Rodney & Sheryl's Travels

Friday, February 2, 2024

2/1-2 Rotorua (Tauranga), New Zealand

Rotorua is a city in the Bay of Plenty Region of New Zealand's North Island. The city lies on the southern shores of Lake Rotorua, from which it takes its name. It is a beautiful little town at the base of Mount Maunganui and boasts beautiful clean, clear water and gorgeous sandy beaches. It is primarily known for bubbling mud pools, shooting geysers and natural hot springs, as well as showcasing our fascinating Māori culture.

We arrived early enough on day one to wander about and have lunch at a wonderful restaurant, Latitude 37. On day two of our visit, we went on a tour to a Kiwifruit Orchard in Te Puke where we enjoyed fresh kiwi and were entertained by Mauri singers and dancers.

Tauranga Sunrise

Lunch at Latitude 37

Mauri entertainment at Kiwifruit Orchard

Mount Maunganui

Wednesday, January 31, 2024

1/30-31 Auckland, New Zealand

One of our favorite places in the world - Auckland, New Zealand! Auckland is known as the "City of Sails" for its' residents' love of boating. This seafaring city has hosted three America's Cup challanges and world-class yachts are seen all along the marinas.

On our first day in Auckland, we went on a city tour. Our first stop was the Michael Joseph Savage Memorial. Michael J. Savage was New Zealand's first Labour prime minister, and their most beloved, serving from 1935 - 1940. Of his accomplishments, winning public support for his government's economic recovery policies and social welfare programs were most notable.

Our second stop was the Auckland War Memorial Museum (aka Tāmaki Paenga Hira or Auckland Museum). The Museum is regarded as one of the finest Museums in the Southern Hemisphere and is renowned for its unique collection of Māori and Pacific treasures.

On our second day in Auckland, we were on our own. We spent the day meandering along the Wynyard Quarter boardwalk on the waterfront, down to the Silo Marina and over to one of our favorite restaurants - Swashbucklers, where we ate a yummy lunch of fish and chips. The yachts in the marina were nothing short of spectacular!

Michael Joseph Savage Memorial

Auckland War Memorial Museum

Auckland War Memorial Museum - Vickers Supermarine Spitfire

Auckland War Memorial Museum - Mitsubishi A6M Zero

Auckland War Memorial Museum - Lest we forget...

"Lunasea" yacht in Silo Marina
(for a mere $56K - $59K, plus expenses, you can rent this bad boy for a week)

Rodney at Swashbucklers

Monday, January 29, 2024

1/29 Bay of Islands (Waitangi), New Zealand

Waitangi is one of New Zealand's most significant historic sites. It is where New Zealand's founding document, Te Tiriti o Waitangi (The Treaty of Waitangi) was signed on February 6, 1840 between the British Crown and more than 500 Maori chiefs. The treaty agreed the terms by which New Zealand would become a British colony.

Our tour in Waitangi began with a visit to the Hundertwasser Public Toilets in Kawakawa, New Zealand. Yes friends, you read that correctly - we went on a tour to see a public restroom. It was an interesting facility named after the architect and visual artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser, who conceived and designed the project.

The next stop on our tour was Rainbow Falls and the Kerikeri Basin along the Kerikeri River. At the Kerikeri Basin, we were able to view the Mission House, completed in 1922, and the Stone Store which was built in 1832-1836 and is New Zealand's oldest intact stone building and its earliest surviving warehouse.

Us at Hundertwasser Public Toilets

Entrance to women's restroom at Hundertwasser Public Toilets

Hundertwasser Public Toilets

Rainbow Falls

Canoe at Kerikeri Basin

Kerikeri Mission House and Stone Store

Monday, January 22, 2024

1/20-22 French Polynesia

The Pacific Ocean being the largest, we had another five days at sea before reaching our next destination - French Polynesia. Thankfully, they were not as rough as our sail to Hawaii! We had three stops in French Polynesia - Bora Bora (Vaitape), Moorea (Opunohu Bay), and Tahiti (Papeete). All three islands are beautiful in their own right.

Bora Bora is 15 square miles and made up of a barrier reef of islets, each one connected to the next, depending on the tides. It is surrounded by a deep lagoon where the beautiful waters are various shades of turquoise and emerald. The island rises up from its beaches to Mt. Otemanu, standing tall at 2,385 feet. Our tour at this stop was a boat ride around the lagoons. While it was a beautiful tour, it was a wet one - a really wet one - it rained non-stop and we were drenched by the time we got back to the ship. The waters were beautiful though and stingrays and small sharks swam all around us. One of the guides even got in the water and swam with them! Unfortunately by that time, it was just too wet to try to take any more photos. We had a wonderful time, and boy did that warm shower feel good when we returned to our cabin!

Moorea lies 12 miles off the coast of Tahiti and is the remains of an ancient, inactive volcano. It was still very rainy and we opted to not take our planned tour (another boat ride). Just walked around the little island a bit and headed back to the ship.

Tahiti is an island paradise that lays claim to the invention of surfing. It has miles and miles of sandy beaches. We opted for a short walking tour of Papeete, the capital of French Polynesia, where we were taken to the Papeete Municipal Market, their Notre Dame Cathedral, and the beautiful Papeete Town Hall. Great three days in French Polynesia!