Indolence in paradise

Wow, it feels like forever since I last blogged.

DD and I have just returned from a ‘Natural Treasures of New Zealand’ cruise aboard Ponant’s Le Laperouse.

We were enticed to book the cruise by the prospect of sailing into Dusky, Doubtful and Milford Sounds … with the added bonus of bottomless Champagne.

I was keen to return to New Zealand’s so-called Fiordland after visiting the South Island pre-COVID. We took an overnight cruise on Milford Sound in wild weather and loved it despite the inclement conditions. It was so spectacular to see literally hundreds of waterfalls cascading down its cliffs.

Dusky and Doubtful are much harder to access, requiring either a 10-day hike, helicopter or boat.

So seeing them via a cruise was a very tempting prospect.

And it was just what the doctor ordered after a hectic, stressful year for us both.

Following our ocean crossing from Hobart, the second leg of our cruise kicked off in Christchurch.

After anchoring in nearby Lyttelton, we had a quick twirl around town and grabbed proper coffees (there was no barista-made coffee on board the ship, quelle horreur!).

Then we caught a bus to the Christchurch Gongola, which features spectacular views of the city, surrounding lagoons and harbour.

The cafe at the top of the Gondola was jammed with people and required a 30-minute wait for food that wasn’t already sitting in the bain marie, so I opted for three spring rolls that were each the size of a baby’s forearm and was surprised to only be charged $10 NZ for the lot. I thought you were supposed to be gouged at tourist traps?

I also bought a three-quarter puffer jacket that was on sale in the Gondola’s gift shop in anticipation of going on future holidays to cooler climes … little realising that those cooler climes would be in New Zealand a few days later … in mid-summer.

Then we settled into chairs on our cabin’s balcony to admire the amazing colour of the water in the Harbour and watch the scenery go by as we commenced our journey down the coast to Dunedin.

We cruised into beautiful Dunedin Harbour the next morning to the sight of a sea lion lazing on the beach!

Our shore excursion on the Tataki Gorge train had been cancelled so we headed into town for Singapore Noodles and dumplings with chilli sauce as we were missing a bit of spice after all our French four-course dinners. Poor us! Then we booked seats on an independent wildlife cruise called Port-to-Port, which was magnificent. We spotted four different sorts of albatross and numerous other sea birds as they swooped in the ocean. One albatross even landed in the water beside the board to give us an up-close view of his massive size.

We also saw numerous fur seals and pups lounging on the rocks and the aforementioned sea lion taking a dip in the ocean.

Back on board Le LaPerouse we spent a glorious hour on deck watching as the ship wended its way out of Dunedin Harbour as we sipped the Cocktail of the Day – white port with tonic water, rosemary and fresh orange slices.

Then it was time to dress up for the first gala dinner of the cruise, check out the fancy menu below …

The next afternoon was grey and overcast as we entered Dusky Sound. Captain Cook discovered Dusky Sound on his first voyage to New Zealand and named it “duskey bay” because he’d been looking for an anchorage and wasn’t sure if he could reach it before dark. On his second voyage through the region he spent two months in the fiord repairing his boat and botanising.

Dusky Sound is 40km long and dotted with more than 350 small islands. Its waters are dark and deep and we were fortunate enough to see a pod of Dusky dolphins while we were there, which are regarded as the most acrobatic species of dolphin. They put on an awesome show for us, leaping in the air and doing backflips as we watched in delight.

Later the ship cruised into Doubtful Sound, which is sometimes called the ‘Sound of Silence’ because of its remote serenity. The skies cleared as we entered the fiord and we were dazzled by its lush majesty. My eyes welled over how fortunate I was to see something so beautiful. The ship anchored in a cove for the night and we enjoyed dinner on the open deck surrounded by surreal beauty.

Needing to wear my newly purchased puffer jacket didn’t dampen my ardour for outdoor dining!

We arrived in Milford Sound the next morning and marvelled at how different the scenery was compared to Doubtful. It also looked completely altered from our last visit, with only two waterfalls cascading down the cliffs.

But it was still a stunning experience to sit on the balcony of our cabin gazing at Stirling Falls, followed by lunch on Deck 3 as we cruised out through the heads.

Can you spot us on Deck 6 of the ship?

After a lazy day at sea we cruised into the Marlborough Sound district at dawn for a lovely few hours in Picton and a Queen Charlotte Sound cruise.

We climbed aboard a boat that offers the only official licensed New Zealand Post Rural Delivery Service by water. Our cruise was purely scenic, but in the afternoon the skipper delivers post bags, groceries and freight to the residents that call the Queen Charlotte Sound waterways home.

It is the most gorgeous part of the world and we scored brilliant sunny weather for our boat ride, which we followed with excellent takeaway coffees from a waterfront cafe called Toastie.

Then we headed back to the ship to cross the Cook Strait to the North Island, which can be very tumultuous – due to its ever-changing conditions, it is considered one of the most unpredictable and dangerous waters in the world. Fortunately we scored a glassy flat crossing and were treated to a stunning sunset as we dined al fresco at the Nemo Grill on Deck 3 with a lovely couple called Gay and Chris – she’s a talent travel sketcher and he’s a former headmaster.

Above is one of her wonderful sketches during our time in Doubtful Sound.

Our run of great weather continued the following morning in Napier. As the New Zealand tourism website describes it: “Street after street of stunning and beautifully-restored Art Deco buildings have made Napier famous as one of the most complete collections of Art Deco buildings in the world. In 1931 a massive earthquake rocked Hawke’s Bay for more than three minutes, killing nearly 260 and destroying the commercial centre of Napier.

“Rebuilding began almost immediately, and new buildings reflected the architectural styles of the times – Stripped Classical, Spanish Mission and Art Deco. Napier is often referred to as a 1930s film set.”

I’m an art deco fan from way back so I was very excited to wander the atmospheric streets.

We enjoyed excellent coffee in a gorgeous art deco cafe called The Tennyson then went exploring and were lucky enough to happen upon the weekly farmer’s market. After taking happy snaps at Napier’s black sand beach, we headed to a Malaysian restaurant for another hit of spice after 10 days of low-key French cuisine.

Next stop was Whakatane … pronounced fuh·kuh·taa·nay in Maori … which I had a bit of trouble getting used to … try saying it out loud and you’ll understand what I mean.

Le Laperouse was the first-ever cruise ship to visit the town and there were loads of locals lining the shore, waving as our tender arrived. They’d even rolled out an actual red carpet for us!

I asked one of the locals where to find the best coffee in town and we ambled there while we waited for DD’s sister-in-law to arrive. She lives in nearby Tauranga and very kindly offered to take us on a tour of the region.

Sally drove us to Rotorua for Vietnamese food and a twirl around the local public park, Kuirau, which is filled with pools of vigorous geothermal activity, including bubbling mud, steamy ponds and other sulphur-spewing spectacles.

It’s more gentle than some of the big theme-park-style attractions, but apparently in 2001 mud and rocks the size of footballs were suddenly hurled 10 metres into the air as a new steam vent spontaneously announced its arrival. Eeek!

Our next stop was the RotoVegas sign at the top of the local gondola ride … then the Redwoods Treewalk experience – suspended high above the forest floor, eco-suspended bridges and platforms take you on a walk among 75-metre-tall redwoods. Very zen.

All too soon it was time to dash back to Whakatane to catch the last tender back to the ship. Thank you Sally for an awesome day!

And here’s a local Facebook post about our visit:

Our final port was Auckland, where we enjoyed a gala dinner on the deck with the bright lights of the city as our backdrop. We dined with our new-found cruise besties Aileen and Derek while drinking lots of delicious French wine.

Aileen blew me away during our many cocktail hours together on board with her recollections of representing Australia in figure skating at the 1960 Winter Olympics at the tender age of 14.

On Tuesday at 9am we grudgingly disembarked from our fantasy holiday and re-entered the real world … I will tell you more about how that went tomorrow if I manage to readjust my sleep patterns to Sydney time.

We’re already missing the ship’s intercom crackling to life every morning with these words: “Zis is your Captain speaking from zee bridge” … oh, and the breakfast-to-bedtime Champagne.

Song of the day: Crowded House “Better be home soon”