At sea, Tauranga to Auckland

Saturday, December 19, 2009     at sea from Tauranga to Auckland

Yesterday, Friday, Dec. 18, we were in port in Tauranga, which is both the largest port in New Zealand and the fastest.  With docking fees of NZ$20,000 per day, they can unload and reload a container freight ship in one and a half days - the record for all of New Zealand, and darn good for any port in the world.

We took a full-day excursion to the thermal area of Rotorua to see the gysers and several Mauri cultural events.  This area sits atop an upwelling of magma, which is responsible for the same sort of features you see in Yellowstone National Park - gysers, bubbling mudpots, steaming hot springs, and sulfurous smells permeating the air.  I'm sure it impresses visitors from outside the US, but for us it pales in comparison to Yellowstone.  Plus, Yellowstone has the added attraction that it is actually the remnant caldera of a still-active hotspot supervolcano that is due to erupt again any day now - - i.e., at some totally unpredictable time in the next few hundred thousand years!  The thermals around Rotorua are of a different character.  They arise because all of New Zealand is part of what is known as a typical volcanic island arc that develops just beyond a subduction zone - - in this case, the Pacific plate is diving beneath the Australo-Indonesian plate.  Similar geology is responsible for the islands of Japan, and for the Aleutian Island ark in Alaska.  God is great!  The mountains proclaim His glory, the rocks cry out in honor of His name!

During an informational meeting this morning about procedures for disembarking in Auckland on Sunday, the cruise director related some of his favorite questions from passengers.

"Do the elevators go both up and down?"

"Will this elevator take me to the front of the ship?"

"Does the ship generate its own power?"  (No, ma'am.  We have an extension cord all the way back to Sydney.  Besides providing power to the ship, it helps us find our way back.)

"Where does the water in the swimming pool come from?"

"Well, ma'am, we take the water from the sea, filter it, and convert it to fresh water for the pool."

"I thought so!  That must be why the pool is so rough and sloshing back and forth."

"Does the staff stay on board during the whole cruise?"

"No, ma'am.  Every night a big helicopter comes to the ship and takes all of us ashore to a nice hotel for the night.  Then it brings us back early in the morning, along with the fresh bread and pastries."

"Well, that darn helicopter has been waking me up every night!"

Soon after all of the passengers had embarked on the first day of the cruise, the cruise director was mingling with the passengers and saw one gentleman who was obviously fit to be tied - - pacing angrily around, red-faced, with a scowl on his face.  The tour director approached him and asked, "Welcome aboard, sir.  Is there anything I can do for you?"  The man didn't say a thing, just motioned for the tour director to follow him.  They arrived at the man's stateroom, a nice outside room with a large window, and the tour director could see a nice view of the dock and the activity around the pier outside the boat.  The tour director asked, "What seems to be the matter, sir?"  Finally the man replied, "I clearly requested an ocean view room!"

We sailed around White Island this morning.  It is the only currently active volcano in New Zealand.  You can see steam rising from one of the vents and sulfur deposits around it.  A little further to the right in this view is an area forested with the pohutakawa tree in full bloom, also called New Zealand's Christmas tree because it blooms right around this time of year.

 Here are some nice close-up pictures of the beautiful flowers.