Cruising from Sydney to New Zealand…

This week I have managed to catch up on the cruise show presented by Jane McDonald.

I love watching her! She makes cruising so normal and exciting!

In this episode I watched, she cruises from Sydney to New Zealand on the Noordam which is part of Holland America.

Sydney looked amazing! She visited the opera house where she toured the different theatres and was even given the opportunity to sing! Singing there was something to tick off her list of things to do!

After she boarded the Noordam, the ship sailed under the harbour bridge. Now I can see why only certain ships can sail under! It was a bit tight! You could see the people on the bridge waving to the ship guests!

Amazing views of the opera house! Sydney Harbour is the largest port in the world. I didn’t know that.

The first port of call was on the island of Tasmania which is south of Sydney where Jane enjoyed a day trip to an animal sanctuary. All the animals had been rescued and had some issue like a leg missing or they were blind. They were very well looked after. She even saw a Tasmanian devil. They didn’t look like the cartoon character!

A few sea days later and they finally arrived in New Zealand – the first port being Milford Sound which is described as one of the wettest places in the world.

I know what that feels like living in the North of the UK!

There is only one word to describe it.. Spectacular! The fjords, the waterfalls, the cliffs absolutely amazing!

Dunedin was the next port and is the second largest city on the South Island. It is well known for its Scottish heritage and Jane visited a stately home. It was beautiful but had a very sad story of a family who tragically lost their lives to health issues in the early 1900’s.

She also visited Baldwin street which has a 19 degrees angle making it the steepest residential street in the world! Good for the thighs! Don’t think I could live there!

The next port was Christchurch which is the largest on the South Island.

The port was devastated in 2011 by a massive earthquake so the ship took passengers by bus from a port approx an hour away into the city.

The devastation can still be seen in some of the buildings. The beauty of the port can still be experienced and the city remembers with a memorial.

The memorial is 185 different empty white chairs representing the 185 people who lost their lives in the tragedy in St Paul’s church is one of the places Jane visited.   

Have you done a similar cruise to Australia and New Zealand?

What would you recommend for the perfect trip

Are you looking for a cruise? Get in touch if you need help

Thanks for reading

Love Rosie xxx