Where in the World is Pat?

Rotorua became a bonus city for us. Our Port stay in Tauranga got cut down to one day, due to NZ biosecurity regulations and since we really wanted to do Hobbiton, we decided to get off the ship and stay in hotels and get back on the ship, in a few days. Due to a variety of factors, the Ship ended up doing a quick pick up of us in Tauranga, three days later. The Kiwi's we encountered along the way, who helped with all our last minute details, were amazingly kind, hospitable and generous. Below is our tired, chilly group huddled at the security shed, outside the Port in the wee hours (1:30 am) Monday morning, awaiting our final hurdle of getting back on our Home. Home sweet home! What an adventure!

Rotorua, New Zealand is known for it's geothermal activity ( geysers, mud pools, hot springs) and rich Maori culture . I saw lots of that last time I was here in 2016, so this time I wanted to see their Redwoods in Whakarewarewa Forest. John and Colleen joined me in exploring. Their redwoods are smaller than the ones in Muir Woods California, but still impressive. Both are planted forest dating back to around 1908.

Love the unexpected, along the road, sights we get to see and discover. Along the way from Hobbiton to Rotorua we came across these three unique large buildings. I believe the town was Tirau and lots of cars and buses were stopping to observe the buildings, use the public restrooms, (which are housed in one of them) and grab some snacks, gas and / or souvenirs.

There is just so much creativity, detail and beauty I couldn't limit my Hobbiton post to just one blog. I easily took 400 photos over the course of the 2.5 hour tour! 

I read The Hobbit series back when I was a teen and always loved the idea of circular doors, leading into precious little homes, set into the hillside. I think I've seen bits and pieces of the movies, but wouldn't call myself a true fan. Bosco, however was very excited to see this magical land. He has seen all the movies, The Hobbit and Lord of Rings and is a big fan. Knowing how popular this excursion was, I made reservations months ago.

Got to have a full circle moment tonight! When we went to Upie Resort in Solomon Islands we met Mollie Smith, the school teacher there on the island for the owner's children. We loved chatting with her at dinners and when we ran into her on the island. We got to dive with Mollie on our last scuba outing. She has since completed her 2 year stint at Upie and now is back teaching in Tauranga, NZ. Mollie is British, but has lived in NZ, with her family about 11 years. It was great to catch up - we all loved Upie soo much! I invited Mollie to join us to see the glow worms, something she had never done and we had such a nice night! She picked us up at the Port and we had a yummy Italian dinner first at Alpino Mount Mauganui and then lots of laughs kayaking the Wairoa River at Waimarino Adventure Park .

I had always heard the Blue Mountains of Australia are like the Grand Canyon , not to be missed. Well, not sure I agree, but they are pretty, especially when you can see through the fog. I did an early morning tour with Terri and Angela and we just burst out laughing at first scenic overlook, after almost 2 hours of driving. White fog is all we saw, our guide offered to show us a picture he had on his camera!

Once we had our dates secured for Sydney , a bunch of residents scanned the offering at the Opera House to find what might be available to us. We lucked out that they had brought back their sellout show from last year of the Gatsby at The Green Light . Kind of a Cirque du Soleil meets sexy nightclub with Gatsby characters. Over 80 of us bought tickets to Gatsy, with another 30 buying tickets to Hansel & Gretal. A big night out for us Ship Folks!

I love a good architectural tour and even though I did this one last time I was here, the story is so interesting, I decided to do again. Plus they are always updates and changes in operations at the Sydney Opera House . This tour didn't disappoint - I saw new theater spaces and gained new insights to the story of it's construction from concept in 1958, to it's opening in 1973. The drama that played out for Danish architect Jorn Utzon , who won the commission out of 300 submissions and never got to seen the final building.He was fired by local politician, in election year, when project was grossly over budget and schedule. The building is an engineering marvel and I love so many of the details!