Hikes and Bikes

Hello everyone!

We are back home in SNOWY Canada, but I couldn’t officially leave “vacation mode” without giving you a final post about our last three ports in New Zealand (which were all incredible, no surprise there).

Wellington

The capital of New Zealand is a beautiful, bustling city with a lovely coastline.  The city of Wellington sits on a peninsula of the North Island and although there was lots to do in the town itself, the three of us decided it would be a great day to ride bicycles.  We looked up two bike rental places before we left the ship and after realizing one was not really a bike rental store, but one of those places where four people ride pedal a little cart (see picture), we went to the best rated bike rental place according to google in the city.  Unfortunately, a lot of other people had the same idea and most of the bikes were already reserved.  They were also almost all “e-bikes” which seems to be a popular thing in New Zealand.  It seems very few people ride actual bikes anymore with no assistance from electrical power.  Anyway, Dad got the last bike there and then came with Spencer and I to a bike store that was kind enough to rent us road bikes for the day.

The weather was great, we had our bikes, and we were off!  After a short ride through downtown (which is always terrifying to me, even more so when everyone is driving on the left hand side of the road…), we were on a designated bike path along the coast line.  The view was spectacular and I thought “I’d better enjoy this while it lasts”.  Luckily for us, the view was stunning ALL DAY LONG.  We had a few little hiccups (like riding through a construction zone while workers yelled at me to get off the worksite) and trying to avoid people walking on the path.  One thing I’ve learned is, it doesn’t matter if you’re in a country where people are supposed to walk on the left or right…everyone just walks in the middle.  Needless to say, it was a bit stressful avoiding all the other cyclists, pedestrians, and tour groups, but once we got a few kilometres into the ride, things settled down and we had the road to ourselves.

While we were riding, I couldn’t really take pictures (tried to do that on a cycling trip in Norway and ended up bleeding on the side of the road with a broken chain and my dad 5 kms ahead of me…thank goodness for kind Norwegians).  Anyway, didn’t want to risk an injury so my phone was in my backpack and I only took pictures on breaks.  This allowed me to really enjoy the experience and take everything in.  There really is nothing quite like feeling the ocean breeze as you ride 20 km/hour (UNASSISTED by power) through new and uncharted territory.  I enjoyed the sound of silence (other than Spencer consistently shouting, “THIS IS INCREDIBLE!” over and over and OVER again.  I think he really needs to ride his bike.)  Despite trying to be “in the moment”, you know I grabbed a few pics when we took breaks and Dad was able to take some pictures of us riding.

Break time selfie!

Every time Dad takes a good photo...

...it's followed by one like this.

I wish I could have a vacation house in Wellington!

Always important to check the map as often as possible..

I took this as Dad passed and he continued on riding.  It took Spencer and I 10 minutes to notice that he was gone and, as a result, several kilomteres ahead of us.

We ended up riding about 40 km that day, all the way to end of the peninsula.  We were feeling pretty good about ourselves, even when a group (I’m sorry, more like a PACK) of road cyclists would come up behind us and then zoom by.  They were moving fast and they wanted us to know it.  There were actually quite a few groups.  Come to think of it, maybe it was just the same group lapping us multiple times.  Nevertheless, the conditions remained perfect the whole time - no hills, very little wind, and perfect scenery.  We reached the end and appreciated the view for a few minutes, just like we would if we were on a bike trip.  Spencer said, “Well, if this what every day is like on a bike trip, I definitely want to do one.”  I assured him that every day is NOT this great on a bike trip and directed him to my three other blogs written about those excruciating, ahem, I mean exciting, times.  Either way, we enjoyed ourselves immensely and we were so glad we rode our bikes in that port.

So many great views along the way, but this was one of them!

Napier

Napier was a little surprise gem of a city.  We didn’t have much time there, so Spencer and I decided to spend the day walking around the city, drinking coffee, wine, and eating.  When we arrived, I noticed that there were really cool art deco style buildings…everywhere.  I felt like I was in Disneyland! The city is recognized as having the largest collection of art deco buildings outside of Miami.  It was absolutely charming to see not only the buildings from the era, but everything else, including shops, cars, and fashion!  There were literally people walking around with hats from the 1930s! And YES! I bought TWO of them!  

Look at these cars, and these women's outfits! I love it!

This is what so many stores were like!  Right back to the 1930s!

We had an incredible lunch at, you guessed it, another ADORABLE cafe/restaurant.  Then, after such an exhausting day of drinking and eating, we laid on the beach for 30 min and had a nap in the sun.  It was wonderful.

Lunch time!

Self timer at its finest

Taraunga

Our final stop in New Zealand was Taraunga.  We’d heard about a hike and the hot springs, so we set off in the morning hoping the view would be worth the workout.  And boy, it WAS!  There was not only a great view at the top of the mountain, but every time we turned a corner on the path, it seemed to reveal another stunning view.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen a beach so long in my life!
On the way up, we saw some interesting characters, like two boxers fighting near the top of the mountain.  They also brought their speakers with them so we could all enjoy their rap music at the peak.  Awesome.

Can you spot the boxers?

Close up

Halfway up! Look at that coastline!

Taking it all in...

After we made it to the top, the view got even better!

Did you even do a hike if there's no jumping picture?  I will say, with Dad as the photographer, this took many tries.

The best picture Dad took on our entire trip

After the hike, Dad went to the famous salt water hot springs.  Both Spencer and I were so hot from the hike, the LAST thing we wanted to do was get into hot water.  So Dad went his way, and Spencer and I ate lunch at a cafe overlooking the ocean.  We also got coffee…and gelato.  We wanted to go out in style!  Another wonderful day.

Love New Zealand's coffee!

Gelato dreams

Dad was very impressed to see bike repair stands around the city with tools included!

Meanwhile on the ship, we spent our last few days going to happy hour with our friends from the wine tour, Dad and Spencer ate as much as they possibly could at each meal, and we said heartfelt goodbyes to all of our favourite crew members.

Our happy hour friends!

The happiest man at happy hour

Chris, our cruise director (who worked with me on a previous ship when he was a dancer!)

My dad would be disappointed if I didn't include some of the (many) pictures he and Spencer took in the dining room of their food, so here you go:

Behind the Scenes

We left the ship in Auckland and it was a very long journey home.  We did New Zealand to Australia to the USA to Canada so…customs in 4 countries within 36 hours.  Lots of lineups, a lost bag, and security checks.  Quick story: in one airport, the lady said she had to search my carry on bag.  What was the suspicious item, you ask?  My jewellery.  Not so much a particular item, but the fact that I had SO MUCH of it.  She basically thought I was taking it to sell it somewhere.  So when she took out my massive freezer ziploc bag full of jewellery and said “Is there a reason you have SO much jewellery?”, I just said “Well I’ve been cruising for 40 days” like that was completely reasonable and normal.  She put it away and said it was fine but I was laughing to myself thinking “I really am my mother’s daughter…” (most of the jewellery was also hers hahaahah) 

Final Reflections

This trip has absolutely been the trip of a lifetime.  Three comrades, taking on the high seas together.  I wasn’t sure how this would go - my husband, father and I, all in one room for 40 days straight.  Spencer had never cruised before and I wasn’t exactly letting him “dip his toes” in the experience.  It was a sink or swim situation.  I am so excited (and relieved) that he loved every minute of it (truly! Ask him yourself! I’ve converted him!  Where to, next, honey???).
Spencer and I started saving for this trip a few months ago and I really hoped it would be worth it.  I can honestly say the money we spent to go on the cruise and the money we spent during the vacation could not have been invested more wisely.  Not only did we get to see so many amazing places, but we were able to spend time with one another.  It is truly a gift to share new experiences with the ones you love.  On our trip we faced challenges, celebrated triumphs, and enjoyed long conversations without any time limit or distractions.  I’m very happy that I got to do that with my husband, of course, but it was also special to have that time with my dad.  As we each get older, our relationship changes and grows in different ways.  I am thankful he enjoys spending time with me.  I’m also VERY thankful Spencer and Dad are BFFs (though ganged up on me a little tooooo much sometimes).  If I could offer any words of wisdom after this experience, it would be to encourage anyone reading this to carve out time in their life for the ones they love, and do something NEW with those people.  (It doesn’t have to be a 40 day cruise FYI...though I highly recommend it).  We get so caught up in the routine of life that sometimes something as simple as trying a new restaurant, going on a hike somewhere new, or taking a class with someone can provide incredible value to a relationship.  Travel takes that idea and multiples it by 1000x because everything you do each day is somehow an adventure.  Travel forces you to learn about other people and it makes you stop and appreciate the world around you (and the life you get to go home to).  Now, I’m not an expert on marriage or familial relationships, but I sure am happy that I was able to go on this adventure with my husband and my father. It was fun, interesting and, well, yes, a bit strange to the average person.  That’s how I like it!

Dad seems thrilled to be taking yet another photo

Thanks for reading along everyone! Until the next adventure…

Annika