Tag: New Zealand

Wooden Ships (4 – final) The Lighthouse at Possibility’s End

The flight from Montreal had been short and pleasant. Through the aircraft’s small window, the pastoral landscape of Prince Edward Island (PEI) was expanding into detailed view as our plane from Montreal jostled with the final air currents and descended to land at Charlottetown, the island’s capital. Below us stretched the gentle hills and estuaries of PEI, many of which we would encounter, albeit … Read More Wooden Ships (4 – final) The Lighthouse at Possibility’s End

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Wooden Ships (1)

It was Easter Sunday, 20th April, 2025. Bernie had cooked us a fabulous Sunday lunch, now finished, leaving us relaxed and reflective. . We had three guests; our longstanding friends and fellow dog-owners Siobhan and Paul, and a visiting new friend of theirs from New Zealand – Russ -who is pivotal to the rest of this true story. Although you might have good reason … Read More Wooden Ships (1)

Sound of the Primeval

The grey dawn was breaking around the huge ship. It’s not a boat, Captain Thassos had explained. A ship is much bigger than a boat… you can fit several boats into a ship. Later on in the cruise he would provide a wonderful illustration of this. For now we were about to have an experience of a lifetime, and it was ironic that the … Read More Sound of the Primeval

Waving from the Shore

One of the most wonderful moments on our cruise around New Zealand, so far, was when we were leaving the estuary at Dunedin. Bernie and I were sitting on our balcony, watching the soft green hills passing by as the giant ship gained speed towards the open sea. Just ahead of us was a promontory that jutted out in to the waterway. There was … Read More Waving from the Shore