Just a few more lines to finish off our day so I can upload tomorrow from Akaroa (near Christchurch).
This afternoon we had a little nap, then had a glass of wine on our balcony as we sailed away from Port Chalmers. It was very cold outside so jackets were required. We were farewelled by a young man plying bagpipes on the dock which was a nice touch.
After taking lots of photos of the beautiful countryside, we changed and went to dinner. Tonight we sat with 2 American couples which was interesting. They are very vocal in their impressions of Australia, namely how expensive everything is. We did get the impression that they think their country is better than ours. Of course I know better and managed to bite my tongue for a change!
Food was great as usual ..... I had a lychee, melon & ginger starter then grilled salmon, asparagus and salad for main. Mike had the same starter & Cajun prawns for main.
We then headed off to the Explorers Lounge or a 70's music show. Good songs and staff wore 70's gear so very entertaining. It only went for an hour so we went for a walk around the shops then came back to our room around 10.30.
Tomorrow we drop anchor in Akaroa Harbour as there is not a suitable dock. This means we go ashore via ships tender boats (life boats) so it will take some time to get everyone ashore. Then it is about an hour via coach to Christchurch (no dock there since the recent earthquakes). Because we will be spending 2 days in Christchurch on our land tour, we have decided to wait until the crowds have dispersed before going ashore to Akaroa as we are going to just explore that town. This is the only port on this cruise where we need to anchor.
I will add a few photos below of the scenic sail away from Port Chalmers. You will notice in a couple of photos that it is low tide and about 6m from the ship is a huge sandbar. Not sure how such a huge ship sailed through that narrow channel but it did.
More tomorrow.
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