New Zealand’s founding document is the Treaty of Waitangi. In 1840 in front of James Busby, the British Resident’s house, Māori tribal leaders gathered with assorted missionaries, mariners, and military to sign the Waitangi Treaty. Captain William Hobson represented the … Continue reading The Birthplace of New Zealand, Waitangi
We’ve been to Auckland several times. Each time we’ve visited Devonport. We’ve walked the waterfront, visited the Maritime Museum, strolled through the Central Business District (CBD), sailed on an America’s Cup yacht, and visited local wineries. But we really hadn’t … Continue reading Auckland Hop on Hop Off.
Suzi and Jeff have known each other all their lives. They were born three months apart and grew up in the same neighborhood in St. Paul. Jeff’s mother was a New Zealand war bride. When Jeff was a teenager, he … Continue reading Auckland Family Visit.
This is our third call at Mt. Maunganui, the port for Tauranga, New Zealand. In three calls we have yet to set foot in Tauranga proper. Tauranga means “Anchorage” in the local Māori language. The Mount, as Mt. Maunganui is … Continue reading Mt. Maunganui, It’s the People!
This was our second visit to New Zealand’s capital, Wellington. We were in a lazy mood. The weather was on and off, rain in the morning, then sun then… The first time we visited Old St. Paul’s, a carpenter Gothic … Continue reading Wellington Redux
I honestly don’t know why we signed up for this tour. I have no memory of signing up. We had never been to Timaru, New Zealand so attended the port lecture, making note of what we wanted to see. We … Continue reading English Country Gardens, Timaru
The first broadcast station in New Zealand was in Dunedin. In May 2021 experimental voice and music broadcasts began. Regularly scheduled broadcasting started in 1922, New Zealanders brag, before the BBC. The Otago Radio Association’s 4XD claims to be the … Continue reading The Oldest Community Radio Station in the World?
The most interesting art museums and galleries, for me, are the ones where the building itself is a work of art that complements the pieces, think I.M. Pei’s East Building of the National Gallery of Art in Washington or his … Continue reading Scotland with Good Weather, Dunedin
This is a photo blog post and the second in a series. There are two galleries. the first takes us through Doubtful and Thompson Inlets. And Here are pictures from Breaksea and Dusky. And here is a link to Milford … Continue reading Doubtful, Thomson And Other Names Captain Cook Thought Appropriate.
The two sea days out of Sydney were not as relaxing as we needed. The sea days on this cruise are paced more go, go than slow, slow. We had lectures, shows, and the cruise’s second block party where everyone … Continue reading Fjordlands National Park – Milford Sound
I’ve been lucky enough to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in lots of places. Dublin had a huge party and parade, complete with Viking ships and a reenactment of the Battle of Clontarf. I’ve celebrated in New York and it was … Continue reading St. Pat’s 2026
When we went to bed it was cloudy so I didn’t set the alarm but I was awake before seven so looked out our starboard window and saw clouds, but the Opera House was on the port side so I … Continue reading Sydney Reunion
Sydney has one of the great natural harbors in the world. Two iconic symbols of the city sit by the harbor, the Sydney “coat hanger” bridge and the Sydney Opera House with its white sails. We sailed into Sydney before … Continue reading Trusting Google in Sydney
About 185 million years ago, during the Jurassic Era, as the supercontinent Gondwanaland broke up magma forced its way through sedimentary rock and cooled slowly to form dolerite columns. These columns guard the entrances to Port Arthur. Cape Raoul on … Continue reading Organ Pipes Redux, Cape Pillar.
Van Diemen’s Land was the was one of the most notorious penal colonies in the British Empire. In 1642 it was named by Abel Tasman, a Dutch Explorer, for his boss, the head of the Dutch East India Company. In … Continue reading A Terrible Beauty, Port Arthur
The Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary started as a wildlife park, an attraction for tourists. Greg Irons had his 7th birthday party there and decided “one day I’m going to own this place.” He went to school, and then to work at … Continue reading Saving Wildlife
I had no plans for Hobart except to visit Euan Hills at the Art Mob Aboriginal Fine Art shop. While the shop is right next to where the ship docks, we passed it outbound because we knew we would buy … Continue reading Thinking of Pop in Hobart
By the time the ferry arrived back in Melbourne from Portarligton after our visit with Peter and Deryn we had missed the last tram back to our hotel so we took a cab. The driver warned us that it would … Continue reading Zorba ’till You Drop
I got an email from Peter asking, “Would you fancy a ferryboat ride?” I’m always up for a ferryboat ride. Peter is an Australian broadcaster who had been on Raven Radio New Year’s Eve program for years reporting on festivities … Continue reading There’s Cruising and then there’s Cruisin’
“The Traveler sees what he sees. The tourist sees what he has come to see.” G.K. Chesterton I used to spend hours reading tour guides and history books planning everything we wanted to see. but we kept getting … Continue reading Travelers
While the Indian Pacific is a relative new train, starting transcontinental service in 1970, one of the oldest inter-capital trains in Australis is the Overland, between Melbourne and Adelaide. That run started in 1887 as a sleeper train. It was … Continue reading The Overland
The Belfast Bar Band is performing in a circus tent for an audience of Aussies. The leader announces the next song as the unofficial Australian National Anthem. Everyone thinks: “Waltzing Matilda.” The band breaks into “A Pub with No Beer.” … Continue reading Adelaide Fringe
We arrived in Adelaide about four hours late. We didn’t arrive at Parklands train terminal but rather at Adelaide International Airport. And we didn’t arrive on the Indian Pacific train but rather via the Queensland And Northern Territories Air Service, … Continue reading We Arrive in Adelaide, without the train.
In my last post I promised a gallery of pics shot from the window of the Indian Pacific Train that didn’t make it across the continent but gave us a great ride and an experience. Continue reading Window Scenes from the Indian Pacific.