February 26 - Wellington, New Zealand
Tom has been a bit under the weather with a sort of cough (NOT coronavirus!) and today he was feeling better, but now Jan is feeling meh. Hope it's a short duration thing. Anyway, they decided not to do their tour, but to hang around the ship and take it easy. They learned that they have been booked to fly home from Sydney on Sunday via Los Angeles. Ugly long flight, but at least they'll be in business class and will be able to sleep.
Our tour was a drive through Wellington, right up around the Wellington Harbour and down to the point on the other side where we had tea at Pencarrow sheep and cattle station and watched a short sheep herding exhibition. It was a long drive, but the driver was a hoot. He made no apologies for being politically incorrect and shared his opinions on lots of things here. We also learned more than we needed to about his ne'er-do-well son, who has turned it around supposedly, and his daughter who has terrible taste in men. The sheep station was about 3,000 acres way out miles from anywhere, but with gorgeous views of the harbour entrance. The area is called Storm Coast due to the very nasty weather that can occur. In 1968 they lost many lives on a ferry, the Wahine, that capsized in a storm with upwards of 150 mph winds. Fortunately for us, the weather was calm and beautiful. The station has about 3,000 sheep (1 per acre) and they're raised for meat, not the wool. That variety's wool is only good for carpet making and the price is down so much lately that it loses money. They only sheer them once a year for their health.
Again, we heard more about the earthquakes that are so common here. I remember that from our trip here in 2018 and, like then, I must admit I was happy to get back on the ship where we could at least ride it out if necessary. The sheep station had only one road in along the water and that could be really disastrous if the land shifted as much as it has in the past. They did have a helipad I noticed, for emergencies I guess.
After we got back on board Michael realized he had lost his money clip, probably on the bus while getting money for a tip for the driver. It belonged to his dad, so it has much sentimental value. Our driver mentioned that he was going to be doing the shuttle run to and from town after dropping us off so Michael went back out to see if he could find him. He was lucky to meet the bus and, very fortunately, he was able to find the clip where it had fallen under our seat. Thank goodness. I'd hate for him to have a negative memory of Wellington.
This afternoon was our best trivia ever with 14/15. If only we'd known that the Danube empties into the Black Sea and not of the Baltic Sea ...
Jan had room service in the cabin but Tom, Steve & Leona and we had a lovely dinner in Compass Rose. We will miss them all when they leave us in Sydney.
We learned that our proposed schedule for southern Australia has changed again. We will no longer be spending 2 days in Melbourne, which is too bad. But apparently it is set now.
Our tour was a drive through Wellington, right up around the Wellington Harbour and down to the point on the other side where we had tea at Pencarrow sheep and cattle station and watched a short sheep herding exhibition. It was a long drive, but the driver was a hoot. He made no apologies for being politically incorrect and shared his opinions on lots of things here. We also learned more than we needed to about his ne'er-do-well son, who has turned it around supposedly, and his daughter who has terrible taste in men. The sheep station was about 3,000 acres way out miles from anywhere, but with gorgeous views of the harbour entrance. The area is called Storm Coast due to the very nasty weather that can occur. In 1968 they lost many lives on a ferry, the Wahine, that capsized in a storm with upwards of 150 mph winds. Fortunately for us, the weather was calm and beautiful. The station has about 3,000 sheep (1 per acre) and they're raised for meat, not the wool. That variety's wool is only good for carpet making and the price is down so much lately that it loses money. They only sheer them once a year for their health.
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| This point is so bad it needs 2 lighthouses |
Again, we heard more about the earthquakes that are so common here. I remember that from our trip here in 2018 and, like then, I must admit I was happy to get back on the ship where we could at least ride it out if necessary. The sheep station had only one road in along the water and that could be really disastrous if the land shifted as much as it has in the past. They did have a helipad I noticed, for emergencies I guess.
After we got back on board Michael realized he had lost his money clip, probably on the bus while getting money for a tip for the driver. It belonged to his dad, so it has much sentimental value. Our driver mentioned that he was going to be doing the shuttle run to and from town after dropping us off so Michael went back out to see if he could find him. He was lucky to meet the bus and, very fortunately, he was able to find the clip where it had fallen under our seat. Thank goodness. I'd hate for him to have a negative memory of Wellington.
This afternoon was our best trivia ever with 14/15. If only we'd known that the Danube empties into the Black Sea and not of the Baltic Sea ...
Jan had room service in the cabin but Tom, Steve & Leona and we had a lovely dinner in Compass Rose. We will miss them all when they leave us in Sydney.
We learned that our proposed schedule for southern Australia has changed again. We will no longer be spending 2 days in Melbourne, which is too bad. But apparently it is set now.
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