This Week.

Saturday 18/6/2011
Well I arrived in Bomac in Manukau in some of the worst rain I have ever seen so I decided to park the bus in the middle of the carpark and leave it until tomorrow.
Sunday 19/6/2011
Still raining so after parking the bus in its right spot went to get the shopping for the week and then finished setting up the bus.
It has rained just about all week but as I am doing long hours it hardly matters except it is dark and cold outside. Worked most of the weekend and now its monday and another week of the same

18/6/2011 RAIN

Well I was getting set to go to Auckland today to park the bus up at Bomac and ready for work on Monday morning but woke at 5.30 and the wind was blowing and pouring down with rain. Now at 11am it is still raining but at least the wind has stopped. I will decide after lunch if I will go today or tomorrow

Field days

15/6/2011
Well today was a nice fine day so we decided to go to the field days at Mystery Creek. Wow many years since I last went and it is now massive. We had a great day and got home and headed to the Tokoroa Cossie Club for tea

Birthday Girls

12/6/2011
Well today is the birthday of big sister Leone and grand daughter Toni so HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Tokoroa

Horrible weather after spending 3 weeks in the tropics but it is the same all over the country. Cindy caught up on the washing and we just chilled out

Heading home to Tokoroa

As we sailed toward Auckland we came into very thick fog and the Pacific Pearl had to slow right down and blow its fog horn all the way from about 5am until we got in abiout an hour late. We caught the train out to Manurewa and picked up the car and trailer and headed home to Tokoroa

8/6/2011
Well last day of this cruise and woke up to a beautiful morning with a calm sea so time to pack the bags and relax for the day. Bingo $6000

7/6/2011
Another day at sea and although still a bit of as swell I have never seen the surface so smooth. Had a couple of afternoon drinks with Brian then pre dinner drinks with Brian, Dot, Tracey and Paul then into the Salt Grill for a fantastic dinner. Bingo $4000

6/6/2011
Slow day at sea, a bit rolly and Cindy quite ill or day. Bingo $3000

5/6/2011
Anchor down at 8am off Pentecoste. Another perfect day in paradise, very remote and humid and very much a tropical paradise. All different groups singing and dancing for donations as this is their only income. Saw the land divers and cn only describe as brutal and not nice to watch. Everyone was waiting to see it but not many enjoyed it or stayed to watch very many jump. It is a wonder not more are injured or killed. Well 4.30 and we are sailing for NZ. Have been invited to a wine and cheese in the Dome by the Art Gallery people, free wine and cheese, why not

4/6/2011
Sailed into Port Vila to a fine humid day. As we had done the sight seeing last trip we just got a taxi to town and had a good look around. Bought duty free and wandered around. Love this place. Back on board and sailed away on a fantastic night

3/6/2011
We are anchored off Lifou and it is a beautiful day. As soon as we can get in the tender we go ashore. This time I decided to take the long climb up to the church at the top of the hill which was a very hard climb but amazing views once I got there. When I got back down to the beach we took a car ride to one of the villages. It was a great day and we sailed at 5pm. At 7pm we went to the captains coctail party which there were only about 50 people invited. Got talking with the new captain who is taking over the Pacific Pearl while Capt. Charlie Carr is on leave. The new captain ( cant remember his name ) was very interesting, he has been everywhere in the world but loved NZ. He had worked for a horse trekking place in the back of Lochinver Station and it was the highlight of his life

2/6/2011
Docked in Noumea at 8am. It is a bit overcast so not too hot so very nice. We went on a nice bus trip around Noumea which was a lot different too the trips we had done when we were here before so that was good. The trip was about two and a half hours and went right out into the country areas. Went up on to the deck about 9.30 and it has started raining so retired for the night

At sea heading for Noumea

1/6/2011
Ran through a storm during the night and woke to a nice very nice day. After being so lucky with the weather for the last two and a half weeks I feel sorry for those who have just joined the ship but it really is not too bad. Bingo Jackpot $1800. Today is Ani McGill's birthday

Still aboard the Pacific Pearl 31/5/2011

Well you will notice that I have stuffed up the previous posts as I was copying in and found some that had not been posted properly so sorry you will need to read them all by date.

31/5/2011
Restful day at sea. Not very warm but the sea is calm. Later in the day the sea came up again but not too bad. Bingo jackpot $1000

19^th May 2011

Spent most of the day on deck and it was another Bingo day with the jackpot up to $3069. Day was finished with an excellent meal and a great comedian for the show

21^st May 2011

Not sure how my rugby picks got on yesterday as no one in Australia is interested in rugby. I had Blues 1-12 Crusaders 13+ Waratahs 13+ Force 1-12 Cheetahs 1-12 Sharks 1-12 . Arrived off Yorkeys Knob and first tenders were in the water at 7.30. Hot sunny day already. The ship is anchored 2 nautical miles off shore so it was a long tender ride in they are usually much closer in. Went into Cairns and it was very humid. The bus driver managed to have a bit of a crash on the way back to the wharf just to add a bit of excitement

24^th May 2011

Arrived at Airle Beach which is a very small settlement that has three huge marina’s full of huge yachts and launch’s and accommodation. Plenty of backpackers and tour operators. Young tourists everywhere and places to spend the night enjoying yourselves. The locals say the place really rocks at night

29^th May 2011

We are now sailing down the coast of NZ after passing Cape Reinga around mid day.

Bingo  jackpot $7700 and was shared by 2 people ( not us )

15^th May 2011

Left Tokoroa this morning around 7am and off to Auckland. Went to Karon and Freds and then to Montego to collect furniture from granny flat. Karon and Fred drove us to city to board the ship for the start of the cruise. Departed Auckland on time at 4pm on the Pacific Pearl. This is a much larger ship than the Pacific Sun. By the time we had moved around the ship we had met up with 6 people we know.

30^th May 2011

Got off the ship around 9.30 and went by train to Manurewa to drop off duty free and then caught the train back to Auckland and re boarded around 2.30pm. Ran into Brian and Dot about 6pm much to their surprise

29^th May 2011

We are now sailing down the coast of NZ after passing Cape Reinga around mid day.

Bingo  jackpot $7700 and was shared by 2 people ( not us )

28^th May 2011

Sea much calmer today and we had a nice quiet day at sea. Bingo jackpot now $6500

27^th May 2011

Well we are on our way back towards NZ. Sea was very rough during the night and most of the day. Bingo $5100

26^th May 2011

Arrived in Brisbane and after getting off the ship we walked out of the terminal and was about to phone Hank when him and Amber pulled up beside us. We spent a nice day with them just wandering around. Went to the Maritime museum and the repaired lagoon then went and looked at the huge mall that is just outlet stores

25^th May 2011

Well woke up this morning to very strong winds and very cold. This is the first time on the cruise we have seen jackets and jerseys. The top decks were closed and even the main deck was very windy and mostly deserted except for a few hardy smokers. Even though the wind was strong it was head on and the trip was fairly smooth. Bingo jackpot $4400

26^th May 2011

Arrived in Brisbane and after getting off the ship we walked out of the terminal and was about to phone Hank when him and Amber pulled up beside us. We spent a nice day with them just wandering around. Went to the Maritime museum and the repaired lagoon then went and looked at the huge mall that is just outlet stores

27^th May 2011

Well we are on our way back towards NZ. Sea was very rough during the night and most of the day. Bingo $5100

28^th May 2011

Sea much calmer today and we had a nice quiet day at sea. Bingo jackpot now $6500

29^th May 2011

We are now sailing down the coast of NZ after passing Cape Reinga around mid day.

Bingo  jackpot $7700 and was shared by 2 people ( not us )

30^th May 2011

Got off the ship around 9.30 and went by train to Manurewa to drop off duty free and then caught the train back to Auckland and re boarded around 2.30pm. Ran into Brian and Dot about 6pm much to their surprise

24^th May 2011

Arrived at Airle Beach which is a very small settlement that has three huge marina’s full of huge yachts and launch’s and accommodation. Plenty of backpackers and tour operators. Young tourists everywhere and places to spend the night enjoying yourselves. The locals say the place really rocks at night

23^rd May 2011

Today we arrived in Townsville to a very hot humid day. Well what a disappointment this city turned out to be. No doubt there is something somewhere but most passengers were trying to decide if they had the day wrong and it was actually Sunday or was it a public holiday. It was still hot and humid on the deck at 11pm after the circus and for the sail away party

22^nd May 2011

PORT DOUGLAS what a fantastic place, we will be back. The day started with us buying a kg of fresh cooked prawns straight off the boat that caught them for $18 and we sat and ate them on another little boat called the Lady Douglas. We rode on the Lady Douglas up the estuary in search of crocs and a great number of cat fish and were lucky enough to see 4. Once back at the wharf we went on  bus which took us all around Port Douglas

21^st May 2011

Not sure how my rugby picks got on yesterday as no one in Australia is interested in rugby. I had Blues 1-12 Crusaders 13+ Waratahs 13+ Force 1-12 Cheetahs 1-12 Sharks 1-12 . Arrived off Yorkeys Knob and first tenders were in the water at 7.30. Hot sunny day already. The ship is anchored 2 nautical miles off shore so it was a long tender ride in they are usually much closer in. Went into Cairns and it was very humid. The bus driver managed to have a bit of a crash on the way back to the wharf just to add a bit of excitement

20^th May 2011

Another quiet day on deck as we past through the Whitsundays passage where there are a huge number of islands many of which have resorts on them. Bingo jackpot $4000.

18^th May 2011

At sea today so it is a Bingo day and the snoball jackpot is $2000. We had a quiet day with a calm sea but quite cool

17^th May 2011

Having had bad weather all the way it was nice to wake to a nice day as we came in to Norfolk Island. Locals said only 2 out of the last 7 cruise ships had been able to get in so we were very lucky. Norfolk Island is a wonderful place and we are looking forward to another trip here in the future. The weather is very good and they are able to play bowls all the year round

16^th May 2011

Woke this morning to very rough seas and a lot of sick passengers and it remained like that all day but calmed a bit after dark. Spent a quiet day as it was very windy on the outside decks.

15^th May 2011

Left Tokoroa this morning around 7am and off to Auckland. Went to Karon and Freds and then to Montego to collect furniture from granny flat. Karon and Fred drove us to city to board the ship for the start of the cruise. Departed Auckland on time at 4pm on the Pacific Pearl. This is a much larger ship than the Pacific Sun. By the time we had moved around the ship we had met up with 6 people we know.

Next steps

Well took the bus to Garry's Garage yesterday to get the brakes sorted ( if you are in Tokoroa and need a good mechanic this is your place to go ) then back to Putaruru VTNZ for recheck
Brakes al good so the new COF is attached to the window all ready when we return from our cruise so now it is time to start packing bags

Moving On

Well we left Manukau yesterday morning and headed home to Tokoroa. Stopped at Putaruru to put the bus through the COF but failed on brakes again. They dont seem to understand that older mobile homes dont have modern brakes. The bus is off to the workshop tomorrow then back to Putaruru for a recheck. Nice to be home in the nice friendly town of Tokoroa