My Adventure Down Under

Today was our first day at sea. With good weather, we cruised to Marlborough Sound, an area between the two islands that comprise New Zealand. It was the site of Captain Cook’s first landing and is a protected nature area. It was a great photo opportunity, and an opportunity to use the zodiacs which would be required at our last stop (no dock available). We all gathered in the lounge with our smaller blue life vests. The expedition staff gave a brief introduction on how to wear the vests (more of “how to get inside them”), how to board a zodiac, and how to grasp forearms when doing so (if you let go, they still have a hold on you).

What followed should have been videotaped! The contortions, the twisting, the 2nd attempts. The problem is the vests do not come unbuckled. You have to put them on like a shirt, over your head then put your arms through the straps one by one. Several techniques were visible, none easy and certainly none comfortable. Everyone finally made it though.

Down to the embarkation platform, which is a hydraulic platform that is lowered from the cop of the ship. Eight people to a zodiac, three zodiacs to a pod. We motored to each island to view birds and their habitat. There were no beaches for landing, which was fine by me. The thought of these people having to jump out of the zodiac and wade ashore was nightmarish—they couldn’t even get the vests on easy!

We were out about an hour then back on board. I stood at the top of the platform stairs and took photos as people came back. Lunch was served on deck as we departing the sound for our voyage to Napier.

Knitting was spotted followed by many thanks from the ladies. Several groups formed bridge foursomes and many passengers were in the hot tub on deck 5 or reading on the sun deck. There was a great demand for massages, so much so that we could have used 2 masseuses.

Up next was the bridge tour. Groups of about 20 were escorted to the bridge where the Captain gave a wonderful presentation on the ship and it’s capabilities. Turns out the captain was perfect for PR relations, very funny and full of great one-liners. I guess he gets the same questions every cruise. The ship had state of the art electronics (it’s only a few years old) and is controlled with a joystick and a bow/stern thruster. There are always two crew members on duty at all times on the bridge and even though everything is planned with GPS, they still mark their direction and position on a map each hour and are all taught Morse code, light signaling, and how to navigate using a sextant and the stars.

He explained that the only ships who have the right of way all the time were fishing boats and sailing ships and that all other ships must defer to them, worldwide. He also explained the fire systems (which had already been used in our trip. The folks across from my cabin piled up their bed pillows until they reached the reading lamp and started a fire. It’s not fun to come back to your cabin and have the fans blowing the toxic fumes from your area!). Someone asked about a laminated index card affixed to the instrumentation panel. Once side says “Fins out” the other side says “fins in.” It’s a low tech solution to a potential devastating accident. Before you enter a port or lock, the stabilizer fins on each side of the ship must be retracted. There is a warning light on the control panel, but this captain's back up system was this card. Apparently there was an incident where a captain entered the Panama Canal locks with the stabilizers deployed. Everyone had to disembark and fly home after that incident!

The funniest explanation was the traditional ship wheel on the very front of the control panel. It’s fake! They had so many people question how the ship is steered, they had a crew member carve it and bolt it to the front. It’s a great photo opportunity also!

After the bridge tour, there was a 2nd lecture on sea mammals of the area. Again, 80+ attendees. Mick did a great job despite being quizzed at the start on the characteristics of mammals. He had a simple slide outlining the 5 characteristics. Someone raised their hand and asked if there were any animals that only have 4 of the characteristics of mammals. He managed to think of a few, and then a second hand asked if there were any who only had 3. Afterward, he said he felt like he was back teaching college with first semester freshmen! He also told us they see a whale at least once a day in these waters but by the time they make an announcement, it would be gone.

Dinner was incredible—again! We always have two menus to choose from. One is the ship’s standard 5 courses with two options for each and the second is a gourmet option from a chef in Sydney. Mix and match! Two wine choices with the meal with others on request.

There was a little dancing after dinner by about 8 folks. I snapped a few shots and then it was bedtime.

Did I mention 42 below? It’s a New Zealand vodka. Very nice. Very popular.

Tomorrow we dock in Napier for play at the #1 golf course in the world, Cape Kidnappers!