Sailing on Holland America ms Oosterdam: Part 2

February 27: Wellington NZ

Wellington is the capital of New Zealand, and its second most populace area. It is located on the southwest tip of the North Island, on the Cook Strait. Wellington is the southernmost capital of a sovereign state. Wellington was settled in the 1200"s by Maori people who named the area Te Whanga-nui-a-Tara, which means the Great Harbor of Tara.

We sailed into Wellington Harbor on a partly cloudy cool day.

Wellington is a city of contrasting old and new. Above, an older colonial style building contrasts with a new copper-colored glass skyscraper.

Instead of going on one of the many tour options offered by Holland America, we decided to just poke around the harbor area to see what we could find. The harbor area proved to be a great place for tourists, with many of the old wharf buildings renovated into trendy shops and restaurants. Here a new structure welcomes tourists to the harbor area.

Across the harbor, a marina and condo development beckon sailors.

Local metal sculpture at the water's edge depicting sea urchins.

This is a statue on the waterfront honoring the Kupe tribe of Maori warriors who are the legendary discoverers of New Zealand.

The waterfront was alive with these small shops in little shipping containers. They sold handcrafts and other handmade items, along with other arts and crafts. Looks like the rent would be pretty reasonable, and when you are done for the day, just put a padlock on it!

This is a view of Wellington looking back across the harbor.

This is the Te-Papa Museum. The full name is Te-Papa Tongarewa, which means "treasures of this land" in Maori. It houses exhibits and art of traditional Maori culture.

This is the pretty marina we spied earlier from across the harbor.

Back across the harbor, Tim was on the quest for more green-lipped mussels. Ever since we had some in Auckland, they are his new favorite. This was The Crab Shack (no, not Joe's Crab Shack, but a real New Zealand one!) in one of the old restored wharf building on Pier 5.

And here's our lunch: green-lipped mussels in garlic sauce and fried soft-shell crabs.

Wellington Harbor Board office building.

Leaving Wellington at sunset.

February 28: Akaroa NZ

We sailed into Akaroa on the Banks Peninsula, our first stop on the South Island of New Zealand. The Banks Peninsula was formed by volcanic activity, and so the multiple harbors along its edge are very long and therefore protected from open sea. The original name for Akaroa is "Whangaroa" which mend "Long Harbor" in Maori.

Akaroa is 84 km from Christchurch, and the ship offered several tour options to see the earthquake devastation in Christchurch. I am sure it is still a horrible site 3 years after the big quake, but reviews of these tours described slow, winding roads through the hills to observe a scene of devastation. With all respect and sympathy to the Kiwis in Christchurch, we decided to stay in Akaroa for the day.

Here we are with Rick and Scott on the tender from the Oosterdam heading into Akaroa. The harbor is long, but apparently not too deep, so we anchored out in the middle and tendered in.

The region around Akaroa is hilly and covered with evergreen conifers, so it again has an almost "Tahoe" feel to it.

Beautiful sailboats on a lazy sunny day in Akaroa.

Akaroa is an old town, so there are many charming cottages in the town....

...with beautiful flower gardens.

One of the main attractions in Akaroa is "The Giant's House." The house was built on a hill overlooking Akaroa Harbor in 1880 by a banker. It took five years to build it, and when it was finished, a small girl living in the valley below looked up and observed that it looked to big it "must be a giant's house." The name stuck.

This is the driveway up to the Giant's House. The house was purchased twenty years ago by local artist Josie Martin, who is a trained horticulturist and artist. When she began remodeling the house and digging in the gardens, she found shards of old pottery. Apparently trash removal was a problem in the early years of the house, so a lot of stuff got buried in the garden. The shards of pottery sparked Martin's creative muses, and the result is....well, see for yourself!

Retaining wall below the main entrance of the Gian'ts House.

Some of the owner/artist's whimsical work: a reception bench just inside the front gate made entirely of shards of ceramic tiles.

In the front yard, a tile planter in the shape of a grand piano!

Tim making new friends in the garden of the Giant's House.

More playful artistry with ceramics and horticulture.

This pair holds vigil over Josie Martin's whimsical domain.

The small art gallery at the rear of the house.

Some of Josie's "serious" work. Beautiful!

A cat lady bids us farewell as we leave the Gian'ts House.

Back in the village of Akaroa, Tim is on the quest for....you guessed it! More green-lipped New Zealand mussels. We stopped at Bully Hayes on the waterfront.

Tim is patiently awaiting his order in the afternoon sunshine at Bully's.

And here they are! Green-lipped mussels in sweet chili-ginger sauce with a cold glass of New Zealand Pinot Gris.

Jacque opted for fresh New Zealand salmon.

My choice was the seafood platter with local salmon, mussels, clams, ceviche, and shrimp. The other poor bastards in our group went to have fish and chips! Please! Have some class!

Once again, a sunset sail as we leave our destination for the day. Lovely Akaroa New Zealand.

March 1: Port Chalmers/Dunedin NZ

We sailed into Otago Harbor on the Otago Peninsula in New Zealand. The harbor and surrounding hills and settlements are remnants of ancient volcanic activity. Otago harbor is a long narrow harbor that grows more shallow as it moves inland, so cruise ships must dock at Port Chalmers, about half way up the harbor toward Dunedin.

From the port, we took buses into Dunedin, one of the major population areas of the South Island, and one whose main industry is tertiary education with the University of Otago and Otago Polytechnic providing university level education for the region.

Dunedin (the gaelic name for Edinburgh) was caught up in the great gold rush of New Zealand in the 1800's. A railroad was built into the interior above Dunedin to transport miners and prospectors along with their treasure, and in later years, farm and ranching produce. For our outing in Dunedin, we rode the old train up through the Taieri Gorge to Middlemarch.

The train station in Dunedin is a sight to behold. It was built by Sir George Alexander Troup, New Zealand architect, engineer and statesman. Easy to see why upon completion of this ornate railway station, Sir George was nicknamed "Gingerbread George."

The interior of the Dunedin train station is equally ornate.

Outside on the platform, we are ready to board our train for the Taieri Gorge.

This is one of the original rail cars.

Tim and I, along with the guys, were assigned to Car Q. How appropriate.

Car Q turned out to be the "dining car" on our trip, so at one point or another along the way, we met all the other passengers on our train!

A beautiful suburb above Dunedin.

Sheep country above Dunedin with majestic mountains as a backdrop. Very reminiscent of Colorado in the American West.

Looking back at the Taieri Gorge as we have passed over it.

Shadow of the train and bridge as we pass over the gorge.

At a couple of points along the track, we had to pull over on a siding to let the returning train journey on to Dunedin. Here Tim is inspecting the engine.

The official banner of the Taieri Gorge Railway.

The dining car also sold bottles of New Zealand wine, so Rick and Scott and the rest of us were happy train riders all the way up and back!

And our destination, Middlemarch NZ. The local Lion's Club welcomed us with a booth selling beef patties and sausages served up on slices of white bread with all the mustard and sautéed onions you wanted.

Back on the ship from our train ride, we are sailing out of Otago Harbor at sunset.

After a shower and change of clothes, Tim and I are off to a lovely dinner in the Pinnacle Grill upscale dining room aboard ship.

Tim is ready for his appetizer!

Had to photograph this "monkey business" china in the Pinnacle Grill.

Lobster salad for starters. Entrees were chateaubriand for me and salmon for Tim. Photos were missed however, because the food was so delicious, we forgot about the camera!

I had creme brûlée for dessert.

Tim had chocolate soufflé.  Quite an uptick from the dining car on the 1860's vintage Taieri Gorge Railway, and the perfect evening to another New Zealand day.