Hi folks! We have been out of the country for about 3.5 weeks and just got back on Friday. Travel time kind of kicked our tails, but I wanted to get going on my blogging of the trip! I am going to just kind of do an overview of our trip and our impressions here and then will post photos and thoughts on each of the places we went. This will probably take me a week to do….there is just so much to share. For those of you who aren’t on Facebook, Rich and I, along with his brother and his wife, traveled to New Zealand and Australia! This was the last location on my bucket list of travel that Rich asked me to put together when I was first diagnosed with cancer in 2019. He has been slowly ticking off those bucket list destinations. A goal for me while Down Under was to get to take a photo of a kangaroo, a koala, and the Sydney Opera House. Mission accomplished! Another goal for me personally, was to reach my 55th birthday. That was a “pie in the sky” goal I set for myself a few years ago. So now all my goals have been met. Time to make some more. To be quite honest, this is pretty heavy on my mind as my last set of CT scans were not as good as they have been. I asked my local oncologist if I could be scanned at 3 months rather than waiting for my normal 6 months. She felt that was a good compromise and so I had my scans early this morning. I meet with my local oncologist Wednesday late afternoon. So that is weighing on me…the unknown of my cancer status. That guides my goals. So I would like to put out a couple of goals out into the universe….I would like to see Lily graduate from college (May 2027). I would like to go on that African trip we have planned in June of this year and our China trip with Lily in June of 2027. Until I get more info on my health, that is as far as I am going out. Anyhow, I digress….Australia and New Zealand!!!!
We flew a behemoth number of hours there and back. We left on Tuesday afternoon on January 27th from Montana and flew to Denver…then to San Francisco. From there we joined Rich’s brother and sister-in-law and got on the big jet for the 13-hour flight to Auckland. We passed the international date line on the way there and completely lost out on January 28, 2026. It is forever lost to us. (that is a disconcerting feeling to have – that you have completely lost a day) We arrived in the morning hours of Thursday, January 29th. I don’t know about you, but I am not able to sleep sitting up unless I am completely exhausted. Let’s just say we were all pretty tired when we arrived. We were able to check into our hotel rooms within an hour or so after arriving, which was great. We left to start wandering around Auckland. We were there for 3 days prior to getting on the Holland America Line MS Noordam. We were on the ship for 14 days, where we made 8 stops in New Zealand (on both the North and South Islands), Tasmania, and the main continent of Australia. We got off the ship in Sydney. We spent 2 days there and then flew north to Cairns, where we spent our last 3 days in the wonderful country of Australia.
There are a few things the four of us agreed on. First off, if you are going to endure the long trip – stay for a beat. We ended up staying for 24 days. It was just about right. I miss home and my dog when I am gone. Anything shorter than that would have maybe not made the trip worth the long travel time. We all were surprised at how clean and easy to get around Auckland was. Sydney was not as clean…with 5.5 million people living there, it was a giant city with skyscrapers. New Zealand doesn’t have mammals. I take that back – there are two mammals that are indigenous to New Zealand and they are both small bats. What mammals they do have, they are trying to eradicate by 2050 – rats and possums. They were brought to the country decades ago and are responsible for the near extinction of several types of flightless birds. New Zealand may not have a lot of mammals, but they have a ton of birds. The flora….the trees and the ferns and the beautiful flowers, are a sight to see. New Zealand doesn’t have the poisonous creepy crawlies that Australia is known for. We landed in Australia and our guides carried first aid bags with them when we were hiking in case we were accosted by any said poisonous creepy crawlies. One overzealous guide told us there was even an ant in Australia that was poisonous and had no antidote. However, they did have kangaroos, wallabies, koalas, kookaburras, and lots of other mammals and birds. They also had some pretty impressively sized spiders. I think all four of us decided we really enjoyed Tasmania the best. We made two stops on this island state that is southeast of Australia proper. We really enjoyed Hobart, which is in the southern part of Tasmania. But more on that in another post.
The exchange rate was good for both countries against the U.S. dollar. In New Zealand, a dollar there was $0.60 to the U.S. dollar. (so everything was about 40% less). In Australia, it was about 30% less. So our U.S. dollar went further in both countries. There is no tipping in either country, unless it is a higher end restaurant. Meat pies are the local fare in both countries and we got to try several varieties. We all fell in love with the Australian non-alcoholic ginger beer made by the company Bundaberg. So good! There are a lot of Asians who not only visit these two countries but also immigrate there. Both countries have a large Asian presence. Both countries also give a lot of voice and respect to their indigenous people. For New Zealand, it is the Māori people. For Australia, it is the Aboriginal people. I lost count how many times I heard locals talk about “the sins of our fathers” and making it right. Biodiversity laws are very strict in both countries. Don’t bother trying to bring food in. There are even places that don’t trust where you have been, so you have to wash the bottoms of your shoes prior to walking in a park. I fell in love with Barundi fish (in Australia) and Warehou fish (in New Zealand) and chips. Both are a white fish that is so hearty, it is almost like chicken. I am not a big fish person, but I loved it.
Holland America Lines – the MS Noordam….it is an older ship, and its decor is somewhat dated and worn. However, it was a ship that was serving 1900 passengers and that was a good number. There were actually 600 passengers on the ship when we embarked that had been on the ship for several weeks already. Many of them taking a 42-day voyage. They had rough weather the week before we arrived and missed 3 or 4 stops on minor outlying islands between Fiji and New Zealand. They were a hearty bunch though! We asked to have shared dining each night when in the dining room, so were with different couples each night…. getting to know more people. A lot of the people were from Australia and New Zealand. Many were from the UK. There was a strong contingency from Canada and then the U.S. as well. There was a group of nearly 30 people from Israel on board too. Many Germans were also sailing with us. It was a good time. We were probably 10-15 years younger than most. There was ONE child on board. The entertainment was stellar and the food was amazing. I like that there is always something in the main dining room that is related to whatever stop we are at that day or at least the region. Lots of fresh fish and seafood. Lots of variety. The specialty dining was top notch. I literally have to skip a meal before I go because I want to eat everything on my plate, it is so good. There was a singing pianist named James that was from Scotland onboard. We closed out our nights with him whenever he was playing. He was very much a ship favorite. They even hosted a big Superbowl viewing party on Superbowl Sunday (which was Superbowl Monday afternoon for us) in the theatre with popcorn and snacks and drinks and cake. We enjoyed playing cards up in the Crow’s nest. That was a favorite hangout place for people doing puzzles or playing board or card games or just reading in comfy chairs. I took a couple of calligraphy classes on our sea days. I was also pleasantly surprised to find a priest on board our ship that celebrated daily mass the entirety of the cruise. The port talks were very interesting, and I felt relatively informed while we were on board. The staff was wonderful. I really enjoy this cruise line!
So that is my loose overview of the trip. Now on to the cities we visited and photos to go along with them!
Messina Musings 