World Cruise

I worked on blog while Bob had breakfast with the Pritchetts.
After Bob returned to the Stateroom, the Captain made an announcement. From previous experience, we know that this is never a good sign. He announced that there was a storm coming from the south and with it gale force winds and 22 foot swells. To avoid this weather system, he has made the decision to skip Doubtful and Milford Sounds and head straight to Melbourne. I had read that our sister World Cruise ship, the Sky, who is sailing a similar itinerary and is 3 days ahead of us has also had a change in her itinerary. So I was not very surprised but would have loved the rough seas. Here's to hoping that we will still have a little fun provided by the storm!

Bob and I headed to the shuttle into town this morning as our tour was not until this afternoon. Our agenda was once again to go shopping. This time the reason is laundry. I have washed our clothes twice. The first time I used the ship's laundry soap and it bothered me a fair bit. So the second time I didn't use any detergent. I called Guest Services to ask about laundry. I was under the impression that I could not use my own detergent because it had to be a ship approved biodegradable soap. I was told differently by Guest Services. They told me that I can use my own soap. Consequently, Bob and I were off this morning to buy laundry detergent.

We took the shuttle into the city center. At the bus stop, there was a person designated to help us out with directions. I asked him how to get to a grocery store. He indicated that we just had to cross the street, go down the stairs to the railway station, turn right and as you exit the railway station there will be a grocery store. We followed his directions and easily found the grocery store.

I found the perfect laundry detergent and asked Bob what else we needed. We thought about getting flowers for our stateroom but there was not a very good selection. We decided to get some Manuka Honey because we had been hearing how great this honey is for its healing properties. Stay tuned as we had a injury to test the healing properties of the honey.

After making our purchases, we headed back to the bus stop. Adjacent to the bus stop was a building which was previously the parliament building. It is a building constructed completely of wood but looks like stone. We decided to take a self-guided tour of the building. This building now houses a law school.

Our excursion for the afternoon was Seal Watching at Tongue Point.

We were the first to be in line for the van in an attempt to avoid having Bob serve a pillow two days in a row. We ended up being in the seats directly behind the driver.

After a brief journey through downtown Wellington, we made our way to a private farm. Entering this private area was an adventure. There were very large bulls just inside the gate. Our guide was visible concerned about the bulls. After unlocking the gate, driving into the farm he actually had to use the van to 'herd' the bulls to keep them from 'Freedom'.

We traveled through the private farm until we reached Tongue point. During this journey, we saw wild goats, hawks, and other birds of prey.

When we reached Tongue Point, we observed many sea lions, birds, and beautiful scenery.

After approximately 45 minutes at Tongue Point, we began our return journey. I am happy to report that the bulls were much more cooperative on the return journey.

We stopped at an overlook of Wellington. From this elevated vantage point, we were able to see the entire city and port.

We thoroughly enjoyed this excursion but found yesterday's excursion more enjoyable because of the guide. Today, the guide felt it imperative that he give us a one sided narrative of the current politics in Wellington. We would have enjoyed the commentary much more if the guide would have given both side's arguments regarding the recent elections.

After returning to the port, we went to have dinner in the World Cafe. Our dear friend Dale, attended dinner with a large bandage on his arm. It seems that his vertigo was particularly bad today and he lost his balance outside his bus and ended up with a concerning injury. Since the Kerrs are traveling with an immense pharmacy and we had just purchased honey with Manuka, we thought it was our responsibility to come to Dale's 'assistance'. As you will see from the photos, I do not think that it was Dale's opinion that our help was all that welcome. My philosophy is: "No Pain, No Gain". This is probably not the best motto for a "nurse".

Bob and I headed to our stateroom and loaded up on supplies. I might add that some supplies were very 'unconventional'. We stormed into the Pritchett's stateroom. I put my nurses hat on and got to work. I first applied an ample supply of alcohol while totally disregarding Dale's screams of pain. After inflicting pain, I then began to carefully apply the Manuka Honey. After the honey, I applied very questionable bandage, and finally wrapped his injury with additional bandages and tape. Later, Jenni wrapped his arm with an elastic bandage. Dale was extremely happy to usher us out of his room.

After all this excitement, I was not really looking forward to going to the theater. But this evening our cruise Director, Aoibhin O'Neill, was performing. Since we were told that we could watch the performance live in our stateroom, we decided on that option.

I was so disappointed!!! Aoibhin is one of the best singers/performers on the ship. Because of the poor quality of the audio on our television, the sound was awful! I was so upset but I had already jumped into my 'lounge wear', so there was nothing to be done at that point. I am just hoping that there will be other opportunities to hear Aoibhin.

Please stay tuned for photos of Tongue PointLue lisää