Tasmania is an island south-east of the Australia mainland. This will be our cruise's first port at an Australian state, as Norfolk Island is considered an external territory. To add a twist to my story, I didn't even bother to arrive with the ship, as I flew in from New Zealand after my overland trip … Continue reading Hobart

Warning! Lots of landscape photography follow! This helicopter stuff has been funny. Late the night before the helicopter company notified our tour operators the ride was cancelled. Like, at 8:00pm. To give them credit, the tour operator then moved heaven and earth to at least find a way to get me in the sky. Since … Continue reading Queenstown – Final Day

It's Gondola Day. Well, for me at least. Our local tour operator was working overtime to get us into the sky. With yesterday's weather-cancellation of the helicopter rides, I expected it to be a wash due to such short notice. But they found a fixed-wing plane that could guarantee window seats for everyone. The problem: … Continue reading Queenstown – Next Day

OK, you got me. It's really day 1 AND day 2. During the first day the dozen or so cruise passengers going to Queenstown got up early, went thru customs (again) and made our way to the Auckland airport. 90 minutes later and we have this view. Lord of the Airports These are the Remarkable … Continue reading Queenstown – Day 1

I'm a bit embarrassed to admit this, but I thought that the Bay of Islands was a group of islands off the coast of the main islands of New Zealand. Nope. It's about 230 km (143 miles) northwest of Auckland. On the other hand, the landscape is very pretty. We've left the verdant green of … Continue reading Bay of Islands