Day 13 — Christchurch
Sigh. Another big disappointment today. I was really looking forward to finally seeing some of New Zealand’s dramatic mountain scenery, but once again Mother Nature had other plans.
We docked in Christchurch without issue, so when the announcement came over the speakers I assumed it was the usual “all ashore.” Unfortunately, it was the opposite. The port doesn’t allow ships to enter or leave when winds exceed 35 knots, and the afternoon forecast predicted 46 knots. Rather than cancel the stop entirely, the port allowed us to dock — but required everyone back onboard by noon. That meant the vast majority of excursions, including ours, were canceled. Cue a frantic search for anything we could do in Christchurch with only a couple of hours to spare.
Turns out… not much.
We headed downtown and wandered through the large outdoor shopping district, then made our way to the botanic gardens (Australia and New Zealand both seem to adore their botanic gardens!). After a short stroll we grabbed a quick ice cream and headed back to the ship for an afternoon of hot tub time and relaxation — and crossed our fingers that our remaining ports wouldn’t meet the same fate.
Day 14 — Picton
One of my most anticipated days — and spoiler alert, it went great!
Picton is the gateway to the Marlborough wine region, home of my favorite varietal: Sauvignon Blanc. We booked a bike tour through the countryside with stops at several wineries and a lunch at the end. The forecast had looked grim the night before, but it cleared up beautifully just in time for our ride.
We visited three wineries total, with the second and third hosted by the winemakers themselves. We got a good overview of the region and some of their wine making philosophies — and of course, there was plenty of wine to taste. Thankfully there were no bike crashes and, even better, the tour ended at the third winery, so we didn’t have to pedal away after our final round of tasting… which probably would not have gone well.
Day 15 — Wellington
Wellington was a bit of a blank slate for me. We didn’t have any set plans for this stop. The only thing I knew I wanted to do was visit Te Papa, one of the most well-known museums in New Zealand. Based on my prior research, I wasn’t expecting to love the city.
Happily, I was very wrong. Both Mom and I really enjoyed it.
Wellington is extremely walkable. We started by walking from the ship to breakfast in town (we’re kind of done with cruise ship food at this point), then headed to the museum. Te Papa ended up being one of the most engaging museums I’ve visited. The exhibits were beautifully designed and clearly explained, covering the natural history and geology of New Zealand as well as its indigenous peoples and immigrant communities. And best of all — no disturbing autopsy exhibits like the Australian Museum.
After the museum we had a delicious Vietnamese lunch and continued exploring. We rode the famous Wellington Cable Car for views over the harbor, wandered through yet another botanic garden (noticing a theme?), and spotted our first Tui, a native New Zealand bird with gorgeous iridescent feathers. One last viewpoint atop Mount Victoria, and it was time to return to the ship.
Up Next
Tomorrow (assuming the wind gods finally take pity on us) will be a short day in Napier, where we plan to visit the local aquarium so Mom can spend some time with the little blue penguins. After that, our final full port: Tauranga, with a tour of Lake Rotoiti and a visit to hot springs.
Here’s hoping our streak of bad luck is behind us.