Wellington....

We are currently docked in Wellington, the capital of New Zealand.  Beautiful sunrise through the clouds this morning but kind of chilly, at least in Texan terms, so we decided to stay on the boat.  Seems to be fairly modern, large city and nothing specific beckoned us from shore so a few musings on ship life.

We must give a shout out to Ady and Yatt, our room stewards.  They clean and straighten the room two or three times a day.  We haven't seen their hiding place, so they must lurk down the hall and sneak in the moment we leave the cabin.  Our room always has fresh flowers but we seem to disagree on where the small vase should be.  They put it in the corner of a side table and I move it back to the center of the coffee table.  I'm sure they place it there for safety and have cleaned up water and/or broken glass many times due to rough seas, but I like being able to see them.   

Still having an issue with people not locking the bathroom stall doors.  I really don't know what to think of that.  We now open each door veeerrryyy slowly, while looking the other way, fully expecting to surprise an occupant.

And then there are the elevators...people will stand in front of the bank of elevators, within reach of the up and down buttons and just stand there.  We walk up, go to the other side, press the button, and when the elevator arrives, they amble on with us.  Are they training their mental telepathy?  Do they have people that press buttons for them at home?  And don't get me started on how they occupy the elevator....

This next onservation wasn't as noticeable the first few rocky days at sea, but  in these calmer waters, it is generally possible to start walking on one side of the corridor and intentionally stay on that side.  The problem arises when you've got Austrailians and Brits on board who walk on the left side and we walk on the right.  Then it's a game of Mexican stand-off to see who moves and who stays the course.  Mother and I must not seem too imposing, because we are usually the ones to move.

Time to go to Afternoon Tea.  we will see how many people we can run over on our way...

The tournament....

After dinner, we skipped the show and joined a complimentary ladies black jack tournament in the casino...mainly for the free champagne.

There were about 30 contestants and after the first round, I was in the lead and Mother was second, as evidenced by the picture below with our favorite dealer Mo.

The  finals consisted of the top seven from the prelims AND I WON!!!  Mother came in a close second.

Unlike a Las Vegas tournament, we didn't win cash but got dinner for two at the premier restaurant (street value $60) two stylin' baseball caps and a couple of drink coupons....most importantly, we trounced the competition!!  What a team!

Picton...

We had a lazy start to the day as our tour didn't leave until 1 pm.  Started with a beautiful drive through the small port town of Picton and out to the wine region of Marlborough, only about 30 minutes.

We stopped for wine tastings at the Villa Maria Estate and the Forrest Winery.  Since it is summer here, the vines were loaded with grapes to be harvested in March or April.  Here they trim the vines to form more of a vertical hedge as opposed to a horizontal canopy in the US.  We were told that this is so the fruit gets more sunshine to mature and since it's not as hot, they don't need the protection that the canopy provides.

The last stop on the tour was an artisan center that included a quilt shop.  Mother was in heaven picking out many pieces of New Zealand fabrics to add to her stash at home. Pretty sure she will have designed a quilt in her head before we return to the states...

Akaroa...

We anchored in the bay of Akaroa this morning and boarded a tender to transport us to shore.  Turns out when boarding one of these small boats to go ashore it's called a tender, but boarding the same vessel when the ship is sinking, it's called a life boat.

Once on shore, the captain of the small sailing ketch we were scheduled on determined that the waters were too rough and cancelled the trip.  We decided to just catch the next tender to our ship to spend a leisurely afternoon on board.  They have since cancelled all transport off the ship as a squall is expected soon.  Seems we made a good choice.

The casino doesn't open until about seven.  What to do, what to do...

Dunedin....

Our first off-the-boat excursion was at Port Chambers.  We boarded a bus and drove through the lovely town of Dunedin (pronounced Due-nee-din). It took about an hour to get to the other side of the bay to a wildlife preserve area.

Then we crawled onto an 8-wheeled vehicle.  Think a 4-wheeler, times two, that went off-road, times two.  We went straight up a large hill, through mud, over craters, and back down again. I'm predicting sore muscles and bruises.

Saw a natural breeding ground of the New Zealand Fur Seal with loads of pups.  Also went to a Yellow-eyed Penguin  habitat, but they were elusive today.

*Apologies on a previous post... One of our dinner companion's name is Mike, not Mark.  His Australian accent made it difficult to decipher.  The first night we sat down, they said WE had an accent.  Lol

The casino...

Day three and all the dealers and pit bosses in the casino know us by name, big surprise!  Evidently Aussies and Canadians aren't big gamblers as most of the tables are empty, but if we show an interest in playing at a table, they are more than willing to open it up for us.  We even scored a free cocktail!!  The rules state we never turn down free alcohol, so I had to drink both hers and mine.  The things I go through....

Mother has been teaching me the intricacies of Let It Ride and I've introduced her to Three Card Poker.  We have also been hitting the penny slots.  Pretty exciting when you hit 100 credits until you realize that's only $1.

Fiordland National Park....

Land ahoy !!!  First land we've seen in over 48 hours. Now we didn't actually get to step on it, but are reassured it is still there.

We have been cruising through Fiordland National Park all day. If you remember your natural history, fiords were created by glaciers probably only a few years ago...so maybe I don't remember my history too well, but you get the point.

Milford Sound was first. In spite of the clouds and rain it was just breathtaking. The rain actually enhanced the sights as it created many more waterfalls.  Didn't get to see any of the native New Zealand Fur Seals today, maybe they are on vacation too.

Then we went through Doubtful Sound and Dusky Sound.  All beautiful, huge hills, covered with tropical trees.  This area gets over 300 inches of rain a year.

Gotta run again today, we are due for English Afternoon Tea on the Promenade deck soon.