we docked in melbourne a bit later than usual and drove through the city to healesville sanctuary. i fed a kangaroo and when it ate it grabbed my hand with its sharp little paws and I could feel its little tongue! we had a really good lunch at rochford winery, then took a scenic cruise down the yarra river. on the ship we went to aunt pat and uncle denny’s for snacks, had dinner and saw the musical performance - a medley of broadway songs.
went to breakfast in the international dining room with aunt linnea then went to the big cooking demo and galley tour. the demo was a lot of fun and the galley was really interesting. I went out to the sun deck, got a bloody mary, and watched the men versus women cocktail competition and the ice sculpting demonstration. mom and I went to the live taping of the ship’s morning show then i went back to the sun deck and laid out until aunt linnea found me and we had photo show and tell. dad and i hit the hot tub for a bit then we went back to the room to get ready for formal night.<\p>
hobart, tasmania! first a bus tour through the countryside. tasmania is the largest hops-growing area in the southern hemisphere so we saw a lot of hops. at mt. field national park we walked through the quiet, mossy forest to russell falls, then i continued uphill to the falls overlook and horseshoe falls. we saw a lot of huge eucalypt trees and a surprising number of cute little rufus wallabies! one hopped out right in front of me. we then drove to meadowbank, a sheep farm and vineyard that is only open to princess cruise groups. we watched a sheep muster and saw the shearing of a merino sheep, then had a wine tasting and a homemade lunch. we bought some wine then continued on to bonorong, a wildlife park. kangaroos were everywhere and quite tame. I got to pet a kangaroo, a 17 year old koala and a little wombat. on the ship we went to aunt linnea’s for a little pre-dinner party. we had dinner then saw the musical show in the theater.
felt sick so slept in and spent all morning in the room. mom and dad brought me breakfast and some lunch. dragged myself out to watch the big aunt linnea vs dad ping pong match (dad won) and it was so beautiful outside and the sea was so calm (hardly any swells at all), i spent the rest of the afternoon out on the sun deck. felt a lot better afterwards.
got up early for an exercise class, but had forgotten to set my phone’s clock back an hour so ended up making friends with another woman who had forgotten the time change. we had a light breakfast and then i went up to the very top deck and ran on the outdoor track. the rougher seas and winds made it a little interesting. after class i went to the captain’s circle new members’ meeting, had breakfast and watched the vegetable carving demonstration. i watched the organized ping pong tournament, did australian immigration, went to the ‘piano man’ show and saw ‘the time traveler’s wife’ with mom. dinner, then another comedy show.
slept in, got lozenges for a sore throat, then hit morning trivia. the ship was decked out for valentine’s day, including a particulary gaudy atrium display that was so bad it went back around to good. i had the special indian buffet for lunch. it was fiordland national park cruising day, and in the afternoon when we entered milford sound, the rain finally let up and we got some good views - of, of course, the one fjord we’d already seen, although the rain meant waterfalls were everywhere, whereas we had only seen a few on our previous cruise. mom and dad played some ping pong. we had another great dinner at pacific moon, and aunt linnea and dad threw down and decided a ping pong grudge match was in order. mom gave everyone chocolate for valentine’s day, and when she offered our waiter one, he said ‘only if it’s from the heart’ so she stuck it in her shirt and pulled it out and gave it to him! hilarious, and he was blushing a bit :)
docked at port chalmers for a day in dunedin. had a beautiful ride on the taieri gorge railway - vintage wooden train cars and lots of trestle bridges and views of the river and gorges. we had champagne, tea and then lunch on the train (with montana wine, which we’d toured in marlborough). the whole ride was delightful! afterwards we went to larnach castle, which was gorgeous with breathtaking views. back on the ship we went to uncle denny and aunt pat’s for snacks and wine. fromtheir balcony we watched the young bagpiper and drummer serenading us from the wharf. we went to dinner and i had a delicious thai rice crème brûlée with lime sorbet.
arrived in lyttleton, the port near christchurch. went jet boating on the waimakariri river and it was AWESOME! the water was so shallow and we went sooo fast! lots of 360°s too! it was nice and warm and we got tea and cookies afterwards. got back to the ship for a very late lunch, then went to the medical center to have my leg checked out again - got some prescription antihistamines for a secondary reaction. dinner at the savoy, which dad skipped due to an upset stomach, then saw the comedy show.
got up early for the circuit exercise class, stayed for the stretching class and then wnt to the omelette-to-order place for breakfast. watched a neat fruit-carving demonstration, a litle of the martini show, then did puzzles out on deck until it started to rain. had
the one day only asian and sushi buffet for lunch, ran into my aunts, then went to wine tasting. hung out in the room for awhile (the sea was a little rough) while dad went back out and took advantage of the now-cloudless sky. we all got dressed up and went to the atrium for the champagne waterfall and captain’s speech, then had dinner at one of the nice dining rooms. afterwards we listened to maurizio playing the piano and singing in the atrium and watched all the people dancing, including one man’s interesting dance moves.
had room service breakfast since we had to meet up for our shore excursion so early. bused to wai-o-tapu and saw the (very smelly) volcanic hot springs pools and watched the lady knox geyser erupt. called maria to wish her a happy birthday and saw the te puke kiwifruit orchards. we took the gondola to the top of mt. ngongotaha and watched a maori musical performance while we had lunch. afterwards we went to rainbow springs and saw native birds, the world’s largest species of pidgeon, reptiles, an eel sleeping upside-down in a pipe, and a very fast little kiwi. back on the ship we watched the embarkation then mom and i read and had a mojito on deck. we hit the dinner buffet then caught the music
show in the big theater.