We arrived in Port Chalmers to a very low cloud level, a hint of mist in the air and chilly temperatures that required jackets. A shuttle to Dunedin was provided for $15 round trip. We took it to the city center, The Octagon. A craft market was set up here. What a "surprise." We actually these handmade crafts to be very nice. As we walked around we had several interesting conversations with the crafters. They explained their wares and methods. Then they inevitably apologized for the weather. It was unusually cool, but the clouds would burn off by midday and temp would rise. We left the market thinking about some of the nice things we saw.
Our next stop was the central train station. It has beautiful brick work on the outside and lovely tile work on the inside. We returned to the Octagon. After visiting the shops here, we went to the library. An attempt at using the wifi proved futile yet again. Next stop was The First Church of Otago. After a little more shopping, all of the window variety, we took the shuttle back to Port Chalmers. It is a charming town centered around the port. Timber harvesting is the dominant industry around here. Much of this timber passes through the port. The views from our ship fascinated us. The piles of logs are vast. Trucks loaded with logs come continuously, and specialized equipment unloads an entire trailer at one time.
February 13, 2015 - Friday - New Zealand Sounds
Today dawned with a low ceiling, with the sun trying to break through. Dusky Sound would be our first scenic cruising today. It was dry. Not even a mist. We will do our viewing from our veranda. The temperature is comfortable. On our way up the New Zealand coast we left the ship at Milford Sound in pouring rain and fog. The cruising in the other sounds was done in similar conditions with limited visibility. Today we are blessed with excellent viewing. These sounds are actually fjords carved by glaciers. The walls are steep and rocky. Trees actually grow out of the rocks as it is difficult for soil to stay in place on the steep slopes.
Next came Doubtful Sound.
Finally we entered Milford Sound. This was so much better than our first entry.
The sun was shining and spirits were high. We would pick up the passengers who took the overnight excursion from Dunedin in fine weather. The narrator commented over and over about how fortunate we were to experience the best weather in the sounds of the entire season.
The crew were ecstatic. So were we!
February 14, 2015 - Saturday - At sea in the Tasman Sea
We reluctantly left New Zealand behind, as we turned toward Sydney. This Valentines Day was spent with lectures and more iPad classes. It was very relaxing before we
Had to prepare for formal night. The dining room was decorated with red and white balloons hung at the entry. Wow? Holland America has really spoiled us. They go all out with their decorations. At least the Solstice crew made it feel Celebratory.
As dinner proceeded, the sea got rougher. The motion of the ocean (Tasman Sea) was in full play. Even so, it was no where near as bad as our crossing to New Zealand. We weathered it just fine. Others were not so fortunate. We slept very well.
February 15, 2015 - Sunday - Day Two on the Tasman Sea
It is very calm today. We attended the Hot Glass Show. Celebrity has partnered with the Corning Museum of Glass to put on two hour glass blowing demonstrations on sea days. There are three gaffers from CMOG on board. Each takes a turn creating an object, while the others assist and narrate the activity. The pieces vary in size to suit the whim of the gaffer. They select their own colors, type of vessel and size.
Aaron spent his time creating a stopper for a large jar he had made the previous show. He topped the stopper with a beautiful sea horse. Watching him do this was spellbinding. When it was completed, Meagan donned the heavily insulated Kevlar gloves and a protective hoodie. We learned that she would catch the piece, which was 1,000 degrees hot, when Aaron tapped the rod to release it. When Aaron did this there was large gasp from the audience as the piece broke away prematurely and crashed to the floor. It ended its short life as hundreds of pieces. Aaron explained the reason for the premature separation, and said this just happens at times. That is why the craftsmen do not get too attached to their works.
Lizzy did a pink vase. It survived in fine shape. Megan made a mug with handles. As she was finishing the shape of the handles she had attached the mug crashed to the floor. Her reaction was passive. Stuff happens.
At the end of the two hours, raffle tickets were passed out to all in the audience. That was 30 to 50 people. At every show, we learned, they raffle off one or two pieces made in a previous show. Everyone stands and remains standing as the ticket digits are called out. When you do not have the number, you sit down. Last person standing gets the piece. We were not close, but Alice got some nice pictures throughout the demo. This sure helps time fly.
Tonight's dinner is in the Tuscan Grille. This specialty restaurant is an Italian steakhouse. Kristen, the concierge, had booked this for us to use our gift from Bonnie at Cruises International. We were seated at a table for two next to a window at the stern of the ship. This is the only restaurant on the ship that has aft facing windows. It was spectacular to watch our wake from deck five.
The meal was leisurely, prepared to perfection and served in style. The wine was an excellent match for the fine steaks. Dessert was a perfect finale. A most enjoyable experience. Thank you, Bonnie.
February 16, 2015 - Monday - Sydney
We were happy to be returning to Sydney. Our plans called for walking the botanical gardens and then walking across the Sydney Harbour Bridge. But first, we must visit the Apple Store. When we first arrived in Sydney on January 24, I discovered that my laptop seemed not to be booting properly. The display was 50 Shades of Gray. Not very sexy!
The ship is partners with Apple for technology, so they provide a free internet link to Apple's website. I had found the address and hours for the nearest store. At 8:30 we headed off. As we approached the store we saw a long line outside. It was five minutes to opening. We joined the line and when the doors opened we were directed to the third floor Genius Bar. The line on three was long. When we checked in we were told that the earliest appointment we could get was 1 PM. There was no special treatment for travel emergencies. We booked the appointment, and went out to make the best of our four hour wait.
We were very near the Queen Victoria Building. That was our first photo stop. Next we found St. Andrew Cathedral. It sits on a beautiful square, but it was closed. We looked for a seat on the square and tried to use the free wifi. Dismal failure.
We checked our map, and found that Darling Harbor was not far away. On our first visit to Sydney we had taken the ferry to Darling Harbor in the rain. We were disappointed. This time we walked in glorious sunshine. A pedestrian way was provided to get us over and across a sprawling highway interchange. It brought us right to the Information Center in Darling Harbor. We grabbed a detailed map and set off to enjoy the parks and vistas around the water. Preparations for the celebration of the Lunar New Year were in full swing. The large lantern displays were wonderful. As we walked on, the water features rimming the harbor were delightful. We were pretty thorough in our visit, but it was still only 11:00 when we finished.
We trudged back to the Apple Store. I tried to have our appointment moved up with no results. The employee suggested a place to sit and use the wifi in the store. What a great connection. After an hour of checking emails and preparing a blog post, I went to check in at noon for our 1:00 appointment. The young lady noted where we were seated, and told us she would get us when they were ready. Ten minutes after twelve we were being introduced to our genius. She tried several bench tests before telling me she would take it to the back where another tech would perform more advanced testing. She would be gone about ten minutes. Twenty five minutes later she returned. Not smiling. They had found that the computer was booting properly and outputting video. My display is dead. A replacement will be $800 plus labor. It would take several days, and is really not worth it in a six year old machine. Glad I have my iPad.
We walked back to Solstice, grabbed some lunch, then headed to our favorite information center in The Rocks. The same lady who helped us on Australia Day helped us again. She even remembered us. She showed us the way to get to the approach to the Harbour bridge, and off we went. The walk was direct, and not aroute we would have chosen. Visiting Louisa saved us a lot of backtracking.
Our first stop was the pylons, the large concrete structures that support the span. On this side, The Rocks side, there's is an observation deck at the top of the pylon. At almost 200 steps up we decided to walk on. In just a bit we paused to watch a group of bridge climbers begin their ascent. They paid $200 each, were stripped of anything that might fall off, clothed in special suits and tethered to safety rails. I am sure the experience is worth it. Twenty years ago we might have done it. We walked on. The views of the harbor and opera house were super. We noticed a few padlocks on the screening that prevents jumpers and throwers from doing their thing. The locks ere engraved with names, usually couples, an dates. When I say a few locks, we counted just six on our side of the bridge. We walked all the way to the north side of the bridge.
Before returning we stopped to talk to a security officer. He explained that the bridge is decided into segments. Each has an assigned officer, who walks his post pausing at each limit. The man we spoke with said he calculated that he walks 30 kilometers a day. That is almost 18 miles. He was very fit in addition to being very pleasant.
We walked back to our starting point to begin a final walk around The Rocks. We were a bit sad, but once again found new things to admire. From the bridge we had noticed a colorful array of figures in a park just near the bridge. We wound our way to it, and found life sized models of the Terra Cotta Warriors. These were fabric figures with lighting inside that turned on at sunset. We did not count them, but there were many. This was another part of theLunar New Year celebration.
Solstice was a short walk away. We returned for dinner and sail away. We departed at 10 PM. The city lights were brilliant, and the Warriors were all aglow. We bid a very fond farewell to Sydney with some sadness because our next visit here will be to disembark and dash for the airport on March 14th.
February 17, 2015 - Tuesday - Sea Day
The highlight of the day was attendance at another Hot Glass Show. These artisans are so talented they make complex creations look simple. And they do it with speed. Their teamwork is admirable. In just two hours each gaffer makes one piece. These vary in type, color and size. We did not win the raffled piece, but really enjoyed the show.
We continued to be disappointed with lectures offered by Celebrity. On sea days we are offered one talk on local birds and animals and a second on the US space program. What about the local geology or astronomy or heritage. Talks about the ports we are about to visit would be welcomed. The only port talks are to sell shore excursions. We get no city maps, information on the use of local transport or what sights are convenient to the pier. If the Internet service was reliable and reasonably they might argue that we could Google for ourselves. That is not a practical option, and we should not have to waste time learning these things off the ship. One of the joys of our travels is the local experience. Standing in line at the tourist office does not count. Holland America wins this one hands down. They provide all of these missing pieces.
February 18, 2015 - Wednesday - Melbourne
A free city shuttle took us from the ship to the art museum in the city center. There we sat on a bench to check the map we received at the info center and plan our day. After just a few minutes, a friendly woman approached us to ask if we needed assistance. She offered plenty of suggestions and helpful tips. We incorporated many of these into our plan.
First we walked to Federation Square. We tried the wifi with uncertain results. We later found that some of our pictures had finally uploaded. Bravo!
From here we boarded the "antique" tram. It runs a free loop around the central business district, and includes a narration. 17 years ago, when we were here we rode the same line. The cars are just as rickety, but the route has been extended quite a bit. As we rode, we came to understand why. The development over these 17 years has been phenomenal. Residential and retail buildings, many of them high rises, now stretch from downtown to the harbor. As we completed this loop we exited the tram near the sports complex and Fitzroy Gardens.
Since the Melbourne Open is over, the tennis venues were closed. We opted to observe them from a distance, and headed to the gardens. Good choice! The gardens are a huge park in the middle of a highly desirable neighborhood. It is rather like Lincoln Park in Chicago. It was peaceful and uncrowded. We easily spent two hours here,strolling leisurely. We visited all of the major garden features, including the many fountains.
When we left the gardens, we were just a few blocks from St. Patrick Cathedral. Our visit here was limited because Mass was being celebrated for Ash Wednesday. We were disappointed to learn that ashes had already been distributed.
Across from the cathedral we boarded a modern tram to Box Hill. We had no idea what to expect, but Box Hill was the end of the line, and the ride was included with our transit day pass. This proved to be another lucky choice. Our 45 minute ride took us through many neighborhoods. Many of them were oriental. Chinese, Vietnamese, Thai and Japanese. There were block after block of ethnic restaurants. We passed several private schools where uniformed students, on their way home, boarded the tram. The style of the housing changed many times. Some homes were small and directly next to each other, while some were larger with spacious lots. All were well kept.
At the end of the line we followed the signs for Box Hill Central. These took us through a small square. We were looking for a city center. Not to be. Box Hill Central is a huge indoor mall. As one might expect there were shops with goods of every kind. The food court was huge, and beyond it was a very large food market. All of this was oriental. This was Lunar New Year's Eve. The mall was packed with people preparing for their parties. We focused on the food market. The produce was beautiful, the meats and fish were all refrigerated, and the aisles were mobbed. Prices were high by our experience, but reasonable by Australian standards. Suffering sensory overload, we returned to the tram station.
Back in the city center we changed trams for the ride to the harbor and the Solstice. We passed several small boat harbors with beautiful yachts before arriving at the end of the line for our short walk home.
Melbourne was very, very good for us.
February 19, 2015 - Thursday - Sea Day
The day's highlight was the Hot Glass Show. This is by far the most entertaining activity on sea days. These artisans are very talented, and each demonstrates a different style. Aaron has been blowing glass for 15 years. 7 of those years he worked at the Steuben glass studio. His work reflects the precision and artistry of that experience. He creates the larger and heavier pieces, but is also capable of doing very fine work. The ladies seem to lack the strength for large pieces. They make up for that with their extraordinary use of color.
Have not said much about dining. The food is well prepared and artfully presented. Our serving team for this segment is much better than our last team. The food is always hot, not just warm. The pacing is excellent. We never feel rushed. That is due to the perfect timing of Christopher, our waiter, and Gezim, his assistant. Gezim does the hard job of collecting the meals in the kitchen, and bringing them promptly to the serving station. Christopher wastes no time in bringing them to the table. They then maintain a watchful eye, and remove courses efficiently. All the while Sogondo watches our wine levels. He appears like magic as needed. Just as we finish dessert, he delivers our grasshoppers. We hope we will have this same team for our next segment.
Sleep continues to come with ease.
February 20, 2015 - Friday - Adelaide
When we arrived at the port of Adelaide, we learned that the city center was a 30 minute train ride away. We joined the throng at the outer harbor station just as the train was about to leave. We would buy our tickets when we left the train, but before we could leave the station. The ride was pleasant, smooth and on time. As we left the train we were directed to the lines for purchasing tickets. This went smoothly and we left the station.
After a brief walk past parliament and government house, we boarded the free city center circulator bus. After about five minutes we had a change of drivers. A few stops later a woman boarded and sat near the driver. She was a regular passenger on this run, and the driver asked her if her friends had come in on the "boat". When she said they had, he said he would likely see passengers in the afternoon. I chimed up that we were already here. The driver was delighted and asked if we would like commentary. Of course we said yes. We expected him to turn on an automated narration. No way. He started calling out the sights and explaining the history of Adelaide. This city was planned in England, built on a rectangular grid. To this day it is expanding in this fashion. At one point he told us that if we took the tram in front of the train station heading south, it would take us to Glenelg, a beach resort. At the end of the bus circuit we stopped at the Heigh's Chocolates shop, and bought some chocolate covered almonds.
We boarded the tram to Glenelg. 45 minutes later we were at the end of the line in charming square with hotels, restaurants and bars all around. Walking through the square took us to the beach. It was beautiful. We walked out on the jetty and surveyed the beach as far as we could see in both directions. What lovely sand. It was being well used by young and old. The water was crystal clear.
Back at the square we had ice cream before boarding the 3:00 tram to the city. There we would catch the 4:12 train back to the outer harbor. All went smoothly. This train would get us to the harbor at 5:05. At 4:40 we stopped at a station, and did not leave. Eventually it was announced that the delay was because the train ahead of us had mechanical difficulties. All aboard was 5:45. Our 40 minute safety window shrunk with each minute we sat in the station. There were a lot of passengers and several crew aboard. The delay extended to twenty minutes and people became very nervous.
Alice and I were sitting with another couple from the ship, a fiddle player on his way home and a young lady, who had boarded the train a couple of stops earlier. She knew the fiddle player. We had been having a good conversation before the stoppage. They asked about our next port. When we told them it was Esperance, they scratched their heads. Although they both lived in Adelaide, they had never heard of Esperance. They googled it, and decided there is really nothing to do there. Must be why they never heard of it.
As the delay grew longer, passengers started leaving the train to find taxis. We and the couple sitting with us remained calm. The local girl said the last time this happened she was stuck on the train for an hour. But she said not to worry. There would not be enough cabs and the transit system would send buses for us if needed. At the thirty minute mark came the announcement that we would resume travel. Two stations later we stopped again. When we moved on, we were 50 minutes late. More people had abandoned the train. We felt that with the combined passenger count of the train ahead of us, our train and the train behind us there would be far too many passengers to leave us behind.
At the next stop we picked up all of the passengers from the train ahead of us. Our local friends alighted at the next stop. The girl had phoned her uncle to meet us here to drive us to the ship, just in case. She called him off. How nice of her to offer help to us. We made it to the harbor stop 10 minutes after all aboard and 5 minutes before sail away. There were several hundred of us. Officers were there to tell us to take our time. Crew had kept them well informed. We were never in danger of being left behind
Dinner was relaxing and excellent. Afterwards we attended the 8:00 PM Hot Glass show. It was fun to close out our day watching the glow of 2,000 degree glass.
February 21, 2015 - Saturday - Sea Day
I spent much of the day updating this blog, but at 2:30 I left to attend another Hot Glass show. This would be my fourth show. Alice admonished me to win something.
Watching the glass blowing was, again, spellbinding. Raffle time came. Aaron talked about the charity auction they would hold in 2 days. He held up a large Amber colored apple and then a very large pale lavender bowl with "floppy" sides. He wanted us to vote on which one should be auctioned off. The voting was close, but the apple would go to the auction.
Raffle tickets were distributed. The large bowl would be the prize. The procedure is that everyone stands. Then, as the digits are called off we cheer if we have it or boo and sit down, if we do not. All tickets have the first three of the six digits. Then it gets interesting. I made it past the 4th number, then the 5th number. There were just 10 of us remaining. We had gotten this far twice before. This time I won! The beautiful bowl was ours. Aaron engraved the bottom with his name and year, and handed it over to me. I beamed with joy. There had been no piece given away that rivaled this one for beauty and size. I carried it to our room with pride past some very envious passengers.
When I took it into the cabin, Alice was flabbergasted. We both love it. The challenge is to get it home.
February 22, 2015 - Sunday - Sea Day
Today was the Hot Glass auction day. They put 7 pieces into the auction. Two from each of the gaffers are auctioned for the Corning Museum of Glass scholarship fund. Then one pice created by Megan is auctioned for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. Megan's mom and sister were both diagnosed with cancer two years ago.
The auction went very well. Aaron's apple went for $350. His fish sold for $550. The cancer research pice made $400. All were happy. I was still beaming.
February 23, 2015 - Monday - Esperance
Esperance is a tender port. We received tickets for tender call 31 at 9:00. At 10:15 our number was called. After a bouncy 30 minute tender ride with a following swell, we were ashore in Esperance. We opted to visit on our own, so we walked from the pier toward town.
This is a small town with a lot of park land and some beautiful beaches. It has a very nice historical museum. One of its features is the remains of Skylab that fell to earth over Esperance in 1979. The city was so outraged by the debris field it left that they fined the US $400 for littering. After some protesting, the fine was paid.
We walked all around the town center. After leaving the museum grounds we walked out to the beach. The water was beautiful, and locals were picnicking in the long park that runs the length of the beach. We visited shops and talked to the locals. We continue to be impressed with their friendliness. A walk to the mall took us through a nice neighborhood of modest homes.the mall anchor was a very large supermarket. It was very well stocked, but still no prepared sandwiches in the deli.
In one of the many sporting goods stores we bought a hat for Alice. This was to replace the nice trekking hat she had brought from home. We do not know where it disappeared. I may have left it on one of the buses when I put our day pack in the overhead. We hope somebody is getting good use out of it. The new hat is very similar. We talked with the store owner at some length. He told us that their economy depends on shipping grains and ore. The area outside of town is very agricultural. Tourism is the other income producers. Cruise ships like ours are a rarity, but they get about 500 small tour ships a year.
As we headed back to the tender pier, Alice spied a sewing store. They were a Janome dealer. We spent a long time talking to the two ladies who run it. One of them had actually come to the states a year ago for the rollout of the Janome 15000, Alice's new machine. They love it, but are also intimidated by its power. Alice was right at home talking to them.of course the accountant in me wanted to know about pricing. They were quite open to talking about it. With their current special pricing the price is comparable to what we paid. Two more delightful Aussie friends.
At 1:45 we were in the tender line. At 2:00 we boarded a tender. The swells looked higher and the wind had picked up. Little did we know what we were in for. As we left the pier the pitching fore and aft began. The helmsman was doing an admirable job of approaching waves in a direction to minimize the rising and falling of the tender. As good as he was there was still a lot of screaming from frightened passengers. Alice and I were seated in the second row on the port side. We had a clear view of the approaching waves. They were getting bigger and the efforts to ease the crashing was taking us farther away from Solstice. Slowly we turned toward the ship and tried to run in the wave troughs. After considerable battering we arrived at the tender platform with two other tenders. We were third in line. We felt like we were at the end of a long amusement park ride. For us it had been exhilarating, while for others it had been terrifying. It was similar to the end of a passage we once made with Sean on Blue Dolphin to Rock Hall, MD in building winds. We finally disembarked the tender in wildly bouncing seas.
