This morning we arrived in Wellington, New Zealand. Wellington is known as New Zealand’s entertainment and cultural capital. It attracts many visitors who live in New Zealand, particularly on the weekends. The national museum of New Zealand is located here. The population of this city totals approximately 350,000 people. The major drivers of the economy appear to be tourism and farming. All of the people who we met who live in this lovely area are very kind and also have a nice sense of humor.
We woke up early this morning and once again began our day in the Fitness Center. Keith worked out on the elliptical machine and Anne Marie worked out on the treadmill. The fitness center was not too busy since many passengers have tours today.
After our workout we enjoyed a very nice breakfast in the Lido Café. We sat with one other couple who we know quite well. The Café was fairly busy as many people were getting breakfast before their tours. We had a beautiful view from the café as we arrived in this port of call.
The Captain’s daily report was very encouraging. Unlike yesterday, the forecast was for good weather for most of the day and any showers are forecasted for later in the day. We were very fortunate that although it was a bit nippy with the temperature being below average for this time of the year, we did not have any rain during our tour. ☺ During his daily talk the Captain did say that later this evening the seas would likely be quite choppy. ☹ Let’s hope that he is wrong at that. ☺
His thought for the day is “Things turn out best for people who make the best of the way things turn out.” This is certainly another nice thought and one that we certainly believe in.
We went on a wonderful shore excursion called Seal Coast Safari. As part of this excursion we boarded a 4x4 vehicle to travel to New Zealand’s rugged coastline. Upon leaving the pier, we first traveled through the nice town of Wellington, before heading to another town called Brooklyn (yes, Brooklyn). We also traveled by a beautiful park called Central Park (yes, Central Park) on our way to the top of a tall mountain where we got a birds eye view of an enormous windmill. This windmill was installed as part of a test, and plans are now underway to install a total of 100 windmills, each at three times the size of the current windmill. These windmills will be capable of providing electricity to over 1,000 homes. Yes, this truly was a very windy mountain.
From there we traveled even higher along a two-lane road (probably less than a two lane road), which winded around the mountains until overtime the road narrowed down to one lane. As our journey continued there were beautiful valleys on one side of the road and cliffs on the other side of the road. We saw various types of wildlife including some deer and ostriches.
Eventually we came to the beach area and that is where our 4X4 vehicle was essential. We drove a couple of miles on the beach much of it on gravel, with portions on black sand. At times we had to maneuver around various large rocks and other impediments. We were traveling along Zealand’s rugged coast until we reached the highlight of the tour, which was to see the seals. It was at this point where we got out of the vehicles and we saw over fifty New Zealand Seals. The guide told us a good deal about the seals and we stayed another 30 minutes before it was time to make our journey back to the ship. We went a different way so that we could take a more direct route back to town without having to go back up the high mountain ranges. During our drive back we passed an area where the rocks had quite a bit of red in them and we also went up and then down a very steep hill. It was almost like being on an amusement park ride where you were at a point where you could not see in front of you and the next thing you know is that you are going down a very steep hill.
This tour was terrific and we are so very glad to have had the opportunity to not only see the various wildlife but to also take-in the very spectacular views of the mountains, valleys and ocean. There was only about twelve passengers on the tour. We shared our 4x4 vehicle with book dramatist Barbara Rinella and her husband. She presents a one-woman show dramatizing current literature on board the Crystal Serenity. The other day she appeared as Albert Einstein and last year when we first saw her perform she appeared as Dolly Madison. We were very fortunate to not have any rain during the tour.
This evening’s attire around the ship was informal. Before dinner, we attended a reception for those passengers on the Full World Cruise called The Road to Oz. There were two receptions; one for those guests who dine early and one for those guests who dine late. The reception was outstanding. We posted one picture with Anne Marie with the World Cruise Hostess who is also Anne Marie who played Dorothy in this evenings performance.
In a few days there will be another reception for all passengers on board the ship. We think it is wonderful that Crystal is offering at least one special event on each World Cruise Voyage for all of the passenger’s in addition to the regular evening events that are usually offered on each and every Crystal voyage throughout the year.
This evening’s restaurant menu in the Main Dining Room was called the New Zealand Dinner as it featured several items to recognize our sailing in this area of the world. Some of the chef’s suggestions included Green Shell Mussel, Gave Bird Consommé with Cabbage Strudel, New Zealand Lamb Loin and a Land Down Under dessert, which consisted of a Raspberry Chiffon Dream on Kiwi Puree with Passion Fruit Pralines. While we chose other items we appreciate the thought that goes into preparing each of the dinner menus. A few nights ago we enjoyed a fresh fish that is local to New Zealand. We did enjoy a wonderfully prepared dinner in the Main Dining Room. One of the very nice things about Crystal is that you can also get many items not on the menu. If you provide 24 hours notice you can get just about anything prepared for you as long as the ingredients/food is on the ship. At the same time, many times you can get other items on the spot. For example at lunch we normally get a salad entrée and if we don’t see a particular salad entrée on the menu that interests us we can have them prepare a variety of salads for us. Also, if we want to change how a particular item is prepared many times they can do that for us right on the spot as well. We truly appreciate the flexibility of the dining room staff.
On a related note let us also mention one of the advantages of the assigned dining room tables. The wait staff quickly knows what you like and don’t like. While the lunch tables are not assigned many times we try to sit at a table with a particular waiter who we first came to know last year. He knows that we enjoy a nice salad entrée for lunch and he normally knows which ones we like and which ones we don’t care for. So, when he hands us the menu if he knows it’s one that we don’t like he usually notes that when he hands us the menu and then mentions a few others that he knows we will probably substitute in lieu of the ones on the menu. He also knows that we enjoy fruit and that we each get a different type of fruit and he knows precisely what we want. This is no different than the senior waiter and the waiter we have for dinner. Those two individuals quickly learned what we prefer and how we prefer it. Once in a while we tell them that one time we will order something completely different to surprise them. ☺ They are all wonderful and we are so fortunate to be sailing with such a wonderful crew.
The captain said that the seas this evening would be quite rough with 18-foot waves.
Keith
