Our Trip to Australia and New Zealand

Trip 1-22 Jan, 2007 Australia-New Zealand cruise aboard the M.S. Statendam (Holland America). Karen (pronounced CAR-en) and Dave Gibson booked this trip back in June and asked us to go with them (we met the Gibsons on the Holland America Ryndam, during a Millennium Cruise through the Panama Canal). We (Jacqueline and Robin Simonds of Beagle Bay, Inc) thought that was a fine old idea and signed up—never guessing that in the Fall we’d buy a new house and start renovating, vastly complicating our lives! But I’m glad we went, as we got some much needed rest as well as seeing a part of the world we’d always wanted to see.

New Zealand

New Zealand or, as the Maori call it, Aotearoa (Land of the Long White Cloud), is an amazing country, divided into two islands with distinct characters. Then there’s Auckland—which is to New Zealand as New York is to the U.S. That is, everyone in the world knows that NYC is a big city in the States, but Americans don’t feel it represents the whole country. Same thing for Auckland and Kiwis. So, with that in mind, I’ll break up my tale into three parts.

14-15 January, Wellington

Got in to Wellington at 11 p.m. with slightly choppy seas and a good wind from the north—which made docking difficult. We had a tug assisting at the stern, holding us off the dock so we wouldn’t be pushed abruptly against it. An interesting operation, made slightly amusing because once things were done, the tug operator had to wait around. Perhaps the “Indonesian Crew Show” had an impact on who was manning the ropes!

In the morning we awoke to a cloudy and slightly cool Wellington. Took a cab (which drove by a large pile of wood chips just down from our mooring) over to the Museum of City and Sea to meet Joan Druett and Ron Druett at 9:30.

Joan Druett and Jacqueline Simonds at a Don King Convention. Um, no. Actually, we are at the Botanical Gardens demonstrating why they call it "Windy Wellington."

Joan and Jacqueline have been e-mailing each other almost daily for 6 years—yet have never met. Joan is an internationally respected author of maritime history (her She Captains was a huge resource for Captain Mary, Buccaneer) and is now writing historical maritime mysteries with her Wiki Coffin series. Her husband Ron is a painter and lecturer. It was very exciting to meet them!

Joan had promised us a “walking tour of Wellington,” so we embarked immediately (since the Museum wasn’t open), first taking the famous Cable Car up the hill for a view of the city. Bumped into our tablemates, Roy and Fran Lodge and Eddie and Shirley Goldberg. Then we walked down to the beautiful Botanical Gardens—which are simply lovely. There was a stunning rose garden and a conservatory filled with the biggest begonias I’d ever seen. The blooms were as large as dinner plates in colors I’d never seen before!

Wellington is literate and proud of it. Poetry and prose signs abound. Here, two ducks try to improve their knowledge.

We trod back up the hill for a an over-view of the Victoria University of Wellington grounds (Joan attended the University and tells us she took the cable car to school every day). We took the cable car back down the hill and walked back to the Museum of Wellington City and Sea . A nice collection. Also saw a film on the wreck of the Wahine ferry, which ran aground off Wellington harbor during a violent storm in 1968, after crossing the very straight we did last night. Hundreds lost their lives. Very moving, and an object lesson to ship’s captains what not to do in bad N.Z. weather!

A bloom on a pohutukawa tree (which abound throughout New Zealand). Often called the "Christmas tree" because it normally blooms around the holiday. Photo courtesy Ron Druett.

Wellington's beautiful Civic Center with the Silver Fern Orb.

From there we went to the Civic Square, which is bordered by the main library, a modern art museum and City Hall / Council Offices. It’s a large modern plaza with a sphere of silver ferns suspended above the center. Quite lovely! The public space stretched to the waterfront and included a park and harbor walkway. (BTW: The silver fern is the symbol of New Zealand and may be on the redesigned flag soon .)

You should never leave a space where graffiti can be used to fill in the blanks...

Went to lunch at the Black Harp Pub where we had good beers and nice sandwiches. Ran into the Gibsons, who were doing the “Joan Druett Pub Tour.” Before the trip, Dave had expressed doubt about a ship excursion that touted a “Pub Crawl” for $60 a person. Joan outlined 5 pubs Dave and Karen might enjoy... and dared them to drink $60 worth of beer per person. When we saw them, they were only on their second pub, but were enjoying themselves (so much so, they called it a day after the Harp and went back to the ship). While seated for the moment, I brought out a copy of Joan’s first Wiki Coffin mystery, A Watery Grave, which I’d brought from home for Joan to sign. Robin thought the whole thing terribly funny and observed that I’d brought a book to be signed for a round-trip of 15,000 miles (more if you count the fact that it was written in Wellington, sent to New York, printed somewhere in the Midwest and then sent to Reno). Joan laughed and inscribed it anyway.

We headed off to Cuba Street—which Joan referred to as “our Time’s Square.” I think she meant a slightly seamier side of town. R and I thought it was a lot like Berkeley, California. When we discovered a glasses store, I zipped in; I broke my glasses back in Christchurch (too much reading, I guess). I handed the salesperson my glasses—whose earpiece, attached to the lens, had fallen off—and told her I was on holiday and only in town for a few hours, was there any way her people could fix it? She looked at the mess skeptically, then took it into the back. She popped back out almost immediately and told me regretfully that it would take 10 minutes and cost NZ$5! So we left the glasses there and went back to the Civic Plaza to wait.

Joan Druett and Jacqueline Simonds discuss their book projects at Wellington Harbor.

While there, looking out into Wellington’s harbor, Joan and I talked about my book, Captain Mary, Buccaneer and the calls I’ve had to create a sequel. I love the character of Captain Mary—and she’s still rattling around my head looking for something to do. But I really feel I sewed up the story arc. There isn’t anything further to tell. We talked about some other circumstances surrounding the original manuscript (which was twice as long and involved another character). Joan then proceeded to outline a whole new story for me. It’s a very exciting prospect and I’ve already begun doing research into it. Now, when I have 5 seconds to spare, I’ll play with it. Thanks, Joan!

Picked up my glasses (hurrah! I can see!) and went to Cuba Street Mall. Had coffee at a cute place. On Joan’s recommendation, Robin had a “Flat-White,” which is a non-frothy cappuccino. He quite liked it. Afterwards, enjoyed pooping around the shops there. Then headed back to the Civic Square once again for a well-deserved rest (can you tell we were coming close to walked out?).

After our breather, we headed over to the museum, which took us through a stretch of park that was being used for a Budweiser commercial. If you see us in a TV ad with a Clydesdale running along Wellington’s harbor, let us know and we’ll collect our royalties!

At the Te Papa Tongarewa Museum—a really beautiful and creatively put together display space—we wandered about the exhibits. The Druetts took us to the earthquake demonstration, based on a 1984 temblor. It was quite realistic! Robin thought it was great fun. Then we went to the Maori exhibit which was so gorgeous I could have stayed all day. Elegantly carved meeting houses and storage buildings were there in full (and you could go in, if you took your shoes off), as well as full Maori ships, examples of carving in Green Stone (a jade), wood and stone.

After a stop in the Gift Store (which we could have bought a lot in !), the Druetts hugged and us and packed us off in a taxi to our ship. Ron said, “Thanks for walking my feet off!” On the way back, we drove by the famed parliament building, the Beehive.

Back aboard, we threw ourselves into deck chairs and didn’t move for hours!

The Statendam leaving Wellington. Photo courtesy Ron Druett.

Our voluble Captain informs us that in four years of coming to Wellington, this is the first time it didn’t rain.

Napier has the honor of having one of the few completely clear and warm days we’ve had. A smallish pile of wood chips on the dock.

The National, now British and American, Tobacco building. The Packard is one of the tour vehicles the Art Deco Trust uses.

Got on the bus at 10:30 for a tour of Napier’s Art Deco buildings. In 1931 there was a 7.8 earthquake that destroyed the town and filled in half the harbor... all this during the World Wide Great Depression. Despite that, the town got together and created a planned community (utilities underground and strengthened, streets widened to allow for motor cars, plus a building code with some teeth). The bus tour was not all that impressive, being mostly thru the suburbs, although we did stop at the old British American Tobacco offices, which were outstandingly beautiful. The Art Deco Trust is concerned because BAT was sold to another company. They were the largest contributor to the Trust, so now they don’t know what will happen.

The city emblem is emblazoned on sidewalks, buildings and anything that doesn't move.

We were then driven down to the Art Deco Trust’s headquarters, which is in the old firehouse. We saw a film on the disaster and rebuilding. Then we were taken on a walking tour of the city. I must say, it was somewhat like walking thru a Disney Movie Studio backlot, plunked down in New Zealand. It’s so absolutely, perfectly preserved, it makes your head spin; that (almost) every single building you are looking at is a compendium of Art Deco style and decoration (one of my favorite stylistic periods), plus some Maori motifs are also worked into the decoration!

This building blends high style Deco themes with Maori designs (at the tops of the faux capitals).

The town is a vibrant resort and commercial center. The sidewalks were filled with holiday travelers (as it is still the end-of year holiday season. School is still out for most kids). There are awnings over almost every sidewalk, which made the hot sun (and now the problem of UV penetration (NZ has the highest skin cancer rate of any country)) bearable. Robin and I couldn’t get enough of the remarkable facades and pleasant people. We’re really taken by Napier.

Terrific buildings at every corner (the corners are all at 45 degrees to improve visibility for traffic).

Public, period art is also in abundance. This is a mural on the side of a building.

After the tour, we went to a restaurant on the Marine Parade (the highway that runs beside the harbor), where I had a fabulous sandwich. It was a chicken breast, bacon, Brie, cranberry sauce, lettuce, tomato on a sesame seed roll—out of this world! (What? Did you think I was on a fat-free diet this trip?)

Jacqueline saying, "Are you sure we have to walk on this walking tour? Couldn't we sit down, have a glass of wine and enjoy the scenery?"

We walked along the beach sidewalk—the sandy strip was both created by uplift from the earthquake and rubble from the remains of the town. On one side is Hawke’s Bay, on the other are gardens and other public spaces that were modeled on the French Riviera.

The "Four Sisters," residences built by a father for his four daughters in the late 19th C., along the Marine Parade. They were among the few buildings to survive Napier's devastating quake.

We stopped at their “Marineland” and caught the dolphin and seal act. The baby seal was adorable. The town is a bit upset, as the local animal activists are trying to shut the place down. Marineland had tried to apply for more dolphins (they’d had three, but are down to one from natural attrition... and I must say, I thought the facility too small for more than 1). The locals argue that the place has been operating for 40 years, so obviously, they must be doing something right... but no approval from the country has been forthcoming. Also saw the very large “Lilliput Railroad” (all N Scale) there—which tickled R totally.

Members of the Napier Art Deco Trust decked out in period clothing and displaying their vintage cars on the dock by the Statendam. The Trust has an annual celebration where everyone dresses up and drives classic cars. We are just missing this event by 2 weeks.

Back at the ship, we met with Roy and Fran, our tablemates. Fran was to meet one of her long-lost relatives in Napier and give them a tour of the ship. But ship security had some sort of idiotic meltdown, and that didn’t happen. Nevertheless, they had a wonderful time with her cousin and she was deeply happy. They will be meeting another of her cousins in Auckland.

The fumes from the active volcano that is White Island.

Started the morning off cool and cloudy. We circled White Island, an active volcano island for a couple of hours, then meandered around the Mercury Islands.

This Mercury Island looks more like a sculpture of an ancient god than a natural outcropping.

We did very little all day, save putting up our (swollen, tired) feet and reading. It was good to take a day off!

"Hole in the Wall" cave in the Mercury Islands, which you can only see when you are right up on it.

At dinner—a formal night—we were joined by another officer. Pieter is the manager of the room stewards. As before, he bought wine for the whole table (yeah!). The funniest thing he said all dinner was that he hated the "towel animals" that you get every morning when the steward makes up your room. "What a logistical nightmare! I have to have 40% more towels on hand—and launder them—just for these silly figures. But the passengers love them, so we have to have the goofy things."

Afterwards, we all went up to the Crows Nest for the "Black and White Ball" (which had been cancelled when it was originally scheduled for outside of Geelong). The deal with the Ball is that all the officers attend, but can't dance unless a woman asks them. Pieter continued to buy drinks for the table (hurrah!) and we all took advantage of his largesse... um, frequently. After a while, for the honor of the table, I asked Pieter to dance. We went out on the floor and he whispered, “Don’t tell anyone you’re my first dance tonight.” Yi. Shades of Middle School humiliations! Do we ever get over that? (Later, we saw him dancing with one of the pretty cast members from the Lounge show.) Danced and drank until the wee hours.

Tauranga and a beautiful day for sailing on the Bay of Plenty.

Absolute perfect day to be in Tauranga. Clear and in the low 70s. Robin and I got a late-ish start because of the late night. Stopped by the Gibson’s room, but they had their “Do Not Disturb” sign out. Walked into town to see what was up. Pleasant town. While walking through the park, heard the ship’s fire alarm, then the Captain telling everyone it was a drill. Glad we weren’t there. Got some hokey-pokey ice cream, but it was the kind with caramel, not honeycomb.

With a sense of humor like this, one might actually like this Taurangan lawyer...

We were sort of hoping to see some Maori carvings, but the closeness of Rotorua (the center of North Island Maori culture) and the general tendency to serve local tourists caused us to be disappointed. Did have a long talk with the fella who runs the tourist information center (if you go to New Zealand, check out any “iSite” location for great directions and tour ideas). He was very helpful and had some ideas for Auckland (our next stop) In the meantime, they had a really nifty contemporary hei-tiki which we liked well enough to buy.

Should have gone to Rotorua, but had felt it was too expensive (even the private tours were pricey) and involved a 9 hour commitment. Next time...

And there will be a next time.

The Statendam docked at Tauranga... and yes, the wood chips are just out of view.

Went back to the ship for a lazy day and packing (boo!). Am already having separation anxiety about our cabin, our steward, our waiter, our ship... even our tablemates (even though they will be in the same hotel in Auckland).