Christchurch, Tauranga and Auckland…..I miss you already!

Hello from seat 30G on Cathay Pacific to Hong Kong! It’s another flight and another stop on our adventure. I wanted to bring you up to date….it just seems that Pat and I have been so busy being tourists we haven’t had time to actually share some of the great things we have seen on our trip. I can never sleep on aircraft but I have 11 hours with nothing to do but listen to the baby in seat 30H hit a high C…man has that kid got some lungs on him!


Anyway, great trip so far. Hats off to Princess Cruises! They really did a great job getting us around to terrific destinations all while feeding us 24 hours a day and refilling my bottomless diet coke cup (which I bought…boy did they lose money on that deal!). The staff was pleasant and helpful, the ship was well equipped and clean. Most of all, we met dozens of people from all over the world and truly enjoyed their company. If you are a social person, cruising can be a great way to see many different places without having to move in and out of hotel rooms each night…Pat and I highly recommend this route.

Anyway….on to the cities visited since last post.

Christchurch:

Billed as the most “English city outside England,” Christchurch is the second largest city on the South Island with a population of around 300,000. The certainly intend to live up to that reputation as the welcoming committee was complete in colonial dress with signal bells greeting the ship. A very vibrant and comfortable city with a fantastic arts and theater scene, Christchurch had a lot to see. The annual “Buskers Festival” was going on (Buskers are apparently street performers of all types including acrobats, Mimes etc.) all over the city. Both impromptu and more permanent stages were set up all over town….it’s pretty much a street performers free- for- all with acts trying to compete with each other to be the loudest and most energetic.

Pat and I took several scenic routes around town. As we often do, we try to use public transportation and our own two feet to see these new areas. Generally, we happen upon things we might not take if we stuck to an organized tour. What was obvious from the first moment was the severe blow dealt to many historic building during the recent Canterbury Quake (September last year…..magnitude over 7, I think). Scaffolding and support beams were evident all over town. Many of the photos we have the great old buildings are certainly not like the guidebooks but seems like the locals are intent on saving as many of these structures as they can.

Cathedral Square - Christchurch

Cathedral Square

Pat at the Botanic Garden. - Christchurch

Chris...taking a rest

Common sight...scaffolding on buildings damaged by the earthquake

Tauranga:

Can you say “California Beach Town?” What a beautiful and picturesque place and it certainly does remind us of a beach town. Tauranga actually is made up of two cities, Tauranga, with a population of around 120,000 is the fastest growing city in New Zealand tripling in size in the last 20 years and Mt. Maunganui, with a population of around 75,000. We made port and Mt. Maunganui and were greated by our first truly warm temperatures of the entire cruise (mid 80’s). Mt. Maunganui is a 350 meter (roughly 1150 feet) Mountain right at the end of the city. Maori legend has it that the Mountain was spurned by its (His? Her?....does a mountain have a gender?) Lover and was being towed out to sea. Alas, the mountain was late; the sun rose and froze the mountain in place forever. Such is the lore of the area. As a side note, unlike some residual hard feelings in Australia regarding the Aboriginal peoples, Kiwi’s seem to embrace the Maori and there appears to be fairly good relations between those of European and Maori descent.

Pat and I took a bus around town to see the sight had a great lunch in Mt. Maunganui. Pat went shopping and I decided to climb to the top of the mountain. This is a very steep climb that can cause anyone to break a sweat. It was certainly worth it and I was rewarded with truly stunning views.

Pat outside of Elms Mission

View from Mt. Maunganui

Daimond Princess from Mt. Maunganui

Town of Mt. Maunganui

Auckland:

It’s a short distance to Auckland from Tauranga. We arrived early to a very busy port and a busy day. Disembarkation went quickly and we checked into our hotel, dropped our bags and went walking. Our hotel was right at the base of the Sky Tower which is New Zealand’s tallest structure and tops a similar building in Sydney. Auckland is New Zealand’s largest city with roughly 1.4 million people. This is a very cosmopolitan city with every nationality represented. Our hotel catered to Chinese tourists and was gearing up for the New Year’s celebration. Dining was truly great….lots of variety. I may have mentioned, Pat and I have found terrific Thai food (one of our favorites) in several areas of New Zealand and we found another good one. (Mai Tai on Victoria street downtown in case you visit)

We did our customary bus / walking tour and visited the Auckland museum. Great exhibits were everywhere but the real highlight was the Maori cultural show. It was informative and not too patronizing (think Don Ho and “tiny bubbles”).

We did lunch in Parnell Village which is a very charming neighborhood. Apparently this is Bill Clinton’s favorite since he has visited twice which drew a quip from Pat… “The food here has to be good if Clinton visited more than once,”

To sum up our trip, both Australia and New Zealand have a tremendous amount to offer the tourist. It takes a “decision” to get here. It’s not easy, both countries are somewhat isolated but that’s okay with the Aussies and the Kiwis. In fact it is that difference that both countries seem to enjoy and promote. Of the two, both of us prefer New Zealand. The Kiwis have an interesting work/life balance. They admire business and personal success but don’t favor success at all costs. They believe in how you made the journey to get there, not just that you got there. Sir Edmund Hillary is a good example of the prototypical success story. After being the first to climb Mt. Everest, he worked towards better conditions for the Sherpa people for most of the rest of his life.

Sky Tower from our Hotel

Maori House at the Auckland Museum

Maori War Canoe....over 30 Meters long!

Uh oh…The baby in seat 30H is gearing up for another chorus. Though it’s tempting to continue, time to end this and turn on something loud!

That’s all for now!!!

Fiordland National Park…..Dunedin…….Pat’s Musings

Hello everyone! Sorry we haven’t posted more frequently, but the internet service here on the ship is atrocious. I don’t think the network has been this slow since Al Gore invented the damn thing…. Anyway, I have a couple posts. First is Fiordland National Park which was absolutely stunning. Second is the City of Dunedin….settled by Scots (felt right at home there) and some musings and thoughts from Pat. She would probably write more often if she could get near a computer. Something I pledged to her as we continue our trip.


Fiordland National Park

Pat and I got up early to begin our day of Cruising through Fiordland National Park. The park is the largest in New Zealand and occupies a good chunk of the southwest portion of the South Island. This beautiful area is very remote and cruising through it is one of the best ways of seeing it. If you are claustrophobic, get a good grip because it is a tight squeeze for a large ship such as ours. Our first Fiord of the three we visited today is Milford Sound. The opening is very narrow…only 600 yards wide at its narrowest point. It’s so well hidden that the ubiquitous Captain Cook missed the opening entirely on his first survey of the area. As you can see from the pictures, we were really tucked into the sound. I commend the ship’s pilot….he can really turn this craft on a dime. Somehow, he spun the ship around each time and we motored back out of the sound. We hit (not literally…) Milford, Thompson’s and Dusky Sound today.

Fiordland National Park is approximately 3.4 million acres large and represents 5% of New Zealand’s land mass. It was declared a World Heritage area in 1986. The scenery is spectacular to say the least. Peter Jackson used some of Milford Sound as the location for the Lord of the Rings trilogy…..I swear I recognize some of the sights.

Like the Norwegian version, these Fiords are very steep. Some of the mountains top 8,000 feet above sea level and the water depth is 1,000 feet much of the way up the sounds…..running aground was not a concern, scraping some paint on the side of the boat was…kind of like trying to park a Hummer in too small a garage!

As we made our way out of the sounds and towards our next port of call, Port Chalmers, we passed Invercargill. For those who saw it….a terrific movie was filmed there titled “The World’s Fastest Indian” which starred Anthony Hopkins. It told an amazing story of a backyard mechanic named Bert Munro who modified an Indian motorcycle in his garage and set the land speed record with it at the Bonneville Salt Flats ….a record that still stands!

Milford Sound

Milford Sound....port side

Thompson's Sound - Mid day

Dunedin

Rightly proud of their heritage, Dunedin is a terrific little town (129,000) on the Otago coast of New Zealand. Settled by Scots in the early 1800’s, Dunedin has several notable first for a city of this size. Home to Otago University with almost 25,000 students and one of the largest in New Zealand, Dunedin also has the first Cadbury Chocolate Factory outside of England and the only one left that actually gives tours. It is his home to the worlds steepest street, Baldwin Street ( Look it up in the Guiness Book of World Records) and geographically speaking is the 5th largest city in the World!

Architecturally interesting….many of the buildings look like something I would find in England. The Train station was particulary beautiful and well restored. I don’t have a picture of it here, but the City and University have combined to build an entirely covered Rugby stadium (200MM project). Not sure how they afford the number of building and restoration projects that seem to be going on but the results are a great town and Pat’s favorite….she is ready to move here!

Dunedin Train Station

Cadbury Chocolate Factory - Near Train Station

Steepest Street in the World!

Pat’s Entry

Bonarong Wildlife Sanctuary was really wonderful , a highlight for me…the kangaroos and wallabys were very friendly and loved to be scratched on the chest! We saw several species only native to Tasmania, and endangered as well… wombats look like giant roly-poly guinea pigs, cute as can be. The Tasmanian devils are just adorable and quite funny to watch We were talking to one of the keepers and upon hearing her voice, the tazzie came right around to the fence sniffing the air for her. They don’t see very well but have a great sense of smell! Many become quite attached to the staff, partly because all of the ones here at the sanctuary are orphans., Tazzies are very much in danger..a terrible form of cancer has developed which kills them within six months and is passed on by their natural aggressive actions to each other, yelling and mouthing each other and biting. More than 80% have died since 1996. No cure yet in sight, though the experts are working hard for one. The ones in the sanctuary are free of the disease and doing well. What a tragedy it would be to lose them, they are truly a treasure.

Hobart, Tasmania was a real surprise! I’m not sure what I expected, but not such a sophisticated little town. Great restaurants, shopping, wonderful history. This is a place one could retire, and evidently many Australians do. I absolutely ,loved it!

So far I have acquired a stuffed kangaroo, a stuffed Tazzie and two stuffed koalas! Chris is not thrilled.



That’s all for now….Next Stop Taranga!

Pat and I boarded our ship, The Diamond Princess, on Saturday. We have a great stateroom with a balcony ( which I thoroughly enjoy on a daily basis) on what is an enormous ship. The Diamond Princess is, by far, the largest ship that we have ever been on. Almost 300 meters in length and a gross tonnage of 115,000 tons makes it one of the largest cruise ships in the world. So here we are with 2,600 of our closest friends.

View of Sydney Opera House from our Stateroom

We find cruises to be a great value and an efficient way to see many different places in a short time period. If you shop, you can often book a cruise for $100 to $150 per day (that includes meals). If you figure the expense of traveling to a city, paying for hotels, meals, transportation and other incidentals, cruising really makes sense. Ideally, we will take a cruise to destinations that we have an interest in. If we particularly like the ports of call we visit we will generally try to travel there directly on a later trip to dig in a little deeper. Shore visits are like Cliff notes….you can probably pass the test but have missed the experience of truly learning the material :)

Melbourne

Melbourne was our first stop on the Cruise after a day at sea (warm and relaxing as well). Melbourne is Australia’s second largest city with a populations of about 3 MM people. While I considered Sydney “laid back,” Melbourne is even more so. Melbourne was initially a settlement that failed due to fresh water shortage and was later re-founded on a different location around 1830. Though it is the “second city” to Sydney, it is first in several categories. As a fashion center, Melbourne wins. As a sporting city, Melbourne wins. The day we arrived began the Australian Open which is a grandslam event. Sports are a big deal here…Melbourne was home to the 1956 Olympic games. Many of the venues are still in use by a variety of different groups. Rowing on the river is popular and Melbourne is also home to the “Fantastic Four” (couldn’t tell you their names) who won the last Olympic 4 man rowing Gold Medal.

Hobart

Hobart was really a treat. Hobart is on the southern edge of the island of Tasmania. Like most of Australia, Tasmania was mapped out by Dutch explorers (The Dutchman “Tasman” for whom Tasmania is named) and later was “rediscovered” by Captain Cook. As a side note, Captain Cook was well regarded as a diplomat and an explorer. Australia, Tasmania, New Zealand and the Hawaiian Islands were all discovered (or rediscovered by) Captain Cook. Apparently, he had a knack for calming down the indigenous locals by bringing trinkets and other gifts. For example, the Dutch discovered New Zealand and promptly left after losing a longboat and 4 crewmen to the Maoris. Cook later landed and made peace with the Maoris. Worked great for Cook until Hawaii when he was killed and, some say, eaten by the natives!

Nearby Port Arthur was the site of the second penal colony on Australia…highly emotional for the Australians since so many came through that penal colony and also the site of Australia’s largest massacre. 28 were gunned down by an armed man. This single incident changed firearms laws in Australia making it one of the most restrictive towards gun ownership in the world.

Tasmania has a population of just over half a million people half of those residing in Hobart or a couple of nearby cities. Having said that, Hobart feels very comfortable and worldly offering most of the conveniences we found in Sydney and Melbourne. Us “car guys” always home in on dealership row wherever we travel….how many towns of this size have a Porsche dealership in the US?

The highlight of our tour was a trip out to Bonarong wildlife preservation center. Pat is on a “touch every animal she can” mission and Bonarong offers just that experience. Tasmania is home to a number of unique and endangered species only found in Australia (Wombats, quolls) and some only found in Tasmania (the famous Tasmanian Devil). Pat will write her own post on Bonarong…..they do some good work here and are on a mission to save Tasmanian Devils in particular. In recent years, a very aggressive form of cancer has wiped out 80 percent of these animals in the wild.

Kangaroos at Bonarong

Pat doesn't feel fulfilled unless she is feeding something or someone!

A Wombat.....everything bites here BTW!



Tasmanian Devil - 6 times the bitng force of a domesticated canine


Finally, I have included very few pictures in this post since I am on the ship’s internet (more expensive than roaming cell phone minutes) and is so slow I cannot upload a lot of large content. Look for us to upload lots more including a video interview of a ranger with a couple of Tasmanian devils and also a video of a large pod of Dolphins that we jumping in the bow wake the ship created….both quite a site to see.

Next stop of for us is Port Chalmers which is alarmingly close to Antarctica. Did I mention that official sunset down here is not until 9:38PM tonight?

G’day from Sydney!

Pat and I have had a great time during our brief stay here. Lesson learned, we need more time to fully explore Sydney.




We arrived at 6AM local time after a brutal 14 hour flight from LAX. Lots of turbulence disturbed our sleep but the inflight entertainments was a help…how many times can you watch “Shrek” before you are ready to go bonkers. We looked like the walking dead as we disembarked. Australia is a unique ecological system and the Australians were hyperactive about what you declared in the way of food and vegetables. True story, the customs agent was concerned about the type of cashews I had in my trail mix (which I did declare on penalty of prosecution). The friendly agent took pity on me and let me keep my trail mix.



We stayed on Pitt St. downtown (which I later learned was the most expensive street in the world). We checked in early, recharged a little and went out to explore. We then learned an extremely important economic fact…..everything in Sydney costs at least $35! No kidding…the on-off bus ticket, $35. The Wildlife Museum in Darlington Harbor, $35! A tour in the Sydney tower? $35! We thought our streak was broken when we went to the Art Museum of New South Wales to see an exhibit of the Terra Cotta Warriors produced the Peoples Republic of China. The admission to the museum was free…..but if you want to see the warriors, admission for that exhibit is $40. I guess the streak was broken anyway!



Sydney was settled much like the United States was….with criminals. Great Britian has a long history of exporting convicts when prisons became overcrowded. In fact, disruption in these prison ships to the Americas during the Revolutionary war caused Parliament to seek a new dumping ground….you guessed it, New South Wales! The first ships landed in Botany Bay with 759 male and female convicts and 400 sailors. Subsequent fleets landed bringing plentiful cheap labor.  Building and infrastructure began to take shape. The first governor, Phillips realized that no sustainable colony could exist solely on convicts so officers, freed convicts and other citizens were granted land and the convicts were assigned to them ….somewhat like indentured servants (the way many American immigrants paid passage from Europe). With the abudance of cheap labor and a power structure supporting it, many small farmers were taken advantage of and a system of local currency based on Rum took shape. The joke around Sydney is that entire streets were built in exchange for rum and still turned out relatively straight!

Today, Sydney is one of the most culturally diverse and open-minded cities in the world. Anything goes is the motto. I saw businessmen dressed like they were headed to a weekend ball game. All accents and languages can be heard here. If you are people watcher, there is plenty to see.

As I often do, I learn the streets and landmarks by running. I took off on about a 5 mile run out to the opera house and the spectacular Harbor bridge and was amazed by the number of people doing exactly the same thing……the climate is a big factor in Sydney…..everyone seems to want to be outdoors doing something.

Anyway, enough of that….here are some highlights:

Sydney Wildlife World: Great exhibit worth going to and very educational. The wallabees are very cute along with the Koalas. I mistakenly called them Koala Bears and was quickly corrected by the staff….Koala is the proper term. Some of the less thrilling parts were the giant cockroach exhibit. I can do without bugs of all types but this cockroach was as big as a closed fist (which I would use on it if given the chance!) Pat had to hug and kiss the Koalas (named Jack and Charlie in this picture.)

Sydney Harbor Bridge: The bridge can be walked across for one of the best views of the Sydney skyline. We did not have time to do this but have some great pictures of the bridge from the rocks area. You can also see a close up of a group climbing the arch. I wanted to do this……but it was very expensive and also violated the “$35” rule…..pay $200 and they will put you in a specially designed safety suit, hook you into a safety cable and start you on your climb. Not for the faint of heart or wallet! As a side note, the bridge is a great example of a works project designed to stimulate the economy…sound familiar? Legend also has it that the builder of the bridge decided that he should have the singular right to open the bridge so he mounted his horse….charged towards the ribbon and cut it with his ceremonial sword! Needless to say the ribbon was re-strung and the proper authority opened the bridge…..you got to love the Aussies!

Sydney Opera house: Though designed and built in the 1970’s it is still one of the most recognizable structures on earth. We could have taken the tour but…..you guessed it, another $35 entrance fee so photos will have to do.

Lot’s more to see and more than we can list here…..Sydney is a wonderful, multi-cultural city with a vibrant city life. Aussies in general seem to really love their country. As you have heard in the news, widespread flooding through the Queensland / Brisbane area have just devastated thousands of people…it’s a disaster on the scale of Katrina. What I find amazing is the amount of public support of the people. Volunteers are turning out in the thousands (apparently 50,000 and more as of Saturday AM). Public officials are supportive and, most refreshing, the media is not trying to place blame on anyone for some perceived lack of response.

That’s all for now…..next stop, Melbourne

The weather is always great in Tucson!

Pat and I spent Christmas with my Brother in Law and his wife at their beautiful home in Oro Valley. Ken and Barb were great hosts and fed us well…..got to hit the bicycle back in Memphis and shed the extra pounds they put on us.

Sorry to friends that wanted to know about our worst meal…..we didn’t have one. Apparently, the cooking gene runs in the Billings family because Ken really rocked the kitchen while we were there!


During our stay, we visited the Pima Air Museum. Tucson historically has a strong flight orientation...Davis Monthan AFB is here along with many defense contractors. As my flying friends can appreciate, this is Mecca for me! I didn’t get on my knees and pray (the tram was moving at the time) but I was certainly tempted. Tucson (and most of the Southwest) has terrific flying conditions. I don’t know if you even have to check weather before taking off! The climate is also friendly to aircraft. It’s no surprise that the Airplane graveyard ( aka “AMARG” which stands for “Airspace Maintenance and Regeneration Group”) is located here. A familiar site for moviemakers, the Graveyard stores aircraft that are either being restored or stored for spare parts. Visitors are not allowed to carry backpacks or other bags since the facility still uses these parts and is considered a secure area. I am not sure what you could steal that you get into a back pack but those are the rules!

North of the Grave yard is the Pima Air Museum which has a terrific collection of all types of fixed wing airplanes and rotor craft. Several unique aircraft are displayed here…some in converted hangars and others out on the desert floor. As promised (with pictures) here are a few highlights of our visit to the museum. Pictures below include Pat and Barb on their first flying lesson and Ken "holding up" the chopper he was crew on in Vietnam. As with most posts on my blog, I can’t help throwing in a little history…….my non-flying friends can take a break now if you wish:

B-24 Liberator - The Workhorse bomber of WWII. Over 18,000 were made and performed throughout the entire war and in most theaters. This aircraft with the interesting nose art was an abandoned bomber that the Republic of India put back into service after it gained independence from Great Britain. The British abandoned over 100 B-24s after WWII This one served until 1968…..the last American B-24 was retired in 1951

F-4 N Phantom – Powerful fighter used during Vietnam and into the 80’s. The Phantom was a very tough aircraft…a real hotrod (and gas guzzler). Well armed and superior to most aircraft of the day. The N model were rebuilt with new avionics and flight control systems and stayed active until the early 80s……not bad for a fighter designed in the late 50’s! My father, George Glenn, worked on the stability control and test team.…..way to go dad!

B-36 Peacemaker – You want to talk about a big aircraft…..this was the largest Bomber every made and is just staggering in it’s complexity. Built as a post WWII bomber, this beast had 6 – 3,800 horsepower piston engines and 4 jet engines (“6 turning and 4 burning!”) Apparently, the engine start and run up procedure took almost an hour. Shut down takes about as long. This one never dropped a bomb in anger (read…..”Wartime”). This craft was retired in favor of the B-47 and B-52 Jet Bombers.

Hawker Hurricane – One of my personal favorites used by the British during WWII. This fighter was the primary defense fighter during the battle of Britain and did a pretty good job until the Spitfire came along. The German Messerschmitt Me109 was just too fast for the Hurricane. Beautiful aircraft and a great example well restored.

SR-71 Blackbird – Everyone has seen one of these. Design began in 1958 and first flight in 1962 and it still looks space age. The capabilities of this aircraft are still not fully published. It still holds several speed records including absolute speed of 2,193 MPH. I think it’s a bit faster than that. Pat and I woke to a sonic boom in Burbank, CA in 1990 when a Black bird made the run from Los Angeles to Washington DC in 1 hour 4 minutes…..might have been going a bit faster than 2,193 MPH!

 

F-15 Eagle – One of the best Jet fighters ever built. Designed in 1969 but could hit Mach 2.5 (Mach 1 equals the speed of sound…..depending on altitude, somewhere around 700 MPH). This was the first “positive thrust” fighter. The engines generate more thrust in pounds than the aircraft weighs meaning the F-15 can fly completely vertical!

P-51D Mustang – Last one….I promise! Might be the best fighter (and the “D” might be the best version of the Mustang…later Mustangs had a lot of extra equipment hung on the airframe resulting in loss of performance) of WWII. Lots of power, great handling and armament and stacked up well against the Japanese Zero. Many Mustangs still exist in private hands…if you want one, the beginning price is 2 Mil for one of these babies!

That’s it for the history lesson today. If you ever get to Tucson, the museum is worth the trip. The staff was very knowledgeable and friendly. You can find them on the web at: http://www.pimaair.org/index.php


Our next stop will be Sydney, Australia on January 13th.


Pat and Chris Glenn