Walk On Program

I've been on the waiting list for the Walk On Program for about six months and this month I've started the program. My initial assessment which was videoed, established a base line and will be done again in three months to see if there is an improvement. It is a new way of exercising where my trainers try to activate nerves that have been "asleep" for two years. Many exercises are very repetitive so that helps these inactive nerves to find new pathways. I am pleasantly surprised at how well I can do some exercises, but of course there is a lot of hard work ahead to reach my first goal - to lift my knees. I am enjoying the program and feel very positive about it.

Returning to Brisbane

Wednesday 9 February 2011

Quiet day as we are sailing away from New Zealand. The weather was overcast and raining so an indoors day. We had lunch in dining room and I sat next to a very loud young woman. I was glad to end that meal! We read, had a nap then went to Dome for a drink then we went to dinner. A couple at our table, Max and Roslyn who told us all about getting Max's mother into a nursing home. They used a broker to find something suitable. Enjoyed the meal.

Thursday was another quiet day as we sail across the Tasman getting closer to home. The weather started out sunny then went cloudy. We spent most of time between cabin and dining room. I was reading and Terry went to gym later in afternoon. The breakfast and lunch was quite disappointing today. We had dinner again with Spike and Eunice. Pleasant evening. We got some information on the disembarking process. Friday was much the same as Thursday. We put our bags out in the evening, keeping a back pack to carry off ship. Our departure on Saturday morning went quite smoothly. A Taxi Marshall got us a maxi taxi and we were home late morning.

Auckland

Tuesday 8 February 2011

Woke as we were docking in Auckland Harbour. Overcast early then turned into lovely sunny day. We went for a ride on the Explorer bus which stopped at nine significant locations around Auckland including Parnell Rose Gardens, Auckland Museum and Sky Tower. The tour took about an hour and cost $20.00 each. We opted to stay on board till the bus returned to the Ferry Building where we had lunch at Cin Cin on Quay. As we walked along the footpath beside the Quay there was a toddler being pushed in his pram by what looked to be his grandfather. He gave me a sweet smile, which I returned, as if to say “Isn't this fun being pushed along.” Quite hot by then and we returned to the ship for an afternoon nap. Left the ship again at 6.15 pm to meet Tony and Sandra Hurt for dinner. We had dinner at another restaurant on the Quay and enjoyed catching up with Tony and Sandra. They’ve had some health issues recently as well – a mark of our age. Tony turns 65 next month and he's still working. He's a plumber and Sandra does the books. It was a nice balmy evening with a cool breeze. They walked us back to the ship and we boarded about 10.30 pm and were surprised to see passengers leaving the ship at that time, considering the “all aboard” time was 11.30 pm.

Mount Maunganui

Monday 7 February 2011

Arrived early at Tauranga Harbour. It's the "gateway" to Rotorua, which we'd seen before. Mid-morning we walked around the beach and township of Mount Maunganui which was very pleasant. The weather was overcast and warm. The footpaths were quite good. We had lunch at a cafe in town then walked back to the ship. Later in the afternoon we went up to deck 14 to see more of the harbour and Tauranga which was quite extensive. We had a drink in the Dome. The ship started leaving about 6.30 pm and we went down to dinner. We shared a table with eight widows from Warwick aged in their 70s and 80s. The theme tonight was “island”. I wore a lae as a concession to this, but these ladies went the whole hog and they looked great and you could see they were having a wonderful time and would be partying on. Kicking myself I didn’t have my camera with me.

Napier

Sunday 6 February 2011

Warm sunny day. We got a shuttle bus to downtown Napier. We walked around the town, stopped in a beautiful park. We visited the Art Deco shop but they didn't have any of the Art Deco T-shirts that we saw last time. We bought a couple of T-shirts at a NZ souvenir shop. We stopped for a cold drink at a cafe. Tried to use Wifi but gave up. Walked along foreshore which was built on the debris of the 1931 earthquake. Got shuttle bus back to ship. Had a long nap, Terry went to the gym. Had dinner with Margaret and Deidre who have been friends since high school, interesting conversation. After dinner we went up on deck 14 to watch the sun set.

Wellington

Saturday 5 February 2011

Little sleep-in, tired. We're in Wellington and the weather looks miserable. Late morning we got shuttle bus in to city. Walked around a bit. Did a tour of Parliament House, which was very impressive – stunning building. Then looked for food and had nice burgers at a cafe. We found there were heaps of people, old and young who were dressed in the whackiest costumes walking around. We got cable car to top of mountain and a volunteer lady there, Frances, told us about the costumes phenomenon. She said about 10 years ago when the Rugby 7s began in Wellington, a few people wore the same shirts so they'd be able to see each other and from there it just grew till everyone gets into a party spirit and wears these outrageous costumes. They all looked like they were having so much fun. This event is held annually in Wellington and Frances said this is the first time in 10 years that 7s weekend has not been warm and sunny. Just our luck. Got back on bus to return to ship. There was an internet cafe set up at the dock, so I spent 20 mins checking emails and Facebook.

Akaroa

Friday 4 February 2011

We arrived at the port of Akaroa this morning (about two hour's drive from Christchurch). It's a beautiful sunny day. This was a volcano in ancient times and when part of it broke, it allowed the sea in, so it's a lovely sheltered harbour. We had breakfast with two former nurses, Pauline and Margaret. Terry went off to do a catamaran cruise. I went to the Dome to read and returned to cabin for a while, then went to lunch. Sat at a table with a number of people, only name I can remember is Maureen. Terry returned from his cruise saying he enjoyed it very much. He saw small dolphins (smallest in the world – only 1 metre) and also small penguins. The seals were a no show today. We had a nap and went to the Dome and listened to the trivia competition. I had another Toblerone cocktail – probably not good for me, but I enjoyed it. We had dinner on our own again and I wondered whether we'd been deliberately isolated. Terry enquired, but there was a misunderstanding about the booking, so they weren't trying to isolate us. We then went to a show, a cabaret singer, who wasn't impressive, so we left early and went to bed.

Dunedin

Thursday 3 February 2011

We berthed at Port Chalmers in Otago Bay. We slept in after difficult night. Too late for dining room breakfast, so went to buffet on level 12, which was good. We got a shuttle bus which had a disabled entry, to Dunedin. We walked up and down a few streets, had lunch at a cafe then went to the Art Gallery which had some wonderful paintings. When we left there it was raining lightly. We passed a young bagpipe player busking near the tourist buses. We lined up for a bus back, as the rain increased. We had to wait for three buses before one came with disabled access. Pleasant drive back, quite enjoyed the day. Had dinner, just the two of us, in an area partitioned off from main dining room, had a lovely bottle of red wine, very pleasant evening.