Escaping to the South Pacific on the Emerald Princess (Part 2: New Zealand)

Part 1: Australia
Part 2: New Zealand
Part 3: New Caledonia and Vanuatu


Tauranga
Cruise 2:
Tauranga is my favourite port in New Zealand and I always have a good time here. Something I have always wanted to do was hike up Mount Maunganui and I finally did it. In the morning I made my way up to the summit of Mount Manganui.

Sheeps at the base of Mount Manuganui

It took me about 40 minutes to reach the summit but the views were amazing the entire way up. Since the trail is around the edge of the mountain every time I looked to my right I would see the ocean below.

View from the summit of Mount Manuganui

Another view from the summit of Mount Maunganui

In the afternoon, after grabbing lunch, I spent the rest of my time in port at Main Beach using the free WiFi and also watching people surfing in the ocean.
Note: Although the WiFi is free there is a limited number of megabytes you can use in one day.


Picton
Cruise 2:
This was my first time in Picton and it's always exciting to visit a city for the first time! The ship docked at a working port so everyone needed to take the complimentary shuttle to get to and from the port and town. Along the 10 minute shuttle ride the driver gave a little talk about this town with about 4000 residents. The shuttle stopped within walking distance of the Picton Shorefront. We checked out the arts and crafts market nearby as well as the shops around town.

Picton Shorefront

Cruise 4:
I started the morning with a tour: Omaka Aviation, Moa Brewery & Chocolates
The bus drove us from Picton to the city of Omaka to explore the Aviation Heritage Museum. We had about 45 minutes to spend inside the Museum before we needed to be back on the bus.

The planes on display outside the Aviation Heritage Museum

Our next stop was Moa Brewery to sample different apple ciders and ales.

One of many New Zealand vineyards

We finished the tour with a quick stop at Makana Confections (a boutique chocolate factory) where we were able to sample some chocolates and watch them make the confections they sell.
At the end of the tour I rode the bus back to the pier to meet up with a friend. We took the complimentary shuttle into town and walked the Waikawa trail and Scout trail to get to Habour View. The view of the harbour and the surrounding tree covered hills/islands was amazing! I could have stared at the view for hours marveling at how blessed I am to be able to experience such beauty.

My photo just doesn't do Harbour View justice!

 

Wellington
Cruise 2:
After the damage caused by the earthquake in November 2016, no pedestrian traffic was allowed in and out of the port. Instead, complimentary shuttles took passengers (and crew) to/from the port to the shopping district (about a 15 minute ride).
It was an extremely windy and cold day so our walk along the waterfront to Oriental Bay was not as pleasant as the last time I was here. Not complaining, just saying.

Cruise 4:
We walked around the downtown shopping area where the shuttle dropped us off and explored many parts of Wellington by foot that we have never been to before. To finish off the afternoon we bought some sushi (I'm always craving sushi when I work on the ship). Usually I buy sushi by the roll but several sushi places in Wellington (including this one) sold them by the piece.


Akaroa
Cruise 2: 
This is a tendered port and it takes about 15 to 30 minutes to get to the Main Wharf. 

Akaroa as seen from the tender

Having been to Akaroa a few times before we decided to do something different on this day. We had seen the lighthouse while we were in the tender and wanted to take a closer look at it. On our walk towards the lighthouse we saw a sign for the Garden of Tane. Intrigued but not entirely sure what it was we followed the trail into a forest and arrived at a lookout point over the bay.

View of Akaroa from the lookout point

Satisfied with our off-the-path adventure we continued on our way to the lighthouse. With some time to spare before we needed to be back on the ship we walked along Beach Road and checked out a few of the shops.


Port Chalmers
Cruise 2:
We took a shuttle ($15 roundtrip for 2 people) into Dunedin. The 20 minute bus ride dropped us off at the Octagon. From there we made the 5 minute walk to Cadbury World. After picking out 8 bars of chocolate from the Cadbury store we went to the supermarket (Countdown) across the street to look for New Zealand treats to buy for people back home.
When I was in Dunedin two years ago I remember marveling at how beautiful the architecture of the Railway Station was. This year I decided to take a look inside the Railway Station and found out it is was not as architecturally amazing as the outside but still interesting nonetheless. 
We walked along George street which had many interesting shops and Asian restaurants (I was craving Asian food at the time). Along George street is the Wall Street Mall which we took a quick walk through. When we were tired of walking we took the crew shuttle back to the ship then used the free WiFi in the cruise terminal.

Cruise 4:
Once again I took the shuttle into Dunedin to buy chocolates at Cadbury World. This time I was buying for a coworker who was doing port day supervision and didn't have time to go into Dunedin. After my little shopping task I walked around town to explore the different malls.


The ports in New Zealand have a little bit of everything from beaches to the big city life to the small towns to the amazing scenery. I truly believe it has something for everyone!