Month: February 2026

Tasmania

Hobart

When you berth at the wharf in Hobart, you are not far from where the yachts that compete in the Sydney Hobart yacht race park each year at the completion of the epic race. The mooring areas present great reflections in the early morning light, well a little later than early morning. Our voyage across from Fiordland in New Zealand to Tasmania was quite calm for most of the journey (others in the cabin would say otherwise about the ripples in “the ditch” between the two countries).

We took a wander around the shops for a few hours before getting back on board for the last few days of our cruise.

Burnie

Surprisingly, Burnie had one of the most user friendly welcomes to the cruise passengers you could experience. The shuttles had a volunteer on board to point out interesting points about the town. There used to be a paper mills in the town employing many locals. Now the wood chips are exported for paper making.

Then as we arrived at the drop off point, the City Mayor got on the bus to welcome us to the city. She gave us a brief history of Burnie and invited us to walk the foreshore area where hidden in the rocks along the shore were tiny penguins waiting for the evening to go out to fish for food for their young in their nests. There was a handcraft market just beside our pickup point, all made in Burnie.

That evening, we chose to dine with a couple from Kentucky who had sat near us each evening and tonight was their 50th wedding anniversary. That’s a time when restaurant waiters come around the table and sing best wishes to the couple. There had been quite a number of couples on the ship who were celebrating weddings.

Tonight was our last night on the cruise for us but other things got in the way. I went to our room safe to grab the tip money to give to our waiters and “stuffed” up the procedure and our safe went into “sleep mode”. Oh well, call security for an alternative method of access. We waited 3 hours for the safe to be free to access our passports and money.

The crossing of Bass Strait to the mainland was “very gracious”.

Melbourne

Although our cruise was to end in Sydney, we thought it best to get off in Melbourne to attend a funeral of a friend who had passed away while we were in Milford Sound.

A good cruise always has lasting memories and we have plenty after visiting so many destinations we had worked at or visited before. The highlights for Lyn were returning to Tonga and meeting up with work bosses and colleagues from Honiara. My highlights were meeting work colleagues in Honiara and getting to Tonga. Meeting friends in Napier from 60 years ago and have a first time meet with two cousins in Dunedin.

The Milford Sound in the rain was a different but impressive way to view that great inland passage of water.

The thing that made the biggest impression on me was the umbrella that hit my head with too much force. At least I’m alive, just another long rehab to endure.

Another cruise is over and we are very thankful we had a cruise full of nostalgia and great cruising weather, in the main. Thanks for being with us and please keep safe. God Bless all.

Napier

After a huge earthquake in 1931, the city was rebuilt in beautiful Art Deco style — it’s basically an open-air museum of 1930s architecture. Napier holds an annual art deco festival when everyone gets dressed deco and polish their old 1930s cars to bring memories to life again. There are Long coastal walkways, gardens, beaches, and that classic relaxed holiday feel.

Another nostalgic visit. I had never been to Napier but a guy who lived with us in Dunedin in 1962 has been following me on facebook for years and noticed that our cruise was taking us to Napier. He now lives across the other side of the north island and insisted he come to Napier to show us around. We hadn’t seen each other for 60 years but I “picked him” as the bus arrived at the shuttle drop off point.

John and his wife Marcia showed us around the Hawke’s bay and up to the high points around Napier. We finished our touring with a great New Zealand ice cream. Thanks John for the pleasant meetup.

Wellington

This is the capital of New Zealand but still have heaps of logs at the wharf to be exported mainly to China and other Asian destinations. We didn’t get off the ship as I wanted to get my claim in to the bus company whose bus had caused me to be knocked out in the bay of islands. I’m not noticing any improvement in my balance and speed. Seems like I have regressed somewhat (just more for Lyn to be concerned about).

Timaru

It was from Timaru that our family moved to Hobart in mid 1962. We wandered around in the sunshine and enjoyed a morning tea on the sidewalk. There was a couple of young girls across from us from Denmark who were touring New Zealand and working at fruit orchards. Would you believe they were both knitting woolen hats from NZ wool? Interesting sisters.

On the beachfront, a game of polo was happening. Apparently, next week, an Australian team will be here to compete against New Zealand.

Dunedin

I did 4 years of schooling in Dunedin in the late 50s and early sixties. My mother had three brothers in this town. One of them had 8 children, many of my cousins I had never met. Paulette and Colleen were here enjoying Waitangi day (New Zealand’s national day) and we interrupted their day but had a lot of laughs and humorous stories to catch up on. The most interesting story is that one lady made contact with the family when she was 83. Unbeknown to the family, their mum and dad adopted her out before the rest of the family turned up. There mum and dad were not around anymore to answer the “please explain” question. But they all got along for the last few years of their lives. (Oh, the things that happened in the old days)

Thanks Paulette and Colleen for the laughter and hospitality. Might have to do it again one day.

Fiordland

After some rocking and rolling around the southern point of New Zealand, Noordam made it into the Fiordland region for us to cruise around. The skies were not real kind and very grey. But still, the Milford Sound is majestic with waterfalls along the fjords.

Here’s some info about New Zealand logging exports

Export Values by Product (2024)

From the forestry export breakdown:

Logs: ~NZ$3.23 billion

Sawn timber & sleepers: ~NZ$885 million

Pulp: ~NZ$629 million

Panels: ~NZ$374 million

Paper & paperboard: ~NZ$361 million

Woodchips & other products: smaller amounts Total forestry exports: ~NZ$5.75 billion (2024 actual) 

Tonga

Neiafu, Vava’u Island

A long night at sea took us to a lovely harbour in Tonga: Neiafu, Vava’u. It is a favorite natural harbour of sailors in the South Pacific. It is also one of the most laid back island time towns that one could wish for. Tourism is making its way felt but the council needs to improve the roads and facilities for tourists. Then there will be a willingness of tourists to leave their dollars as they visit.

It is an access point for scuba divers to untainted coral and marine life, caves and beaches. International yachts make this place a high point of their voyages.

Humpback whales visit here during their migration period, July to October, each year. Church life is well engraved in their lifestyle. There is not a lot of industry in the region so the people live a subsistence lifestyle with plenty of fruit and vegetables.

A welcome dancing group of girls invited us to enjoy Neiafu while here for the few short hours. We walked up a street about a kilometer and found some tropical blooms along the way. On our return to board the ship, we were farewelled by a group of agile male dancers.

While at Neiafu, this cruise ship “Odyssey” arrived in the harbour. The dream of many who cruise regularly is to own a room or unit on a ship like Odyssey, and “see the world” for the rest of their lives in luxury. (Maybe it’s cheaper than a nursing home). A quick search found there is a unit for sale at $140,000; any takers?

Nukualofa

After another night of cruising, we arrived at the capital of the Kingdom of Tonga, Nukualofa. What a difference to any of the previous ports we have visited; clean and ready to make friends of the tourists who bring so much money to the country. (The second biggest income earner for the kingdom is the funds returned to Tonga by younger people harvesting fruit and vegetables in Australia. Amazing really!)

Just a little info before saying what we did in Nukualofa. Lyn’s mum and dad moved to the Kingdom of Tonga for work when she was 11. They had a house girl named Vavae. A young guy, Palu, was thrown out of his family because he wanted to become a Christian. Lyn’s Mum and Dad offered to care for him in his early years and into high school. Over time, Palu married Vavae and they had 4 kids. One of them was named after Lyn’s sister, Earlene May. Earlene Anne married “K” and they have 6 children. The family have kept in contact with Earlene May over the years and it was our turn to meet up with Earlene Anne and “K” in Nukualofa. Tongan hospitality went into gear and today we enjoyed the day with plenty of laughter and stories from way back. The family hasn’t had regular meetups and when they do meetup, there is much laughter as they/we catch up. This meetup was going to be no different. Earlene May met up with them in Nukualofa in 2023 for a day while cruising back to Sydney from San Diego.

We went out for breakfast first thing, and then started our tour of the island. We learned so much about their family history and life. Memories were recalled as well as made for latter “retrieval” when we meet again. Our sides are still sore from laughing. (Sorry to all those who don’t understand the genuineness of Tongan hospitality and meetups).

While touring Tonga after a two-hour breakfast, it becomes obvious that the Tongans all go to, or are, members of a church. There are so many church buildings around.

Christian faiths make up the vast majority of the population’s religious identity in and around Nukuʻalofa: 

Protestant – the largest group, with a variety of denominations: Free Wesleyan Church of Tonga — the single largest denomination.  Free Church of Tonga Church of Tonga Seventh-day Adventist Assembly of God and other smaller Protestant churches.  The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) — a substantial Christian group in the city.  Roman Catholic — a notable Christian presence with established churches such as the Basilica of St. Anthony of Padua in Nukuʻalofa. 

We visited a few touristy spots and a school at Beulah. A hidden secret is the awesome blowholes .

While in Tonga as a 9 year old, Lyn and the Princess were good friends. We found where she now lives but the Princess was attending a funeral and Tongan funerals can take more than a few hours. Her servant was happy to swap details to get in contact again.

Leaving Tonga was a little like repeating our departure from Solomon Islands in 1989. As Tonga faded into the distance behind Noordam, the same sort of tears came again. Another home away from home was deeply in our hearts.

Our next port of call was The Bay of Islands in New Zealand.