November 11, Lyttelton Christchurch NZ

November 11, Christchurch, NZ

The Amsterdam actually docks at Lyttelton Harbor which is about 9km from Christchurch, and is located on what is called Banks Peninsula. The Banks Peninsula was formed by the eruptions of three volcanoes. First sighted by Captain Cook in 1779, it was named for Sir Joseph Banks, the naturalist.

In 1838 Jean Langois, captain of the French whaling ship Cachalot, negotiated with a local Maori chief to buy Banks Peninsula.

We teamed up with two other couples that we knew and hired a car for a half day tour. Having specified that we were interested in nature and birds, our guide took us on a round trip around the peninsula. Being a photographer himself he was excellent in showing us places that most tourists never go to.

From Lyttelton we traveled around Governor’s Bay, up Gebbie’s Pass, the down along side Lake Ellesmere, past Birdings Flat and Lake Forsyth to Little River. From there we took Tourist Drive past several scenic overlooks and then back down to the town of Akaroa. After a short visit there we essentially backtracked with a couple of exceptions and then out to Christchurch. During our tour we saw delightful scenery, and several different types of birds including a flock of black swans, and some Canadian geese with several new chicks.

We did have some off and on rain early in the day but by 1pm or so the sun was shining and the clouds had moved off. A great time was had and everyone enjoyed the trip.

Tomorrow we are in Wellington where some of us will spend most of the day at Zealandia Wildlife Sanctuary.

November 10, Dunedin New Zealand

November 10, Dunedin New Zealand

It is believed that the first human occupation of southern New Zealand was around 1100 AD. There was a settlement in what is now central Dunedin occupied as late as about 1785 but abandoned by 1826. Captain James Cook stood off the coast of Dunedin between February 25 and March 5, 1770, and reported penguins and seals in the vicinity. By the late 1830s the harbor was an international whaling port.

We booked an all day tour through Chris Roberts, owner of Back to Nature Tours, and what a fabulous tour it was. We started the morning off with a tour of Dunedin including Baldwin Street, the steepest street in the world, and made stops at the railway station and the college grounds. From there it was off to Larnach Castle where some of the folks with us toured the inside while others of us (me, LOL) toured the garden grounds where I got lots of pictures of beautiful flowers and gardens.

From there we went to lunch in Portabella, a small town of about 200 people and ate at the local pub. Had a great meal of fish and chips along with a pint or two of local beer. One lunch was over we drove to the yellow-eyed penguin refuge. We were quite fortunate as a few chicks had hatched within the last week or so and we were able to see and get great photos of adults with their chicks. If you come here however fair warning, in most cases you will need at least a 300mm lens to get a good picture as you can’t get very close to them.

From there we made a quick stop by the albatross sanctuary. We watched one fly along the coast line as we pulled into the parking area but that was the only one we saw and were unable to get a picture of it. We did however see some seals on the rocks and got some pictures of them.

All in all a fantastic tour and I can’t say enough good things about Chris. An excellent guide, very knowledgeable, and kept up a nice narrative as we drove along. If you book a tour with him tell him Bill says hello.

Up tomorrow, Christchurch New Zealand.

November 4, Melbourne

November 4, Melbourne Australia

It seems kind of weird to say that as we head south, the temperatures are getting cooler. While we were in Sydney, we had mid 70’s to mid 80’s during the day. Today in Melbourne it was around 56 this morning and only got up to 63 during the day.

We had originally planned on doing our own thing here, but really wanted to see the Healesville Animal Sanctuary but there really wasn’t an easy way to get there. Our cruise critic friends had a tour set up that included a stop there, and they still had two openings so we decided to join them.

We left the dock at 8am and headed out to the mountains and the Sanctuary. Upon arriving there our tour guides set up a table with champagne, coffee, tea, and munchies. We then did a tour of the sanctuary finishing up with a free flight raptor show. That was really something to see. The birds would fly up over the stands where everyone was seated sometimes only inches above our heads.

From there we went to a local winery where we had a tasting of their wines, and then lunch. We had an excellent meal there and did buy a three bottle package of their wines to drink onboard.

Then it was off to the Puffing Billy steam engine train ride. A narrow gauge railway that has been in existence since 1900 and fully restored in 1998, it had the original passenger cars as well. While the ride was short it was fun riding in the old wooden passenger cars and watching the scenery slowly go by.

We returned to the ship just after 5pm very tired but very happy that we decided to go on the tour. For something a bit different while you are in Melbourne, we can highly recommend A Tour with a Difference (atwad.com). They are very knowledgeable folks and fun.

While at the sanctuary they had a free flight raptor show, and I decided that I would show you some pictures from that for something different today.

Tomorrow is a sea day (YEA!) so we can rest before arriving in Hobart, Tasmania.

November 2, Sydney Day 3

November 2, Sydney Day 3

Two intense days in Sydney does not bode well for senior bodies. We decided to take it really easy today, and just visit the botanic gardens. We left the ship around 8am and walked around the quay to the gardens, a short 15 minute walk away. As we started into the gardens we were amazing at the number of wild cockatiels flying around. We got several great pictures of them while there.

The gardens are absolutely beautiful. A lot of bushes and plants were in bloom, the sun was shinning, and there was a gentle breeze coming off of the water. During our walk there we saw many different types of birds including wild lorikeets, ibis, and many others.

Walking back toward the ship we decided to stop by the Sydney Opera House. A very interesting structure sitting at the end of the quay, it is host to many different varieties of shows throughout the year.

We were back onboard in time for lunch and decided that we were done for the day. We saw so many wonderful sights while here, but three days is not nearly enough. I don’t know if you can really see all of Sydney in a week. But we enjoyed what we did see, and are looking forward to our next port of call, Melbourne.

November 1, Sydney Day 2

November 1, Sydney Australia

Whew!! Are we bushed! What a fabulous day we had. The tour was arranged through Activity Tours (www.activitytours.com.au) and I can highly recommend them. Very reasonable rates for what you get, and very knowledgeable.

We started the day off at Featherdale Wildlife Sanctuary ($22 entrance fee was included in our $82 tour cost). We only had about 45 minutes there and wished we could have stayed all day. The sanctuary isn’t large, but most of the animals are not caged. Koala’s can be touched and pictures taken, kangaroo’s are easily accessible, native birds fly freely about, and what other animals are caged, they are easily seen without fencing in the way. There some areas where some of the birds are caged primarily to keep them in an environment that they are familiar with. It is definitely a photographers dream as animals are very easy to see. This was the highlight of the tour in our opinion.

The rest of the tour was very good as well, especially the Skyway, Scenicsender (both are essentially cable cars), and the steepest railway (52 degrees, down). $25 gets you a combined ticket to ride all three and well worth it.

The river cruise back to the ship was nice and provided a totally different perspective of the harbor area.

It was a ten hour day of interesting sites, and well worth it. Tomorrow we are on our own again and will most likely spend the morning in the botanic gardens and then wander about town for a bit. We sail at 6:30pm form our next stop, Melbourne.

October 31, Sydney Day 1

October 31, Sydney Australia

Sydney is the most populous city in Australia with over 4.2 million people. It is the state capital of New South Wales and is located on the southeast coast. Sydney was established in 1788 at Sydney Cove by Arthur Phillip who led the First Fleet from Britain. Sydney harbor is the largest natural harbor in the world.

Several gold rushes starting in 1851 brought waves of people arriving from around the world, and the rapid suburban development that began in the last quarter of the 19th century continues today, giving Sydney its cosmopolitan flair.

Australia is expensive. A basic ham and cheese sandwich is $6.50 - $9.00 depending on where you get it, and if you are lucky you might get a small handful of chips with it (but don’t bet on it). Soft drinks typically run around $2 - $3, a bottle of beer $5 - $7. A sit down lunch starts around $20 and goes up from there. Dinners start around $40.

We had originally planned on taking the hop-on hop-off bus the first day and perhaps stopping off at the zoo. After finding out that the entrance fee was $41 per person, we re-vamped our plans. We decided to visit the aquarium and a new “Wild World” animal kingdom next door to it, as we could visit both for $49.50 per person.

Wild World is small, but does have a pretty nice display of various Australian animals. They have a koala and kangaroo exhibit where you can get up close and personal to them and other nice displays. The aquarium again is small, but very well put together. There is three separate areas where you actually go down to the bottom of the tanks and are able to walk around them and through underwater tunnels. They even have a couple of manatee’s there, along with all of the typical reef fish, sharks, rays, etc.

If you are docked at central quay as we were, you can walk to Darling Harbor where they are located in about 20-30 minutes at a slow stroll, and in our opinion well worth the visit for the cost. Is it as good as the zoo? I seriously doubt it but it is quite nice.

Tomorrow we are off on an all day tour out to the blue mountains, and includes stops at Featherdale Wildlife Sanctuary, the 2000 Olympic site, National Park, the Three Sisters at Echo Point, the Scenic Skyway, Scenicsender, and Steepest Railway in the world, lunch, and finishing off with a river cruise back to our ship. It’s a full day and sounds like a lot of fun. Let you know tomorrow!!

October 29, Brisbane Australia

October 29, Brisbane Australia

Brisbane is the state capital of Queensland and is the largest city in that state, and the tird most populous city in Australia. Located on the Brisbane River, about 50 miles from the ocean, it was named after Sir Thomas Brisbane, the Governor of New South Wales from 1821 to 1825.

The city was the South Pacific headquarters for General MacArthur during WWII. Postwar Brisbane grew rapidly and became a destination of interstate migration. Some of the city’s history is preserved in buildings dating back to the 1820s.

The City Botanic Gardens, Brisbane Forest Park, and Portside Wharf are among the places worth a visit. The Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary opened in 1927 and was the world’s first koala sanctuary.

The area where the ship docked was not close enough for most people to walk, so the local Port Authority offered complimentary shuttle service down to Elizabeth Street, in the center of downtown. We were lucky enough to get off the ship shortly after we were cleared and managed to get on the first shuttle.

I had purchased hop-on hop-off tickets in advance through the internet, so once we got downtown we had to figure out where to pick up the bus. We found the post office first and popped in to buy stamps and postcards. Found some really nice stamps to take back there.

The main thing we really wanted to see was the botanical gardens, which was one of the stops on the hop-on hop-off bus. Once at the gardens, we arrived just in time to join the 11am guided tour there. The gardens are really beautiful, with many different species of plants and trees there. In addition, keep your eye out for all kinds of birds, and even a lizard or two.

Back onto the bus and then got off at Chinatown. From there we strolled slowly back toward city center. The downtown area is quite interesting with a mixture of modern skyscrapers and 18th and 19th century building mixed in. There is also a pedestrian mall area where a portion of Elisabeth Street has been closed off to traffic.

We enjoyed our stay in Brisbane, and only wished that we had more time there. At 5pm we were off for a day at sea before our three day stay in Sydney.