Brisbane to New Zealand

  Not much to report today.  Another quiet one allowing our sickies to recover.  It was really rocky overnight though - probably the worst so far. We filled the day with snoozing, watching movies, reading and eating.

As predicted we had a shitty sleep. We did rat tests too which were negative.  We both now have a bit of a sore throat so expected the opposite result.  We called the parents and Don came to us to do a test - his was negative.  I called mum early and when she answered the phone she was croaky as.  I went to her cabin to do a test and it was also positive. We had actually been noticing quite a few people wearing masks on board the last few days - more than before.  It’s no surprise I guess that Covid was out and about.  I spoke to Nate and he felt pretty good, again just tired. We decided to just all lay low today and rest, effectively isolating the two positives in their cabin. So while the Bay of Islands was pretty we didn’t really have any plans to go onto land.  Additionally it was a tender port and some of our group lacked the patience to manage that.  So in the end nothing really was lost.  We delivered food to Mum and Nate got room serv...

Arrived in port early, was scheduled for 10 but we definitely came in early.  The ship always needs to be cleared by the local authorities and that’s the gamble about what time you can actually get off. We had decided that visiting the Zoo would be our plan so we had a leisurely breakfast with a plan to allow the crows to dissipate a little before we joined the throng.  We were ready by 1030 so took off about then.  The ship was berthed at a working port again so we needed to shuttle in to the Queens wharf.  Once there we were easily able to pick up a minivan to take us all over to the zoo. Sadly, and simply put, the zoo was crap.  The first few enclosures were being maintained so were empty.  We walked for 45 mins and then ended up at the cafe so figured we would try out the fish and chips.  Umm again it was crap.  Oven fires and birdseye fish fillet essentially.  At least the elephant made it out as a bit of a surprise. Our main aim of this...

Got into Tauranga a bit later today which was great as we  got to watch it port.  Was interesting as it was a narrow pathway to follow in and the ship turned so it could back in.  Again the dock was on the starboard side, most often the case this cruise. We decided not to bother getting off today - while it’s a pretty town there’s not much to see unless you’re doing a tour.  Instead, we booked the kids in to do the I fly, which is a sort of imitation sky diving experience. They looked nervous but did really well!  Both really enjoyed it! We had buffet lunch again and Tony scored some Indonesian Spicy seafood soup.  Absolutely his favourite thing so far.  They also had fried bananas, I didn’t photograph as they looked horrid but were so tasty!

Napier was the planned port today, again we arrived by 0800.  They had some trouble clearing the ship with port authorities so I think the first debarkation was around 830. We hadn’t planned much for today other than a little look around the town.  Certainly a much larger township this time, giving us art deco vibes.  The lady that drove our bus in was certainly chatty so we got a bit of a story about the town which was a nice start. After yesterdays debacle we decided to try coffee again.  We strolled to the Main Street and found a cafe to sit at.  Again the weather was quite warm - no jackets needed.  The boys agreed that the coffee was way better than on board so it was a triumph. We then walked a long the main shopping strip and Tony scored a new jumper.  We also got to see a couple of local lads trying to have a fight in the mall.  The stopped when a security guy, much bigger than all of them, intervened lol. We all agreed it was a pretty pla...

Woke this morning to yet another beautiful day.  We had thought the weather was going to turn but it hasn’t.  We docked just before 0800 today and s we we awake earlier we did get to watch us come in.  That’s one of my fav things to do for sure, watch us slow and then dock. Off to the windjammer today for breaks as we thought we could get an early look at what the bus situation looked like for Picton.  Yesterday wasn’t great, long lines and queues. It’s a working port too, and the first thing I noticed once up on deck 15 was the smell of pine.  We looked over the port side and you could see piles and piles and piles of cut timber.   This is the smallest port on this cruise, the bus took maybe 10 mins to get into the heart of town. We walked around the bay for a little bit and then wandered to the Main Street for coffee.  The main coffee place was jammed! I queued for perhaps 20 minutes and then we waited for easily another 30.  While we waited mum...