand cash. He had ordered some in his currency order, but some teller had robbed his stash before he picked it up in Houston. Carolyn waits at the park area by the dock and watches a group of young Maori teenagers perform several native dances.

Money problems solved we head to the tourist center and buy two round trip tickets to Russell and take the next ferry. These run every 20 minutes and cost NZ$12.50 ($9.12US) round trip.

Known until the early 1840s as Kororāreka, Russell was the first permanent European settlement and seaport in New Zealand. The Bay of Islands offered a safe anchorage and by the 1830s Russell had become a lawless trading center where whalers, seafarers and merchants mixed with adventurers, deserters and escaped convicts from Australia. Today the town, once called the “Hell Hole of the Pacific,” is a charming and tranquil spot. Russell is loaded with iconic locations, significant in New Zealand’s early history: Christ Church (the oldest church in New Zealand, famed for the bullet-holes in its walls); historic Pompallier House, home to Bishop Pompallier’s Catholic Mission and the oldest industrial building in New Zealand; and even the country's oldest licensed pub and the world's second oldest game fishing club The Bay of Islands Swordfish Club, made famous by American author Zane Grey.

The Victorian buildings are lovingly cared for as the Old Inn shows. Next door is the 1860 Customs House, later the Police Station and now a private home. Next to the house is a Norton Bay Fig Tree planted in 1870....the trunk is something else.

We have some wonderful fish and chips once in Russell and walk around a little. It is a beautiful day. It is also a big holiday time and the area is packed with tourists. There is a big meeting and ceremony out at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds this afternoon and there are a lot of important government types, plus a couple of naval vessels in the harbor.

We head back to the ship about 2PM and it takes nearly an hour with all the traffic and long tender ride. We have to dodge pleasure boats all the way to the ship. Back on board we stop by the closest bar and Dick gets some drinks while Carolyn walks down to the theater, where the Super Bowl is being shown on the big screen, to grab some snacks for the room.
Believe it or not, we watch the last 10 game minutes on the TV in the room. The ship has been without satellite TV since the loss of power on January 20, but the engineers figured out how to run the game through the internet system so the addicted diehards could watch the game.  But, it cost us all internet services while the game was on.

We sail on time today and head up to Sette Mari for dinner hoping to eat outside, but it had rained during the game and the staff did not open the back deck. We do get a nice window table so have a nice view, but it is really nice to be outside.

The ship is very quite tonight. With about half the passengers leaving in the morning early the bars and halls are empty. Guess everyone is packing.

Sunday, Day 29 - Feb. 4 - Cruising the South Pacific Ocean - Captain’s Fair Well Party

Another Sunday at Sea...we don’t make the Caviar breakfast! We are a bit hung over from riding the tilt-a-whirl all night. Didn’t know a ship could go in so many directions at once. Every panel, bolt, and brace or frame piece in our room complained loud and long! What a symphony!

Dick gets up and goes to the church service and on to his history lecture on Gallipoli and the ANZACs. Carolyn rolls over and goes back to sleep...things have settled down some. There was a cooking demonstration at 11:15AM which Dick had planned to attend, but forgot. These are usually good programs. We will have to pay more attention to the bulletin’s listings!

The Compass Rose lunch menu looks good so Dick heads there and Carolyn orders a bowl  of the corn chowder and a bowl of the French onion soup along with an apple tart from the menu. Room service brings that right along...ahhhhh the joys of cruising! Dick also brings her a bowl of poached pears from the dining room.

After another lazy afternoon we head to the Krew Kapers at 6PM. This is a fun show and a traditional ending for Regent cruises where the talented crew put together a show for the passengers. They do this on their own time on a strictly volunteer bases. Many of these young people a very talented!

From there we head to the Captains Farewell Dinner. Which as it turns out is not very good. They forget Carolyn's veggie, and the pasta is hard as nails even though it was ordered cook extra time. Dick's chicken dish looks like something from a frozen food package and is terrible. We pretty much reject the main course offerings and go on to dessert which is much better, but how can you go wrong with chocolate! There are more officers than usual in the dinning room and at 8PM people are beginning turned away to wait in the bar for a while.

We turned the clock ahead one hour last night so sunset is not until about 8:30PM.  We are sitting on our veranda watching a pretty sunset develop and Dick is taking photos.  Guess what?  WE SEE THE GREEN FLASH FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER!  Dick even gets a photo but it is much more impressive with the naked eye than what the camera catches.  But, it does exist.  We have seen it!  Finally!  Here is what it is:

A green flash, which occurs more commonly at sunset — but can also occur at sunrise — is a phenomenon in which part of the sun can be observed suddenly and briefly changing color. It usually lasts only a second or two — which is why it is referred a flash — as the sun changes from red or orange at sunset, for example.


There is a production show at 9:30PM with the Navigator Production Company preforming “World Beat”. The show sounds very high energy, but we aren’t going to make it.

Tomorrow is a port day in the Bay of Islands, New Zealand

Saturday, Day 28 - Feb. 3 - Cruising the South Pacific Ocean

Once we got out to sea last night the ship began to move. By this morning Jack needed his bed belt due to the long rollers. You can see them coming on the bridge cam. At least we have lost some of that steamy haze of the last couple of days. It is still humid and hot but the water is that beautiful deep Pacific blue.

Not too much is going on today. Dick goes to his 10AM lecture on Disease and History by the historian Jampoler. He says it was interesting. Carolyn’s paper curling class isn’t being held as Sarah may have gone ashore with the sick person the ship left at the last minute in Fiji. That was why we were late sailing. We couldn’t see any of the gangway activity last evening as we were facing out to sea. Guess she will rejoin us in Auckland. Can’t imagine willingly getting off there...hope all is well for them.

Carolyn is still moving slow and sleeping a lot. The ship’s movement is such that laying down feels better and of course that leads to falling asleep.....

At noon Captain Atanas tells us we are at 22.51 degrees S and 176.22 degrees W with 750 miles to the next port. It is 84 degrees, wind at17 knots and waves are 5 to 7 feet. There is 13,000 of ocean below us.

About 1:30PM we get it together and head up to the pool deck in search of some food and are greeted by the ugliest, huge fish along with some of his friends sitting in a rapidly melting ice sculpture! These were the fish we saw coming on board as we met up with our guide yesterday in Fiji.  Welcome to the Chef’s Seafood Extravaganza Lunch Buffet. It is hot as blue blazes on the pool deck and not a terrible lot of shade! Why so many passengers think this is a great venue we do not understand. Nor do we understand how there isn’t raging food poisoning from salads and seafood getting too warm for too long. The displays are lovely and would be very appealing done in the Compass Rose. But up here the smell is offputting, at least in Carolyn’s opinion. She hurries on the to La Veranda and fixes a plate of fruits, cool salads and cheeses and sits in the AC. Dick gathers some tidbits off the seafood displays on deck and joins her.

We spend a very lazy afternoon sleeping, reading and game playing. There was a back stage tour that might be fun, but will be offered again. June and her followers put on a short dance show and we had planned to go to that but didn’t make it.

A sure sign that the first segment is coming to an end is passport distribution to those getting off. That is about half the ship on Tuesday in Auckland.  We are moving so slow that we are almost 30 minutes late for dinner, but our favorite table is still open. Dick has the lamb shank which looks wonderful and he says it is good. Carolyn is still not hungry so just has a baked potato and a little salad. We try the key lime pie for dessert and find it is worth a second slice!

By the time dinner is over the ship is really moving around so we head to bed. Jack is mumbling about having to buckle his bed belt again!!

Friday, Day 27 - Feb 2 - 8am to 5pm, Lautoka, Viti Levu, Fiji

The Fiji archipelago consists of tiny coral atolls and mountainous forest-clad islands of volcanic origin, and is famed for its aquamarine waters and white sand beaches that are not really white. Lautoka, meaning “spear-hit” or “hit to win,” was named that as a result of an argument between two chiefs. It is sited in the western side of the largest island in Fiji. The city is surrounded with the blue Pacific Ocean on the western side and green gold sugar cane and pine trees on the other sides. We had planned to do an all day free ship’s tour today to one of the many tiny islands that make up Fiji but it leaves at 8:45AM and Carolyn is not up to the attempt.  She is feeling better, has a light room service breakfast and gets up after Dick returns from breakfast but snorkeling and heat are out.
 
Dick turns in the tickets in time for someone else to use them.  Here is what we missed: 
Savala Island Snorkeling at 9AM for 6 ½ hours. We were to board a nice sized boat and cruise across the translucent waters surrounded by magnificent scenery, mountain ranges and seaside villas to Savala, an uninhabited 1 1/2 acre island that is surrounded by white sandy beach and home to native birds. Upon arrival, we transfer to the island. Once on the island, we do some guided snorkeling and a glass bottom boat ride to view the colorful coral gardens. There is also ocean kayaking and paddle boards, but we were planning on a pass in favor of being lazy in the shade.

Instead, we step onto the dock after asking a Fijian representative on the ship for some guidance. Against our better judgment we arrange for a van, driver and guide for a 3-4 hour tour of the area between Lautoka and Nadi. The van AC works like a charm, thank goodness, and the guide and driver try very hard to put a good light on their country, but there is not a lot to see and the trip is certainly not worth the $150 we paid!  We tried to negotiate but that seemed to be a tourist board fee for the van tour. Oh, well! Tourists are here to be fleeced! And it is a little drop in a big bucket as far as the trip cost goes.

We drive through the country side past sugar cane fields and other cash crops, past schools, family compounds some churches and small villages. We are taken to a beachfront hotel to be further fleeced, sorry, entertained, where a beer and a coke cost $10US but do see some female and male story telling and tribal dancing including the fire dance we missed yesterday. The dancers can really move their hips, especially the women. One of the three women could use a pair of larger sized coconuts though.

Dick has the van stop at a liquor store (armed camp) to get a sample of a local rum for the ridiculous price of $19US for 375ML, 8/10 of a pint! It had better be good! It has won all kinds of awards and is 116% proof. The guide says not to mix it with anything but ICE!

The liquor store is small with very sparse merchandise, mostly beer.  The two men and a woman running the store are behind a floor to ceiling grill work cage that is quite substantial. (Note in the picture that there is even a ceiling on the cage where the customer stands!  Like in a Russian store in the 1980s, you cannot touch the merchandise until you have paid for it.  They will hold a bottle up to the grill but "lookie, no touchie!"  Cash only is passed through one small opening and counted three times and entered into a ledger.  The bottle is then passed across the room where it is put in a paper sack and that into a plastic bag and slid out to the customer through a somewhat larger opening.  No "Thank you for your business" or small talk is exchanged.

After seeing some WWII guns and visiting the place known as the first landing, where the first people came ashore 3,500 years ago and seeing the tribal culture that is still going strong, we return to the ship about 2PM.

As with most of the Pacific islands, their reputation for beauty far exceeds their reality, with the possible exception of Bora Bora whose Lagoon is breath taking. Fiji struck us as poor, comparatively clean and unlittered but without AC in this climate it is not on our list of places we will visit again. Nor are the ocean water and beaches the white sand and crystal clear water we have always loved about so many of the Caribbean Islands.

We order some ice-cream from room service and work on this blog. Carolyn is talking about dinner so maybe she has recovered.

Again, We are almost an hour late sailing but are out of the harbor and moving right along at 6:30PM when we head for dinner. The wait staff is glad to see Carolyn back in the dining room again and Carolyn is glad to be back and feeling better!

We eat lightly. Dick has the cream of garlic soup, lamb chops and a baked potato, Carolyn has a bowl of strawberries, the small steak and a baked potato. We both try the lemon meringue pie which is very good, tart with a nice crisp crust.

A much welcome two days at sea up next.

Thursday, Day 26 - Feb 1 - 10am to 7pm, Suva, Viti Levu, Fiji

The Fiji Islands have two new ports to offer us. For years we have heard about how beautiful the various islands are and are excited to finally have a chance to see Fiji for ourselves.

Suva is located on the southeast coast of the island of Viti Levu and is the capital city of Fiji. As the largest urban area in the South Pacific outside of Australia and New Zealand, it is Fiji’s main port city, and the commercial and political center of Fiji. The city hosted the 2003 South Pacific Games, being the third time in the event's history that they had been held in Suva. We plan to take one of the free ship’s tours to explore the fascinating cultural history and art.

Unfortunately, Carolyn is still sick so we cancel.  Here is what we were to have done.

Pacific Harbor Cultural Extravaganza departing a 1PM for4 hours.  “Drive to Pacific Harbor about an hour away, but time passes watching the Fijian villages, tropical rain-forested mountains and flat pastureland. Make a  photo stop at the world-renowned Arts Village of Fiji. Arriving at Pacific Harbor, we are greeted by the reverberating sound of a hollow drum beaten by a Fijian warrior, the blowing of a conch shell, the welcoming song of the villagers and a complimentary drink. From there it is off  to the amphitheater for a spectacular performance by Fijian Fire walkers and the group from the Arts Village of Fiji. See Fiji's storied past come alive and marvel at the Fijian Fire walkers demonstrating their mysterious power over flame. As elders chant, young men will remove the burning logs from a smoking pit to reveal the white-hot stones signaling the beginning of this ancient ceremony. The group from the Arts Village of Fiji entertain with traditional dancing, and re-enacting their legends and history. After the show, stroll around the cool fern trees and shady palms in the exotic tropical gardens, serenaded by the village singers and tour the Arts Village complex mingling with the villagers and watching handicraft demonstrations.” Just a note the buses are best available which means no AC!

We dock on time. The water is oily calm and the heat and humidity are stifling. 

Carolyn stays in bed and Dick decides to step onto the dock to at least say he has been here. At the foot of the gangway he is accosted by natives in grass skirts who speak pretty good King’s English and welcome him to the island and country. After formal introductions, they revert to tourist mode and photos are taken for posterity.

After walking through an old dockside warehouse, Dick is accosted by all the tour operators and taxi drivers each offering, “the biggest, newest, cleanest car with the coldest "AirCon," and the best price,” all with a sincere smile!  Not being interested in a tour or their sisters (just joking), Dick politely extricates himself from a half dozen of these fellows and walks across a very busy street to a huge “Farmer’s Market.”

Nearly all of what is on offer is of a vegetable nature but there is some shellfish. The people are all very nice and willing to talk, explain their produce and have a picture taken of them and/or their products. After 20 minutes or so in the heat and humidity, Dick has learned all he wants to know about taro, cassava, greens both recognized and unknown and all manner of seaweed and shellfish.

Once again running the gauntlet of cab drivers, he returns to the ship to find Carolyn still asleep and he wiles away the afternoon on a book and playing Civilization VI.

We sail from Suva just after a heavy thunderstorm that dumped a lot of rain. Carolyn gets up long enough for the housekeepers to make the bed and change the towels and then she goes back to bed as she is asleep on her feet with a fever and sick headache. Dick goes to dinner by himself for the third night in a row and enjoys the food, chicken tandoori and Grand Marnie souffle as well as his own company!

Carolyn has ordered in but did not eat much and the lights are out by 9:00PM.