The Māori phrase meaning “have life” or “be healthy,” Kia Ora is perhaps the most widely used phrase in New Zealand. It begins and ends virtually every conversation. So, to all of you in EIL land, Kia Ora!
The inspiration for this trip all began with a reef: The Great Barrier Reef off Queensland, Australia—a geological feature so large that it’s visible from outer space. It is the world’s largest structure made entirely of living organisms, coral polyps. Diving the Great Barrier Reef has been my dream since I was sixteen and living on Guam, where my love of diving and the ocean began. Ultimately, it resulted in a career as a marine biologist and SCUBA diving instructor.
My wife, Carol, and I decided to embark on a cruise with Viking, specifically on their ship Viking Mars. We had traveled on both ocean and river vessels with this cruise line previously and loved the Viking experience. We settled on the Sydney, Australia to Auckland, New Zealand cruise during Georgia’s winter, which is summer for Australia and New Zealand.
Upon landing in Sydney, we flew to Cairns for our Great Barrier Reef dive the next day. I was disappointed. We were in ten feet of water and saw individual coral heads separated by sand. It was certainly not the barrier reef experience I expected.
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In Sydney we walked the Royal Sydney Botanical Gardens, toured the Sydney Opera House, visited Bondi Beach and the Sydney Ocean Reef Aquarium. The aquarium houses one of only two dugongs (think manatee) in captivity. This is an older aquarium, and it showed its age. The Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta and South Carolina Aquarium in Charleston provide much more enjoyable experiences.
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Every morning we were at sea I spent a couple of hours on the 7th deck with Stephen Marsh, the Viking Mars wildlife expert, looking for whales and dolphins. We saw several species of albatross and other sea birds, such as shearwaters and petrels, but few whales or dolphins. On one of our sea days, I left the viewing deck fifteen minutes before Stephen spotted a sperm whale. At least I got to see the photos! Another day we saw a whale blow, but sea conditions were such that we couldn’t identify the species.
In Melbourne, we visited the Healesville Sanctuary, which houses many species indigenous to Australia, including kangaroo and koala. My recommendation: do not visit a wildlife park in the middle of the day. The animals were much smarter than we were and spent that time sleeping. Carol’s dream of holding a koala was, unfortunately, not realized.
In Hobart, Tasmania, we visited the Barilla Bay Oyster farm where we enjoyed a sampling of Pacific oysters, which are also called Japanese oysters or Miyagi (Think “wax on/wax off.”) oysters. They were outstanding! The Barilla Bay Oyster farm has thousands of cages placed in the tidal bay adjacent to the facility. The oysters remain in cages until they are three years old, at which time they are harvested and sent to market. In addition to oyster farming, they purchase abalone from local divers and dry the abalone before shipping them to Japan and China. One abalone brings $159 in those countries. That equates to more than $200 per pound!
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Christchurch on New Zealand’s South Island was our next stop. Christchurch was the site of a magnitude 7 earthquake on September 4, 2010. Less than six months later, a second earthquake—magnitude 6.3 this time—struck, causing even greater devastation and the death of 180 people. Thousands of buildings not destroyed by the quake were condemned. Amazingly, 90 percent of the earthquake rubble has been recycled.
In the mountains north of Christchurch, we took a jet boat ride on the Waimakariri River. At full speed our driver would put the boat into a 360-degree spin. It was wonderful, although the wetted participants did not seem to enjoy it as much as I did. My GoPro captured the action and soaked participants, including me and Carol.
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Our next stop was to have been Wellington, capital of New Zealand. However, a day before we were to arrive in Wellington, we learned the port denied access, so we continued our cruise to Napier on the North Island. Access to a port is the purview of the Port Captain and I suspect larger ships that pay higher port fees were given priority. In Napier, home of the famous Hawke’s Bay wine growing region, we toured Clearview Estates and Abbey Cellars. We would have purchased wine to ship home but these wineries will only ship in country and to Australia. We did purchase a couple of bottles to pack in our checked luggage.
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In Rotorua (Tauranga) we visited a Māori marae (meeting place) and learned about the earliest settlers of New Zealand. At the marae, a Māori warrior challenged an appointed representative from our ship. Our group was required to sing a song to prove we came in peace and avoid beheading. We concluded our time in Rotorua with a visit to a Māori school and enjoyed performances of traditional dances, including a haka by the high school students. Our next stop was Auckland, where we enjoyed a walking tour of the city followed by an excellent seafood lunch at one of the riverfront restaurants. On the ship that evening, we enjoyed a performance by Māori singers/dancers including another haka.
Viking is rated number one in both ocean and river cruises and our travels with them have demonstrated that their reputation is well-earned. Their ocean ships (with the exception of the Expedition ships) carry 932 passengers, so it is a relatively small vessel compared to the megaships operated by other companies. We are looking forward to our next cruise with Viking, especially since we were given a voucher to make up for missing our scheduled stop in Wellington!
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Viking Mars
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This was a trip of a lifetime, and we would go back in a heartbeat! It was expensive, however, but I am dedicated to fishing in New Zealand. Perhaps in another five years. Until next time, Kia Ora!
