Day 137 Dunedin, New Zealand

Today we arrived in Dunedin, New Zealand at 0700. I had booked a shore excursion to check out Dunedin, the surrounding area and most importantly some of the local wildlife. Her is a description of the ship’s tour: Nature's Wonders: Wildlife Cruise & Penguins DURATION: Approximately 8 1/4 hoursDiscover the unique bird and sea life around the Otago Peninsula from the sea and from specially-designed all terrain Argo vehicles. Walk along the pier to board a 55-foot wooden launch with a walk-around deck. It's a two-hour scenic cruise to Taiaroa Head, with time spent viewing the great albatross--one of the world's largest birds with a wingspan of up to ten feet. Watch for fur seals and other species including the little shag, spotted shag and the pied oystercatcher. Tea, coffee and cookies are served during the cruise. Binoculars and all weather jackets are provided. Disembark at the New Zealand Marine Studies Centre for an informative guided tour of the center where you will be introduced to the secrets of the Southern Ocean. Look inside a shark egg, shake hands with an octopus and discover why albatross, penguins and seals make the Otago Peninsula their home. A coach will transfer you up to the top of the Otago Peninsula to Nature's Wonder. Enjoy lunch before taking a spectacular tour on board an 8x8-wheel Argo vehicle which heads out over rolling farmland. On this exciting ride you will approach a fur seal colony and a yellow-eyed penguin nesting area. Also see the remains of old gun fortifications which date back to the 1880s. From Nature's Wonders, drive down the length of the Otago Peninsula along the Highcliff Road for panoramic views across Otago Harbor and the Pacific Ocean. In Dunedin there will be a brief orientation tour of this charming city which is renowned for its fine stone buildings and educational institutions.
The tour was amazing! I absolutely loved seeing the breeding grounds for the Fur Seals, the nesting areas for the Royal Albatross and of course the endangered Yellow eyed Penguin. The scenery was magnificent and the town had some lovely architecture. The ride in the Argo vehicles was like a Disney E Ticket ride and talk about dusty…. I was filthy when we finished. It was worth it however…. Dunedin is a beautiful little place.

Day 136 Queenstown to Christchurch....

This morning we headed out at 0830 to tour Queenstown and the surrounding area before heading to the airport. First we went to Arrowtown, an old gold rush town which has, for the most part, been preserved. It was very quaint and interesting to see the old buildings especially the old, and very small, houses. Next we were off to the Kawarau River and the old bridge where Bungee Jumping began. The first thing that hit me was the gorge that the bridge goes over. This area was used for some scenes in the movie, Lord of the Rings. We have been seeing a lot of areas across New Zealand that were used for that movie…. Good choice, amazing scenery… Next up was a tour and lunch at the Gibbston Valley Winery. Both the tour and lunch were amazing. Then we were off to catch a flight to Christchurch to rejoin the ms Amsterdam

Christchurch, New Zealand

We arrived in Christchurch at about 2:45 and headed out for a tour of the city on the way to the ship. We went to the Mona Vale gardens first which was lovely. Next we went to see three spot at one shot, the botanical gardens which was next to the museum which was across from the Arts Center…. Convenient! The gardens were just lovely with some nice fountains. The museum was very interesting, going over the history of New Zealand including some stuff on Antarctica, the USA’ station there. The arts center was beautiful. It was originally Cambridge College. It had amazing architecture and stained glass. Finally we went up on Port Hills to catch a panoramic view of the city. That was difficult because of the extremely overcast weather. It was an interesting tour on a less than optimal day….

Day 135 Queenstown to Milford Sound....

I woke up this morning full of anticipation…. Today was going to be a good one, I could just feel it. We were going to the Milford Sound which is supposed to be just amazing…. We took off at 0700 driving around Lake Wakatipu, the opposite direction from Walter Peak Station where we headed last night. First stop was going to be Te Anau for a short rest stop after 2 hours of driving. The drive there wasn’t bad because the scenery is just magnificent. After out rest stop it was off once again to Milford Sound. We had a few stops along the way. First we stopped in Eglington Valley fro an amazing view of the mountains. Second we stopped at Mirror Lakes which again was just spectacular. You know how much I love to take photographs with great reflections…. Next we stopped at the Chasm, a true wonder of nature. These huge boulders were carved like pieces of art from water over time…. Breathtaking! Finally we arrived at Milford Sound… it was beautiful! The firest thing you see is Mitre Peak which is some jagged piece of mountain. We boarded the Milford Sovereign at 1300 for a 1 ½ hour sail through the Sound. It was just magnificent even though the weather started closing in. We even came across some New Zealand Fur Seals. This place with its sheer rock walls, amazing vegetation and waterfalls is unbelievable. With Mitre Peak as it’s centerpiece this place is just magical. Amazingly enough we will be coming back to cruise Milford Sound in a few days after we leave Dunedin…. I look forward to my return….