One of the BEST things about a cruise is waking up in the morning knowing your ship is just about to dock in a new port. I leave the curtains slightly open at night anticipating that first peek of light to float into my cabin and wake me up. For some reason, arriving in a new port awakens the inner child in me. I am excited to spend a week in New Zealand. I just want to devour all of its natural beauty. As I peeked out my window, a grey day assailed my senses..... a snicker-at-me grey. How can this Be? New Zealand?
In my jammies, I headed to my balcony and leaned over the rail to see what this new port was all about. The sea was dotted with all shapes and sizes of jagged rocks jutting out of the sea in irregular patterns. Big ones, three tiny ones, two over there, four in a row here, two or three huge ones over there.... Being half awake, it appeared as if large giant played with stones, rolled them around a bit, then cast them with a fling of his hands into the sea, like skipping rocks, Now these jagged pieces are stuck in the ocean, as a final resting place for eternity, guiding boats to the port. Eerie, desolate, beautiful.
Today is a happy day! We finally are getting off the ship and going on a 4 hour tour. This time we chose to go on a tour to Hole in the Rock . We took a tender to Waitangi where we boarded a huge yellow triple-decker sight seeing boat. Guess who got seats in the front row on top? We had to hold onto our hats or loose them. Perfect weather perfect sea. We were taken into numerous little bays. One is where Captain Cook landed, way back in 1769. New Zealand is all about being on the water and breathing the freshest air on earth. We meet up with a bunch of dolphins en route. They traveled in huge packs with their babies. They played with our wake, swam around and under our boat, and were quite the show offs. I am positive Flipper's grandchildren were among them.... see likeness below. He was kind enough to pose... :) When we arrived at The Hole in the Rock, the water was so smooth, we were able to go through it. This hole was carved over time by the sea and wind. Sad to end out tour, David headed to the cabin and I took another tender to see the water front town of Russell. Very much like Cape Cod with its white washed little shops and homes made of timber. It is a nice little tourist stop for shopping, catching a bite, or visiting a local museum.
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