Day 13 – First Sea Day

 G'Day Mate How You Going?

               Yesterday was the first of three sea days as we sail from New Zealand to Melbourne, Australia. It is 3,230 miles from Fiorland National Park, New Zealand to Melbourne, Australia. We will turn the clock back one hour tonight and one hour again tomorrow night. We are on the Tasman Sea which is the strait between New Zealand and Australia connecting the Coral Sea and North Pacific on the north with the South Pacific Ocean on the south. The Tasman Sea is a region of disproportionately high winds and this combined with the venturi effect had us really rocking and rolling last night. The seas seem a lot calmer this morning.

Went to a performance and lecture about the digeridoo!  It is Australia’s iconic indigenous music instrument dating back some seven thousand years. It is completely made by nature. Termites eat out the inside of a log, you must then soak the log in water to rid it of Australian spiders, which I guess there are many. Today I am going to go to a lecture on learning how to play the thing. Of course, in ancient times and I guess even today, in the Aborigine culture women are not allowed to play it.  It is about six feet long, so I am wondering if they make smaller versions.

We also attended a cooking demonstration by Food and Wine Magazine’s Best Newest Chef of 2015. He runs a restaurant in Minneapolis.  Food and Wine has donated a very expensive amazing kitchen to the Holland America ships. The stove was a special heat with no flame. As the commentator said, flame and curtains on ships don’t mix. The kitchen changes into the BB King Blues Performance Show Room at night where an eight piece Memphis Blues Band performs nightly.

            Last night was the second of the three formal nights, and we ate in the Pinnacle Grill which is one of the specialty restaurants on the ship which has a surcharge. It was well worth the extra price serving extra indulgences such as beluga caviar from the Caspian Sea. Although the food in the main dining room is great this is just a cut above.   

    “As you walk and eat and travel, be where you are. Otherwise you will miss most of your life.” - Buddha

Hooroo,

More to Follow

Tom and Holly