“…Locomotive 165 returning your call, Gisborne Air Traffic Control.” Locomotive 165 is a WA class steam locomotive built in the Dunedin railway workshop on New Zealand’s South Island in 1897, 6 years before the Wright Brothers first flight at kitty … Continue reading “This is Gisborne Air Traffic Control Calling Locomotive 165…”
We set the alarm for 6 AM. We had a tour booked to the thermal area around Lake Rotorua. Normally we don’t take ship tours but this one was a “freebee” for booking early (nothing on a cruise is really … Continue reading We Celebrate Our Certificates of Recovery by Exhausting Ourselves.
One thing you should know about me. I hate shopping, especially clothes shopping. It probably goes back to when my mother took me to Robert Hall (low overhead) and made me try on all sorts of things that I couldn’t … Continue reading Shopping in Devonport
March 4, 2020, Waitangi and Paihia, New Zealand Geoff, our cab driver is from Sheffield, England and still talks with a Yorkshire accent. It is tempered enough by the other places where he has lived to make it understandable, but … Continue reading A Town Character
March 3, 2020, Auckland, NZ Last time I was in Auckland, two years ago, the area along the waterfront and for a few blocks up Queen Street was torn up for renovation. Auckland is renovating its entire waterfront and we … Continue reading A-Maze-In’ Auckland
March 2, 2020, Waiheke Island, New Zealand It’ the soil and the climate, so says a brochure about Waiheke Island, about 40 minutes by fast ferry from Auckland. The soil is not fertile, but it is mineral rich. According to … Continue reading Wine Island
The Rough Guide to New Zealand suggests that the best time to visit Milford Sound is during a rainstorm. I suppose this is a good attitude to have since it rains 180 days a year (sound familiar) delivering around 7 … Continue reading Evaporating Waterfalls — Milford Sound
Doubtful Sound was named by Captain Cook because he was doubtful that if he sailed in he could get out again, so he gave it a pass. He left the exploration of the sound to the Spaniard Malaspina. Both … Continue reading Doubtful Sound but Familiar Names.
On Wednesday we sailed through Fjordland National Park on the South Island. We visited three sounds, Dusky, Doubtful and Milford. Dusky Sound was our first sailing destination at 8 in the morning. Dusky was named by Captain Cook, and on … Continue reading Fjordlands National Park — Dusky Sound
My main goal in Dunedin was to ride the Taieri Gorge Railroad. The narrow gauge line was built from Dunedin to the gold fields at Cromwell. It carried supplies to the gold fields an on the back haul brought agricultural … Continue reading Taieri Gorge Railroad.
Dunedin (Edinburgh in Gaelic) is a university city. We arrived on Waitangi Day, New Zealand’s National Day. The University of Otago would get underway seriously the next day. It was built as a “little Scotland” by immigrants but it grew … Continue reading A Railway Station and its city – Dunedin
Dunedin, on New Zealand’s south island, is Garlic for Edinburgh and when we sailed into Otago Bay, on which Dunedin and its seaport Port Chalmers are located we could see a similarity with Scotland. One of the main exports from … Continue reading Albatross, Penguins and Timber, Otago Bay, South Island.
Napier reminds me of what I imagine Los Angeles to have looked like in 1940, a mission style art deco with a pleasing climate near the sea. In an earlier post I talked about the earthquake that destroyed Napier New … Continue reading Art Deco Town – Napier, New Zealand.
A Tragic Solution, The Napier Earthquake Napier, New Zealand was in trouble. It was a growing port that was running out of land. It was losing out to Hastings, a bit inland because it did not have the land for … Continue reading A Tragic Solution, The Napier Earthquake
The itinerary said our port of call was Tauranga but we really docked in Mount Maunganui and we had a plethora of options. We could visit the massive thermal area at Rotorua, do a canopy walk through the redwoods, visit … Continue reading Happy People — Mount Maunganui