Monday January 11th – at sea
Another sea day and again little to do. Will Martin did another concert, which was equally good.
Tuesday January 12th – The Sounds
Amazing scenery and we were fortunate to be up and close to
it. Milford Sound, Doubtful Sound and
Dusky Sound. The weather was not great,
but it was great to see these amazing examples of New Zealand scenery.
Wednesday January 13th – Dunedin
We went into town and found a walking tour of the city in
the morning and then a coach tour of the surrounding countryside in the
afternoon. Dunedin is a historical city
with new contemporary additions. And
very Scottish of course – Scottish street names, Scottish cathedrals, and a very large statue of Robert Burns in
the city centre. Indeed it was Burns’
nephew who founded much of the city.
And Dunedin is in a beautiful natural bay with some wonderful
beaches. A lovely city.
Thursday January 14th – Akaroa and Christchurch
The Christchurch docks have still not been rebuilt
post-earthquake, so we had a tendered arrival at nearby Akaroa. The earthquakes in 2011 and 2012 were
devastating for Christchurch, both in terms of loss of life and loss of so many
buildings. But there is an
opportunity, being grasped, to rebuild the city in a modern and planned
way. So it was fascinating to see a
city in process of being rebuilt. And
it would be interesting to see the city in maybe five years time after all of
that rebuilding is complete.
Friday January 15th – Wellington
This is a typical
capital city – rather full of tall modern buildings obstructing the older
architecture. We went on a guided tour
of the Parliament Building, the Beehive, which was quite interesting. Not a city to which I am desperate to
return.
Saturday January 16th – at sea
Sunday January 17th - Tauranga
This is basically a stop for excursion buses to go to Rotorua. But we have been there and decided to explore the small seaside town of Tauranga. Good decision. It is a very pleasant town sandwiched between two beaches. In fact we took a local boat trip to a beach on a local island where we stayed for an hour before returning. I had been wrestling with a bit of an issue which came to the fore today, and I didn't handle it particularly well. Apart from that, I enjoyed Tauranga.
No comments:
Post a Comment