The week after Thanksgiving, we were back in SLC to fly out for our big trip to Australia and cruise around New Zealand. Since we flew out the late afternoon of the 28th, I made a quick trip to my old favorite, recently remodeled and rededicated Jordan River Temple. It was beautifully lit as I arrived before sunrise. I noticed some landscaping changes and stairs up to a fountain in the front. When I came out, I couldn't resist this beautiful nativity with the mountains in the background. Lovely!
I also managed a quick visit with my brothers, Greg and Steve, before we did any final luggage adjustments, etc. Our postponed, long awaited adventure was about to begin.
We flew all night and arrived in Sydney on the 30th. We lost a complete day. Fortunately for us, our hotel was very close to the Sydney Opera House and the pier. We were able to walk all around that afternoon, evening and the next morning before boarding the ship. Sydney is a beautiful, vibrant place with many young millennials enjoying the bars and nightlife. We felt totally safe enjoying the evening.
We especially enjoyed the free laser show that is projected on one side of the Opera House each night at 9 p.m. This is just one of the many brightly colored artworks projected onto the roof.
We loved the sail away from the Sydney Harbor past the iconic Opera House and the famous bridge.
We didn't waste anytime having a tasty lunch at the buffet since we were "starving" by the time we boarded the ship.
Hello, New Zealand. Our first stop after two days at sea was Auckland.
From right off the pier we boarded out Hop On Hop Off bus tour around the city. It gave us a small taste of this city. At the end of the tour, we walked around the shopping area of the downtown for a few minutes before returning to the ship. One designer store had a line outside of people waiting their turn to get inside. Only a small number of shoppers were allowed in at a time. It was the first weekend of December so Christmas shoppers were abundant.
We enjoyed the red iron fencing and gates that surrounded the pier. It looked very English to us which shouldn't be a surprise since it was an English colony for many years.
The next day we arrived in Tauranga, NZ. It is smaller than Auckland, but surrounded by sites that were much more interesting to us.
We disembarked a little early for our tour so we walked around the business district. It was quaint and we loved this little bakery which was open bright and early. They had small individual mincemeat pies which are very popular during the Christmas season. Steve LOVED them so we looked for them at other ports that followed.
Our tour guide took us to a kiwi farm. That was very interesting and we enjoyed sampling the jams, etc. made for the "extremely healthful" kiwi plant.
Next we stopped at a rain forest to take a walk see see the famous silver fern.
Our next stop was the Living Maori Vaillge Whakarewarewa, in Rotorua, New Zealand. The Maoris have lived in this village for hundreds of years. They have harnessed the hot water and geyser pools to contribute to their daily living. We saw the newly constructed changing house where they undress before entering the hot pools for bathing. They gave us a show presenting their music and heritage.
The geysers in the background erupt at a regular intervals.
They use the heat and steam to cook their food. We were served lunch cooked in these wooden ovens with big lifts.
This is the lunch they served us that was cooked in the steaming ovens. A young guide raised in the village told us about their traditions, religion and daily life in the village. It was very interesting.
Our stop in Napier on the 6th of December was a nostalgic return to the 1930's with many of the buildings built in the art deco style popular at the time. The city was pretty much destroyed by the 1931 Hawkes Bay earthquake. It is very attractive and is a popular tourist destination. It is a working seaport located on the southeast side of the North Island of New Zealand. Popular exports include sheep's wool, frozen meat, stone fruits, wine and wood. It seemed that every port had huge piles of wood to be shipped. There is a certain type of pine tree that matures in New Zealand in 25 years but takes 50 years to mature in other parts of the world. So many farmers plant certain areas of pine trees to guarantee a nice retirement.
We loved this old bus station which has been repurposed as public bathrooms.
Once again, we found some small mince pies. Yum!
Note the piles of wood. Every New Zealand port had such wood piles.
Wellington is the capital city and second most populous (418,500 residents) urban area of New Zealand. It is located at the southern tip of the north island. It has the distinction of being the world's southernmost capital of a sovereign state and the world's windiest city by average wind speed.
One of the first things we did upon arriving in Wellington was ride the famous cable car from the quay up to the Botanic garden. The cable car is still used today as a means of transportation for city dwellers but unfortunately they have to compete with the tourists.
It's a beautiful city with lovely gardens and views from the surrounding hills, especially Mount Victoria!
The garden had a little café and the scones came highly recommended. Heated up these cheese scones were "out of this world" delicious.
US troops were stationed here during WWII and they had a big impact on this city.
The city added culinary delights of hamburgers and French fries because the soldiers wanted them.
They loved to attend this little wooden church which still honors them.
We liked Wellington with its beautiful green scenery and views from the mountains.
No comments:
Post a Comment