Day 13 - Bay of Islands, New Zealand - Friday

When we arrived at Bay of Islands, we had a dolphin escort into the bay. This region has over 144 islands and small bays, the Bay itself being a natural harbor . James Cook discovered and named New Zealand in 1769. The Maori name for it is Aotearoa, meaning "Land of the long white cloud".





We took this large catamaran on a trip to the "hole in the rock" plus some sightseeing in and out of the bay. It was pretty rough part of the way and we had some 'motion' casualties. We spent most of the time up on top but when it became really rough, the captain ordered us all inside.





Here's the Hole ... we sat outside it for a while because the ocean was pretty high but we did sail through it, then watched as another small boat followed us in.










On the other side, we found a very small private fishing boat - he was being tossed around severely and left soon after we got there - smart man!










This shows the rough seas as we were waiting right outside the 'hole' - it almost looks like a whirlpool - it was windy and bouncy in the cat. but it was still lots of fun.





This is the harbor in the little town of Russell - where we were taken from our ship. We didn't have much time to look around, unfortunately, and on our cat. ride we stopped at small island for refreshments before sailing back to Russell. We were all pretty windswept and chilled, so we took the next tender back to the Paul Gauguin.




While waiting to depart, I spotted this jetboat zooming back to port. While we were out on the cat, we saw a few of these boats, loaded with passengers who must have been freezing! We'd already been on a jetboat by that time so we were happy to stay with the cat.

Day 12 - At Sea - Thursday

Today was Polynesian Day - lunch was primarily Polynesian and Polynesian dress was suggested for dinner. As usual, we had our fill of games, talks, lectures, arts, etc. plus an open house at La Boutique to check out their pearls and have some champagne. After dinner, there was a show "Viva Polynesia" featuring Les Gauguines regaling us with ancient Tahiti song and dance.


Tahitian dancing differs from Hawaiian dancing primarily by the speed of the dance and hip movement - Tahitian is much faster. When the missionaries arrived in the islands, they outlawed the dancing - which went underground. In the 1950s, it revived and was restored to its pride of place at the center of Tahitian culture.




The churches that once condemned the dancing are now lending their backyards to its practice - political rallies open and close with dancing - DJs play Tahitian music among their mixes.









Here are the four of us at dinner at L'Etoile, on Polynesian night - looking as 'polynesian' as we could. My friend and I have been admiring many Polynesian (and Maori) tattoos - perhaps a small one might be in the works.

Day 11 - At Sea - Wednesday

It took two days to sail from Tonga to Bay of Islands, New Zealand, but there was plenty to do onboard ship.


First, sleep-in, have breakfast in your room then make your way up to the pool deck. You may find friends there - have a Bloody Mary or some other fruit/rum drink and plan the day - as Rob and Kim did.





Our onboard astronomer/artist/lecturer was offering some of his artwork in La Palette. He illustrated a lot of work for his friend Carl Sagan and they worked together on the opening of the movie Contact, with Jodie Foster (good movie, by the way). We would spend many evenings with him exploring the skies.




This is a pretty good shot of most of La Palette - so much went on there every day. We're sitting with a couple of friends we met onboard - the ship (MS Paul Gauguin) only held 320 or so passengers so we got to recognize faces quite easily.




The waves and froth, fascinated me and I hung over my deck for a long time waiting for that one 'dynamite' shot - I still have several shots but I like this one the best I think. (I can hear you now "she's nuts")

Day 10 - Nuku'alofa, Tonga - Tuesday

We were only scheduled to be docked in Tonga for about four hours so we took a quick island tour with Kalolo as our guide and Lau our driver. Tonga, the Friendly Islands, is made up of over 150 islands but only 36 are inhabited. They spread out over a distance of about 500 miles. The population is roughly 122,000 - and habitation started about 3,000 years ago.
As it worked out, our stay was extended due to propulsion problems on board. Eventually, the ship arranged for shuttle buses to run every 30 minutes from the dock to the Post Office in this capital city. We left Nuku'alofa at 9 pm - an additional stay of almost 4 hours.


Here's a photo of Kalolo and Lau by the coach they drove us around in. Kalolo is wearing native garb.












Tonga is the only Pacific island that has maintained its sovereign monarchy and is still ruled by a king and his family. This is the Royal Palace - the first place we visited. The building was well maintained - unlike most of the buildings on the island but we were not allowed inside.





These are the Royal Tombs - next to the palace.






This is the Post Office where the shuttle buses dropped us off. We went in to buy postcard stamps and the lady behind the counter was talked into taking U.S. dollars - they usually only accept Tongan money.









Our next stop was in a residential area where a huge colony of flying fox bats lives and has lived for decades. They were roosting in trees but when we walked under the trees, some of them flew around. They are quite large and are considered sacred - only the king can hunt them if he desires.







Our tour bus took us to "the Blow Holes" ... rock/lava formations which mimick whales' blows. When the ocean water comes up through them - there's the 'blow' sound and the puff of spray, very reminiscent of whales.








Next stop was the Vakaloa Beach Resort - with its beautiful beaches, artifacts and hospitality to spare.







I couldn't close the photos of Tonga without including this one - I just love the face on this little girl - I hope her mother doesn't mind my posting it here.










The first missionaries arrived around 1799 - and all around the island there are cemeteries alongside the road and in people's gardens. Here's one of many churches we saw.






I doubt if anyone had washers and dryers because we saw lots and lots of washing on lines - but it was all so colorful and kind of interesting. The school girls wore bright red uniforms and white blouses.





It is evident that Tonga is a poor country - there were some really nice, new residences but for the most part, they were below par. The people appeared very friendly and happy to see visitors - waves were readily returned, as were smiles.





My last photo from our Tonga visit is to show you how much garbage a ship of 300 passengers, who've been at sea for two days, can create. They unloaded the bags and a man sat guard for about 6 hours before they were all removed.

Day 9 - At Sea - Monday

It took two sailing days to get from Rarotonga to Tonga but we had the option of keeping busy or just lazing around - I kept busy.

Here we are at lunch (I'm in dark green) with new friend Delores (left). She was traveling alone but the staff knew her from prior voyages. Her table was next to ours at dinner and although we coaxed, she chose to sit alone (as alone as one can be, next to the four of us!).




Rob, Kim and I sat-in on an art class with resident artist Guy Buffet. We drew whatever our hands led us to - then colored with watercolor pencils - followed up with paint brushes dipped in water - they converted the pencil colors to watercolors. It was very effective. This is my 'complicated mind' ...






This is our Captain Rajko Zupan - Born in Croatia .... he gave an informal talk in La Palette and answered questions. This photo doesn't do him justice - he's really quite a nice looking man. He's been sailing this ship around the islands for six years.








This afternoon we had a Country Fair and Ice Cream Social on the pool deck. Various sections of the staff put on games and the passengers voted for the most original and most fun. This is Rob with string around his waist, holding a pencil, which he had to get in the three bottles standing there - it made for some strange positions.








This one was put on by the kitchen staff - they gave us whipped cream on plates to throw at their faces - I had a go but I 'throw like a girl' and just hit above one of them but it was fun and I voted for it.








This one (put on by Les Gauguines) won for most originality - you had an eggplant tied around your waist and you had to swing it (without hands) and knock an orange to the end of the mat - it was hilarious to watch.










Here I am with Kim and Paula going to or coming from lunch.

Day 8 - At Sea - Sunday

This is the day that cheated us out of Saturday, November 13th - we crossed the International Dateline and that day disappeared (we recovered a day when we flew home from New Zealand). This is the day I won the Blackjack tournament - I hung onto my winnings by not playing any further.



On Sundays, there were church services and every day of the week there were games, lectures, shows, classes, etc. etc. On this particular day there was a cooking demonstration - more specifically, fruit carving. These adorned the Afternoon Tea table in La Palette - very well done, aren't they?



We also had a fashion show put on by La Boutique - the ship's jewelry, clothing, travel, postcard shop. The models were Les Gauguines - the beautiful Tahitian girls who entertained us, taught us various Tahitian crafts, etc. and just made us feel good. We had an artist on board who also held classes, a renowned astronomer and an anthropology professor - all extremely educational, entertaining and interesting.






OK - don't laugh. One of our classes, by Les Gauguines, was Pareo tying. They wore pareos almost every day - they can be skirts, blouses, cover-ups, dresses - almost anything you want. We'd seen them being hand-painted on one of the islands. I went to the classes, then bought one at La Boutique. It was quite hot and humid out on the decks when we weren't cruising and whatever I wore didn't seem to be cool enough - this, however, was!

Day 7 - Rarotonga, Cook Islands - Friday

Rarotonga is the largest of the Cook Islands and is the only high, mountainous one of the group - like a small Tahiti. The jagged peaks and steep valleys are surrounded by a marshy area, then a flat coastal plain, white sandy beaches and aqua lagoons. The surrounding reef extends about 1/4 mile offshore. Most of the population was killed off by European diseases in the mid-19th century but with other islanders moving in, it's been built back up to around 9,000 now.



The missionaries arrived in 1823 and after that time, the islanders moved from their homes on the raised ground where they grew their taro and other swampy crops, to the flatlands on the outer edges of the island. Evidence has been found that puts early life there at about 5,000 years ago.




This is the only Cathedral we saw on our trip .. a slew of churches, cemeteries, etc. but only this one huge cathedral. Most families in the islands bury their family members in their garden or somewhere else on their property. It's unusual to western eyes to see these plots of land, but if you think about it, that's what the pioneers who went west did - buried their dead on their property.




Here's a look at the inside of the beautiful Cathedral - usually, the thunder and lightening starts when I enter a place of worship, but this time I stopped at the door and all was well.






Our driver was called Hopeless on this trip - a misnomer. We drove around about half the island and up to one of the higher flat places so we got a good 360 degree view. He also showed us how to get into coconuts - the easy way. We visited more warrior stones and had a good glimpse of what life is like on the island.







This was a lovely spot tucked away in the mountains - there were some young people swimming in the pool at the bottom of the waterfall and I think most of Rarotonga's mosquitoes were there, waiting for the hapless tourists. We made a quick exit.








This is one of the views from the high spot we drove to. While there, we joined up with another 4WD from the same tour company and their driver showed us how the natives made hats and bowls from the local plants - it was really interesting and they were surprisingly strong and durable.





Here's another view from the same place, looking behind us. A point of interest: Rarotonga means Down South. It's supposedly from a famous Tahitian navigator who visited the island once and some years later decided to visit again - he was asked where he was going and said "down to the south".




Here's one of the beaches where we stopped for a break on our drive around and up over the island.









This is a typical street in the outlying (more affluent) areas of Rarotonga - inland the houses are more like shacks in disrepair and with little amenities.







The ship was anchored outside the reef, meaning it was exposed to all the Pacific had to offer and you can see from this photo we had some pretty decent swells which made for hairy docking - but notice the color of the ocean - totally unretouched.






At Tea Time on board ship (4:00 pm) they had a local dance troupe come aboard to entertain us with local dances - it was great fun and extremely entertaining. How they get those hips moving like they do, God only knows!