The Tasman Sea continued to be beautifully calm, so I would consider calmness for 2 out of 3 days of sailing on it to be a continuation of our wonderful luck with weather for the most part.  Considering that the cruise director told us from the start that the weather was our responsibility as passengers, that’s pretty good.  (“We’ll take care of the ship, the transportation, the food, the laundry, the cleaning, the entertainment,” she said; “The only responsibility you have is for the weather.”)

Possibly of all the places we’ve visited thus far, Tasmania might be my first choice of a place to live.  Physically it’s lovely with mountains, valleys, rivers, and very English villages.  The economy relies a lot on agriculture (including wine) and timber, which seems to be working.  Like most of the places we’ve been, housing prices are high and there seems to be a lot of construction.  Tasmania has a population of about 500,000, similar to Vermont, but in land area is closer to the size of West Virginia.  It is, of course, very far from ‘anything’ (a northern hemisphere prejudice) which I would find difficult.  Though it did make me muse that perhaps it would be helpful if Vermont was surrounded by ocean.

Both Hobart and Sydney—as well as Ushuaia, Argentina and Punta Arenas, Chile, not to mention the Iles des Salut, French Guiana—were originally established as penal colonies.  Clearly it was popular to transport your prisoners somewhere far away.  19^th century prisons, wherever they were, were no joke.  We would find normal living conditions at that time to be quite uncomfortable, and their prisons were much worse.  Moreover, most transported prisoners were there for minor offenses—like stealing a loaf of bread (major offenses like murder got the offender hung)—and the minimum term seemed to be 7 years. 

In Hobart the pride in convict ancestors became more personal.  Both of our guides gave some version of the story that 20 or so years ago if you asked someone if he or she had convicts among their ancestors, they would say no, of course not—not in our family.  Now people actively search their heritage (also much easier now than in the past) hoping to find a convict because they admire the convicts’ courage, resilience, and great contributions.  One said her son did the searches and called, excited, to say he’d found ‘their’ convict—a 12 year old girl transported for the crime of ‘receiving stolen goods’—some ribbons!  She was placed as a maid in the home of free settlers and, ultimately, married the son of the house and had many children.

When I was probably in junior and senior high school, I had a Scottish pen pal, and she migrated to Australia when she finished school. There were government incentives for women because even in the early ’60s there were so many more men in Australia than women. I forget where she went–or what her name was or really anything useful, but I recall being startled at the idea of moving halfway around the world on your own at probably age 17.

About half the population of Tasmania lives in Hobart, but there are other towns and even cities as well.  As we could see from our included bus tour, it is a handsome city with many Georgian and Victorian buildings and various attractive homes.  The city seems very clean—even government provided houses were neat and well-kept though without the lovely flower gardens of the other houses. 

We did an excursion out of town to a village with the oldest bridge in Australia and to the Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary and wildlife rescue.  The bridge is a lovely stone viaduct and the village had nice shops—with two charming sweets shops.

The wildlife sanctuary was created by a young man some 15 years ago and is definitely not the same as a preserve where there are lots of acres and animals roam wild within probably a very long perimeter fence.  Instead, it’s a little like a zoo with each species in its own enclosure, the individual animals pretty used to humans, and feeding by visitors allowed.  Nonetheless, it was wonderful to see animals you couldn’t see otherwise.  The kangaroos remind me of giraffes in Africa—everywhere and happy to see you.  You could feed them and someone offered to take my picture if I wanted to feed one so I agreed.  Koalas are very difficult to see in a preserve because they are at the top of trees and pretty nocturnal.  These were close up and accustomed to their caretakers who could take pictures of a visitor (one at a time, please) next to the koala.  Tasmanian devils are very shy and definitely nocturnal; one emerged part way from its hollow log when one of the keepers stuck his boot in.  He said they were not particularly aggressive, but he’d put his boot in her home and she was telling him to go away.  The sanctuary rescued 40,000 animals last year and 20,000 already this year.  Some can be returned to the wild; some cannot.

A traffic jam made us a little late returning, but the ship waited—the real advantage of being on a ship sponsored excursion.  Sailing away, the Tasman Sea was very calm and we were grateful. d

Three days of rain were predicted for Sydney, but, fortunately, it didn’t all materialize.  We were told it rained heavily the night before we arrived.  I believe, however, the ‘normal’ weather is more sunny than rainy.  It was in the 70s so reasonably warm.

Friday. We arrived in Sydney in the dark and met for our first excursion at 7:10 am—definitely before my preferred hour for being awake and fed—a 9-hour tour to the Blue Mountains just west of Sydney. 

The destination in the Blue Mountains was in a way more of a theme park.  We descended a mountain on a train at a 52 degree angle!  Coming back up was even more impressive (scary, choose your adjective).  Next we tried a cable car over a gorge.  Unfortunately, in the fog we couldn’t see much.  There were some Asian tour groups there at the same time and I was amused to see in the toilet stall the sign above indicating they receive a lot of Asian tourists.  I recall seeing the same signs in the Bangkok airport.  Nonetheless, it says something about facilities available in Asian countries even for people wealthy enough to go on overseas tours.

We had lunch at an iconic historic hotel, now I think mostly held together by the tourist groups.

Returning just before dinner time, we crossed paths with many passengers dressed up and leaving for the opera at the Sydney Opera House.  Salome, I believe.

Saturday.  We had no tours planned today and Chris wasn’t feeling well so I took the boat shuttle from our dock a couple of bays away to Circular Quay, what I see as the heart of Sydney.  With the Opera House on one side of the u-shaped bay and ‘The Rocks’ a now bustling shopping and restaurant area on the other and many shops and restaurants along the quay itself, this is a fun place to be and I walked much of it.  On the shuttle I encountered a couple heading to the Opera (La Boheme this time)—they mentioned they could not go in the evening because they hadn’t brought ties!

 The Sydney Harbour is one of the best and longest natural harbors in the world, emerging as it does from the estuary of the Paramatta River.  With its many twists and bays, it makes for a lovely harbor cruise.  The Sydney waterfront is also wonderfully done with many parks and walkways. 

On the other side of the Opera House peninsula is the Royal Botanic garden which stretches for two bays and is a grand and welcoming park.  I walked through it and saw many families enjoying what turned out to be a warm sunny afternoon. 

Sunday.  Today was truly and undeniable raining—pouring even.  We did the ‘included’ tour, which was a bus ride around the highlights of Sydney.  When we reached the viewpoints and photo stops, we and most others remained on the bus but were still drenched just getting from the bus to the ship.  The major stop was at Bondi Beach.  Fortunately we’ve been there before—on a nice day—reinforcing our decision not to get out of the bus.  I had actually seen many of the highlights from my walk the day before, and I was most struck by how close to each other and walkable they were from the waterfront and yet how far apart they seemed from a bus negotiating traffic.

Australia, in recent years, has become proud of its convict background—not their treatment, but rather convicts as their ancestors.  Our guides in Sydney all spoke of the great contributions made by former prisoners, most of whom remained in the area after their terms ended (if they survived), including designing important and beautiful buildings and becoming important and wealthy businessmen contributing much to the growth of the colony.   One building designer in particular was transported for forgery and is now featured on the $10 bill. 

They are also proud to be a country of immigrants.  One guide mentioned the first immigrants arriving 50,000 years ago (presumably from Indonesia, which is very close to the north of Australia).  Of course, the British (including a lot of Irish) arrived in the 19^th century and, since then immigrants have come from all over beginning perhaps in the aftermath of each world war.  Although they had an embarrassing ‘whites only’ policy for a long time, that was finally rescinded, and now Asia is the source of many of their immigrants.  I’ve forgotten what we were told in Sydney, but our cruise director mentioned that, after English, the most prevalent languages in Tasmania are Mandarin, Tibetan, German, Italian, and another I’ve forgotten.  Now that I think of it, almost everywhere we’ve been the guides have stressed their multiculturalism and their ’nation of immigrants’ identity.

We sailed away just after lunch.  It should be a lovely trip down the harbor, and many of us gathered in the front lounge eagerly with our cameras, but really it was still pouring rain so not that enticing.

Since Sunday was such a full day, we had church on Monday, complete with communion.  The chef had baked individual rolls or wafers and we dipped them in red wine in huge wine glasses.  As usual, it was a wonderful service.  Heather Clancy, our Cruise Director, who leads it says there is an association of cruise chaplaincy, the source of the order of service and also the bone structure of the homilies (to which she, of course, makes her own inimitable additions.)

 We didn’t see the western part of the Cook Strait because we left Wellington late in the evening.  By Monday morning we were sailing down the South Island and spent Tuesday sailing the beautiful Doubtful and Milford Sounds.  It was like being back in Patagonia—possibly even more so. Though foggy when we sailed into Doubtful (so named, it is said by James Cook who declined to enter it because it looked a bit tight), by mid afternoon when we entered Milford Sound, the sun had come out and we had a warm sunny traverse.  As we prepared to leave, the clouds returned.  The waterfall in the above photo is from a ‘hanging valley.’  These valleys were part of the ocean; then sea level dropped and the water flowing through the former ocean valley drops directly off a ‘cliff’ into the current sea as a waterfall.

We continued to have a calm and pleasant a journey across the Tasman Sea to Australia—it can be pretty rough.  Besides, we gained two more hours of sleep.  We are now 8 hours behind (earlier) Eastern time according to my watch.  By the time we finish the cruise we’ll be 5 hours ahead…

Many folk are leaving tomorrow including many of the entertainers.  The Virginia Gentlemen, the a cappella group from the University of Virginia, got on in Wellington and leave in Sydney.  They’ve been giving two short concerts each day, and it is certainly a change of demographic to see a bunch of college guys running around the ship (especially attired in their ties and blazers.) –Cynthia

Nga Tapuwae: The Footsteps; and a polo shirt. Back Story: Rugby is New Zealand’s national sport and its national rugby team is the “All Blacks”.  While at Middlebury I enjoyed watching Rugby football matches, because several of my students played.  I also much enjoyed watching a couple of televised Rugby Union matches, including one in which the All Blacks played (not least because before each match they challenged their opponent with a Haka, a ceremonial, extremely vocal and threatening dance.  A Haka is not to be missed: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yiKFYTFJ_kw. )

     Given the Haka and the grueling, non-stop and competitive nature of the sport, it seems ironic the All Black’s logo is a simple, graceful fern frond.  While visiting the National Museum (Te Papa) in Wellington NZ, I purchased an all-black polo shirt bearing ostensibly a fern frond image above the Maori phrase “Nga Tapuwae” (left-hand image above).

     To understand the image’s significance, a fern frond consists of a series of opposing leaflets of decreasing size as one moves outwards along the frond. Close up, however, each leaflet of the polo shirt frond resolves as an image of a soldier and an opposing, mirror image, which is either the reflection of the solder or his shadow (right-hand image above).  The solders appear to be trekking along the frond into the distance as the frond decreases in size, moving into the future or the past.  “Nga Tapuwae” apparently is a Maori phrase meaning “footsteps”, and is a reference specifically to marches taken by Maori volunteer soldiers during the ill-conceived and ill-fated invasion of Gallipoli (Turkey) and their subsequent redeployment to the Western Front, during WWI.  

  Historically, I understand their involvement in WWI is the first instance of Maori and Caucasian NZ troops fighting side-by-side (and of NZ and AU troops joining forces in newly formed “ANZAC” (Australian New Zealand Army Corps) regiments, signifying and cementing their combined identities.  Many believe the joining of these forces represents the origin of national identities for these “down-under” colonies, as the result of horrendous casualties suffered as a result of poor intelligence, faulty planning and shoddy tactical execution by Winston Churchill, then First Lord of the Admiralty, and his English naval and army staff, as they attempted to open a second front in what they mistakenly considered the soft underbelly of the German and Austo-Hungarian Empire.  (The Turkish soldiers were, after all, defending their homeland… and there was nothing soft about their fighting!)  Following their retreat, the ANZACs moved from one stalemate along the Dardanelles to another in the first front, in NE France…and one can retrace their footsteps if one wishes and better understand the histories of New Zealand and Australia.— Chris

Wellington, the capital of New Zealand, is on the south end of the North Island on the Cook Strait that flows between the islands.  It is smaller than Auckland with almost 500,000 in the region and became the capital because Auckland was a bit far for legislators from the South Island to travel.  The city is built on hills rising from a relatively flat area forming the center.  From the ship we could see houses covering the hillside; they are reached by narrow roads making travel and parking difficult.  In addition, it may be significant vertical distance from the road to the house entrance; therefore, many houses have their own funiculars or hundreds of steps.

There is a wonderful museum in the center of town, the Te Papa, which focuses on Maori history and multi-culturalism but includes many other exhibits.  Just now it has an exhibit on Gallipoli about the New Zealand involvement in World War I, New Zealand women’s fight for equality (NZ women secured the right to vote many years before other countries such as the U.S.), and the Chinese Terra Cotta Warriors.  Our tour was through some of the Maori sections with both a modern and a traditional marae or meeting place.  The modern marae was designed to welcome people of all cultures.  Then we had a special tour ‘behind the scenes’ to the Archives where a curator showed us some of the rich collection artifacts from weapons to weavings (including beautiful kiwi feather cloaks).  Unfortunately, we were not allowed to photograph in the Archives nor in the Maori section—only the modern marae.  It was a magnificent tour.  Our guides in the museum were both Maori and spoke from the heart as well as from vast knowledge.

Peter Jackson, director of the Lord of the Rings, is from Wellington and much of the films were filmed in the Wellington area so another tour visited some of the sites as well as the Weta workshop where much of the props and digital technology are done. I felt torn about not going on this tour because we might have picked up some Lord of the Rings items for grandchildren.  However, we asked friends who were going to pick up anything they saw for a reasonable price for small boys, and they reported there was nothing relevant and little under $300 at the gift shops!  I certainly no longer regretted taking the tour.

In the morning I was delighted to discover our route to Wellington took us close enough to the coast to see land.  On our previous New Zealand cruise with Seaborn, except when entering and exiting a port, our route was entirely out of sight of land.  They said the shipping lane was seven miles out—too far away to see.  Apparently, Viking sails closer to shore.

We are now half-way through our world cruise!  We started our second tube of toothpaste (now we know how long a (6 oz) tube of toothpaste lasts) and are scheduled shortly for our second haircuts.  How we measure time…

Auckland is known as the ‘city of sails,’ and they claim 1 in 3 inhabitants (1.5 million people) own a boat.    (I suspect they don’t include children in their count of boat owners, but I don’t know for sure.)  As with the Bay of Islands (whose population is much, much smaller), therefore, the bay is studded with impressive boats and a multiplicity of filled marinas.  The one our guide was impressed by was an absolutely huge yacht said in port for maintenance; said to be owned by a very wealthy American (from Wyoming would you believe), it will require a crane to exit because it won’t fit under the rather high bridge!

An overnight port, we docked in the center of town so we could walk to shops and other attractions.  Our first tour, a panoramic bus tour didn’t leave until 4 pm, so we slept in (I don’t understand how we can sleep so much and yet be tired, since, of course, we’re working so hard!), had a late breakfast, and headed to the Auckland Maritime Museum a couple of blocks away.  The museum was worthwhile and covered maritime history from the boats used by the Polynesians in the 13^th century to reach New Zealand and become the Maoris to the 18^th & 19^th century British trading and settlers’ ships to modern-day Americas Cup boats. 

That the Polynesians could have sailed so many thousand miles in their primitive craft and have such awareness of currents and navigation never ceases to amaze me.  But the Americas Cup vessel amazed me also.  The boat itself above the water weighs 1.5 tons and that’s only 20% of the vessel’s weight!  The remaining 80%  is in a deep stem with a large bulb at the bottom.  The plaque explained that the boat on display was real, but the bulb was a substitute since the actual bulb would be too heavy to transport to or display in the museum!  New Zealand has a proud history n the America’s cup and Auckland will again be hosting the race in 2020 so much excited building of much needed new housing is occurring.

After the museum we had our first meal that we actually paid for!  We went to a nearby restaurant right on the harbor and had the freshest fish in fish and chips I’ve ever tasted.

In the evening a local Maori dance group gave a performance on the ship.  Beautiful dancing, and they did the traditional Maori war haka with the wide open eyes, stuck out tongue, and threatening gestures that we’ve seen in televised rugby games with the New Zealand All Black team. 

The Maori arrived in the late 13^th century, the British in the last half of the 17^th century so the Maori are not indigenous the way the Australian Aborigines, who arrived 50,000 years ago (more or less…) are.  Relations between the British and Maori were generally amicable it is said, with various times of unrest and disagreements.  The several tribes of Maori also warred with each other.  In 1840 the Treaty of Waitangi (where we were yesterday) was signed—multiple copies each in a different language (English and various Maori languages)–by the English representative and five Maori chiefs—the earliest treaty between a western nation and the place they colonized.  This is, we’re told, due, at least in part, to New Zealand being colonized so late. By that time the British had some experience in colonizing places and some understanding of what didn’t work. They concluded that it was better to encourage mutual respect and peaceful co-existence. Of course, the treaty wasn’t really honored until over 100 years later but then (in the 1970s I believe) it did form a basis for establishing a multi-cultural government. There are still disagreements over land as it seems the various copies didn’t all say exactly the same thing… But at the present time they seem to have reached some form of (possibly grudging) respect and commitment to a united, multi-cultural nation.

The second day we took a bus to a farm in western New Zealand where they demonstrated sheep shearing and sheep dogs maneuvering the sheep.  One aspect I’d never seen before was that in addition to two border collies doing the herding, there was another non-border collie designated ‘the barker’ who barked and got the sheep out of the pen.  They did quite an impressive job, and ‘the barker’ was getting on in years (his handler said he’d been retiring himself for about a year now).  Since he loved to be petted, he and Chris became fast friends.  The scenery was lovely, the farmhouse modern and beautiful (bedroom with full windows on three sides), the setting idyllic, and the people friendly and engaging.  Besides they fed us tea, coffee, sandwiches, and cakes—always enough to make me happy!  They had quite nice vegetable and flower gardens as well as a hot tub and small (4 or 5 holes) golf course, and deer.  Just as we finished, the heavens, with little warning, opened up and soaked us.

From the farm we travelled to the west coast to view a gannet colony.  Since it was still raining hard, I contented myself with photographing long distance from the view point, but others actually walked out to the colony, and one man showed me a photo he took of a baby gannet close enough to touch (but he didn’t…)

Sailing out was again lovely and seemed later that mid-afternoon due to the dark clouds.

We moored in the harbor of this beautiful, island studded bay (our guide says 144 islands—or 145 today including our ship, which is as big as some of the islands) filled with many beautiful boats, and we  tendered ashore.  A bus tour showed us the countryside is beautiful as well—hills (some quite large), valleys, streams, waterfalls, and towns.  The Bay of Islands is close to the northeast end of New Zealand and, thus, has a semi-tropical climate with little seasonal temperature variation but seems to be somewhere in the high 60s to low 80s year round.

Then we had a ‘lunch cruise’ in the bay—it turned out to be less of a tour than a floating lunch with, unfortunately, a captain who told bad jokes and added parlor games.  However, we did spend a hour off the boat in Russell, the site of the first European settlement, and across the bay from Waitangi.  Despite its colorful history and bad reputation as lawless and full of prostitution, it is now a charming village and popular tourist destination.

The timing of the lunch cruise meant we were on the last tender before the ship sailed, and we waited for a group of stragglers who’d missed the last shuttle from town to pier.  Fortunately for them, the shuttle bus driver passed on his way home, saw them, and picked them up and shuttled them back to the pier.

Polynesian night.  Our first night out from French Polynesia we celebrated with a feast prepared in part from all the food Chef purchased at their markets.  It included monkfish, lobster, superb filet mignon (I’m told the fish and lobster were also superb), stuffed sweet potatoes (delicious), and incredibly good pineapple sautéed in—probably–brown sugar, and other dishes too numerous to mention (or, unfortunately, to sample).  We were all encouraged to acquire and wear Polynesian attire, and the staff did as well—even if only silly flower headgear in some cases.  I wore a new Polynesian top but couldn’t compete with our lovely singers in their pareas.

International Dateline.  Although I often find it difficult myself to calculate days when they span two months, I can tell you that, in our cruise itinerary and on the calendar, February 28-March 5 is 6 days.  But, not so fast… we only have 5 days.  Saturday, March 2 is imaginary; it disappeared when we crossed the international dateline.  One night it was Friday and the next morning Sunday.  Apparently we pay for all those extra hours of sleep by losing 24 hours in one fell swoop (and then continue to gain it back between now and returning to Vermont.)

Sunday.  We’ve had ‘rough’ seas a few days and the entire cruise is one long balance exercise, but Sunday morning arrived with a vengeance.  I think I heard the Captain mention ‘gale force ten.’  Spray came up over the windows when we were breakfasting near the bow on deck 7 (and deck A, the deck below deck 1 is also above the water line) and actual waves came to the top of the windows on deck 1 where we had bridge class (and which the teacher taught seated for the first time.) They locked the doors to the outside decks, including, I believe, our balconies so I couldn’t even get photos of the waves.  Certainly this was not the ‘pacific’ Pacific! My theory is that the sea is angry we dispensed with March 2.

Between breakfast and bridge class we attended the Sunday service.  Being the first Sunday of the month this was communion (takes me back to my childhood when that was the case in the Episcopal Church as well), but Heather, our service leader (and cruise director), said it wouldn’t be a good idea to serve red wine (in real wine glasses) in this weather so we’d postpone communion until next Sunday.  She also asked us to remain seated during prayers and even hymns—while she stood unsupported on stage in her trademark 4-inch heels.  I guess she has more practice riding the waves than we.  At least, I think we can conclude we don’t get seasick—the rocking and rolling didn’t even affect our appetites at all.

Monday & Tuesday.  We were happy to awake Monday to a more moderate, though still somewhat rough sea, and Tuesday the ocean was back to ‘pacific’ and I could walk the course around the outside deck.

Netherly Fuller, an anthropologist and archaeologist on board with her husband the ‘resident historian’, did a workshop titled “Recreate a Bayeux tapestry animal.”  She’d brought photos, fabric with outlines, yarn and other necessities and showed us how to do the stitches.  I loved it and am hoping to finish the lion I started and perhaps even do another one before the trip is over.  The Bayeux tapestry is big with Viking and the wallpaper in the stairways is even greatly enlarged reproductions of scenes from the tapestry. –Cynthia

Rough Seas and Pacific Swells.  During the night we lost March 2nd as Viking Sun crossed the International Date Line and for a double whammy, encountered rain, high winds and turbulent seas as he ship entered a tropical depression.

     (The Date Line is located mostly at 180 degrees or half-way around the world from the prime meridian that passes through Greenwich, England.  “Mostly” because of politically corrected deviations, for example, in Polynesia that allow American Samoa and nearby Tonga to observe the same time on different days.  A similar deviation separates Siberia from Alaska and the Aleutian Islands.  We will, of course, regain much of the lost day as we cruise westwards towards London.)

    Depressed, the ship no longer rocked us gently while we slept; but rather interrupted our slumber with its sideways jerks, plunging porpoise movements, and rumbles and smacks as swells passed beneath our keel.  By morning the rain passed but, if anything, the turbulence increased.  Pacific swells that previously seemed subtle became markedly obvious: their peaks exhibited wind-tossed caps and their trough, deep, shadowed depressions.  At noontime the Captain told us during his daily address, the swells were topping out at 12 to 15 ft above their troughs and the wind was averaging 40 knots (with gusts to 60 knots)… and our speed had overnight been drastically reduced from 16 to 6 knots.  A day later much of the turbulence had subsided but rolling swells were still evident from our elevated cabin on Deck 5. From windows in the Chef’s Table Restaurant on Deck 1, high swells were still dramatically alternating with deep troughs, and waves occasionally covered the restaurant windows.

     Navigating the rocking deck challenged me, although my walking was much easier when the ship was traveling across the troughs or parallel to them.  Fortunately, Cynthia, staff, friends and strangers were always at hand to assist me as I gyrated along the various passageways. —Chris

We wakened at 6 am to watch the sail in to Bora Bora, its incredible lagoon, and nearby islands— sunrise photos to match the sunset photos from the night before.  (I may have mixed up some of the sunset and sunrise photos, but they’re still lovely skies.)

These islands are, of course, volcanic, resulting in impressive jagged peaks and valleys.  Bora Bora is surrounded by a coral reef creating a huge lagoon around the island, whose shallow waters are a beautiful, almost improbable, shade of aqua.  We anchored in what was the center of the crater and, thus, deeper than the rest of the lagoon (entering through the only break in the reef) and found we were the third ship there.

One ship was an MSC ship, a South American cruise line whose ships we have encountered in many ports; the other from the Oceania cruise line.  I was told by a fellow passenger the Oceania cruise was what is called an Atlantis cruise meaning its passengers are all gay men.  Our guide said he’d never seen three ships at a time.  So it was a busy place today, but Viking is very good about arranging shore excursions and we were fine.

Bora Bora has a population of about 10,000 and the largest settlement is the village of Vaitape to which we tendered.  Viking cruises offer one included tour each port plus several other tours available at an additional charge—though included in our world cruise is quite a bit of ‘shipboard credit’ allowing us to sign up for optional tours without actually paying additional money.  I think this is a very clever and helpful arrangement—you can take a lot of tours but only run into paying cash if you do a lot of the high end tours (helicopter rides, overnight safaris or flights to waterfalls). 

Anyway, the included tour is usually a walking tour or a ‘panoramic’ bus tour.  In Bora Bora it was a ride around the lagoon in outrigger boats.  Outriggers have ’attached lateral support floats’ on one side (see photo above). A traditional form, outriggers have been used in Polynesia for centuries including by the early explorers who migrated to Hawaii and New Zealand among other places.

We stopped (outriggers can moor in pairs next to each other with each boat’s outrigger away from the other boat) to look at tropical fish and made our way around the lagoon and an offshore island.  Fantastic! We all thought this was the best included tour of the trip. 

Canoes are also popular all around Polynesia.  There are 1, 2, and 6 man canoes, and the Polynesians are world champions in racing all of them.  In the lagoon some of the single canoes enjoyed racing the tenders or coming behind to surf the wake.  In the afternoon we saw some 6-man canoes moving incredibly fast as well.  We were told there is an upcoming race to prepare for.

After a trip back to the ship for lunch, I returned to the island for a little shopping and a snorkeling trip.  The big item for sale is Tahitian pearls, especially black pearls (as, of course was also the case in Tahiti), but I managed to resist them.  As in South America, at the crafts market I was amazed that prices are quoted in dollars as well as francs and they are happy to take dollars—even give change in dollars—but aren’t set up to do credit cards. We mainly brought dollars for tipping tour guides so using them for purchases rather depletes our stash.  I expect we’ll just get local money for tipping in the countries where we have several stops (New Zealand, Australia, South Africa) to make up.

Snorkeling among sting rays and blacktip sharks was quite an adventure!  Again a small outrigger with 10 passengers, we moored in a sandy area.  The sea creatures swarmed around us (especially when the guide threw food into the water) but unerringly avoiding touching us through there were probably 40 swimmers in the area (and standers because it was shallow enough to stand up).  Amazing creatures!  The rays are beautiful and so graceful.  The sharks, about 5 feet long, were uninterested in us, though Wikipedia calls them both timid and able to become aggressive around food.

For our second stop we went farther out, to the reef, where there was coral.  Rays and sharks were there too, but there were fish and other sea creatures as well.  I saw a big sea cucumber (looks like a giant turd), but my favorite sight was a multitude of giant clams mostly embedded into the coral.  They look like brilliant blue and purple giant rickrack, and you could actually see them open and close.  I’ve included a photo from the internet (I don’t have an underwater camera, and I’ve learned not to put my phone under water…)  An altogether satisfying day although at one point, the guide picked up a ray by its wings (I disapprove) and swung it around.  I was swimming nearby looking at the bottom and he swung it into my neck.  I was startled and unhappy, and I doubt the ray liked it any better than I did.  Another passenger told me that they catch the rays annually and cut off their stinging barb.