It's All Over but the Cryin'

It's Saturday. We're off the ship and back at the hotel after touring the day in Auckland. Let's back up a bit.



Did we talk about Napier? Yes, we did. And our next port wasn't Raratonga, it was Tauranga (or Rotarua), but we actually docked in Mount Mauganui. A beautiful port. Very much like Dana Point. Surf shops, seaside cafes, cute dress shops. Just beautiful. But we weren't here for long...we had a tour to Longbridge Park. A kiwifruit farm, a sheepsmilk farm, a tree nursery and a jetboat ride park. And while all the other attributes of this park were interesting and important to the local economy: it was the jetboats we were there for.

They loaded in the boats and ran us up a river at about 40 miles an hour. And while that doesn't seem like much...you really feel it on the 360s! What a ride. Yeah we got wet! Yeah we got crushed in the corners! Yeah we had a ball. Well, maybe the blue hairs in the back of the boat didn't...didn't they read the brochure??? It was a great time! Aside from the ride, the guide showed us some of the local flora and fauna...truly prehistoric looking. Very pristine. Very protected.

Soapbox warning!!!

One thing I've noticed about New Zealand, and Australia, for that matter, is the care the the people take of their land and resources. They are guardians of the land and they are proud of it. It's like they made a deal with the government: you take care of us, and we'll take care of the land and our resources. They don't waste anything. They wring every last use out of what's available. There are trees that are so protected that they can't be pruned without a permit...and they're not even in a forest. The water is so clean. The roads are so well maintained. The towns and cities are so clean. It's amazing...and I'm a little envious. I'm just sayin'.

Our last day was a day at sea as we cruised the bay of islands: all the little islands on the far north side of the North Island. Very volcanic, sheer cliffed, covered in foliage.

Today we disembarked. We had a tour guide pick us up and whisk us to the War Memorial Museum. We had tickets to the Maori cultural center and to a performance of Maori songs and dances. Wonderful songs, tricky pastime/games and the best part? A performance of the Haka...the Maori War Dance. Inspiring! I think Jon got some video of it, so I'm sure we'll get it posted before it's all said and done. We then went to the top of Mt. Eden...a dormant volcano. From there we could see the whole of Auckland harbor and surrounding environs. It was a sunny day, so it was just gorgeous. We then had lunch at our host's own home...more like a tree house! Nestled into the side of a hill, we had beer and wine, bread, fruits, pork pie, cheeses, tomatoes, sausages and mussels out on their patio. Absolutely wonderful! We left our treetop buffet and headed out to a local winery/brewery. I know, you're surprised aren't you. We finally returned to our hotel...a little plastered. Poor Joe had no one to party with!

I'm really sad that it's all over. I'm really sad that no one's going to be serving me breakfast, or making up my room, or bringing me new towels, or taking me on a new adventure tomorrow. No, I'm just going to get on a plane and travel for 31 hours. Oh! Goodie!

It's been a great trip. One I would highly recommend to anyone! G'Day Mates, Kia Ora, Cheers!