We were given late checkout at the hotel so had a relaxing morning. We weren’t very far from the pier, a 10-15 minute walk that we had done several times, but we opted for a taxi given our luggage.
Queen’s Wharf has two cruise ship terminals. Cruise ships have been coming to Aukland for 14 years.
The process of checking in on the Westerdam took about 45 minutes. We were always moving so it went quickly.
This is our cruise itinerary – mostly New Zealand, and three ports in Australia.
We found our cabin and our key cards. Randy was pleased that he finally had some status as we were Mr. and Mrs. R. Matthews. Because I do all the travel planning, status accounts are almost always in my name. He’s always “complaining” that he doesn’t exist! He’s just a kept man on our travels!
This was our first view of our signature suite, a new cabin category for us.
We had lovely flowers from our travel agent.
We watched the safety video and then the end of the Chiefs-Texans football game.
We were able to watch some of the Sail Grand Prix from our balcony. We had seen a lot about it during our stay in Auckland but were out of the city on Saturday. On Sunday morning, we were more focused on getting on the ship. It was a nice surprise to see a little of the racing and what all the fuss was about.
And if you don’t know, because we certainly didn’t know, Sail GP is an international sailing competition featuring high-performance F 50 foiling Catamarans.
We completed our last required event for embarking, to find our muster station for lifeboat evacuation in case of emergency.
Next up was the Mariners’ Reception for loyal Holland America cruisers with status. We barely qualify, but we do! We sat with a couple from Florida we had met in line to embark.
Because this smaller class of Holland ship is new to us, we spent some time finding our way around.
We went to the spa for a tour and signed up for the raffle. I won $100! Of course, given the inflated prices on a cruise, my $100 discount makes it about the same as Phoenix prices. I’m all in!!
We opted to pay $119 for unlimited laundry on this cruise. As we’d already been away from home for a week, we sent off our first bag of clothes for cleaning.
We went to dinner in the main dining room and then to the theater for a talk about our next few ports.
Most of that information will come out as we reach those ports, but he told us a few general items of note.
The footwear people in the US call flip flops are called jangles in NZ. Those same sandles are called thongs in Australia. (I actually grew up in the Pacific Northwest calling them thongs.)
New Zealand money is very colorful and durable. They have done away with 1$ bills, nickels and pennies.
New Zealand is generally cashless with almost everyone using cards. There is no expectation for tipping as workers are paid a livable wage.
Instead of 911 for emergency, NZ uses 111.
The longest place name in the world is in New Zealand. There are 85 characters! The presenter didn’t want to attempt the pronunciation so he played a recording narrated by his sister!
On our way to Waitomo Caves and Hobbiton, our guide told us more about New Zealand.
Although New Zealand is made of 600 islands, there are just two main ones: the North Island and the South Island. Aukland is on the north island.
The city is very long and narrow positioned between the Pacific Ocean and Tasman Sea. Aukland has the most coastline of any city in the world.
The total population of New Zealand is 5.2 million on a land mass about the size of Japan. Aukland was the nation’s second capital between 1842 and 1865 (now Wellington). One third of the population of New Zealand lives in Aukland.
New Zealand is a democracy holding elections every three years. Their former prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, became quite famous for her very aggressive, and successful, approach to fighting the COVID pandemic.
Power in New Zealand is generated by hydro and wind. This is the last operating coal plant. It is due to be decommissioned soon. Coal is imported from Indonesia. Fuel is imported from Singapore.
There are no snakes or crocodiles in New Zealand but they do have mosquitoes so it isn’t perfect.
New Zealand’s largest industry is dairy farming. They export product to 170 countries around the world.
Tourism was the largest industry before COVID with 3.5 million annual visitors. Now it is the second largest industry, but coming back.
We arrived at our first of two primary destinations, Waitomo Caves.
Waitamo means water caves. These sandstone caves were formed over millions of years.
We saw the beautiful rooms and formations such as stalagmites, stalactites, pillars and columns.
On our way down to the river still running through the cave, we learned about its more recent history.
Local Māori knew about the caves but they had never been fully explored. Chief Tane Tinorau and English surveyor Fred Mace did so in 1887.
They experienced the multitudes of glowworms lighting up the ceiling of the cave.
Each worm has an attachment that gathers their food.
In 1889, the caves opened to tourists.
The government took over the cave in 1906 but it was returned to Māori descendants to operate in 1989.
Two floods have impacted the cave and temporarily reduced the number of glow worms.
Picture taking was not allowed in the cave so these are internet stock photos or pictures I took of post cards I bought in the gift store.
This was our boat coming out of the cave. We had been sitting in the bow and were the first off. This is the natural entrance.
This experience was magical and reminded us of the bioluminescent bay in Puerto Rico.
Our day continued with a very nice box lunch and the marginal experience of eating it on the coach.
Our next destination was Hobbiton, the movie set used in the Hobbit and Lord of the Ring movies.
Prior to leaving on this big adventure to New Zealand, we watched the first Hobbit movie. I intended to watch all three but didn’t enjoy the first enough to spend more time on it. Randy watched the entire Hobbit trilogy. He had already seen Lord of the Rings years ago so he filled in the general story line for me.
We met up with Gandolf right away!
Hobbiton is a popular place, with 2500 visitors each day. It is among the top five tourist attractions in New Zealand.
Nathaniel, employed by Hobbiton, came aboard our coach and gave us some history of the movie set.
In 1998, location scouts for the Lord of the Ring movies were looking for rolling hills, a lake and a large tree. They found what they were looking for on the Alexander family’s 1200 acre sheep (13,000) and cattle (500) farm.
“The Shire,” home to the Hobbits, would be built on 120 acres leased from the family.
The New Zealand Army helped build the road into the shire site and several soldiers were rewarded with roles as extras (Orcs).
Thirty-nine temporary Hobbit Holes were created for the Lord of the Ring movies.
“The Shire” was later reconstructed with more robust materials beginning in 2009. That process took two years! The set was used for only 12 days of filming in 2011 for the Hobbit trilogy. The work, time and artistry on any given aspect, may only have seconds of film life in the movie.
Two artificial trees were constructed with leaves sewn on the branches, including this one above Bilbo Baggins’ Hobbit Hole. The director was not happy with the color of leaves so art students were acquired to paint 200,000 leaves before filming began.
The landscaping and settings are so detailed!
Remember those 13,000 sheep the family owned? The director thought another breed looked like they belonged in “The Shire” and he had a different breed imported from the south Island of New Zealand.
We had a completely enjoyable hour with Nathaniel walking around “The Shire” and hearing stories about the various cottages.
We were able to go inside a Hobbit Hole and see the level of detail used on the inside sets.
The interior scenes were actually filmed at a studio in Wellington and re-created here as part of the Hobbiton experience.
We finished off Hobbiton with a visit to The Green Dragon Tavern. A complimentary beverage is part of the experience. We opted for amber ale and apple cider.
The Alexander family still owns the land and one son still runs the farm and lives in the family home. The Alexander’s also own the company running Hobbiton.
Our visit to Hobbton was completely delightful. I am now inspired to watch the last half hour of the final Hobbit movie as Bilbo Baggins returns from his adventure.
Me, writing the blog!
PS. Randy and I were just fascinated, and a bit saddened, to watch these two young women. We first noticed them as the one meticulously fixed her makeup while in line to go into the dark Waitomo Caves. I believe they were Japanese so have no idea if she is famous or maybe just wants to be. The second woman was always taking her picture – so many times!! I hope they were employer and employee because if they were friends, there was a definite imbalance in the relationship.
We were at the Waitamo Caves and Hobbiton on January 18, 2025.
We woke to our first full day in Auckland with my Apple Watch bouncing back-and-forth between Thursday, January 16 and Friday, January 17. I left it to sort itself out and it eventually did.
One of the things that always makes us laugh as we travel internationally is the trouble we have figuring out new to us shower fixtures. This was my time to be stumped and Randy’s to figure it out.
While walking to our Aukland City Tour meeting point, we passed the hull for KZ1. It sailed against America 1 in the America’s Cup race in 1988. Unfortunately, that America’s Cup competition ended with court battles and hard feelings.
Our guide told us that the Māori arrived about 1350. There were only plants, insects and birds. Many of the birds were flightless.
The Māori were a structured, warrior based people, adept at defending their lands. In 1642 a Dutch explorer, Able Tasmin, was the first European to find the islands. He named it New Zealand. The Māori ran the Dutch off.
In 1779, Captain James Cook came to New Zealand. The Māori greeted his expedition. He claimed the area for the British Empire.
There was beneficial trade for a time but the Māori had no concept of land ownership so there was eventual conflict.
A lot of the fighting occurred in a region south of Aukland. These Māori totems sit on some of those lands.
A treaty was signed and is still controversial today as the Māori control less than one percent of the lands they once fully occupied.
The colonization of New Zealand was seen as a bit of a bait and switch. If the colonists survived a three and a half month journey, they found mostly dense forests. The “English” cows and sheep did poorly on the native grasslands in New Zealand.
The English introduced possums, from Australia, to develop a fur trade. There are now 90 million possums in New Zealand and they are considered pests. Merino wool is a mix of possum fur and wool.
Aukland’s Ferry Building was built to service the Royal British Navy.
Much of the early architecture in Aukland is Victorian. Eighty percent of houses are made of wood, primarily using the native Kauri trees. (The Kauri tree is the second slowest growing tree in the world after California redwood.)
The Poncenby post office came into service just after the turn of the 20th century. We were told that the building was involved in the first conviction using fingerprint technology in the British Empire, if not the world. When I looked for details, I couldn’t find any so that may or may not be factual.
We walked up Mount Eden to see views of the city from the top of one of 53 former volcanic sites around Aukland.
Another of the 53 off in the distance.
This crater was formed 28,000 years ago.
This is the youngest volcano at 700 years. It last erupted 250 years ago.
As we walked on the board walk, people walking the opposite way would graciously cross over. It finally occurred to us that we should be walking on the left side, matching the way traffic operates.
We drove by the Aukland War Museum. The various alcoves were dedicated to war campaigns.
Our guide said Gallipoli was the most significant. It was a ten month campaign during 1915-16 in the Middle East campaign of World War I.
We went to Achilles Point and saw a memorial there. It is named after the HMNZS Achilles which defeated a German battleship in the South Pacific in 1939.
Our guide is standing by a Nikau Palm. It is one of the smallest palm trees and the only one endemic to New Zealand.
The Harbor Bridge was originally built in 1959 but was soon deemed not large enough to meet the needs of Aukland.
Ten years later a Japanese company figured out how to weld and clip extra lanes onto each side.
We saw bungee jumpers in action under the open arch on the left side. After jumping they are hauled back up to the bridge.
After 400 jumps the bungee line is replaced.
This is physical education for high school students in Aukland. It is a very water based society where nearly everyone owns a boat.
This is boat storage!
The Aukland Sky Tower became a point of reference for us as our hotel was nearby. Although going to the top for viewing or dinner is a local attraction, we didn’t get to it before leaving Aukland. It is the second tallest structure in the southern hemisphere behind a tower in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Australia is New Zealand’s nearest neighbor but it still over 1300 miles away. Sometimes, New Zealand is called “The Lonely Place” because of isolation.
Our passports got stamped in and out of Tahiti. That doesn’t always happen since everything is computerized.
We boarded another 787 Dreamliner for our 5 hour flight to Aukland that would cross the international date line. Tahiti is 23 hours behind Aukland, but only five hours away.
Once we were airborne, we were served breakfast. Randy watched movies. I listened to podcasts and randomly watched the update screen. Notice the altitude on the bottom left! That is pretty precise.
We passed the Cook Islands. Our family took a trip there with my parents in the 1990’s. It was on my father’s bucket list to see the southern cross, the southern hemisphere’s answer to the big dipper. We also had a wonderful excursion to Aitutaki, also shown on the map, that we still talk about.
Our flight towards Aukland was uneventful. That’s a good thing when you are going thousands of miles across the Pacific Ocean. Note to self – I prefer flights in which I stay awake during daylight hours instead of “sleeping” during night time hours.
We can see New Zealand from the plane!
After we landed, and as we were taxiing to the gate, I turned my phone off airplane mode and the time was 2:48 on Wednesday January 15.
One minute later, after my phone oriented, it was 1:59 on Thursday January 16th! We lost a whole day in moments!!
We had participation streaks for a couple of activities and one of Randy’s was broken at 760 days! Bummer.
Before leaving the plane we saw a video about declaring contraband foods or facing the consequences. They also expect you to declare if you have been hiking because of what may be on your shoes or equipment. Right away we acknowledged an open bag of cashews and pistachio nuts but they were acceptable.
We passed several more reminders to declare items or have consequences. We finally passed “the last opportunity.” They take protecting their country in this way very seriously.
We walked through a Māori carved arch towards immigration and baggage claim and began a multi step customs and immigration process. The first was to insert our passport into a machine and have a picture taken, all automated. Then we had to visit an officer where we were once again asked about what food items we might have to declare.
We gathered our luggage and it was scanned. Then we were free to find our driver. He was right there waiting for us.
Walking to his car, we passed a statue of Jean Batten, an aviator from New Zealand with several record-breaking flights. These were records for any aviator, not just a woman’s record. Her records include being the first aviator to fly solo from England to New Zealand. She did it in 1936, yet, she was denied the opportunity to serve in any flying capacity during World War II.
Our ride to the hotel was very pleasant and our check-in went smoothly.
The hotel is ultra modern!
Our evening plans were for a Harbor Dinner Cruise. We expected a yacht or trawler type boat.
Instead there were two sailboats, the Courageous and the Defiance.
On board the Courageous, we joined guests from Vienna, Bulgaria, Japan, Australia, South Korea, and Canada. We were the only ones from the US. That doesn’t happen very often, maybe never before.
We had drinks, canapés, a main dish and dessert while we sailed in the harbor.
This is Aukland’s first electric tugboat, Sparky. Over 2000 batteries provide adequate power to direct this small cruise ship.
We generally tracked with the sister boat, Defiance.
The Spirit of New Zealand was built in 1986 to teach New Zealand’s youth about sailing and their heritage. It operates year round on journeys with students 16-18 operating as crew trainees.
Randy drove the boat! The captain let everyone who wanted a turn have one.
This is New Zealand’s only naval post. The navy has seven boats that operate more like the US coast guard. It is primarily focused on search and rescue. There recently lost a ship, an eighth of their navy, when it was grounded on a reef and sank due to the captain’s error.
The Chelsea Sugar Factory has been in business since the mid 1800s processing raw sugar cane from Fiji and Australia. The orange color was the only paint they had enough of when it was originally painted. Now it is tradition.
There were many views of the Aukland skyline on this side of the harbor. The bridge below extends the city to the opposite shore.
We had a perfect evening for sailing.
The Viaduct Harbor and Marina was once a small fishing harbor. Now there are many gorgeous yachts and many restaurants. This harbor area was imagined and funded after New Zealand’s America’s Cup victory in the 1990s.
As we walked into the hotel at the end of the day, we thought how strange it was that we woke up Wednesday morning and are going to bed Thursday evening.
We arrived in Aukland on January 15 and/or 16, 2025.
We ate a light breakfast because we had a morning food tour!
The resort’s breakfast buffet is very well done. Unfortunately, neither of the dinners we had at the same restaurant were good at all. It was our working plan to stay in town long enough to have our evening meal elsewhere.
A pre-arranged taxi picked us up at 7:00 a.m. for an 8:15 meeting.
When we looked at the map, it just didn’t seem possible that it could take that long to go from the resort to Papeete. The concierge confirmed the time was correct due to heavy traffic at that time of morning and never knowing what might happen to cause a significant delay. (We live near Phoenix, we know all about that!)
Our taxi driver dropped us off in front of a very elaborate building that identified as a hotel in big letters and city hall in small letters.
It looked like a hotel to us!
We verified that we were in the right place. It never was a hotel as we know it – it’s just French for City Hall.
Our drive from hotel to city hall took only 30 minutes so we walked to a pharmacy. We had to show a picture to be understood but we got what we wanted.
We chuckled at the receipt identifying Randy as American tourist.
Back at city hall, we explored a bit. A plaque outside the building said it was commissioned in 1966 when the president of the republic was Charles de Gaulle.
The statue was on the grounds.
This mural was inside.
At 8:30 we met our food tour guide, Oramu, and one other guest. Our first stop was for a typical Polynesian breakfast.
That consisted of a donut type bread that was not real sweet. We also had a raw tuna dish with a small amount of vegetables in coconut milk, a coconut biscuit, and piece of taro root. Oramu said this is the breakfast people eat everyday. There is only a small amount of lime, not enough to “cook” it like ceviche. The tuna, or other fish, is just always very fresh.
THIS GIRL ATE RAW FISH – and it was actually pretty good. (In my world of not eating fish, I will very occasionally eat tuna or salmon.)
The next stop was Lucky Luke’s which has been in this spot for many decades. Luke is now 90 and still comes in to greet his customers. The next generation is now doing the day to day work running of the restaurant.
This is a picture of Oramu and Luke’s nephew.
We tasted fried pastry with tuna inside, banana crepes, and a baked pastry with banana inside.
This is the market building. It is much larger than it appears! It is open everyday but Sunday’s are the biggest event. It is the main day for locals to shop for their food for the week. Sales begin at 3:00 a.m. and end at 9:00 a.m. on Sunday, otherwise there are more typical hours.
We saw a sampling of the fruits and vegetables available on a Sunday.
These white potatoes are a type of sweet potato.
Taro root is purple when cooked.
We sampled mango with Chinese Plum Spice Powder. It is not spicy in a hot or ethnic way as Tahitians don’t eat spicy food. Oramu said this type of mango is candy to kids in Tahiti.
Beneath the bowl are bags of mango at various degrees of ripeness. A person chooses a bag to their preference and the powder is shaken over it. This was my favorite food on the tour.
We also had fresh mango and pineapple. On this trip, the pineapple, both fresh and juiced, has been the best ever.
Next we had coconut water and coconut bread from a market stall that sells all things coconut. We didn’t like the water but the bread was interesting. We like fresh coconut “meat” so we enjoyed the taste and texture of it inside the bread.
There are other things for sale too including flowers and flower crowns. The crowns cost about $25 or you can buy the flowers and create your own.
Black pearls are a product of the South Pacific and Oramu showed us the difference between natural and cultured. I bought cultured pearls when we were here in 2019.
The material used for weaving bags is the same as used for thatched roofs.
There was a section of grab and go foods. Sandwiches are often a most economical meal because the cost of bread is government controlled. A generous sandwich costs 350 francs, roughly $3.50. I think this was the only bargain we saw in Papeete.
We left the market and went for Tahiti fast food at Vini Vini. We did pass a McDonalds and a Burger King but they were not on our tour. Our guide said the American fast food places are very popular.
The cases show many kinds of fish and sushi that are ready to eat.
Oramu ordered us a burger. The meat was cornflake encrusted tuna. The coating was very crunchy and the tuna was good. The burger was one of our favorites on the tour.
This is not food, but it was the same stop. It took me a bit to figure out that I needed to “hip action” the white rod to get the water to turn on in the sink….
We stopped at this street mural and Oramu told us how it represented the three cultures that mesh in Tahiti: the Polynesian culture that has always been, French culture after becoming a protectorate of France in 1844, and an influx of Chinese in the 1860s as laborers. Food is also a mixture of the three.
Residents of French Polynesian are French citizens and are allowed to vote in elections in France.
Oramu told us as that school is taught in French. In elementary grades the students learn Tahitian as a second language. In secondary school, they learn English.
She told us that when she was young, her parents would argue in English thinking the kids didn’t know what they were saying. Oramu’s grandfather spoke English and he was also instrumental in her being an excellent English speaker.
Papeete was bombed during World War I by the Germans. Much of the area around this church was destroyed but the church remained.
Our next food item was Polynesian King’s Cake. She told us the oldest person in the family cuts the cake and the youngest family member delivers the pieces of cake randomly to others. Who will have the baby Jesus inside?
Our next stop was for a Tahitian liquor tasting. We had a sip of Tahitian gin that was honey infused. I don’t like gin and the honey didn’t help. The rum smelled so much like molasses that it should have tasted good – but it didn’t. One of the islands specializes in pineapple wine which sounds wonderful given how good the pineapple is here. Unfortunately, they didn’t give us a sampling of that and we didn’t have time to drink a bottle before leaving the island tomorrow.
Our last stop was for “papaya pie”. Of course, all these dishes have a Tahitian or French name but we don’t remember them.
We were skeptical about this dish because we don’t like the texture of fresh papaya at all. Cooking it made papaya so much better! Served with some coconut milk and vanilla ice cream – this was Randy’s favorite dish on the tour.
We had been pretty fortunate with weather during our four hour food tour around Papeete. We said goodbye to Oramu and our fellow guest. The food on this tour won’t be remembered as the best, but the experience was very, very good.
We did a bit of shopping and then the rain came down in sheets. We didn’t know if we’d even want to eat again, so we put on our raincoats and made it to the taxi stand. We were shortly back at the hotel.
We felt a bit grimy and actually did go swimming this time. Randy stayed in longer than me so I was able to take his picture in the pool, looking out at the lagoon, and the ocean beyond.
Back on our balcony, we saw the beginnings of a canoe race.
We eventually decided that we did want to eat again. We went down and ate at the bar.
We began with the local beer – Hinano. We remember the beer and this logo from the last time we were here. Randy had asked for, and was given, a dozen cardboard coasters hwith her picture on them. Several are still at our house. Over time she has become the local symbol for Tahiti, not just the beer. Randy bought a T-shirt with her on it and we also bought her on a coffee mug.
We also had decent pizza! It was a good last dinner at the InterContinental Tahiti Resort.
Our food tour was on January 14, 2025.
Next: Aukland, New Zealand – a new country for us.
We knew rainy days were coming because our snorkel tour in Tahiti was canceled before we even left Phoenix. It is the rainy season in French Polynesia. We would have taken that into account if we were specifically coming here for vacation. That wasn’t the case. It is an allowed stopover to break up the flight by Air Tahiti Nui. We aren’t paying extra for that with the airline. Of course, we are paying for our hotel and food.
Because we’ve been here before, and it isn’t a priority destination this time, we weren’t concerned with rainy days.
With overcast skies, we explored the InterContinental Tahiti Resort.
This resort has overwater bungalows but we skipped the extra cost this time.
We found some crabs and this one played a bit of hide and seek with me.
The flowers were pretty growing in the trunk of a palm.
We climbed to the top of a lookout and saw some nice views of the lagoon and island.
That is the island of Moorea in the distance.
Almost all of the photos in this post are light enhanced because it really was a dark day.
We saw several pretty trees that caught our eye and smelled nice!
This one we could tell from the fruit – a breadfruit tree. There is probably a fancier name – but it grows breadfruit!
This red blossomed tree was striking and is called royal poinciana or flame tree.
This is a screw pine.
The screw pine also produces a type of breadfruit.
It wasn’t quite the same as snorkeling, but we did get to see some marine life while walking around the various ponds.
They have rehabilitation ponds where a group has been working for 19 years to help sea turtles. They have helped over 650 turtles!
We watched this one swim into the boundary rock so we suspect it may be blind.
This is another resident of the rehabilitation pond.
There were some nice fish but getting a good picture from above on a dark, dreary day wasn’t within my photographic capabilities!
This is a view from the “lagoonarium” looking back towards the hotel restaurant and main building.
We also spent time looking out at the scene from our balcony. We could see the lagoon and hear the breakers beyond the protective reef.
Often we were looking through rain and Randy marveled at the rowers in outrigger canoes. We asked about them going out when it was raining and were told they don’t mind the rain and were just getting exercise rowing in the lagoon.
When we were getting ready to go down for dinner, we discovered that Randy’s phone thought it was already Monday. The hours and minutes were the same as mine, but my phone said Sunday and his said Monday. We had to validate to make sure what day it was because we are on vacation!
The discrepancy caused us to look up the international dateline to see if we were right on the edge and, for some reason, his was tipping over and mine was not. We both have iPhones so they should behave the same. He eventually got his phone to recognize that it really was Sunday but doesn’t know what he did to fix it.
Meanwhile we learned the international date line has this strange little jog to the east to include the Republic of Kiribati. Its 32 atolls cover 313 square miles and include Kiritmati, also known as Christmas Island.
And that was rainy Sunday!
We had hoped to wander in to town on Monday but the continued rain was impressive enough to change our plans.
I started prepping the initial blog post for this trip. I have always waited until we got home to write our trips and always used my computer. However, I have found that some initial work, as I have time on a trip, makes it easier.
An hour later I had actually finished writing the blog on my iPad with my attached keyboard. There were some things that were harder to do and others that were easier using the iPad. I’m intrigued with using it. I don’t know if I’ll have the time to keep on blogging the trip “live.” We’ll see how it evolves.
Later we went down to the lagoon intending to swim because if you are going to get wet, what does rain matter? The cone shaped building is the pool bar.
We had tropical drinks with PASTA straws. They were delicious which was good because they were a bit pricy at $24 a piece.
Despite the fortification, our swimming was abbreviated at the knees. The water and air felt just too cool. We enjoyed our cabana time while staying mostly dry.
After dinner, we exchanged dollars into pacific francs, the local currency of French Polynesia. We’ll need that for our next activity, a food tour in Papeete. We are likely to be touring in the rain.
Our next big adventure is to experience another item on Randy’s bucket list – snorkeling the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. Before that, we have a few days in Tahiti, a few days in Auckland, and a two week cruise.
Holland America Cruise on the MS Westerdam
The cruise is mostly around New Zealand with a few ports in Australia. We hope you’ll follow along. This trip began on January 11, 2025.
The first leg of our journey was from Phoenix to Los Angeles. We had a bit of anxiety about whether our flights into and out of LAX would be operating normally because of the massive wildfires. (We recognize that our flights are unimportant in the big picture of the LA tragedy.)
Our flight from PHX to LAX was in the evening so we expected to see the fires from the plane but we did not. We arrived and spent several uneventful hours in LAX.
I spent most of the time reading Mrs. Jewel and the Wreck of the General Grant by Cristina Sanders. I enjoy reading books in preparation for a trip to get a sense of place or the history of a region. I especially like books where an author takes a historical event and creates a fictional narrative. It is truth that Mrs. Jewell was the only female survivor, of 15 total, from the sailing ship General Grant, which wrecked in the Auckland Islands in 1866. Little is known about how she spent the eighteen months before the group was rescued so the author made a narrative. I loved the book and hope I am able to get a feel for the location when we sail around New Zealand.
The 4094 mile flight would take 7:47.
Our flight to Tahiti was an overnight flight in premium economy on Air Tahiti Nui. That meant we had reclining seats, just two together on the side of the plane. The attendants gave us a hot sandwich soon after we boarded and mostly everyone slept. (I spent a bit too much time finishing with Mrs. Jewell.)
This is my omelette breakfast. Randy opted for French toast.
We were roused about 3:30 a.m. local time (5:30 pacific time)and fed a hot breakfast.
Since my book was finished, I spent time with the plane’s onboard entertainment screens to learn more about Polynesian sailors and how they became experts with navigating by the stars. They also knew about the currents and the indicators for land.
I learned just a little about Tupaia, who accompanied Captain Cook on his journeys in the South Pacific.
In 1770, Tupaia put his knowledge on paper, the first Polynesian to do so. I was not surprised to hear that the original map resides in the British Library. (It could be a year long bucket list item to explore all the things we’ve heard about in our travels that are in the British Museum and British Library.)
This was a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner
We landed about 4:45 a.m. and walked into the terminal.
There were dancers waiting to greet us.
Many years ago we experienced something very similar as our family and my parents came through Tahiti on our way to the Cook Islands. That brief experience led to Randy wanting to bucket list Tahiti and staying in an overwater bungalow. That trip actually happened in May 2019. It was his mental reward for getting through chemo and surgery for bladder cancer in 2018. The blog post for that trip is Randy’s Bucket List – Tahiti and an OverWater Bungalow.
Getting back to our early morning on January 12, 2025, we gathered our bags, received our lei greeting, and met our driver.
He shouldn’t be able to look that good after a night flight with limited sleep.
We arrived a little after 5:00 a.m. at the InterContinental Tahiti Resort. Because we have an IHG Hotels account, we were able to access our room right away.
It was quite nice.
We had eaten on the plane a few hours before, but knew we wanted more breakfast before taking a nap. We had slept for a few hours on the plane but nothing like a whole night’s sleep.
As we walked towards the restaurant, we had the sensation we had been there before. I remembered that on the 2019 trip we had spent one night in Tahiti before going to Moorea and Bora Bora. We checked on our blog, the same one I referenced earlier, and sure enough, we stayed at the InterContinental Tahiti Resort before. The restaurant that felt so familiar was actually on the InterContinental Moorea Resort, where we also stayed.
The Sunday Brunch extravaganza was available at the main restaurant but we were too tired for an extended and large meal. We opted for a continental breakfast at the bar cafe. We were prepared to order two, but our waitress wisely suggested we share just one order.
It was more than enough!
Breakfast with a view!
We did get a look at the brunch show, but didn’t stay long. Our need for a nap was more important.
We left for Tahiti on January 11, 2025, arriving on January 12th.
Next Up: We explore the grounds of the InterContinental Tahiti Resort.
Before our final day, we had our final night aboard the Treasure of Galapagos. Our ten person crew joined us in their dress uniforms so we had a chance to say goodbye and give them a thank you tip.
Victor had prepared a photo montage of our trip. I was able to grab a quick picture of one he took of Randy and me on the lava bed.
Fortunately, our last overnight was uneventful and we awoke on the other side of San Cristobal Island. We said goodbye to the crew and went ashore in the zodiacs.
Of course, we saw one more sea lion sleeping in the rocks.
We were bussed to the San Cristobal Interpretation Center to learn more about the Galapagos Islands that we had been exploring for the last four days.
The Galapagos are a group of islands with unique ecosystems and biodiversity because they are impacted by four world currents which converge in the area.
Administered as a national park of Ecuador, they try to balance eco-tourism, the communities that live on five of the islands, responsible fishing and waste management.
The center offered us a history of the islands from origin to its discovery by Europeans and the abuses of attempted colonization. There’s even a murder mystery in there!
Over the course of millions of years, underwater volcanoes erupted repeatedly. The islands are the tops of underwater volcanic mountains. There are fourteen islands in the Galapagos, using the definition that each island has its own volcano. There are many more “extra rocks.”
Currently, the hot spot from the earth’s core is creating new islands to the northwest. This happens as the Nazca Plate is moving southeast at 3-4 inches per year.
Legend, and pottery shards, suggest that indigenous groups found their way to the islands from the Ecuador mainland during pre-Columbian times.
Documented discovery began with Tomás de Berlanga, sailing for Spain to inform the king about lands conquered from the Inca. When the winds died, the currents took them out to sea. They landed, near death, on these islands. A few died in the next 21 days, but most were able to sail back to the mainland when the winds returned.
Once discovered, the King of Spain sent numerous expeditions to explore and map the islands. Many of the islands were named during this time and still bear their Spanish names.
In the 17th and 18th centuries, the islands became a haven for pirates. Exploitation of resources, including the great tortoises, began.
Non-native species were introduced.
In 1832, Ecuador claimed the Galapagos Islands as their territory. Jose Villamil was designated the first governor and tried to establish a community that included prisoners who were pardoned in exchange for doing the work. The mixture of colonists and former prisoners didn’t work and Villamil left within five years.
In 1835, Charles Darwin arrived during a voyage on the Beagle.
The Galapagos were just one stop on a five year voyage under Captain Fitzroy but left an indelible mark on Darwin, and eventually the world of science and religion.
Darwin recognized that, geologically, the islands had a unique origin that should be studied. He noted the differences in species not only from the mainland but also between the islands. Darwin warned against the introduction of non-native species.
Over time, Darwin developed his theory of evolution that resulted in great controversy throughout the world. The implication that humans could have evolved from another, more primitive species caused him to be greatly and maliciously criticized. Charles Darwin died in 1882.
Back on the Galapagos, the exploitation of the islands continued. Cattle were introduced. Criminals continued to be sent there. Over time, the islands were mostly abandoned because various criminal acts left an aura of being cursed.
In 1860, the United States, France and England became involved because the location of the islands was considered valuable for international trade and strategic as a defensive position. The abundance of guano was valuable and marketable. Despite pressure, Ecuador did not give up control of the islands.
In 1925, the islands were marketed in Norway as a tropical paradise. That didn’t work out well and many immigrants died in the arid environment.
In 1929, two German couples emigrated (not together) to Floreana, a mostly habitable area.
Austrian Baroness Eloise Wehrborn de Wagner-Bosquet, and her two German lovers, also came to the island to build a hotel. She declared herself Empress of Isla Floreana. In March 1934, the Baroness and one of her lovers disappeared under mysterious circumstances while all of their belongings remained. The drama continued with the disappearance of her other lover and the death of one of the original German men. His wife returned to Germany. In the end, only one of the two original couples stayed on.
The mystery has never been solved, but a movie was made about the events in 2014. It was called “The Galapagos Affair: Satan Comes to Eden.”
In 1942, the Americans established a base in the islands to protect the Panama Canal as it was considered a likely target for the Japanese.
In 1946, a penal colony was established in the islands. For thirteen years terror was inflicted on those sent there . The penal colony was closed after an inmate uprising.
In 1959, Galapagos National Park and the Charles Darwin Research Station were created.
Tourism began in the islands in 1969. Keeping an appropriate balance is still the challenge.
In 1984, The Galapagos Islands were declared the first Natural World Heritage Site.
What a history that we knew nothing about! I think I thought the animals had always been there, developing in their own way, and people found them and behaved responsibly. Not so much! Hopefully, care and preservation will always be a priority going forward. Ecuador seems to be doing credible work.
We returned to Phoenix after some minor travel issues. Our reaction to the trip for at least a week after we returned was that “it was exhausting.” We did so much in 20 days! Of course, once we recovered we appreciate so much the opportunity to see what we saw and do what we did.
It is hard for either of us to pick a favorite event! Was it fishing for piranha or snorkeling with penguins? Was it walking in Machu Picchu or flying above the Nazca Lines? Was it learning about the Inca and how artificial intelligence says they couldn’t have built what they built? Was it walking with the tortoises or boating with dolphins? So much to choose from!
When we returned we were able to “scratch off” Peru and Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands.
Our thanks to Avalon for great planning and wonderful execution. Also thanks to our fun, kind and considerate travel companions. I hope we meet again!
We visited South America, including the Nazca Lines, Machu Picchu, Peruvian Amazon and the Galapagos Islands in September, 2024!
North Seymour is a small, but important, island for seabirds and those who are interested in seabirds. It is the primary destination in the Galapagos for birders.
Frigates and blue footed boobies have nesting grounds on the island. This boobie mother and baby had their nest right next to the path.
This is a male frigate with his enticing red pouch. We watched six to eight of the males trying to entice a female in the vicinity! She came down on one for 15-20 seconds and flew off again. Deed done?
This is a male and juvenile frigate. Frigates are unable to walk on the ground so they generally fly or perch in trees.
There is a large population of land iguanas on North Seymour because of abundant cactus pads and fruit for food.
An iguana’s color lightens as it ages.
This Darwin finch is getting a drink from the cactus.
Darwin finches encompass 13-18 species (number varies by research site) of nearly identical birds on the Galapagos. They vary only in beak shapes that had adapted to the type of food found on the island inhabited. Charles Darwin discussed the finches and their beak adaptation in his book The Origin of Species.
We walked into an area that was concentrated with blue footed boobies. (I love these boobies. I even got earrings that match their feet.)
This is a juvenile blue footed boobie. The shade of blue develops with age and the depth of blue is dependent on the bird’s diet.
Boobie comes from bobo, meaning foolish. This guy actually looks a little foolish, but I like him!
As we walked towards the water we came across this bloody scene. Our guide said it was the placenta from a mother sea lion that had recently given birth.
It surprised us how rough the new mother was with her hours old babe! There was a second mother (foreground) with her baby in the same area. Victor thought the other baby was a couple weeks old.
This is a Lava Seagull, endemic to the Galapagos Islands.
This is a marine iguana. (This is the species I saw on the BBC program I mentioned in an earlier post. However, the scene depicted of snakes going after the marine iguana babies across the beach happens on a different island.) The Galapagos Islands have land, marine and hybrid iguanas.
Here we are, our Avalon group, posing for a group picture on North Seymour Island in the Galapagos Islands!
We walked a ways and saw a baby sea lion, alone and still. We were concerned that we had come upon a baby dead or dying. Victor, our guide, told us numerous times that rangers let nature happen. If there is a human cause (or human introduced predator) to the injury, then they will intervene.
Fortunately, this baby perked up! Victor explained that the baby may be left alone for hours or even a few days while the mother hunts. She will then try to find her baby using their unique shared vocalizations and scents and reunite.
We returned to the Treasure of Galapagos and had a chance to take a picture of the bridge while the door was open and no one was inside.
Randy had another snorkeling experience while I road in the zodiac.
Later we walked on Island Plaza Sur and saw some of the local inhabitants!
After dinner, we had our evening briefing about the next day’s activities, Our boat, Treasure of Galapagos had a time slot from 6:00 to 10:00 a.m. on San Cristobal Island. Access is scheduled and limited so as not to disrupt the species and habitat too much. Breakfast was to be served at 6:00. We all retired to our cabins.
We were asleep when the alarm went off at 5:00 a.m. but that may be the only time in the long night that we were asleep! We had a very rough night traveling between Isle Plaza Sur and San Cristobal Island. No one slept as we were banged around, especially our friends in the suite in the lower level front. Our closet doors were opening and slamming shut and at some point I braced pillows and cushions in the gap to stop it. Anything not battened down was tossed all over the room. Several times we were at risk of being dumped out of bed!
Eventually the long night was finished and the next day dawned. Breakfast was eaten and our activities continued.
Part of the group (Randy included) left for a several hour hike.
Victor explained that this crab shell was just the skeletal structure. The crab had moved on and would develop a new shell.
This goat is an example of human introduced species that have done much damage in the Galapagos Islands. They came to the islands in the 19th century for food and as pack animals. The goats compete with native species for food and habitat, disrupting the balance of life. Galapagos National Park has culled the population of goats quite dramatically but some remain.
They saw more blue footed boobies.
Their nests just aren’t protected at all!
The main draw of this hike was the red footed boobies. I regret, a bit, not seeing them in person.
That, and maybe this view – gorgeous!
Instead of hiking, five of us went on a zodiac ride around the area. We had rain and mist and didn’t really see anything we hadn’t seen before.
After 45 minutes we returned to the boat. We had just unloaded, and put our shoes out for cleaning, when word came that dolphins were sighted. Go! Go! Go back into the zodiacs! We didn’t even put our shoes back on – just got into the zodiacs in our socks.
There were dolphins all around us and what a joy that was!
We saw many dolphins but Randy’s group saw hundreds looking down from above.
They could see us in the zodiacs too.
Too soon, the dolphins were gone and those of us in the zodiacs were back on Treasure of Galapagos. Eventually, everyone was back on board and we were underway.
Randy saw the dolphins again from our balcony and alerted the ship’s crew.
The captain diverted course so we could enjoy them again!
A while later we were alerted to whales. Our naturalist believed it was a mother and baby humpback. Humpbacks often give birth in the Galapagos area.
I couldn’t get a good picture of the whales, but I did catch the frigates escorting us out of the area.
We were in the Galapagos Islands on September 29 and 30, 2024
Overnight the captain had motored us towards our next activities on Santiago and Bartolomé Islands. We generally enjoy sleeping to the movement of a boat so all was well.
Our first activity of the day was a lava hike. We used zodiacs to transport from our boat to Sullivan Bay on Santiago Island.
Some red crabs welcomed us to the island and really stood out against the lava.
Our guide/naturalist, Victor, gave us a geology lesson about the Galapagos archipelago and its movement (3-4 inches per year) on the Nazca plate. (Victor could really teach us about a lot of things. Before he was a guide, he was a naval officer, and he is also a lawyer.)
Victor told us how this area’s volcanos are different from land volcanos. The underwater volcanos formed the islands over repeated eruptions and the resulting layering and lifting from below.
The area off Sullivan Bay is famous for the extensive lava flows believed to be mostly from the late 1800s, with one eruption being specifically documented in 1892.
This is a lava cactus – unique to the Galapagos Islands.
We returned to Treasure of Galapagos and Randy was fitted for his wetsuit for snorkeling.
Because of the currents, the water is quite cold, despite being so close to the equator.
I have snorkeled many times, in many places but am not a fan of getting in and out of wetsuits. When we learned that there would frequently be zodiac excursions offered for those that didn’t prefer to snorkel, that was an easy decision for me.
Before they left, this sea lion was lounging in the boat. He was having a nice time, until they made him leave!
With the super hectic pace of the last two weeks, I enjoyed sitting on our balcony with my tea, an audiobook, and the binoculars.
Randy was super excited when he came back because they snorkeled with penguins! That was almost enough to make me wish I had gone along.
During lunch we motored to our next destination of Bartolome Island. Once arrived, there was a group climbing to the high point of the island and another group doing a zodiac trip around the island. We decided to divide and conquer.
Living in the desert, we are well familiar with various forms of prickly pear cactus. Seeing it in tree form in the Galapagos was new to us!
On the water, we saw quite a few penguins.
And crab.
And penguins and crab!
The sea birds are always present!
Randy made it to the top and had some nice views.
The sea lions just go where they want and aren’t bothered by the people.
Serene Wandering 