Beaks and Feathers Tours

Tuesday, 21 November 2023 “In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks.” John Muir Due to scheduling conflicts with the tour company, Beaks and Feathers, we needed to schedule all three Stewart Island tours on the same day, with the first tour, requiring us to be at the wharf at 7:00am. […]

Airplane Mode

Monday, 20 November 2023 “”All of us are born with a set of instinctive fears – of falling, of the dark, of lobsters, of falling on lobsters in the dark, of speaking before a Rotary Club, and of the words “Some Assembly Required”.” Dave Barry The South Island makes up 56.2% of the land area […]

Exploring Queenstown

Friday, 16 November 2023 “Once upon a time I visited a far far away land that had Ginormous Mountains, a cold as lake, and an old as steamboat. You’ll never believe this place. In this land there are lots of crazy people doing crazy things. They jump off bridges tied to elastic bands, drive fast […]

Kiwi Wildlife Extravaganza

Monday, 13 November 2023 “The Albatross was tiringAnd the cook was in a stewThe filthy little cabin boyWas whizzing in my shoe” Kris Kristofferson Desperate for an albatross quote and with encouragement from the Māori elder, the song Rescue Mission came to the rescue. Hopefully, the quote will survive the censor. I tried to use […]

Tourist Day, Museum and Aquarium

Thursday, 2 November 2023 “The worst thing about being a tourist is having other tourists recognize you as a tourist.” Russell Baker With a rather dodgy weather forecast for the afternoon, the schedule demanded indoor activities. Accordingly, the Auckland Museum and the Sea Life Aquarium, appeared on our radar. However, to take advantage of the […]

The Coral Princess

“Ships that pass in the night, and speak each other in passing, only a signal shown, and a distant voice in the darkness; So on the ocean of life, we pass and speak one another, only a look and a voice, then darkness again and a silence.” Henry Wadsworth Longfellow This post serves as the […]

The End of the World

““Fin del mundo.” Ushuaia motto The town of Ushuaia occupies a small spit of Argentinian land in the Tierra del Fuego, south of the foot of Andes mountains and north of the Beagle Channel. Continuing south other than a small section of unoccupied Chile and the ocean, you will hit the ices of Antarctica. Ushuaia […]

A Whale of a Good Time

“Watching a documentary with people hacking their way through some polar wasteland is merely a visual. Actually trying to deal with cold that can literally kill you is quite a different thing.” Henry Rollins Sailing in an ice field, watching penguins congregate on icebergs, while viewing the rugged Antarctica terrain seems as surreal […]

Antarctica, The Southern Terminus

“We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.” George Bernard Shaw When we explain Cayamo, the seven day singer/songwriter cruise, the first thing we say is that it is not really a cruise. It is a continuous concert, which just happens to be on a cruise ship. […]

Another Amazing Day in Antarctica

“When I die, I want to die like my grandfather who died peacefully in his sleep. Not screaming like all the passengers in his car.” Will Rogers With sunrise before three, a summer day starts early in Antarctica. During the night, the ship meandered about trying to navigate to the Esperanza Base, gingerly avoiding […]