GREETINGS from Auckland

2-14-08 HAPPTY VALENTINE’S DAY….EVERYONE !!!

WE may still be about 14-17 hours ahead of you all, due to the fact of our having crossed the international dateline…so I am hoping that this reaches each of you before this day arrives.

Right now, we are in New Zealand waters, having left the great port city of Aukland and en route to Christchurch, New Zealand. Wow….what a beautiful city was Aukland ! think about Newport and all the sail boats and the multiply that view. It had sooooooo many sailing vessels and beautiful and interesting architecture…that I may have to make an album just to showcase this fact.

There are many, many new buildings, tall and pristine glass with fabulous skyline mirror images across the skyline…long beautiful bridges and yet, an occasional older VINTAGE building mixed into the landscape. Really…a joy to walk about. Although we booked two excursions, we left from mid day yesterday all afternoon, to ‘BE’ in the city…experience great food, to to the top of the SKY TOWER and enjoy the city.

Where to begin…perhaps with the first of the two days…

Day one…NOTE...at the shutterfly site, the pictures from day one are in one album and day 2,pictures are in a second album ! Access the pictures at :
http://otooleworldcruise2008.shutterfly.com use password: CRYSTALS ---
back to the story...the drive on the first day...
took us about 2.5 hours outside of Aukland…to Waitoma Glow worm caves…this is a fabulous area of limestone caves built so many years ago, by volcano eruption, and then, swirling waters which carved out the caves and connected them in marvelous ways. Over the years, through dripping action, both Stalagmites and Stalagtites formed and created a magnificent area to see. Somewhere along the way, natural selection of species occurred and “glowworms” took up residence…propagating and making thousands, perhaps millions of colonies. Inside the caves, in the dark, as we traversed by boat, they shone brightly and appeared almost as “stars” in the CAVE CEILINGS. We were not allowed to photograph so, in time, I shall try to ‘SHOW” what this looked like via the magic of digital photography. Really awesome.

After that…a fab time at a New Zealand farm show…where a man who could be a twin of Robin Williams did a one man show about the history of New Zealand past and present. He brought many animals up close and personal (only a few feet away)…and was very funny. He is an entrepreuner here…taking many acres and making a hotel complex of hotels in the shape of an airplane, a ferry and also a “Hobbit Hotel” (a take off of the Hobbitron…from the filming of the Hobbit…here in New Zealand). A very interesting man…funny, laid back and yet, very interested in being a great business man !...and... although a long day, loads of fun with many great photo opps. It rained very hard at times, and like so many places, New Zealand really needs rain…but, it managed to rain while we were inside… yay ! Problem is, I had not excuse for my “bad hair day !” HOWEVER!... Very relaxing and nice to begin feeling better after struggling with having been so sick…….!

Early to bed that night , after a wonderful dinner and a juggler show…! Really, really wanted to go ashore to take in the nightlife of Aukland, port looked sooooooooo inviting at night, but, the New Zealanders sort of roll up the carpet early (probably bec they work so hard shearing the 30-60 million sheep), so I am told there really wasn’t much we missed.

Day two was fabulous, in a different way…so very relaxed and such a bright sunny day ! We started out early to visit the home of a local woman who raised sheep, cattle and deer…beautiful gardens and offered “tea” to wandering / visiting guests…such as ourselves. What great photo opportunities…and a chance to chat with a most personable woman. She, also a proud grandmother, uses this venue to supplement income, as well as a chance to meet others from far away. Really proud of her home and work. The time there culminated in a sheep shearing demonstration…and was realaxing in every way.
Then, on to a Gannet Bird colony…rare birds and one of the largest colonies in the world. I was soooooooo glad to have a great camera lens, for without it, I wouldn’t have gotten pics of these amazing birds. Really family oriented and luckily, we had time to simply watch them ‘be together” as mates…so beautiful preening eachother and sort of caressing together as they found eachother. Simply elegant in flight as they soared over the ocean as well as the craggy rock formations. A Rare opportunity and I really enjoyed this experience even more than anticipated. Sometimes, simplicity in nature is most beautiful. All too soon our excursion came to an end. Back at the ship, Pat and I decided to take the whole rest of the afternoon, to be together alone in Aukland…to make use of our time there, instead of simply going on board early.
Our ship was docked very near the city center and most places of interest were within and easy walk. We headed into the city via the pier so that we could see the hundreds of sailboats there…the harbor rivals Newport…hundreds could be underestimating the number. So many were very large and elegant…masts and sails glistening in the sunshine. Soon, we found a fabulous middle eastern restaurant on the beautiful Harbour. Middle eastern food…some of our favorite food…oh ! so tasty, was just the thing and we took time to just “be”… So nice to just let time pass and people watch and to take time to talk about being in this amazing place…”DOWN UNDER” !. Once our lunch was over, our plan was to go to the “city center” and the “sky tower” about a mile away. The walk was fun, as the architecture there is a combination of brand new…beautifully shaped and high buildings coupled with older more vintage ones. They didn’t seem to fight eachother…instead, their presence made the walk a lovely one. There was much traffic and although pedestrians MAY have the right of way, it was SOON clear, that we had better follow the lights…lest we put that rule to the test.
Before long, we could see the high sky tower looming above us and excitement grew. I just couldn’t wait to be UP there. Pat humored me and we got tickets to go all the way up. Once there…the view was simply incredible. (I’ll include some views from the tower in my shutterfly album……..( http://otooleworldcruise2008.shutterfly.com ) as soon as I am able to get the pics edited and resized to be loaded into the album. I may make two albums…one each for the two days there…we’ll see. Anyway, the day was crystal clear…blue skies and fluffy clouds and few of them…so the views seemed to go on forever. Of course, while we were there, some young man decided that it would be fun to bungy jump from the top (must have a death wish!!!)…and they suspended him half way. As luck would have it…he stopped right in front of me(while we were on the lower floor), and I was so dumfounded to be looking right at him…I almost forgot to take a picture. Luckily, before they dropped him the rest of the way, I did photograph him and also as he dropped…Still can’t believe he did that. By the look on his face, I am not sure that he was sure he did it, either !!! While we were still there, there were five people who decided to tether themselves and then to walk on the outer ring of the sky tower (a ring without railings)…just for fun. More people w a death wish ! Anyway…much excitement about it all……and we just enjoyed vicariously…don’t think…wait…we KNOW that we won’t be doing either of those DUMB things any time soon.
After we came down, we found that there was an exhibit of the TERRA COTTA WARRIORS there…and as we shall be in china before long, it seemed fitting to go to see it. On our way, we passed by the new CASINO there…really beautiful…sparkly lights and very modern in appearance…made us wish we had more time…to just go in…OK…maybe try a $5 spot ! Anyway, we didn’t and, instead, we went on to the Terra Cotta Warrior exhibit. It was an amazing exhibit…can’t believe what we saw…and it struck me …the similarities between these and the ancient Egyptians in their shared hope for everlasting life by taking servents and articles needed in the after life…!. So much is the same between peoples…past and, I believe present…if only we take the chance to really get to know one another…eh?
Later…some walking on the busy shopping district…but, by then, a bit tired and getting back to the ship was welcome. New Zealand is VERY cautious about security and we had about three or four checkpoints to go through before getting on the the ship…It was, and always is nice to hear a “welcome Home” from a Crystal officer as we re-board…yes ! it is starting to feel almost like home, now.
There are sooooo many stories to tell, and there never seems enough time to do so…perhaps, we shall be sharing at obscure moments throughout the rest of our lives…the little and big “ah ha!” moments from this trip…for I know that there will never be sufficient time while we are ON the cruise.
Hopefully, you will get a flavor from the pictures and the episodic notes I post on the blog.
Meanwhile…know that almost each day, we have a wonderful historian who gives almost an hour talk about the history related to ports we visit…speaks without notes and is simply brilliant. We also have a variety of other speakers…(I shall place an album on shutterfly with the pictures of the speakers…and add to it, as they appear…so that you can know who is speaking throughout the cruise…keep checking it…as it will be in constant flux as the speaker list grows).
Today was valentines day…and crystal did a great job of decorating the great hall with pink and red balloons…added red roses and in our staterooms, we got a heart shaped cookie each, along with a beautiful bouquet of flowers. So very thoughtful…and much appreciated.
Well…….I plan to get this on the blog tonight before bed…so I shall need to end. Tomorrow, we are in Christchurch, New Zealand…and there will be many new and wonderful things to see there…

By for now…stay well and safe and we shall do the same.

Pat and I send Love to each of you…..
Nancy