New Zealand - Post 12

Thursday 10 Jan

The highlights of the day were the 3 Sounds – Dusky, Doubtful and Milford. The weather was not bright and sunny, but the clouds and mist made them seem magical, and each progressively was more impressive. 

At Milford Sound there was a harsh heavy downpour, which completely saturated my jeans in a few seconds, then it hailed and there was even lightning, but, the misty swirling clouds gave the mountains a mystical feel and it was possible to believe that we were in a 'Lord-of-the-rings” story. We saw thousands of waterfalls and even some snow. (The photo below shows a waterfall being blown upwards by the strong winds).

Although the ship didn't quite go into the Sound as far as we had hoped, we were delayed by some medical emergency which meant we had plenty of time to thoroughly enjoy our surroundings. 

In the evening we went to a Gameshow: “The Countdown” and enjoyed Jane Cho in her performance Elektra. Jane is a violinist, but she only played one Classical piece, and included Hip-hop, Led Zeppelin's “Black Dog”, “Stairway to Heaven”, and AC/DC.

We ended the evening enjoying a comedy game show with “Newlywed/Not-so-newlywed”.

Friday 11 Jan

The clocks were turned back an hour overnight, and we slept in, so had a late breakfast. In the morning we, once again, enjoyed the “Hot Glass Show”. 

They make different pieces each time, so there are new techniques each time, and it is amazing how easy they make it seem. We watched “Battle of the Sexes” which seemed to get quite competitive (and certainly asked some intimate questions). I gave some starting genealogy tips to a friend, before learning to make some cocktails. We then went to the theatre to watch the movie, “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel”.

Saturday 12 Jan

Another sea day, so we started at the gym, before Morning Triva, hand-washed some clothes and then played Scattergories. Excitingly, Darryl spotted some whales out from our balcony. I took some photos, but only the first one worked out. 

The show was put on by Mario D'Andrea and when he first started out with Dean Martin songs, I was looking for the exit, but we were in the middle of a row and I couldn't escape. Luckily he soon started singing more modern ones, and he plays the guitar very well, and does have a very good voice. 

We also went to the Late Night Comedy Game Show – Liar's Club which was quite entertaining, but the small theatre was packed and it came close to a punch-up at the back, near us.

Sunday 13 Jan

We docked at Constitution Dock in Hobart, along with Diamond Princess, so there were a lot of cruisers in town. I took the ferry to MONA (Museum of Old and New Art) while Darryl walked around to get some good views of the city. MONA was fantastic, and I really enjoyed the experience although some of the art was very challenging. 

You have an iPhone which tracks your progress, allows you to vote, and see what works are near you, all-in-all a full experience with notes and media, which can then be emailed to you. (The following 2 photos are from the Mummy exhibition, which has the Mummy and a scan through the body).

I got the 3.30pm ferry back to the city, then headed for a Cafe to get some WiFi, and headed back to the ship just after 5pm. It was about this time that the ship called Darryl, in our stateroom, concerned for me knowing the correct time to board. Outside I was talking to one of the ship's crew for a while, not realising that Darryl was getting really concerned for me. When I arrived at the stateroom it was 5.35 and were weren't expected back on board until 5.45, so I thought everything was well under control (they were still waiting for 20 when I boarded). I found out that 2 people were left behind in Dunedin, as they had lost track of time in a Casino! They were able to rejoin the ship in Milford Sound. Once again we went to the Hot Glass Show, which had the additional benefit of lovely views of the cliffs as we saw the last of Tasmania. 

The show was a Variety performance featuring Jane Cho and Mario D'Andreas.

Monday 14 Jan

A sea day, so a late start and late breakfast, then we headed to the Hot Glass Show. After lunch there was an Art Auction which we went along to, just out of interest (we could have bought a Chagall, 3 Rembrandts, a Picasso pot, and a set of steak-knives for only $71K!), and the Hot Glass Auction was at 3pm (the pieces went for between $700 and $1300). We went to the evening show, but it was standing room only, so Darryl went back to the stateroom, and I followed him about 20 minutes later. It was excellent and reminded us of Circe de Soleil. The photo is of the lift-well in the centre of the ship, featuring the library.