Auckland, Auckland, New ZealandThis was a trip left over from pre-COVID, we were looking forward to a cruise with Botanica (a garden group we had been with before) on the Cunard Queen Elizabeth to Tasmania and back from Sydney in 2021, much to our annoyance when this was resumed in early 2023 it was from Melbourne to Adelaide via Tasmania.
So to keep our deposit we booked on their trip on the Ponant ship 'La Soleal' along the East coast of New Zealand looking at gardens
Here is the map:
Thursday
As before with an early flight to Auckland we had the first night at Rydges International, yet again their dining room was booked for a private function, so we ate bar food. The only acceptable thing on the menu was a Ceasar Salad, which actually wasn't too bad, however, next time we will share.
Friday
6:00am alarm for the short walk to the terminal no problems going through security and customs and breakfast in the Qantas lounge.
We were on QF003 to New York via Auckland which is on a Dreamliner, very comfortable . It is only a three hour flight so we couldn't get too comfortable.
I naturally caught up with film, this time The Alpinist which turned out to be about a rock climber (Marc-André Leclerc) who climbed cliff faces without ropes. Very interesting
We arrived about 3:00pm to sunny weather. We were met by a mini bus to take us and some other Botanic travelers to the Crowne Plaza our hotel for one night.
Our Welcome Dinner was a bit chaotic since there were 60 of us, most of whom got there early so when we turned up there were no seats, fortunately a few others turned up so a small table was arranged for us.
A bit different to our normal SJR groups which are much smaller, the only saving grace was that people were wearing name tags, first names only.
Saturday
Two gardens before boarding the boat in the afternoon.
The group was split into two groups Red & Green, which meant we had to wear a green or red label at all times.
We had two botanical experts who alternated between the groups
Simon Rickard, who was excellent. We had met him before on one of our previous trips.
Teena Crawford, not quite so knowledgeable botanically but had managed her nursery and her own garden.
The first was Mincher
A six star Garden of Significance, very large, with water view.
I was taken around in a 4-wheel buggy while the others walked for about an hour.
We saw a 'stumpery' where old stumps were taken out of the ground then all put together to look scenic. One way to fill up a vacant area.
Next a little way out of Auckland was Omaio.A much more compact garden, others walked around while I sat on veranda and enjoyed the scenery.
Here we were given a simple box lunch.
Finally taken to the ship which boarded about 3:00pm
The ship was La Soleal which we had been just two years earlier when we went down to the NZ sub Antarctic Islands. We were most surprised to see that we had the same Captain, he even claimed to have remembered us.
So to keep our deposit we booked on their trip on the Ponant ship 'La Soleal' along the East coast of New Zealand looking at gardens
Here is the map:
Thursday
As before with an early flight to Auckland we had the first night at Rydges International, yet again their dining room was booked for a private function, so we ate bar food. The only acceptable thing on the menu was a Ceasar Salad, which actually wasn't too bad, however, next time we will share.
Friday
6:00am alarm for the short walk to the terminal no problems going through security and customs and breakfast in the Qantas lounge.
We were on QF003 to New York via Auckland which is on a Dreamliner, very comfortable . It is only a three hour flight so we couldn't get too comfortable.
I naturally caught up with film, this time The Alpinist which turned out to be about a rock climber (Marc-André Leclerc) who climbed cliff faces without ropes. Very interesting
We arrived about 3:00pm to sunny weather. We were met by a mini bus to take us and some other Botanic travelers to the Crowne Plaza our hotel for one night.
Our Welcome Dinner was a bit chaotic since there were 60 of us, most of whom got there early so when we turned up there were no seats, fortunately a few others turned up so a small table was arranged for us.
A bit different to our normal SJR groups which are much smaller, the only saving grace was that people were wearing name tags, first names only.
Saturday
Two gardens before boarding the boat in the afternoon.
The group was split into two groups Red & Green, which meant we had to wear a green or red label at all times.
We had two botanical experts who alternated between the groups
Simon Rickard, who was excellent. We had met him before on one of our previous trips.
Teena Crawford, not quite so knowledgeable botanically but had managed her nursery and her own garden.
The first was Mincher
A six star Garden of Significance, very large, with water view.
I was taken around in a 4-wheel buggy while the others walked for about an hour.
We saw a 'stumpery' where old stumps were taken out of the ground then all put together to look scenic. One way to fill up a vacant area.
Next a little way out of Auckland was Omaio.A much more compact garden, others walked around while I sat on veranda and enjoyed the scenery.
Here we were given a simple box lunch.
Finally taken to the ship which boarded about 3:00pm
The ship was La Soleal which we had been just two years earlier when we went down to the NZ sub Antarctic Islands. We were most surprised to see that we had the same Captain, he even claimed to have remembered us.
The ship lent me a manual wheelchair for the duration. This turned out to be useful for most times there was a fair walk from where the bus docked, usually a working port, to where the bus could pick one up.
Sunday
After a morning sailing and early lunch we arrived at Tauranga (Bay of Plenty) where we were bussed to Shalendy Garden. Large garden with a very picturesque front garden
Then back to The Elms which was first setup by the Church Missionary Society in 1834. Originally a working farm, it now has a number of original buildings and in what is remaining of the land some very old trees and plants.
back to ship for the Captains Welcome dinner.
Monday
Another lovely day. The ship stayed in Tauranga
I decided that it looked like there was a lot of walking involved the in days activities so I stayed on the ship.
Leith and the group were bussed to the Rotorua Redwood forest, which they walked through
and then the Waimangu Volcanic valley
She did say that there was a lot walking on uneven ground.
Sunday
After a morning sailing and early lunch we arrived at Tauranga (Bay of Plenty) where we were bussed to Shalendy Garden. Large garden with a very picturesque front garden
Then back to The Elms which was first setup by the Church Missionary Society in 1834. Originally a working farm, it now has a number of original buildings and in what is remaining of the land some very old trees and plants.
back to ship for the Captains Welcome dinner.
Monday
Another lovely day. The ship stayed in Tauranga
I decided that it looked like there was a lot of walking involved the in days activities so I stayed on the ship.
Leith and the group were bussed to the Rotorua Redwood forest, which they walked through
and then the Waimangu Volcanic valley
She did say that there was a lot walking on uneven ground.
It was amazing to see the regeneration of the area which is a national park.
I in the mean time, had a leisurely morning, had lunch with couple from Tasmania then 'thought' in the afternoon.
The ship was nearly full (roughly 230 passengers). The cruise in fact was organised by APT, who had the responsibility of selling the trip. While there were 60 of us do our own on-shore activities the other passengers did different on-shore activities.
In the late afternoon we went past Mt White. This is the volcano which erupted in 2019 killing 22 people. It was a fair distance away.
Tuesday
Another morning at sea before arriving at Gisborne. Arrival was fascinating since we a very limited area to turn the ship around before backing alongside the wharf. For those interested click here for a fascinating graphic of this manoeuvre.
In the afternoon we were bussed to the Eastwood Hill Arboretum. This holds the largest collection of Northern Hemisphere trees south of the Equator, including 170 species currently on the world-endangered list. There are over 25km of walks.
Under one of the trees there was a man carving wooden bowls using a foot powered pole-lathe.
We wanted to buy a couple of his small bowls made from banksia but didn't in the end because they might not be allowed into Australia.
Wednesday
Another lovely day, arriving in Napier early morning.
We were bussed to the private garden Gwavas another 5-star Garden of Significance.
To quote the website
'Gwavas Garden was laid out in the 1880s by A.S.G. Carlyon. Phyllida Gibson, the present owner, is the 5th generation at Gwavas and she and her husband Stuart live in the homestead, built in 1890, surrounded by 9 hectares of woodland garden. Phyllida’s father Michael Hudson has, since 1950 restored, extended and done all of the planting including many of his own plants bred here at Gwavas Garden.'
I stayed on the verandah while the group walked for about 40 minutes.
We were allowed into the house which still has the original paneling and furnishings.
The New Zealand timber Rimu was used for door frames and staircase, which is the same we have in the lounge
After sometime we drove slowly through Napier looking at the Art Deco buildings, arriving back at the ship for a late lunch.
Spent the afternoon resting while the ship sailed to Wellington.
Thursday
Arrived early morning into 'windy' Wellington. And it was windy.
We left the boat at 8:15am and were bussed to the Gillies garden.
'This is a ¾ acre garden set in native new Zealand bush in Silverstream, Upper Hutt. The garden is designed around a heritage Chapman Taylor Arts and Crafts style cottage. The garden design involves multiple garden rooms'
A quite small garden with a lovely house.
After an hour or two we we bussed to the Wellington Botanic Gardens where we walked for awhile ending up at the Begonia House via the Rose Garden. Unfortunately the roses were past their prime.
Back to the ship for a late lunch.
We did have time to go back into Wellington but I chose not to because of the wind, and I had been there before. Leith walked in with a fellow traveller.
Had a quiet afternoon.
We are now half way through our trip, so more in the next blog.
I in the mean time, had a leisurely morning, had lunch with couple from Tasmania then 'thought' in the afternoon.
The ship was nearly full (roughly 230 passengers). The cruise in fact was organised by APT, who had the responsibility of selling the trip. While there were 60 of us do our own on-shore activities the other passengers did different on-shore activities.
In the late afternoon we went past Mt White. This is the volcano which erupted in 2019 killing 22 people. It was a fair distance away.
Tuesday
Another morning at sea before arriving at Gisborne. Arrival was fascinating since we a very limited area to turn the ship around before backing alongside the wharf. For those interested click here for a fascinating graphic of this manoeuvre.
In the afternoon we were bussed to the Eastwood Hill Arboretum. This holds the largest collection of Northern Hemisphere trees south of the Equator, including 170 species currently on the world-endangered list. There are over 25km of walks.
Under one of the trees there was a man carving wooden bowls using a foot powered pole-lathe.
We wanted to buy a couple of his small bowls made from banksia but didn't in the end because they might not be allowed into Australia.
Wednesday
Another lovely day, arriving in Napier early morning.
We were bussed to the private garden Gwavas another 5-star Garden of Significance.
To quote the website
'Gwavas Garden was laid out in the 1880s by A.S.G. Carlyon. Phyllida Gibson, the present owner, is the 5th generation at Gwavas and she and her husband Stuart live in the homestead, built in 1890, surrounded by 9 hectares of woodland garden. Phyllida’s father Michael Hudson has, since 1950 restored, extended and done all of the planting including many of his own plants bred here at Gwavas Garden.'
I stayed on the verandah while the group walked for about 40 minutes.
We were allowed into the house which still has the original paneling and furnishings.
The New Zealand timber Rimu was used for door frames and staircase, which is the same we have in the lounge
After sometime we drove slowly through Napier looking at the Art Deco buildings, arriving back at the ship for a late lunch.
Spent the afternoon resting while the ship sailed to Wellington.
Thursday
Arrived early morning into 'windy' Wellington. And it was windy.
We left the boat at 8:15am and were bussed to the Gillies garden.
'This is a ¾ acre garden set in native new Zealand bush in Silverstream, Upper Hutt. The garden is designed around a heritage Chapman Taylor Arts and Crafts style cottage. The garden design involves multiple garden rooms'
A quite small garden with a lovely house.
After an hour or two we we bussed to the Wellington Botanic Gardens where we walked for awhile ending up at the Begonia House via the Rose Garden. Unfortunately the roses were past their prime.
Back to the ship for a late lunch.
We did have time to go back into Wellington but I chose not to because of the wind, and I had been there before. Leith walked in with a fellow traveller.
Had a quiet afternoon.
We are now half way through our trip, so more in the next blog.
Stephanie Lee
2024-12-28
Thanks David, I’m happy to hear that you enjoyed the ‘replacement’ holiday. NZ is certainly a beautiful country. No doubt Leith came back with some new garden ideas.
Louise Wilson
2024-12-28
You and Leith certainly select the most interesting themes and places for a holiday experience!