Australia/New Zealand & Fiji Trip - Part 4

After a city tour of Melbourne on January 10th (Sunday), our cruise ship, the Golden Princess, embarked with all aboard by 3:00 p.m. for Fjordland, New Zealand.  That evening, we enjoyed Michael Wilcox's talk at a nondenominational service for Fun For Less travelers.  Following two days at sea, we had a full day sailing through the Fjords of New Zealand including Doubtful Sound, Dusky Sound, and Milford Sound, considered some of the most beautiful fjords in the world.  

Some of our photos from the Fjordland National Park 

scenic cruise are posted below.    

Milford Sound has been judged the world's top travel destination in an international survey by TripAdvisor and is said to be New Zealand's most famous tourist destination.

Rudyard Kipling had previously called it the eighth Wonder of the World.

 Seals

 Sam, Narene, and Michael Wilcox

* * * * * * * * * * * *

In the Princess Theatre on the ship

to see the illusionist, Matthew McGurk.

(Sam, Narene, Diane and Craig)

Circus Stunt Spectacular

in the Piazza on Deck 5.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

 Port at Dunedin, New Zealand

We were impressed with all the cut logs

at each of the ports.

Getting ready to walk up the

world's steepest street,

Baldwin Street in Dunedin.

(Narene and Sam)

Baldwin Street climb

(Craig Oberg) 

 The photo op at the top of Baldwin Street

for those making it to the top.

(Narene and Sam)

Heading back down Baldwin Street.

Railway Station in Dunedin

(seen on our city tour) 

Photo taken on our bus tour of Dunedin.
 

 
We went by bus to the territory of a rare Royal Albatross Colony
at Taiaroa Head at the end of the Otago Peninsula 
overlooking the mouth of the Otago Harbor.

 One of the Albatross on her nest.
These mother birds were not situated where we
could get a very good picture of them. 



The many seagulls, however, were easily accessible.
 

A mother seagull with her chicks.

In this area, we also toured the underground bunker
to see this Armstrong disappearing gun,
which was built in 1886 following a scare 
that New Zealand might be invaded by the Russians. 

Another view near where we visited the
Armstrong disappearing gun.

 Playing the bagpipes as we
returned to the ship.

 Watching the activities on the port as
we leave Dunedin.


Our next stop will be Akaroa, the only French settlement in New Zealand.

Australia/New Zealand & Fiji Trip - Part 3

Sunday, January 10th, was our last day in Australia.  We began the day with a city tour of Melbourne and a visit to the Ballarat Wildlife Park where we got up close and friendly with kangaroos.  Later, we boarded our cruise ship, which departed at 4:00 p.m.  On board the ship, we held a nondenominational service with Michael Wilcox as the speaker.

 

 Ballarat Wildlife Park in Melbourne

(Sam and Narene)

 The kangaroos were friendly and free roaming.

These were eastern grey kangaroos,

which are smaller than the red kangaroos.

They ate out of our hands

a mixture of grains.

 Our tour educator on this trip

was Michael Wilcox.

Here he is feeding several kangaroos.

Our tour group leader, Ron Jenson,

is standing nearby.

A koala bear

Sam's hand is petting the koala bear 

being held while eating Eucalyptus leaves.

Although koalas look like a teddy bear, 

they are marsupial mammals

and are not bears; they are related to the

kangaroo and the wombat.

Koalas have very sharp teeth and sharp claws.

The koala cub stays in the mother's pouch for five months.

Adult koalas only eat Eucalyptus leaves, 

about 1/2 to 1 kilogram of leaves each night;

but the nutrition they get from these leaves is poor,

so they spend most of their lives sleeping.

 Sam petting "Patrick, the world's best mascot."

 At 29 years old, he is known as the

oldest wombat in the world.

He has his own Facebook page!

I'm petting Patrick, the famous wombat.

He has met some famous people including

Nicolas Cage, Kirstie Alley, and Kim Cattrall.

The wombat is a medium-sized marsupial that is found

only in Australia and its surrounding islands.

They are burrowing mammals that spend most of the day

under ground, coming out at night to feed.

  

Tasmanian Devil

is a carnivorous marsupial distantly related to

kangaroos and wombats, but has the appearance of a wild dog.

They are only found on the Australian island state of Tasmania.

Wedge Tail Eagle

is the largest bird of prey in Australia

with a wingspan of 2.3 meters. 

Queen Victoria Market

is the largest open air market in the Southern Hemisphere.

The Market is significant to Melbourne's culture and heritage

and has been listed on the Victorian Heritage Register.

We walked through the food market and also

through the large non-food related market that sells 

clothing, shoes, jewelry, and handmade arts and crafts.

 

Sam often buys a cap for his souvenir on our overseas trips,

but this time he bought a kangaroo leather hat in Australia,

the "squashy hat-in-bag that folds into a bag and then springs back to shape."

G'day, mate!

The next blog will find us on our cruise ship with three days at sea,

sailing through the Fjords of New Zealand, and arriving in Dunedin, New Zealand, on January 14th.