Auckland to Sydney and A LOT in between

Our thirteen day cruise started in Auckland, New Zealand, and ended in Sydney, Australia.  However, in between these two beautiful cities, the cruise ship stopped at several other cities that we took advantage to explore.

Wellington, New Zealand

John and the older boys are "Lord of the Rings" Fans.  However, even those who have not seen the movies,  can quickly become fans just by visiting the sights in Wellington where the movie was filmed, and producer James Cameron is from.  Before our trip to New Zealand, John had learned that a tour of the movie filming sights was available.  Thrilled to learn this, John made special arrangements for a tour guide (who was actually in the movie himself as an "elf"), to pick us up at the port, and show us the different sights around the city.

Welcome to Wellington

The Lord of the Rings---Various Filming locations

Orlando Bloom---is that you?

Bracken, Parker, and Preston with our enthusiastic tour guide who knew EVERYTHING and more about the movie, the producers, the filming techniques, etc etc!

Christchurch, New Zealand

We loved being able to be in "Christchurch" on "Christmas" Day.  Christchurch was a small city that reminded us a lot of London, but on a lot smaller scale.  Because it was Christmas Day, a lot of shops and places to visit were closed.  It made for a relaxing day.  With the convenience of the city train, we were able to take a quick view of the city, relax in one of the many parks, and take a stroll through the most amazing flower garden we had ever seen.

 

 

The boys outside the city cathedral in Christchurch

A great day in Christchurch-- ready to reboard the ship for more Christmas festivities.

Port Chalmers (Dunedin), New Zealand

Dunedin was a city we all quickly fell in love with!  The city had a beautiful lake, rolling hills, and even a Cadbury Chocolate Factory!!  In Dunedin, we spent the day taking a train ride through the hillsides, and up the mountain to take in the incredible scenery.  We were impressed with the sweet Dunedin women on the train that volunteered their day to help make our train ride through their country even more comfortable by serving us snacks, lunch and drinks.  With all the attention to detail, even the boys enjoyed the long trek!

 The beautiful Dunedin Train Station

Fjordland, New Zealand

Fjordland National Park is the largest national park in New Zealand.  It is an uninhabited area, so we did not get off the boat.  However, the captain did a wonderful job leisurely cruising through the park near Dusky, Thompson, and Milford Sound--the largest of the Fjords.  We were able to get amazing views sitting on top of the cruise ship deck underneath our layers of blankets since it was a bit chilly outside.  However, not cold enough to put down our ice cream!