‘Around the world in 80 days with Passepartout’ – or my new updated version:
‘Around the world in 35 days with Stevie Wonder!’
This is not a traditional travel blog, but since many of you have asked about my recent travels and because it was the trip of a lifetime, I thought I’d recall some of the highlights here, save me boring you all to tears when we eventually meet, for those of you that I meet anyway. Some are probably thinking, crikey she’s getting about a bit, and this is true but it’s because I am catching up from the previous few years when the pandemic prevented travel. In actual fact Steve and I both turned 60 during the pandemic and we certainly didn’t celebrate how I would have liked, so I’m currently playing catch up! Life is short and I have recently been remined of this fact again, so travel while you can and as often as you can. I read somewhere that you should try to visit somewhere different every year, whilst this isn’t always possible it is something that I am aspiring to do.
I must admit setting off for 5 weeks was quite daunting and there was a lot of preparation before leaving and so much paperwork (not quite a paperless world yet!) and yes, covid tests – still!! As with most of our trips the first step was getting off the island to start with, so off to London Heathrow and an overnight there. I had packed our cases for all weathers and eventualities – or so I thought, not forgetting my trusted travel wash.
NEW ZEALAND – after a very long and arduous journey, we finally arrived in Queenstown. Four flights and I lost count of the hours it took but we arrived, weary and in need of a proper bed, thankfully we got an early check in, I was never so glad to see a bed.
New Zealand was amazing, the scenery itself was just awe-inspiring, if asked to compare I would probably say it reminded me of Scotland, with lakes instead of lochs but equally beautiful. It’s a very ‘outdoorsy’ place, but plenty to see and do, even for me. We started off with a wine tour and that was great fun, although I was a little unwell, I think because of the journey – not the wine of course! We travelled around a lot, Steve doing the driving (I have to admit here I was a little concerned about this, but it was fine, the roads were great and traffic fairly minimal.) We got to see Kiwi’s – the bird, who are nocturnal I didn’t know that, and a highlight for me (one of many) was a visit to the Omaru Blue Penguin colony where we got to see them coming up from the sea to settle into their burrows for night-time, they are the smallest breed of penguin and are just the cutest. We hiked (sort of – if you know me you’ll understand) in Arthur’s Pass and visited Larnach Castle and gardens. Christchurch was interesting and we stayed at a lovely place there called Peppers Clearwater Resort, highly recommended. The people in New Zealand were just lovely, so accommodating and nothing was too much trouble. I’m so glad we got the opportunity to visit but it’s so far away, I doubt we’ll go again, but well, never say never. We had another two stops in New Zealand on the cruise in the North Island, Bay of Islands and Auckland. Auckland is a big city and Bay of Islands was small but had the most wonderful fish & chips! Personally, from the little I saw, I preferred the South Island, but we really needed more time there.
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - A very quick visit to Sydney, just a few days, as that was where the cruise would set off from, it didn’t get off to the greatest start, a quarrel with a security guard and then a taxi driver and it was raining, but it did grow on me eventually. We toured as much as we could using the hop on/hop off buses, one of the highlights here was the Koala bear encounter at Taronga Zoo, of course the iconic opera house and then dinner with an old friend who now lives and works there, that was so much fun and for me the best part of Sydney. We also visited the Chinese garden of serenity which was, as the title suggests, serene! There was also a procession of gifts for Buddha’s birthday which was unexpected and quite a spectacle. Finally, we set off to board the cruise ship, Celebrity Eclipse here we come…
CRUISING WITH CELEBRITY – Sailing out from Sydney with the opera house as our backdrop, priceless. First time with this cruise company but it was good, relaxed and had something to suit everyone. Steve was just happy that he could get the football on the tv in our room! However, for me 10 days at sea – or was that 11 – was too much and I won’t book another cruise with so many sea days. I did have acupuncture for my sea sickness, which worked as I only missed one evening out. We had a couple of speciality dinners (booked for while we were in port, forward planning by me), Le Petit Chef was so much fun, and Murano was one of the best meals I’ve ever had, dressing up some nights was nice too but being able to be more relaxed on other nights was also a good option. I love the shows on cruises and most of the shows were excellent, I especially enjoyed Ashlie Amber, amazing singer and entertainer I took a photo with her, bought her CD and we had a little chat – me fangirling again! We crossed an international dateline which meant we had two Thursdays, which was very confusing and then we also crossed the equator. It was the Coronation of King Charles while we were away, so that was televised, and an event was organised to celebrate this momentous occasion, given the time difference I fell asleep and caught up with it all the next day! The silent disco was such a laugh and great fun and so glad we did this, it’s all about new experiences. One of the highlights of the cruise for me was the art gallery, I love the auctions, Steve was there to keep me from going too mad, but I did buy a painting and won two! Another highlight was seeing dolphins swimming next to the ship when in port, twice. The ship also had an excellent coffee shop, an absolute must for me, and some great live music in the bars around the ship, where we would head for our nightcap after dinner. All in all an excellent trip, one we will look back on in the years to come, I kept a diary about it too so that I can always reminisce.
POLYNESIAN ISLANDS -These were pretty hit and miss, they have beautiful tropical and lush scenery but on the day we arrived in Tahiti it just happened to be election day, it was also Sunday, and everything was closed pretty much. A different place and experience, next stop Moorea where it was raining and probably not seen at its best, I found the stray dogs particularly distressing and didn’t stay long. The final island, Raiatea, however more than made up for the other two, a beautiful place where we did a local excursion to a pearl factory, botanical garden, and historical site and the tour guide was excellent. My recommendation if ever you visit any of these islands would be to go on an organised tour/excursion to get the best out of these destinations.
MAUI & OAHU – Saved the best till last! Maui is just so beautiful, here we spent time on the beach and in and around the port area which had very pretty shops and also many art galleries, I stopped to have a chat with one of the artists in situ who was happy to give me advice about my own painting and encouraged me to try oils. Then we had a guided tour at one of the other galleries with the owner. Who knew that Anthony Hopkins was an artist? Not me anyway, although his art is quite disturbing, but it had me pondering how many people are so talented with more than one string to their bow, I guess if you’re artistic it manifests in many different ways. I would have liked to stay longer in Maui really but at least I can say I’ve been. Finally, we arrived at Honolulu where the cruise ended, honestly I wanted to get on my knees and kiss the floor! Terra firma I kept muttering, Steve of course kept me in check, and we set off to our hotel and made it our home for the next three days. I have to say that Hawaii is still my favourite destination, any of the islands but Oahu has a bit of everything, it even turned Steve into a street dancer and me into a Lei maker. I took Steve to try out the cheesecake factory and we spent time on Waikiki beach, it’s very laid back and the people again are so friendly, they even have a Christmas shop. After 5 weeks together remarkably we are still talking to each other, laughing at each other, and most importantly talking to each other!
So, after many mimosas, mai tai’s, baileys etc., you get the picture – we headed on home, having changed the flight as I had miscalculated the dates – it was that extra Thursday! Stop over in Heathrow and next stop Malta! At the airport we had a surprise of the best welcome home ever from our adorable grandchildren and it was good to be home. I do hope you've enjoyed my travel stories.
Now to plan the next adventure, somewhere a bit closer to home this time maybe???
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