December 28, 2024
Equator Crossing - 12/21/24 I became an official Shellback!
I never knew this Ship tradition, but passengers and crew who have never crossed the equator on a Ship need to participate in a Crossing the Line or Neptune Day Ceremony. It's an ancient naval tradition, involving a series of tests and pranks that prove you are worthy to change. Our test involved the Captain willing plunging into the pool and all of us Pollywogs kissing a fish, getting sprinkled with sea water and then presented with a flower lei, graduating to a Shellback! We technically crossed the equator at 5:29 a.m. but they let us sleep and have breakfast and did the ceremony at 10:00am! Must say the Welcome to the Equator signs were impressive!
We had a beautiful sunny day to explore Wellington ! Was a very nice change from the stormy, big swells weather we have had the last two days! Wellington is the Capital city of New Zealand and the CBD is nice and big with lots of shops and museums. We didn't make it to the LOTR studios due to the time crunch but we took the cable car up to the top, for a scenic overlook of the port and then leisurley walk down through the Botantical Gardens, parks and historical cemetary.
Rotorua became a bonus city for us. Our Port stay in Tauranga got cut down to one day, due to NZ biosecurity regulations and since we really wanted to do Hobbiton, we decided to get off the ship and stay in hotels and get back on the ship, in a few days. Due to a variety of factors, the Ship ended up doing a quick pick up of us in Tauranga, three days later. The Kiwi's we encountered along the way, who helped with all our last minute details, were amazingly kind, hospitable and generous. Below is our tired, chilly group huddled at the security shed, outside the Port in the wee hours (1:30 am) Monday morning, awaiting our final hurdle of getting back on our Home. Home sweet home! What an adventure!
Rotorua, New Zealand is known for it's geothermal activity ( geysers, mud pools, hot springs) and rich Maori culture . I saw lots of that last time I was here in 2016, so this time I wanted to see their Redwoods in Whakarewarewa Forest. John and Colleen joined me in exploring. Their redwoods are smaller than the ones in Muir Woods California, but still impressive. Both are planted forest dating back to around 1908.