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Morris & Susan's Viking WCMorris & Susan's Viking WC
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Morris & Susan's Viking WC

January - May 2024
  • Susan Abell
  • Morris Abell
Set Sail for a 4 Month Viking Neptune 4 Month World Ocean Cruise Read more
  • Susan Abell
  • Morris Abell
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Around the world, Couple, Cruise ship, Sightseeing, Vacation
  • 38.2kmiles traveled
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  • 122days
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  • Morris & Susan's Viking WC
    Banyon TreeHandmade Ukuleles

    Papeete, Tahiti

    January 25, 2024 in French Polynesia ⋅ 🌧 79 °F

    Tahitian welcome!!
    Tahiti, is the largest in a chain of islands that make up French Polynesia with Papeete as the capital city

    Visited the local outdoor market full of flowers, weavers, and of course Black Pearls. Watched them make a black pearl necklace out of woven husks for Susan.
    We were able to see the Presidents House with a lovely Polynesia mural and local government assembly grounds with beautiful gardens.

    Afternoon headed out for more snorkeling...

    Enjoyed a Tahitian dance performance on the ship from local dancers.    Read more

  • Morris & Susan's Viking WC
    The Judges!!

    Morris: Ship Building Competition

    January 27, 2024, South Pacific Ocean ⋅ 🌬 77 °F

    The challenge: Build a model ship using only natural and recycled material found on the ship. The two major requirements were that it had to support 6 full soda cans and that it had to float for at least 30 seconds.

    Our team consisted of an engineer (me), a manufacturing exec., and 2 accountants. We had a great time brainstorming, testing, and constructing the "ship." I am happy to report that it worked beautifully.

    But there was a problem (LOL). We didn't have an artistic bone between us, and on the day of judging, it just didn't look as good as some of the others. Oh well, back to the drawing board 😃.

    All in all, we had a great time, recruited a cheerleader to the team, and made some new friends. Who could ask for anything more.    Read more

  • Morris & Susan's Viking WC
    1Aobihan Our Cruise Director1Thank you, The Chefs1

    "Domain of the Dragon"

    January 30, 2024, South Pacific Ocean ⋅ ☀️ 77 °F

    What Ever Happened to Monday? I'm referring to the actual day, not the Netflix movie.

    One minute, we are sailing along in the Pacific. We go to bed at 11 PM on Sunday, January 28th, and are 7 hours behind Eastern Standard Time. The next minute, we wake up, and we are 17 hours ahead of EST on Tuesday, January30th. Where did Monday, Jan. 29th go?!?

    The good news is that while we may have "lost" a day (or jumped forward into the future), we did celebrate the "Domain of the Golden Dragon" for crossing the 180th Meridian, also known as the International Date Line.

    To mark the occasion, Viking held a fabulous brunch for everyone at the pool deck.    Read more

  • Morris & Susan's Viking WC
    Entrance to Loo

    Waitangi, NZ

    Feb 1–11, 2024 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 81 °F

    First day in New Zealand after a long sea voyage from French Polynesia!

    We tendered at the town of Waitangi and enjoyed an early morning stroll to the town of Paihia. Took in its farmers market sampling local Manuka Honey. Walked through the lovely small town that's a local vacation site.

    We then jumped onto our Bay of Islands tour with a stop at the Hundertwasser Toilets in Kawakawa. It's the loo that brought the town national fame because it was designed by the Austian artist Friendersreich Hundertwasser. So after a 10 minute pit stop, we drove to Kerkeri, where we stopped at Rainbow Waterfalls overlook before we proceeded to the 1822 Stone Store and Kemp House.
    One of the first places where Maori invited "Pakeha" (White New Zealanders) to live amongst them.

    We then went on our own to the Waitangi Treaty Grounds and Museum, where we learned about the Maori, Maori wars, and the Waitangi Treaty that was signed on Feb. 6th, 1840, between the British Crown and 540 Maori Rangatira (chiefs) to ensure that they could live in peace and be protected with citizen equality.

    We ended the day with a beautiful South Pacific sunset, and we're entertained by two fabulous Tenors singing both classical and current hits.    Read more

  • Morris & Susan's Viking WC
    Morris and Susan getting Halloween ideas!!Makeup Special FX for Susan

    Auckland, NZ - DAY1

    February 2, 2024 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 70 °F

    Beautiful morning sunrise at Auckland - the largest city in NZ.

    We decided to sign up for several tours to start our 3-day stay here. (It's fun to play tourest). The first place visited was the Weta Workshop, where we explored an interactive behind the scenes studio tour of make-believe film sets, giving us a glimpse into all the incredible craftsmanship and artistry that go into film making. Movie making in Auckland is big business, and Weta made many of the special effects for big films like Lord of the Rings, The Hobit, and Dune. ( More to come on this later, but we had a blast.)

    We then went up 60 stories at the Skytower to get a beautiful 360-degree view of the city. One of our crazier friends did the SkyTower bungee jump. What an experience to do at 70!!

    Took in the "All Blacks" experience to hear and see all about the NZ National Rugby team. Even enjoyed some All Blacks training drills and their famous Haka dance, which is their ritual before each game.

    Later in the day, we just enjoyed walking about downtown, and Morris stopped in for a haircut (looking sharp now).    Read more

  • Morris & Susan's Viking WC

    Auckland, NZ - Day 2

    February 3, 2024 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌬 70 °F

    Started the day with the Highlights of Auckland tour. The first stop was the Savage Memorial, which has a beautiful garden and an overlook of Auckland skyline. Even saw a rainbow after a quick rain.

    Then, we spent the morning at the War Memorial Museum where we saw somber displays titled War and Rememberance, the role of New Zealand in its early wars, as well as WWI and WWII. The main floor was dedicated to displays of the Maouri people and their culture through history.

    At noon, we walked along the harbor and had lunch at Soul Bar, a delightful bistro. We then made our way to the Fish Market and stolled the Wynyard Quarter. This area is reclaimed land that has been revitalized with restaurants. It also now berths some of the biggest super yachts in the area showcasing New Zealand's ship building craftsmanship.

    Finished out the day at the Maritime Museum, which exhibited boats from early sea fairing until modern America's Cup racing.    Read more

  • Morris & Susan's Viking WC
    Pavlova: New Zealand FavoriteArt Crazy Cones to Choose From

    Auckland, Day 3

    February 4, 2024 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 73 °F

    Day 3 in Auckland, and we decided to venture out in different directions.

    Auckland is famously known as the City of Sails, and we can easily see why the America's Cup race was hosted here in the past. So when Morris saw that he could book an excursion on a real racing yacht, he jumped on the opportunity.

    It was a perfect day on the water as we boarded the actual 1996 Cup racing yacht! It was 75 ft. long x 16 ft. wide and about 150 ft high. What surprised me is that it weighs a total of 24 tons - 4 tons above the water and 20 tons at the canting keel. While it is considered a dinosaur by today's racing standards, it glided through the water like an ice skater. We all got a chance to try our hand at racing.
    In the afternoon, Morris took a cruise on a vintage barge that was reconstructed by the Maritime Museum.

    Susan chose to explore the local farm to table excursion in the area. Our host took us to a local market and then her home/venue as she prepared a lovely meal from all the local food and wine in the region.

    Met up w Morris to experience "Giapo" where Art meets Ice Cream. Super fun place with amazing flavors and over the top cones. Opted for the amazing flavors over an art deco cone. Of all the ice creams we've tried over time, this place tops them all (and that's saying a lot).    Read more

  • Morris & Susan's Viking WC
    Mount Maunganui
    Susan hiked the base, Morris went over topView from Mt. TopNorfolk Pine: line the beaches1GM Ronald giving us fun tips!!

    Tauranga, New Zealand

    February 5, 2024 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 59 °F

    Docked today in Tauranga. Time for hiking Mount Maunganui. Scenery was beautiful. Susan hiked the base route, and Morris went over the top. We met up at the most qauint beach side of town for morning coffee.

    Norfolk Pines that line the beach walkways are stunning. Words can not describe how comfortable we both felt here. After our walk to downtown, we headed back to the beach for a swim.

    Gotta say that we had the most relaxing afternoon, and sand was sooooo fine. The slope into the ocean was so gradual that it felt like you could walk out forever and still stand up. With water so clear, you could see the sting rays swimming by, and it seemed that the water was not as salty as in Calif. We will definitely be back this way again!    Read more

  • Morris & Susan's Viking WC

    Napier, New Zealand

    February 6, 2024 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 72 °F

    We dropped back in time to the "1920s" in Napier, and the town welcomed us warmly. Town had to be rebuilt after the 1931 earthquake, and the city council decided to maintain an impressive cityscape of Art Deco architecture. The self guided walking tour of the town explained the history of the buildings.

    The town also hosts a 1930s jazz festival every year where everyone dresses up and brings out their vintage cars. If interested in going, you need to RSVP over a year in advance because the town triples in population. Charleston, anyone?

    We then enjoyed the afternoon at the Hawks Bay Club for a lovely hosted wine tasting party. Beautiful property.

    Prior to our 5 PM departure, the town provided us with a fun jazz band playing great oldies and 8 fun vintage cars.    Read more

  • Morris & Susan's Viking WC
    Wellington OverlookWellington View from Cable CarBotanical Gardens

    Wellington, New Zealand

    Feb 7–8, 2024 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌬 72 °F

    We are now in Windy Wellington, the capital of NZ. (yes, more than Chicago!!)
    Susan decided to go to Weta Workshop and the location sites for Lord of the Rings today.

    A little History: Wētā FX, formerly known as Weta Digital, is a digital visual effects and animation company based in Miramar, Wellington. It was founded by Peter Jackson, Richard Taylor, and Jamie Selkirk in 1993. Weta FX is best known for making props, weapons, armour, costumes, miniatures, and more for The Lord of the Rings motion picture trilogy as well as King Kong, and Avatar, and it's groundbreaking  work on Rise of the Planet of the Apes, The Avengers, Prometheus, and The Hobbit trilogy.

    The small town had such a friendly, laid-back, unassuming presence as we drove through the production lots that it was hard to imagined compared to the glitz and glamore of Hollywood. It was also great to then go on location sites to the Outer Hobit Shrine.

    Morris enjoyed a site seeing tour to visit a 360-degree overlook of the city. Then, on to visit the Te Papa National Museum, where they had a very moving exhibit of ANZAC forces fighting in Gallipoli. The exhibit centered around 5 giant sized scenes that reflected the horror of that battle.

    After lunch, we met up again to explore the city (including the Beehive Gov. Building), road the Wellington Red Cable tram, and strolled through the City Botanical Gardens.

    We ended the day with a special performance by our very talented Cruise Director, Aoibhionn O'Neill.    Read more

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