World Circumnavigation 2024 - Sector Two

30^th January - 24^th February 2024

Itinerary: Honolulu - Hilo - Kahului - Raiatea - Papeete - Bora-Bora - Auckland - Picton - Dusky, Doubtful, Milford Sounds

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February 02. At sea. The captain came on at lunch time to tell us that we will arrive in Honolulu 4 hours late. This is not good news as we will have to go through US Immigration, again. This is not turning out to be a very good cruise.

February 04. Honolulu, Oahu, USA. We arrived slightly early and once again had to pass through US Immigration. This time we were through less than two hours after arrival. The four of us just grabbed a cab to the Ala Moana shopping mall and shopped! We ate early in the mall. Pizza again, not as good as the one in Charleston, but still tasty.

February 05. Honolulu, Oahu, USA. Today was originally scheduled for Hilo, Hawaii, but instead we had an overnight in Honolulu. Barbara and I went to Waikiki Beach for a quick stroll along the famous sands. Then we went back to the mall as Barbara had only been able to spend some time in a couple of shops yesterday. We had Pho for lunch and were back on board just after 13:00.

February 06. Kahului, Maui, USA. My first visit to Maui. We were supposed to visit Lahaina but it was devastated by fire last year. We had an irrascible taxi driver who tried to persuade us to take an expensive tour of the island. Her English wasn't very good, so we got taken to the botanical gardens instead. We weren't keen on the $10 price tag, so walked back to the local mall. At the mall we had a glass of Big Wave beer then grabbed an Uber to Costco! We had a hot dog for lunch, then a quick shoot around the store before returning to the ship.

February 08. At sea. Today the captain came on with the revised itinerary due to the Middle East conflict. We've lost everything from India onwards. We've gained Mauritius, Durban and Cape Town in South Africa, Walvis Bay, Cape Verde and Tenerife. Quite a lot of lost ports. They're giving us extra onboard spend, a future cruise certificate and refunding our Indian visa fees.

February 11. Raiatea, French Polynesia. We were due to dock at 09:30, but somehow the ship managed to gain over five hours on the crossing, meaning we had a substantial delay to our arrival time. The weather had deteriorated badly and the correct decision to abandon the port was taken. Had we arrived on time, we would have been able to disembark and see some of the island.

February 12. Papeete, Tahiti, French Polynesia. My fourth visit to the island. We were going to have a pool day at the Intercontinental, but the weather wasn't playing ball. Instead we just wandered around the town for a bit. After lunch Rob and I went for a beer. On the way back, 20 yards from the ship, the heavens opened and we got somewhat damp!

February 13. Bora-Bora, French Polynesia. We thought we were going to miss out on Bora Bora again, especially as the local government cancelled all shore excursions the night before, because the recent bad weather had caused a lot of problems. In the event. we arrived on time and were able to tender ashore. Barbara and I went into town and wandered along the 'main' street. We had a patissierie each. There was a brief visit to the church of St. Pierre-Célestin to see the stained glass window then it was back on board.

February 15/16. At Sea. Today we crossed the International Date Line, losing 15^th February.

February 19. Auckland, New Zealand. For a change, the ship arrived on time! The four of us walked along the front and through an industrialised area to the harbour jet boats place. Only to discover they were closed and you needed to prebook. So off we went to the Auckland Museum at the Auckland Domain. We spent a few hours there, including lunch and a visit to the glass houses. We stopped off for a beer before returning to the ship. In the evening, we ate fish and chips in a Vietnamese chippie!

February 20. Auckland, New Zealand. We took the ferry to Devonport, where we strolled around, I had a haircut, we ate lunch and took the ferry back!

February 22. Picton, New Zealand. We moored in a wood exporting port. Today I met Gary and Tracey, who moved to the South Island about 18 months ago. As Barbara had nothing to do, they invited her too. We had a quick look around Picton and went to the lookout point to see the ship, before heading to their house. On the way we saw chocolate being made at the Makana chocolate factory. Lunch at the Wairau Valley Tavern, before spending some time at their house. Back to the ship via Blenheim. A good day.

February 23. At sea. Today Barbara and I went on a bridge tour. Very interesting.

February 24. Dusky, Doubtful, Milford Sounds, New Zealand. We woke up to rough seas and what I assumed was Dusky Sound. It wasn't. The captain came on and said that high seas, winds of 55 knots gusting to 75 meant that we couldn't enter the Sound, as it was too dangerous. Around midday, he came on again and said that he'd cancelled Doubtful Sound as the conditions were still too dangerous. When the time came to enter Milford Sound we made it. Because of the weather, there were many more waterfalls than either of my previous two visits.