February 29 - Saying goodbye and hello in Melbourne

After a day of cruising south through the Tasman Sea, we arrived in Melbourne.

This is going to be a very sad as we are debarking from the Celebrity Solstice.  It always sad to say goodbye to friends, who have shared this experience.  We had such a great time with our group of fellow travelers.  It was fun to reacquaint ourselves with Coleen, Ron, Janet, Keith, Pat and Matt.  We met these wonderful people on a cruise around South America, two years ago, and seeing them again it seemed as if no time had passed.  There were fourteen other people in our group, some from England, some from New Jersey, some from the Okanagan valley and some from Vancouver Island. The way everyone bonded was fantastic and we hope that we get to travel again with them in the future.

Again, a big thank you to Coleen Foster of Cruise Ships Centers for putting this all together.  She is not only a great travel agent but is wonderful friend to all people in this group.

In past blogs, I’ve documented why I love cruising on Celebrity Cruise Lines.  I won’t repeat myself and bore everyone. 

Here are some final thoughts specifically about the Celebrity Solstice. The internet service is pathetic.  It was so slow that I thought I was using a dialup modem. Although I can’t prove it, I’m sure that their firewall was putting traffic control on Google services.  For example, it would take up to five minutes upload a picture to Google Photos but it would take a Facebook posting with the same picture about two minutes.  Their wine selection was poor.  To get wines of quality, you needed to buy a wine flight which they didn’t tell you about until after you bought their drink package.  The cheese selection was also terrible as Keith can tell you.  There is no excuse for such poor selection.  

This all pales in comparison when you consider how great the service staff is.  The dinning room, bar and room service teams are a 10 out of 10 in our books.  Also, the food is outstanding as my expanding waistline can attest to.

We are now starting our land / air tour of Australia with the Globus tour company.  In Melbourne we are staying at the Savoy Hotel on Little Collins.  It is a classic hotel, with a very comfortable room.  Their concierge was very good as he helped me arrange to have a suitcase sent home with clothes were no longer required.  This will make our loaded lighter during the remainder of our holiday.

Our first impression of Melbourne is that it is a very modern city with modern office and hotel towers.  I’m sure that we’ll expand that impression when we go on a city tomorrow. We will be in Melbourne for the next two days.

This evening we met some of the people on our tour.  It seems like the group is comprised mainly of Americans and Canadians.  We had dinner with a couple from Lethbridge, Washington DC and Pennsylvania.  The Americans were very much anti Trump and interested in Canada. Our tour guide seems very personable. So it is a positive start.  

February 27 - Aborigine Culture

Last night our ship left its anchorage in the harbour and made its way to the Circular Quay to dock for the second day of our stay in Sydney.  From our bed we had a wonderful view of Sydney at night.

Sydney, as do most cities, has an old section of town that has been converted into the entertainment district.  The Rocks was an area next to the harbour that housed many warehouses.  These are now shops, pubs and restaurants.  We decided to a walking tour of the Rocks, but what made this excursion unique was that it was presented from an Aborigine point of view.  What we got had nothing to do with the Rocks, but it was far more interesting.

Our guide, whose English name was Margaret, gave a very detailed explanation of Aborigine family culture.  It started by her saying that her family was defined the location of the rivers and the ocean.  Hence the reason there were seven distinct Aborigine tribes in the area that now defines Sydney.  She then told us that she did not have just one mother and father, but what we call aunts and uncles were considered to also be her mothers and fathers with parental responsibilities. I guess it would be the equivalent of our saying that it takes a village to raise a child.

She told us how an Aborigine forms a family bond with nature.  For example, when a child is born there is a connection to a plant, tree or shrub that is in bloom.  Then they will connect with animals that feed off that plant, and it expands from there.  A child is taught that these non-human family members must be protected and nourished. This is reflected in their art, which is centered around multiple expanding circles and stars. I found it fascinating the concept of the merging of family and environment.  

The only time she got political was in response to a question I asked after her presentation had finished.  She told us that Aborigine, were not considered as Australian citizens until the 1960s and therefore denied many rights that we would take for granted.  Thankfully there is a more enlightened view in place now.

In the afternoon we took the ferry to Barangaroo, which is a waterfront area that contains condos, hotels, shops and multiple restaurants and cafes. On our way to Barangaroo, we enjoyed the parade of sailing yachts who are in Sydney this weekend for a Grand Prix regatta.  These boats are so slick looking, they look super fast when they’re just floating along at a leisurely pace. We didn’t notice any boats flying the Canadian flag. 

We then went into a small exhibit dedicated to indigenous animals that was put on by the Sydney zoo.  We got to see the koala bears, kangaroos, crocodiles, wallabies, emus and a Tasmanian devil.  It was a nice relaxing way to spend part of the afternoon.

On our way back to the ship, we stopped off at cell phone store to sign up for an Australian service for duration of our stay.  Unfortunately, I needed my passport.  So, I had to go back to ship to get my passport and return.  At first glance, it seems the service is very fast and includes 25mg of data and unlimited international calling to Canada at a rate very much cheaper than what I would pay in Canada.  Unfortunately, they charge seventy five cents for each international text.  So, we’ll continue to Facebook Messenger.

February 26 - Sydney

Today at sunrise we entered Sydney harbour after a two-day trip across the Tasman Sea.  When we opened our curtains, we were greeted with an amazing scenic vista that is on every Australian tourist brochure.  There right in front of us was the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge.  What a wonderful way to start the morning.  The Sydney skyline is very impressive.  The modern architecture mixes nicely with the older warehouses that are along the shoreline of the harbour.

Sydney is the state capital of New South Wales and the largest city in Australia and has a population of 5,000,000 people. At the time of the 2016 census, more than 250 different languages were spoken in Sydney and about a third of the residents spoke a language other than English at home.

Indigenous Australians have inhabited the Sydney area since pre-historic times, making it one of the richest of Aboriginal archaeological sites in Australia. During his first Pacific voyage in 1770, Lieutenant James Cook and his crew became the first Europeans to chart the eastern coast of Australia, making landfall at Botany Bay and inspiring British interest in the area. In 1788, the first fleet of British convicts founded Sydney as a British penal colony.

The shell shaped structure of the Opera house is an iconic piece of architecture that is known worldwide. It took 16 years to complete, starting with the design competition until the grand opening.  The building comprises multiple performance venues, which together host well over 1,500 performances annually, attended by more than 1.2 million people.  It is visited by more than 8 million tourist each year and it is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. 

The Sydney Harbour Bridge is a steel arch bridge across Sydney Harbour that carries rail, vehicular, bicycle, and pedestrian traffic between the Sydney central business district (CBD) and the North Shore.  If you are so inclined, you can actually climb to the top of bridge.  The building of the bridge started in 1928 and was an economic boom for Sydney during the depression of the early 1930s. The bridge was formally opened on March 1932. Among those who attended where several government officials, who were scheduled to give speeches. The Premier of New South Wales, Jack Lang, was to open the bridge by cutting a ribbon at its southern end. However, just as Lang was about to cut the ribbon, a man in military uniform rode up on a horse, slashing the ribbon with his sword and declared the Sydney Harbour Bridge open in the name of the people of New South Wales before the official ceremony began. He was promptly arrested, and the ribbon was hurriedly retied allowing Lang to perform the official opening ceremony. Only in Australia.

The arch of the bridge is composed of two 28-panel arch trusses and the height of the bridge at its apex is 161 feet.  At each end of the bridge are a set of tall pylons measuring 292 feet. Although originally added to the bridge solely for their aesthetic value, all four pylons have now been put to good use. The south-eastern pylon contains a museum and tourist centre, with a 360° lookout at the top providing views across the harbour and city.

More recently Sydney was host to the 2000 Summer Olympics.

In the category of “the world is a small place after all”, this morning we were having breakfast in the ship’s Oceanview Café and a couple sat down next to us. For some reason I thought he looked familiar but I though it was because I had seen him on the boat.  It turns out they were Bill Tarry and his wife from St. Thomas.  For those of you who are not familiar with the Port Stanley / St. Thomas area, St. Thomas is about 15km north of our home in Port Stanley and the Tarry family is the dominate residential home builder in the area.  It turned out Marg and the Tarry’s have several mutual friends.

During the day, we took the hop-on hop-off bus to get a feel for Sydney. Some of the highlights were the Opera House, of course, a section of the city called the Rocks, the central business district, several memorial parks, the navy base, the aquarium, several museums and the world famous Bondi Beach.  

We stopped at the aquarium and had a wonderful time watching the penguins, sharks and sting rays.  Later in the afternoon we had a short walk around the Governor General’s house and the associated gardens.

We stopped at restaurant / bar near the aquarium for lunch.  They have a great system in place.  In the female washroom, they have posted a set of key secret words that a lady can use when ordering to alert the server of a harassing or potentially dangerous situation. For example “99” means get a taxi and sneak the lady out of the bar. More bars need to have this system in place.

Late in the evening there was a very heavy windstorm.  At 9pm the harbour master closed the harbour to all marine traffic.  Because the last boarding time for the ship was 4am, there may have been people stranded onshore.

The evening’s entertainment was an all girl band called the Oz Girls.  They performed many Motown hits and some disco songs from the 70s and 80s. Their singing was excellent and their choreography was crisp and energetic.

After dinner there was Marg’s favourite activity, the silent disco.  Everyone had a wonderful time and Marg hopes that there will be one more night with the silent disco, before we disembark on Saturday.

February 24 – Tasman Sea Day

Since last night we have been heading north west towards the city of Sydney Australia.  It will take two days to get there, so there won’t be a blog tomorrow as I’m sure that no one wants to hear about trivia contests and what we’ve eaten.

This break does give me a change to reflect on what I’ve discovered about New Zealand.  New Zealand is one of the most beautiful countries that I have every visited.  Most of the country is defined by small volcanic mountains. The horizon is always different, and the deep craters make for magnificent lakes and valleys.  I can only imagine how fantastic it must look when there isn’t a drought and the grass is green instead of brown.

The people are extremely friendly and proud of their culture.  They will engage in conversation with little or no prompting.  They seem to be hard working, yet they don’t seem stressed out and harassed.  They have a health respect for the environment and love outdoor activities.  They are very inclusive and respectful of the Māori people.

One thing I did notice was that a large proportion of the homes are bungalows, instead of duplexes. In some of the older towns, you might have two or three bungalows on a long narrow lot.  These homes are connected to the street by a long driveway.

February 23 - Fiordland National Park

Last night Celebrity Solstice rounded the southern tip of New Zealand and headed up the west coast to Fiordland National Park.  The water was a bit rough, but not enough to disturb our sleep.  The temperature has remained cool but not as cold as predicted.

While in Fiordland National Park, our boat went down three different inlets or sounds.  First, we went down Dusky Sound.  The inlet was bordered by small volcanic mountains that rose directly from the water and had a thick forest growth.  

At the entrance we spotted some seals and further into the sound there were some dolphins.  

Next, we went down Doubtful Sound.  Here the mountains were a little bit bigger, but we didn’t see any wildlife.   The water is black because the fresh water lies on top of the ocean's salt water.  This fresh water contains all the minerals it has collected as it ran down the mountain.  Because of the weather the tops of the mountains were covered in a mist.

As we entered the last inlet, Milford Sound, the clouds parted, and the sun came out to display an awe-inspiring vista.  The mountains were huge, and it is with good reason they are called the New Zealand Alps.  

The channel was very narrow, and this added to the Impressive image.  There were multiple waterfalls that cascaded down the cliffs and glaciers on top of some of the mountains.  I think this might be one of top scenic areas that I have ever visited.  It is right up there with the Canadian Rockies and Glacier Alley at the southern tip of Chile.

During the afternoon, we were able to watch a hockey game between Toronto and Carolina.  I loved it because the Leafs lost.

The evening entertainment was a violinist by the name of Yoomia.  She played rock styled music and was enjoyable.

For dinner I had duck and Marg duck with french fries.   As usual, it was excellent.

February 22 - Dunedin

Holy popsicle stick Batman!  Someone turned off the heat here in southern New Zealand.  Just after writing about how nice the weather has been on this cruise, today it is cold and wet.  The expected high will only be 13 degrees and we’re being told that there is a possibility of snow tomorrow as we go through the fjords on the west coast.  Hey, it supposed to be summer down here!

Last night our ship cruised south to Port Chalmers, which is the entrance way to the city of Dunedin.  This will be our last landing in New Zealand.

Dunedin is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand. In 1848 a Scottish settlement was established and until the end of the 19^th century many thousands of Scots emigrated to Dunedin. Dunedin became wealthy during the Central Otago Gold Rush, beginning in the 1860s.

The city population is 120,246 and the university adds another 20,000 residents.  On the approach to downtown, we passed a indoor rugby stadium that has a capacity of 31,000 fans.

Our first stop was the Otago Museum.  Here we had a guided tour of the exhibit of the Māori culture on the southern island of New Zealand.  The second exhibit was a natural history gallery, where we got see some of native species of animals.  The most impressive was a huge bird called the Moa, which was hunted to extinction.

 

Next, we went to the Olveston Historical House.  Olveston was built for a wealthy Dunedin importer named David Theomin, and his family. Theomin was a noted collector of art and furniture. 

Intended for future generations of Theomin’s to enjoy, this was not to be the case as both the Theomin children died without heirs. Surviving the death of her father, mother and elder brother, Miss Dorothy Theomin lived at Olveston until her death in 1966, when the house and the original contents were gifted to the City of Dunedin.

We able to tour the entire house and saw the many bedrooms, parlours and dining room.  They were filled with art collections and priceless antique furniture.  Our guide was amazing.  You could tell she had experience in the theater. Her annunciation was flawless, and she was able to use dramatic pauses to emphasize her presentation.  Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take any photographs.

On the way back to the ship, we stopped at the Dunedin railway station.  This is the most photographed location in New Zealand.

Tonight, on the boat it another formal night in the dinning room.  We both had Moroccan lamb kabobs.

February 21 - Sheepdogs and Earthquakes

Last night we sailed further south to the port of Akaroa.  The weather since we landed in New Zealand has been great.  The temperatures have been in the mid to high twenties with very low humidity.  It has been sunny every day.  Unfortunately, New Zealand is undergoing a drought.  It has been several months since they had any measurable rainfall.  It shows, as most of the grass has now turned to a burnt brown colour.  The Pacific ocean has been also been very calm, with waves only two metres or less.

Akaroa is a small fishing and retirement village.  It does not have a large enough pier for cruise ships, so we must tender into the port.  This can be a slow process and they recommend that you plan for a thirty-minute delay.  The reason we stop here is that the port in Christchurch is still under reconstruction from the earthquakes they suffered several years ago.

When we purchased our excursion for today, we didn’t completely read the description.  We had wanted to go to Christchurch but when we went to book that excursion it was fully booked.  There was a second excursion called Christchurch and the Countryside.  So, without reading the itinerary, I assumed it was a trip to Christchurch and a scenic ride through the countryside.  Wrong!  The countryside was a trip to a sheep farm for a shearing demonstration and the visit to Christchurch was a very short duration.  Not exactly what we had envisioned.

Our trip to the farm was very scenic.  We had to go over Mount Herbert, which is a 920m volcanic mountain with spectacular vistas.  The roadway was very narrow and the drop seemed rather precarious.

Our stop at the sheep ranch was way far more interesting than I thought it would be.  It started with a  sheep herding demonstration.  The dogs were the stars of the show as they charged up the mountain and directed a flock of sheep down into their pens.  We then went into the barn, where one of the lambs was sheared. The lady who did the shearing said that she was able shear up to 200 sheep in a day.  The demonstration was followed by a morning tea in the rancher’s home.

We then drove through a village called Little River.  There we passed a hotel that was made up of old  grain silos that had been converted into rooms.  It was very strange but very unique

.

Next we entered the city of Christchurch.  I was not prepared for the devastation that I saw.  

On Tuesday 22 February 2011 at 12.51 p.m. Christchurch was badly damaged by a magnitude 6.3 earthquake, which killed 185 people and injured several thousand. The earthquake epicentre was near Lyttelton, just 10 kilometres south-east of Christchurch’s central business district. 

The earthquake occurred more than five months after the 4 September 2010 earthquake.   Our tour guide / bus driver is a resident of Christchurch and he said the first quake softened up everything and second one did all the damage.

One hundred and eighty five people died as a result of the 22 February earthquake. It was lunchtime and many people were on the city streets. One hundred and fifteen died in the office tower that housed the local television station when it totally collapsed.  Many heritage buildings were heavily damaged, including the Anglican Christchurch Cathedral. Among the modern buildings damaged, and eventually demolished, was Christchurch’s tallest building, the Hotel Grand Chancellor.

Christchurch’s central business district remained cordoned off for more than two years after the earthquake. Over a quarter of the buildings in the central business district were demolished.  

We were dropped off in the central business district and during our walk down Worcester Blvd we noticed that most of the buildings are still in serious disrepair and not occupied. The Anglican Christchurch Cathedral takes your breath away when you see the extent of the damage. The Anglican church wants to demolish the ruins, but the city’s heritage council wants it repaired.  So, after nine years no work has been done and the church sits in a desolate state.

Our bus driver talked about the effect of the liquefaction on the ground.  Eastern sections of Christchurch were built on a former swamp. The shaking turned water-saturated layers of sand and silt beneath the surface into sludge that squirted upwards through cracks. Properties and streets were buried in thick layers of silt, and water and sewage from broken pipes flooded streets. House foundations cracked and buckled, wrecking many homes. On his street, which is in the suburbs, it took months to remove all the sand and mud that rose up to the ground.  

On the day of the earthquake the driver was returning passengers to their cruise ship.  The pier he was parked on sank over a foot.  He said he set a speed record in backing up his bus and getting off the pier.

Electricity was restored to 75% of the city within three days, but water supplies and sewerage systems took several years to restore in some areas affected by liquefaction.

Christ's College occupied many buildings in the affected district and most of its building are now occupied again.

One of the positive results of this disaster was that there are many new buildings with modern architecture and the construction trades are fully employed.  It was a very quiet return trip to the ship.

The show in the ship’s theater was Susanne Prentice.  She is a performer that sings country and western, with a bit of 60s female artists, such Cilla Black, thrown in for good measure.

For dinner Marg had roast turkey and I had turbot. Again, we were the last table to leave the dinning room.  We enjoy each other’s company, especially over a glass of port.

February 20 - At Sea

Today was a sea day as we went from Tauranga to the south island port of Akaroa.  We participated in two trivia contests and did not do very well in either contest. Oh well there is always tomorrow,

The evening show was a vocal group called December '63, which was a Frankie Valli and the Four Season tribute band.  I was not impressed but I'm in the minority on this evaluation.  You know that the show is bad when the band has to prompt the audience to cheer, which they did three times during the opening number.

There is chance that tomorrow we may be stuck on the boat.  They are expecting a bad storm with extreme winds.  Because we will have to tender into the shore from the boat, it may not be safe enough to be allowed.

February 19 - Living in the Geo Thermal World

Last night we cruised south from the Bay of Islands, passed Auckland and arrived in Tauranga.  Tauranga is a harbourside city in the Bay of Plenty region on New Zealand's North Island.  A bridge over the harbour connects Tauranga to Mount Maunganui, a beach town with hot saltwater pools and an extinct volcano with winding walking paths. 

Tauranga unfortunately has been in the news recently.  This was the port where the tourists left from to go to White Island, where they died when the volcano erupted on the island.  Our tour guide was a coworker with two of the people that perished. Because of New Zealand law they company can not be sued, but it expects to receive heavy fines for not providing a safe work environment and endangering its workers.

Tauranga lies on a geothermal field and active earthquake zone.  The nick name for this area is the Shaky Isles.

Our excursion today will concentrate on the geysers, hot pools and mud baths that are in abundance in this area.  We started off going to Wai-o-Tapu.  Wai-o-Tapu has a geyser that erupts each day at around 10am.  Although not as big as Old Faithful, it still is impressive.  I had my camera on recording the event, but when it was over, I realized that somehow I had not pressed the record button. Darn!  

A short distance from the geyser there are multiple hot pools, caverns and mud baths.  The steam and sulphur smell from these pools can be overwhelming at times.  There is one pool, known as Roto Kariikitea that is a bright yellow colour and extremely acidic.

Next, we went of a Māori village. Whakarewarewa is an inhabited Māori village where they present their culture.  Our guide was a very informative resident of the village, whose family could trace their linage back to multiple generations that lived in the same village.   The tour started by discussing the Marae house, which is a communal meeting centre, used for weddings, funerals and village business. 

She then attempted to have us pronounce the name of her village.  Unfortunately, there were two American jackasses, who thought they were being funny by cracking stupid jokes as she told us how to pronounce each syllable.  You could tell she was insulted because she took great pride in her heritage.  Later during the tour, she did get back at them.  While discussing the benefits of hot mineral baths, one the idiots asked her if it would fix his friends face, to which she replied, yes it would fix both of your faces to which she got a round of applause.  We didn’t hear anything more from these jerks after that.

The Māori language is very complicated.  For example the official name of the village is "Tewhakarewarewatangaoteopetauaawahiao".  Now that is a mouth full.

She told us that all the cooking is done over the thermal vents. The temperature stays a constant 250 degrees Celsius.  She stated that heat and steam ensure that meat is cooked perfectly each time.  They cook their vegetables in the hot pools with similar results.  They have been using this method for hundreds of years.

Then we saw a Māori cultural performance.  It consisted of dancing to and singing tribal songs. 

It ended with a Haka.  This is the dance the warriors would perform to scare their opponents and has now become famous as the All Blacks perform a Haka before each rugby match.

Finding out about the Māori culture was one of my primary reasons for going to New Zealand.  It is always nice to find out about people's culture.  Although I didn't learn a lot about their beliefs, I can tell they are a proud and spiritual people.

On the way back to the ship, we stopped at a Kiwi farm.  New Zealander’s are known as Kiwis but it comes from the association to the Kiwi bird not the fruit.

Tonight, was our first formal dinning night. Celebrity now calls this Smart Chic instead of formal.  This means suit jacket and tie are no longer required, although most men still wore a suit.  Marg had duck and I had lamb for diner.  Both meals were excellent. I happy to report that wine steward problem has been fixed, but the selection is still pathetic. With Marg having a gluten intolerance we thought there might be problems finding good meals for her onboard. That has not been a problem, in fact she can ask for anything on the menu in advance and they will prepare ii without any gluten contamination.

February 18 - Glow Worms and Te Waimate

Last night we cruised north from Auckland to the Bay of Islands.  Early in the morning, as the boat set anchor in the bay, the vibration was incredible. It shook the bed violently for about a minute.  I though that maybe there had been an earthquake, which is not uncommon in New Zealand.  Then I remembered that we were in deep water and that would be a highly unlikely cause.

The Bay of Islands is a lovely inlet off the Pacific Ocean that consists of 144 small volcanic islands. It is one of the most popular fishing, sailing and tourist destinations in New Zealand, and has been renowned internationally for its big-game fishing ever since American author Zane Grey wrote about it in the 1930s.

The Māori settled this area in the 14^th century. In 1840 the Treaty of Waitangi was first signed here by the local Māori tribes. The treaty was a result of the British wanting to establish a colony on New Zealand and some Māori leaders wanting British protection against the French. It recognised Māori ownership of their lands, forests and other possessions, and gave Māori the rights of British subject.  Unfortunately, there have been many land disputes, and these have been tied up in New Zealand courts for many years.

The first stop on our excursion for the day was to the Waiomio Glow Worm Caves.  When you enter these caves, you are entering a magnificent chamber filled with enormous stalagmites and stalactites.  Our Māori guide told us that the giant columns only grow a centimetre a year, so it is estimated that these columns are over 10,000 years old. 

The owners, the Kawiti family, are direct descendants of the female tribal leader Hineamaru of the Ngati Hine Tribe, who discovered these caves 300 years ago.  The tribal history says that Hineamaru was upset because someone was raiding her garden for food. Exploring the valley, she discovered trodden Tawa berries which made her curious, since no member of her tribe had ever come this way before. Later she smelt smoke which seemed to come from a nearby hill. She went there and found that the smoke was coming from a cave. Twenty metres in from the entrance she came upon a woman sitting by a fire. Hineamaru learned that she was Roku, a runaway wife from another tribe.  Roku was returned to her tribe in order to avoid a war between the two tribes.  Since that time the Kawiti family have owned these caves and they hold them in high regard for the ancestral heritage.

As we got deeper into the cave, we turned off all the lights and were greeted by an awesome display of tiny specs of light on the ceiling and along the walls.  These were the glow worms, which live in these caves.  Glow worms are not actually worms but the larvae of gnats. Glow worms are bioluminescent. They produce and emit light naturally from an organ near their tails that is similar to a human kidney. The bioluminescence is created through a reaction a variety of internal chemicals that cause this natural, blue-green glow.  Beyond being pretty to look at, the bioluminescent glow is also used to attract prey. Smaller insects and flies are drawn to the light and fly towards it. The brighter the glow, the hungrier the glow worm is.

The descent back to tour bus took us down a very steep trail with some beautiful scenery. 

Unfortunately you can't take pictures inside the cave because of the harm it causes to the glow worms and also the tribal believe that the camera takes possession of their ancestral spirits.

This was a fascinating science lesson.

Next, we went to the town of Kawakawa, which is known for the Hundertwasser toilets. These public toiilets were designed especially for the town by  Austrian resident, Friedensreich Hundertwasser.  Our guide tried compare the design to buildings of Antoni Gaudí, the famous Spanish architect.  There is no comparison.  It was just an interesting side attraction.

Our last stop was the Te Waimate mission house.  This was a restored old house, with furniture dating back to the early 1800’s.  We were able to have an English afternoon tea with freshly baked scones.  This was a nice way to finish off the tour.

Tonight, the performer in the theatre on the boat was Nick Page.  He has sung in West London theatre, including the lead role in Les Miserables.  He has a strong voice and is also a very talented drummer.

For dinner I had sea food risotto and Marg had lamb. The food was good, which of course we expect from Celebrity.  Unfortunately, we had to wait 40 minutes for wine steward.  The was unbelievable and might rank up there with the worst service ever.  I talked to the head steward as did our group coordinator Coleen and we have been promised much better service tomorrow,  The wine selection is also not up to usual standards.  Mouton Cadet considered premium wine on this cruise.  Of course, this is one the cheapest Bordeaux wines you can buy in the LCBO and it is really just an ordinary table wine.

After dinner thee was a quiet disco night.  This is where everyone wears headphones tuned to different music and dances to their own beat.  It makes for an enjoyable night.