McLaren Falls Park Tauranga

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Our sixth day of the cruise began with a leisurely breakfast, as we wouldn't be arriving in our next port of call, Tauranga, New Zealand, until approximately 10 AM.   We had pre-booked a six hour tour with Zealandier Tours to the Hobbiton™ Movie Set.

Once the ship was cleared, we made our way to the gangway and exited the ship.  The tour company had provided detailed instructions on where to meet them.  They were waiting under the flag pole just beyond the gates to the port area.  As they had promised, our names were listed on a sign there, and after showing our confirmation, we were directed to our tour guide. 




After a short wait for the rest of our group's arrival, we boarded a mini-bus and our tour was
underway. Departing Tauranga; we first crossed the harbour bridge, which offers great views of the Mount, 232m high and marking the entrance to the harbour of Tauranga.

Just ten minutes from the port we arrived at our first stop of our tour, McLaren Falls Park, which abounds with a diverse range of tree species & bird-life. One of the highlights of the park is the waterfall track where you can see glow worms after dusk. We enjoyed a short, easy stroll to the picturesque waterfall. It would be awesome to see the glow worms on either side of the track, but during daylight, they weren't visible.

Additional photos can be found on our Australia & New Zealand Shutterfly page

Tauranga
McLaren Falls Park
Hobbiton



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Journey to the Lost World

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Gardens by the Bay
Cloud Forest

If You Dare ... Enter the Cloud Forest, a mysterious world veiled in mist. Take in breath-taking mountain views surrounded by diverse vegetation and hidden floral gems. And learn about rare plants and their fast-disappearing environment.

Inside the Cloud Forest, you immediately hear the sound of rushing water. Explore the tropical highlands amidst orchids, pitcher plants and ferns from the cool-moist Tropical Montane region. Be amazed as you encounter the world's tallest indoor waterfall at 35 meters and descend through the surreal mist-filled Cloud Walk and Treetop Walk. Step into the Crystal Mountain Cave and discover the many interesting shapes of real stalactites and stalagmites. Discover more about geology, how the continents formed, the age of earth, and the importance of fossils in understanding our planet’s past.

In the Lost World explore cloud forest vegetation typically found at around 2,000 metres above sea level. Look out for carnivorous plants such as pitcher plants and the Venus Fly-catcher, against a carpet of delicate ferns and moss, while enjoying fantastic views of the Marina Bay waterfront.

Conclude your visit with a stroll around the Secret Garden. Discover the new landscape of more than 7,000 plants of more than 135 species and hybrids in a representation of limestone forests and caves. Many of the plants belong to the gesneriads, begonias, orchids and ferns families, as these plants are commonly found in these habitats.

Don’t forget to catch a glimpse at the new installation of miniature orchids. They are so tiny that you will need to view the blooms through a magnifying glass!  See our photo albums for more images.

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Related Album:

Cloud Forest
Flower Dome
Gardens by the Bay

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3 Top Attractions Flåm Norway

Save Best For Last

Norwegian Fjords Cruise 

Flåm, Norway

It's hard to believe but Flåm, Norway was our last Norwegian Fjord port of our 12 Night British Isles / Norwegian Fjords cruise. There is so much to do in this area, so we've narrowed the list to our Top 3 Picks.  These sites can be seen, with adequate time for each, during your port call in Flåm.

In order to see our top choices, we booked an organized Royal Caribbean tour, Overland to Voss, Tvinde & Stalheim. There were two offerings of that tour, one did the train first (as described in the tour description) and the other did the train in the afternoon following lunch. We opted for the latter.


Stalheim

Our day began with an early start by motor coach to the Stalheim Hotel. In order to get to the hotel, our motor coach had to navigate spectacular hairpin bends of Stalheimskleivane, the steepest road in Norway. The drivers definitely deserve every krone they receive in wages and tips.

Our bus driver did a wonderful job getting us to our destination safely. Once there we entered the hotel for coffee, tea, and cakes. We had plenty of time to explore on our own, taking in the splendid views of the Naeroy Valley, the river that runs through it and the magnificent waterfalls that graced the mountain walls.

Words cannot describe the scene adequately, so take a look at our Stalheim photo album for some pictures we took.

Tvinde 

Descending the windy mountain roads, our motor coach continued the tour to our next destination, Tvinde Waterfall.

As you can see from this picture, the waterfall cascades down the mountain side. There are rocks at the foot of the waterfall which make for great portrait shots with the waterfall in the background.  These are just a sampling of images from the waterfall. View the rest of our pictures in the Tvinde photo album.

Voss

We had time for a quick refreshment and then we reboarded the motor coach for our trip to Voss, where we would have a traditional Norwegian Lunch Buffet at the Fleischer's Hotel.

Following lunch we had time to explore the quaint town of Voss before heading to the train station for our trip back to Flåm.

In the center of town is Voss Church - Vangskyrkja which was built between 1271-77. It is still in use today. There is a small charge if you want to enter the church and take photos. My husband paid the fee and included in our Voss photo album, you'll find photos of the interior of the church.

Our all day tour continued via the Flam Railway from Voss to Myrdal Station. We changed trains in Myrdal. There was enough time between trains to explore the gift shop at the station and get some ice cream. Make sure you get some ice cream when you are in Norway - it was one of our favorite things to do.

Kjosfossen Waterfall
 
The final highlight of the tour was the photo stop at Kjosfossen Waterfall . We were allowed to disembark the train to get close up pictures of the magnificent waterfall. I have to admit, this is the first time I've been on a train which stopped for photos. The waterfall powers the Flåm Railway. For more pictures of the train trip from Voss to Flåm see our photo album.

Our train pulled into the station at Flåm. As we disembarked the train, we could see the Jewel of the Seas docked just a short walk away. There was some time for shopping in the stores by the pier before boarding the ship for our final sail-away in Norway. We had a day at sea the following day, then on to our final port, Amsterdam, Netherlands before returning to Harwich, England.

We hope that you've enjoyed your trip to the Norwegian Fjords. It's not quite the same as being there in person we know, so hopefully you will get there some day. If you've not quite had enough of the Norwegian Fjords, fear not -  we had another cruise which included the Norwegian Fjords, so in future articles, we'll tell you about that trip.

3 Top Things To Do in Hellesylt Cruise Port

Hellesylt, Norway

Recall from last time that we left the Jewel of the Seas in Geiranger, Norway for an all day tour, Journey to Briksdal Glacier . Usually you begin and end your tour in the same port of call, but that isn't the case with Geiranger. The ship stayed there for most of the day so people could stay in town if they chose to. At 3:30 PM, it set sail for Hellesylt, where the majority of the passengers, who'd been on tours, would rejoin the ship.

During My Cruise Stop in Hellesylt I'd...

Photograph a Waterfall

The site of the village on the mountain sides at the end of the Sunnylvs Fiord is exceptionally picturesque. Right through the centre, 100 meters from Grand Hotel, the Hellesylt waterfall gushes down into the Fiord. This waterfall is one of the most photographed sites in Norway. Of course, we were obliged to get a few pictures of our own.

Relax & Enjoy Picturesque Views

Hellesylt is a small village in the Stranda Municipality, which is a part of the Møre and Romsdal County in the western part of Norway. Our motor coach arrived in this little town and parked near the dock where we would board a tender boat to rejoin our ship.

Hellesylt is well known for for its colorful history, and in the old street most of the old buildings are still intact.  Our tour was behind schedule, so we didn't have much time before we had to board the tender boat.

Not Miss Sail Away

Before boarding the last tender boat, we clicked a few more pictures of the waterfall and of our ship, which despite its 90,090 gross tons, was dwarfed by the fjords.  Words cannot describe the view - you must bring a camera, or at least your smart phone, with you to capture this moment in time to cherish forever.

The tender boat had an upper level, which we selected so that we could capture images of the fjord and our ship from this vantage point.  The ship grew larger as we approached, but it was still dwarfed by its surroundings.


We had late dinner plans, so we were able to relax on our aft balcony verandah, enjoying a glass of wine with friends, as we sailed away (see photo album).

From Hellesylt we sailed for our next port of call, Flåm , where we would see an even more amazing waterfall.

Our 12 Night British Isles / Norwegian Fjords cruise continued to be an exceptional cruise with wonderful memories. When updating my website, and posting to this blog, I can't help but recall those fabulous days in the Norwegian Fjords. I do hope you get to experience this magnificent country some day. 

Papette, Tahiti - 4WD Excursion

After a good night's sleep we were ready to explore Papette, Tahiti. We decided to book the Papenoo Valley And Waterfall By 4wd shore excursion offered by Princess Cruises. If you are in reasonably good health (no heart or back problems for example) a 4WD adventure is a great way to see the island of Tahiti. There is an expansive network of off-road trails which transport you from sea level to the highest mountain peaks on the island.

We began our tour from the pier and made our first stop at Pointe de Tapahi where we had magnificent views of the east coast of Tahiti. Lush vegetation framed our view of the scenic coastline. If it weren't for the white caps which formed as waves splashed against the rocks below, it would have been hard to determine where the sky ended and the sea began. 

As usual, I won't leave it to your imagination to picture this scene. See our Papeete photo album for pictures from this tour.

The tour continued with a drive through the Papenoo Valley. Our jeep caravan stopped in the midst of lush vegetation where the sound of rushing water could be heard. It didn't take long before we could see the towering waterfall ahead of us. We have seen many waterfalls in our journeys, but never anything as amazing as the ones we saw on Tahiti island. Some of our group took a dip in the pool formed at the base of the waterfall.

We drove through the valley stopping for a view of the Papenoo River. It reminded me of the Grand Canyon, except with lush vegetation instead of rocky terrain. The river curved through the valley surrounded by mountain peaks. In addition to the lush green vegetation, we saw beautiful tropical flowers in many colors. The most interesting green vegetation was a leaf that would curl up if you touched it.

Before returning to the ship, we stopped for refreshments which included fresh coconut milk and various local fruits. We thoroughly enjoyed this tour which took us off the beaten path and into the heart and soul of Tahiti. We were able to talk with local inhabitants enabling us to learn more about the culture.

This was only the beginning of our Tahiti adventure. When we rejoin this cruise story, you'll be in Huahine. Until then, may you have warm tropical thoughts.

10 Day Polynesia / Cook Islands Cruise on Tahitian Princess

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