New Zealand

New Zealand is an idyllic place:  stunning scenery, friendly people, reasonably priced (compared to the United States) and a farm-to-table foodie paradise.  I thoroughly enjoyed our four ports of call!

Aukland

Aukland is on the North Island, a city of 1.5 million people and the largest city in the country.  It is a modern city; when looking for a currency exchange, we had an interesting experience in a skyscraper where the elevators did not have buttons (this made me realize that I may not have been in a skyscraper in any city for 10+ years, so I have no idea how common this is).

We had a need for internet that works with our Kindles (the ship internet does not due to how you log on), and we were looking for some foodie experiences, so we found a local café with great avocado toast (not unusual, but avocadoes are something New Zealand is known for).  We found a great place and it was delicious!

Next stop was the nearby Albert Park for some nature time.  It was small but had beautiful trees and gardens.

We then visited the New Zealand Maritime Museum.  We thoroughly enjoyed it, but his might be our last one for a while so they don’t start to blend together.

Next was a few more food and beverage stops on the waterfront.  The first was The Conservatory Bar and Restaurant where we enjoyed some local beverages and ceviche, and visited with our waiter who was originally from Cancun.

Our final stop for the day was Oyster & Chop Bistro, where we saw an advertisement for Oyster Happy Hour.  Since oysters was another New Zealand specialty on my list, the choice was obvious!

New Plymouth

New Plymouth is a city of approximately 60,000 in the Taranaki region of the North Island.

We started our tour with a few hours at the fabulous Pukekura Park for some nature time.  The park is filled with gardens, trees and lakes.  It also has a cricket field, zoo, and more than one bandstand where concerts are held.

Next was lunchtime, at Shining Peak Brewery.  They had great craft beer and some very creative and delicious food.  We both had the fish special and then some beer ice cream (!) for dessert.  We learned that an “ice block” is the term in New Zealand for what we call popsicles in the United States.

We ended our shore time with a short walk on the fabulous seafront walkway.

Picton

Next stop was the small tourist town of Picton on the South Island, population approximately 5000.  It is in the Marlborough region, known for wine, particularly Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir.

We spent our time walking around the waterfront before having lunch at the Cortado restaurant.  I learned more about which type of Sauvignon Blanc I prefer, we enjoyed the local clams and some salmon ceviche and great salads.

Port Chalmers

Our final New Zealand stop was Port Chalmers, a small town of 1700 people that serves as the main port to the larger city of Dunedin on the South Island.  It was an incredibly charming and picturesque place!

We started with a walk to the Rhododendron Dell, and then on to the Careys’ Bay Historic Hotel for lunch.  On our walk, we ran into and visited with the same local man three times – twice on foot while he was out for his daily walk, and once when he was in his car after his walk.  He was fun to visit with and told us a bit more about the area and we answered his questions about what the cruise ships that visit are like.

Our lunch was fabulous, including my final New Zealand culinary goal of trying the local green-lipped mussels.  We were lucky to get a table on a Saturday; the tables were all reserved by local families or cruse ship passengers who were more organized that we are, but we were there early and had time to eat before a 12:30 reservation.

We also enjoyed some shopping in town – art supplies for Kevin, a few local products for me, and a book at the used bookstore.  We had a final drink in a traditional local pub.  We had planned to eat dinner in town but it is a small town and everything was booked in our planned local restaurant, so we went back to the ship for dinner (never a problem and always good).