Our ship departed Melbourne at 6pm to sail south across Port Phillip Bay and east along Bass Strait and the next morning headed north along the Australian mainland east coast for Sydney, New South Wales. We were at sea all day. As repeat mariners with the shipping line, we were invited (along with maybe 200 […]
The ship cruised north up the east coast of Tasmania and across Bass Strait for a day while on board we read including our ship’s daily produced newspaper summaries from around the world; had coffees in the Exploration Cafe and kept fit walking the stairs; attended lectures on various subjects; apart from eating the excellent […]
We spent around two hours inside Milford Sound while the captain rotated the ship slowly as if on a pin point before we cruised out of the entrance heading west across the Tasman Sea to Hobart, Tasmania. We had never crossed the Tasman by sea and it was a surprise to us that it was […]
It was here that Peter Jackson chose Mt.Sunday as his site for Edoras in The Lord of The Rings. One of Jackson’s sound mixer guys was on hand to explain to the fans various features and brought out some swords and items used in the film. On the Monday morning, we woke in the lovely […]
We walked the streets of pretty Picton on a sunny Saturday afternoon where the locals were enjoying their weekly open markets in the soft sunshine of a NZ summer day. It was only about 19 degrees but very pleasant. The affable locals chatted welcomingly with the vast number of tourists who had suddenly been disgorged […]
That Wednesday evening the ship headed out of the Bay of Plenty, east and then south to the city of Napier on Hawkes Bay. It is the major city of the region. The city buildings were destroyed by a major earthquake in 1951. The city was rebuilt in Art Deco style and now this design […]
We made a quick decision in late January to escape the 35 degrees plus heat of the Queensland summer, seeking the advice of our travel agent Joanne Harding-Smith of Maverick Travel located in Samford. We have been utilising Joanne’s pro-active skills for a few years & her extensive knowledge of cruises & overseas tours. She […]
Thanks to spending some time learning about Tasmania I was rewarded for my efforts by being one of a few travel agents chosen by the Tassie Tourist Office to be the recipient of a trip to the beautiful island. My thanks go out to them for providing me with a rewarding long weekend. Having flown […]
I had the pleasure experiencing 6 days of a 9-Day TranzAlpine Coach tour with Kirra Tours, of the South Island of New Zealand earlier in April this year. The tour departed Christchurch and I reluctantly left it in Queenstown. I flew over with Air New Zealand and had the “works” package which means I had […]
We recently returned from a trip to the North Island of New Zealand with two of our adult children 18 and 22 and our three younger sons 16, 12 and 9. We based ourselves in Rotorua for two weeks and from there did day trips out and about. Rotorua is a Geothermal area bubbling mud […]