Seabourn Sojourn 2014 World Cruise Los Angeles to Venice January 4 to May 1, 2014
Segment 1 Los Angeles to Sydney PAGE 2
January 21, 2014 We were docked in Papeete, Tahiti for the day. We had an enjoyable walk along the waterfront. It seemed to us that the area was much cleaner than we had remembered it. We did not venture into the city or the nearby market places that we visited during previous visits. I took a few photos. Moorea is just a short distance away and was clearly viable. PAPEETE PHOTOS
Jan 22nd The Sojourn remained docked in Papeete overnight. At about 6:00 in the morning we casually cruised over to Moorea and dropped anchor at about 7:30 AM. The early morning views of Moorea are just simply amazing. After lunch we took an enjoyable tour around the island. We had stayed in Moorea about 20 years ago after a cruise on Windstar's Windsong ship. There has not been that much development on the Island since then. It is still quiet and enjoyable. Dinner was with Nigel West, one of the guest lecturers that joined us in Papeete. MOOREA PHOTOS
Jan 23rd Because we had been to Bora Bora on three previous occasions we did not schedule a tour which turned out to be fortunate as it rained most of the day. We did get a break in the weather for a couple of hours after lunch and took the tender ashore and walked through a few of the shops. Very little had changed since our visit two years ago on the Seabourn Odyssey. Dinner was with a guest Chef and his wife who are German. After dinner we were entertained by Petrina Johnson who we both felt was one of the best vocalists we have heard during our many days at sea. BORA BORA PHOTOS
Jan 24th A day at beautiful sunny day at of cruising with calm seas. In the afternoon I enjoyed a lecture by Paul Eschehfelder about some of the "rascals" of Polynesia as well as the sinking of the Green Peace in Auckland. Enjoyable dinner with the future cruise specialist Pierre van Breda followed by a performance by one of our talented assistant cruise directors Heather Clancy. I think we were all surprised by Heather's incredible voice.
Jan 25th It took a bit of effort on the part of Captain Karlo Buer to find a suitably calm spot to anchor the Sojourn off the coast of Rarotonga, one of the Cook Islands which are administered by New Zealand. We opted to stay on board and enjoy the serenity of a ship while most of the passengers took the tenders to shore. The best way to get to Rarotonga for a quiet vacation is to fly as there is no major port. Enjoyable dinner at table hosted by Petrina Johnson after a pre dinner performance by violinist Martin Lass After dinner we were entertained by the magic of Matthew J Dowden. RAROTONGA PHOTOS
Jan 26th to 30th These were sea days. We crossed the International Date line and skipped from Monday to Wednesday. The seas remained calm. Nigel West and Paul Eschehfelder were lecturing on most days. We enjoyed dinners with Petrina Johnson and Matthew Dowden.
Jan 31st It felt like homecoming when we approached Auckland early Friday morning. We were somewhat disappointed we would only be in Auckland for the day. Once again we were surprised at how expensive Auckland (and presumably New Zealand in general) has gotten since we first visited many years ago. On the plus side we found the city very clean and friendly with many new stores. Very much enjoyed dinner with Paul and Ann Eschehfelder who will be leaving the ship in a couple of days in Wellington.
Feb 1st For some reason cruise itineraries always list this port as Tauranga when the ship is actually docked in Mount Manganui. We have stayed in this resort area on several occasions in the past and it is only a short stroll to the shopping area and beach. From the port the city of Tauranga is reached by a city bus. We were surprised by the expansion in the number of boutique shops. We enjoyed a long walk through the shopping area and along the beach front. The area is very clean (which is typical of New Zealand) and shop keepers, etc, very friendly and helpful.
Feb 2nd This was a sea day and we experienced the first rough seas since we left Fort Lauderdale on December 17th. The captain had warned us the evening before about the rough waters so we were prepared and by the afternoon things had calmed down. We attended a very interesting and entertaining talk by Dennis_Conner, who joined us in Auckland, about his sailing history, and successes and losses of the America's Cup.
Feb 3rd The seas calmed down and we arrived in Wellington to a beautiful, sunny day, in the low 70's. Those of us on the full World Cruise were given a wonderful trip to a "station" (ranch) called Pencarrow Lodge about an hours drive along Wellington Harbor. As can be seen in my gallery it was a spectacular day.
Feb 4th We had forgotten how nice Nelson is and enjoyed a day wandering the streets. I stopped to get a haircut and as luck would have it the barber was originally from Connecticut and attended UCONN. He traveled to New Zealand 20 years ago and never left. The day started our overcast and foggy, but cleared off by noon. We had dinner with World Cup sailor Dennis Conner and Luke Wigglesworth who was the World Windsurfing champion and was clocked at speeds up over 60 miles per hour!
We wished we had more time in New Zealand and our love of the country was reconfirmed. If you know someone considering a trip to New Zealand here is a LINK to all my photos over the past 12 years. Also - the following gallery of birds of New Zealand has been compiled over the same time period.