Sydney to Akaroa

Friday 30 November

Sydney, as always, was a blur of people and traffic. However, we dined at the fashionable and popular Barangaroo on both nights. On our one full day we took a ferry from Circular Quay down the Parramatta River, something I hadn’t done during my thirty two years in Sydney. I was amazed at the multitudes of expensive homes and apartments all along the river.

Sunday 2 December

Late on Sunday morning we towed our bags to the cruise terminal and boarded the Celebrity Solstice. We were greeted with champagne and in no time at all made ourselves once again at home on this beautiful ship. As we boarded we ran into an old acquaintance, Bill from San Diego, whom we first met on a cruise in 2015 and then again in 2016. Each evening we meet Bill, and Karyn and Michael from Melbourne (who, coincidentally, run a freight business between Victoria and Tasmania) for pre-dinner drinks.

Monday 3 December

Two full days of uninterrupted sailing took us across the Tasman Sea in ‘interesting’ weather. At times the outside decks were closed due to heavy rain and rough seas, and navigating our way around the interior of the ship was exciting as we bounced about and at times lost our footing… as if we had been drinking.

Wednesday 5 December

Our next sailing day took us to the beautiful NZ fjord land and the Sounds: Milford, Doubtful and Dusky. We previously traversed these ancient glacier-created sounds under blue skies but this time we discovered that along with the bleak weather comes the most amazing waterfalls.

Thursday 6 December

Land at last after sailing into the spectacular green of Dunedin’s Port Chalmers. Interestingly, Dunedin, which is NZ’s oldest city, is Celtic for Edinburgh, and the Scottish influence can be found throughout the city. After a relaxing coffee at Starbucks we visited the Museum of Otago and enjoyed their 150 year celebration exhibition as well as the Animal Attic (a taxidermist’s dream), the maritime exhibition and People of the World which included remnants of the ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans.

Friday 7 December

Akaroa, the closest port to Christchurch, is an ancient volcanic caldera with breathtaking lush green hills, dotted with pine trees and red roofed farm houses. The town was first settled by the French in 1840 and their influence can be seen throughout in the names of the streets and shops. The sky was blue and the sun was hot as we wandered through the charming village, stopping for coffee. What a wonderful way to spend a few hours!

Seals sunning themselves in the beautiful 'Sounds'

Museum of Otago, Dunedin

Sailing into Akaroa

War Memorial park, Akaroa

Celebrity Solstice from shore

Akaroa village

Seagull spa...

'French' Akaroa

Leaving Akaroa

Dinner at 'Blu' restaurant on board

Our growing 'family' of towel art provided by our cabin steward

From Tuscan Grille on board