Cruise Day #43 - Oban, Stewart Island, New Zealand

As anticipated, the seas were rough again as soon as we left Port Chalmers yesterday afternoon 🌊 The rocking and rolling continued overnight until we reached the waters surrounding Stewart Island this morning, at the very bottom of New Zealand’s South Island.

After dinner last night, it was way too rough to stay upright, so we retreated to our stateroom and fired up Netflix — sometimes survival mode calls for streaming! 😄

This morning, we took the water shuttle into the tiny village of Oban on Stewart Island. 

You can see Oban in the center of the photo below. The photo was taken in the afternoon, after the sun made an appearance!

Oban has a population of only about 300 residents and serves as the gateway to Rakiura National Park. The rare kākā parrot thrives here, and it’s also one of the best places to spot the very elusive kiwi. 

Unfortunately for us, kiwis are nocturnal, so no sightings this trip! We were fortunate to see kākās in the wild during a previous trip to Wellington. Photo courtesy of Google. 

I did, however, spot a kererū (aka New Zealand pigeon) perched in a tree. 

It took us all of 15 minutes to explore the village, and thanks to the less-than-inviting weather, we passed on hiking into the park. Some photos from around the village. 

I spotted some nice blooming Asiatic Lillies.

Back onboard for lunch, I enjoyed another delicious locally sourced fish — trevally (aka araara). Always nice to sample the regional specialties!

Tomorrow, we’ll be cruising through Fiordland National Park, including Milford Sound. A naturalist speaker boarded yesterday and will be providing commentary during our transit — should be fascinating.

Details in tomorrow’s blog… 👀

Cruise Day #42 - Dunedin, New Zealand

Last night, the ship almost didn’t make it out of port. The wind and seas were blowing like crazy! On our first attempt to navigate the narrow harbor exit, the winds kept pushing us back toward the pier. Eventually, two tug boats had to push us sideways to get us clear of the harbor. Once we were out… boy did it start rocking! The waves were huge 🌊 The Captain later announced we were in 6-meter seas — and that it would stay that way throughout the night.

Despite the motion, we had an amazing dinner at Solis. We both started with the Lobster Ravioli (sorry, no photo!), which somehow tastes better every time we have it. We then shared the Branzino al Sale (baked in salt crust) — so good. 

Dessert was Bourbon Vanilla Gelato with macerated berries… wow!

Afterwards, we listened to the band in The Club until it was time for the show in the Grand Salon. The music was great (several Bruno Mars hits 🎶), but the seas were way too rough for dancing!

The Seabourn Singers and Dancers performed another fantastic show. The place was packed, and it looked like everyone thoroughly enjoyed it.

This morning we docked in Port Chalmers — and honestly, we were surprised the ship made it in. The seas were still very rough until we began our approach to the tiny port. And it was POURING… sideways rain ☔💨

We were up early for our excursion, which met downtown in Dunedin, about 30 minutes away. We checked with our tour operator, Clearwater Wildlife Tours, to make sure it was still on. Rachel, the owner, assured us that the penguins, fur seals, and sea lions don’t mind the rain!

So off we went on the free shuttle into town, where we met Rachel and our guide, Quinn. Along with us was another couple from the ship (San Diego), plus three shoreside couples — one from the UK, one from Australia, and one from the Netherlands.

And I must add — the rain and wind never stopped all day. Most of the time it was blowing sideways!

During the 75-minute drive out to the Clearwater sheep farm, we saw loads of birdlife — including hundreds of black swans (introduced from Australia years ago). Other sightings included:

Pūkeko

Paradise Shelduck

Spur-winged Plover

Pied Oystercatcher

White-faced Heron

Royal Spoonbill

Pied Stilt

Red-billed Gull

Unfortunately, photos were nearly impossible in the wind-blown rain.

Once we reached the coast, we hiked down to a covered blind to view New Zealand sea lions, New Zealand fur seals, and the rare Yellow-eyed penguin. 

We only spotted two penguins, but plenty of sea lions and fur seals. Again, photos were a challenge, but I managed to get a few 📸

I could not get a photo of the penguins, this one is courtesy of Google. 

After about an hour, we headed back to town and caught the shuttle to the ship.

Tomorrow we’re scheduled to visit Stewart Island — and rain is not in the forecast… fingers crossed! 🤞 

Cruise Day #41 - Timaru, New Zealand

I ended yesterday’s post right after lunchtime… and wow, did things go downhill from there!

The ship was really rocking, so we spent the afternoon holed up in our stateroom streaming Netflix — not exactly the glamorous cruise life, but sometimes you just roll with it 🌊📺

As 5pm rolled around (aka our usual “get ready for the evening” time), we looked at each other and silently agreed: nope. Not happening. We stayed put and ordered room service for dinner instead. The seas were just too rough to enjoy a proper night out. Our room service waiter told us they were absolutely slammed — apparently we weren’t the only ones with this brilliant survival strategy!

At one point during the night, it got so rough that Debbie woke up in a fog thinking we were having an LA earthquake. It took her a moment to remember… oh right… we’re on a ship 😄 And the rocking continued right up until we docked this morning in Timaru. Honestly, we were surprised we even made it into port!

Today’s forecast shows an 80% chance of rain, and tomorrow’s penguin excursion in Dunedin? A cheerful 100% chance of rain. No bueno ☔🐧

Since we’re docked in a cargo port again, the ship provided a 10-minute shuttle into town. It was a chilly, breezy 50° — and this is their summer! A local told us that normally this time of year sees temps in the mid-80s with beaches full of people. In fact, he said today’s temperature is about as cold as it gets in their winter 😳 Clearly, the weather gods are not on our side this trip.

Timaru is a quaint town of about 40,000 and home to the Little Blue Penguins — the smallest penguins in the world. Unfortunately, they’re nocturnal and spend their days tucked deep into the port’s rock walls, so no daytime sightings for us. (The two penquin photos are from Google)

I checked their hideouts, but no luck!

I did spot these two European Goldfinches.

We wandered around town, Debbie did a bit of light shopping, and we made it back to the ship just as the drizzle began. Perfect timing! Photos from around town...

Lunch was at the Colonnade where I tried another local catch — Lemon Fish. This small New Zealand shark (also known as Rig or Spotted Dogfish) was delicious.

For the meat lovers, they had local roasted leg of lamb.

One of the real perks of Seabourn is that they regularly bring on local foods from each port — such a great way to sample regional cuisine 🍽️

Tonight, we’re dining at Solis…

Details mañana 😉