Polynesia 2015

Sailing west across the Pacific Ocean from Ecuador we enjoyed 8 relaxing days at sea before arriving at Nuku Hiva, French Polynesia.  The Amsterdam dropped anchor in the bay and lowered its tenders which took us to shore where we enjoyed an excursion around this beautiful island.

We visited a local Chapel built of wood and stone and decorated with beautiful carvings. 

Across the street along the shoreline, we saw stone carvings like the ones we saw on Easter Island two years ago.  These carvings were given to the island in celebration of the Polynesians who migrated more than 800 years ago to Easter Island.  There they established a new settlement and they carved the giant stone faces we saw that make Easter Island so famous today.

Driving into the volcanic hills behind the port city of Taiohae Wharf, we enjoyed the countryside and the view of our ship in the harbor below.

That afternoon we departed for Papeete, Tahiti and the dark evening sky served notice that the weather was going to and certainly did impact our itinerary over the next few weeks of sailing in the South Pacific.

We docked overnight in Tahiti alongside two other cruise ships, a Paul Gauguin ship and Oceania's Marina.  Rainy weather all day and overnight caused us to stay near the ship and very few photos were taken, however.   The next day was Sunday and we visited the local market but most shops were closed.

Next we visited Bora Bora and since we had taken a tour of the island in 2013 we opted to walk around downtown.  We enjoyed our visit and you'll see below some of the floral beauty we discovered on the island. 

More bad weather from a nearby tropical storm caused our ship to cancel visits to Rarotonga of the Cook Islands and also Alofi on the tiny island of Niue.  While we were disappointed missing these two islands, we instead stayed the following weekend in Nuku Alofa on the island of Tonga.  Local tribal dancers greeted the ship as we arrived and we enjoyed an evening stroll under clear skies along the pier.  On Sunday, we walked outside the gates of the royal family's residence and watched as they returned home with a police escort, following church services.

The next day we enjoyed sunny skies again and we took a tour around the island that included visiting shoreline blow holes where the sea waves crash against the rocks forcing water up into the air.

Lunch was provided on this tour at a local beach side resort and we enjoyed sampling the many fruits that are native to Tonga.  That evening at dinner back onboard the Amsterdam, we celebrated Steve's birthday and our table mate, Siri, made him a very artistic crown hat.

New Zealand was the last Polynesian island we visited and we overnighted in Auckland enjoying two full days in this cosmopolitan city that is one of our favorites on the world voyage.

At the Auckland War Memorial Museum we were greeted by Maori warriors outside their cultural exhibit.   And Tom couldn't resist copying their threatening traditional pose sticking out his tongue. 

Our next port in New Zealand was Waitangi in the Bay of Islands.  The Amsterdam again was anchored and we tendered to shore at the village of Paihia.  There we boarded a small craft with facilities for making a brunch cruise to the village of Russell, that was once the capital of New Zealand.  Captain Dan passed around naval hats and special eye glasses to wear for fun, as we introduced ourselves to the crew.  

We sail next to Australia and our first port of call is beautiful Sydney.  Be sure and check back for our blog posts after we have spent more than a week in the "Down Under" and thanks for following our travels.