Most southern point of our journey

 Greetings from the southern tip of New Zealand. Since I’ve last written we have traveled from Hawaii stopping briefly in Fiji and have stopped at three ports of call in New Zealand. Today we are cruising through the Fiordland National Park. 

Here are a few highlights from our stop in Fiji. We docked at Suva City, the main shipping port not only for Fiji, but the entire South Pacific area. It is a major industrial area, not the part of the country that is featured in the travel enticements. We opted to take a bus tour to one of the small villages in the mountains about an hour out of town. The village houses about 170 residents and is just a small compound along a river that apparently floods with some regularity. 

We had a tour given by a delightful young man, Jack. He is 19 years old, and attending a culinary school in Suva City. His dream is to be a chef on a cruise ship someday. 

The only two story house is the one belonging to the chief. All of the homes were elevated to prevent flooding. No obvious reason they needed to be so close to the river. 

The community gathered to greet us with what they claimed was a traditional welcoming. It involved the drinking of Kava with one of our group drinking a large portion with the chief and the rest of us given the opportunity to try some. Both Gary and I gave it a try, tasted like a slightly muddy cup of water. Small amount and no noticeable effect on us. 

Gary with one of the young men dressed in traditional tribal costume. 

I have been entranced with the most amazing skies. The sunsets have been so varied, depending on the weather conditions, but always worth the wait. Sunset is 8:30 or so now, so nice to gaze while enjoying an evening cocktail. 

First sighting of New Zealand after many days at sea.

Gary and I found a small charming mini golf course in Napier. We tied at 51/51, but I had the only hole-in-one, so I declared the win this time. 

Summer is heading into Fall now, but there were beautifully attended gardens at each stop. 

At each of our ports there were lots of pine tree logs waiting to be shipped. Originally imported from the US, the pines grow much more rapidly here and are a major export, mostly to China, but with market reach over quite an extensive area. 

Yet another port with lots of lumber waiting to be shipped  Yes, the waters really are those gorgeous hues of blue.

At Picton we took a day trip on a vintage railway the Marlborough Flyer through their famous wine growing country. The countryside reminded me of Sonoma/Napa areas of California with the surrounding golden hills. 

Our last port of call in NZ was Port Chalmers, Dunedin which is another charming town that was settled by Scottish Protestants in the 1800’s It had very distinctive architecture which I believe they called gingerbread style. Lots of bountiful gardens. 

This is Baldwin Street, claiming it is the steepest residential street in the world. It is a tourist attraction and it does get an occasional snow here, so I’m very glad I don’t have to drive it. 

The still active rail station in Dunedin. 

A municipal building in a similar architectural style. 

One of the vineyards at Picton  

Which brings us to the Fiordland National Park, the most southern point of our journey.We were last here in 2007 on our first international trip together. I hiked the famous Milford Track and still have the certificate to prove I finished it! I’m looking forward to seeing the Milford Sound coming up shortly. Later this evening we will head northwest towards Australia. I believe at this point we are in the Southern Ocean before we sail into the Indian Ocean. 

Thanks for following along.