R. Doug Wicker's Blog, page 77

Circumnavigating New Zealand — Rotorua Hot Springs at Whakarewarewa

Rotorua geothermal hot springs

We departed Napier and headed north some 278 nautical miles/320 statute miles/515 kilometers for Majestic Princess’ next New Zealand port of call, Tauranga. Here we had a long day ahead of us, for once again Ursula had us booked on a tour. One stop this day was at the Rotorua geothermal area, which is within the Whakarewarewa Living Māori Village.

Rotorua geothermal hot springs

Here, along the Whaka Geothermal Trails, you’ll find everything from bubbling ...

Fun Photo Friday — Circumnavigating New Zealand; Napier Favorites 3

Lofty Lion

A Fun Photo Friday last look of beautiful Napier before we head out next week to our next circumnavigation destination — Rotorua geothermal parks, Maori Culture Centre, and various places near our destination port of Tauranga, New Zealand.

Circumnavigating New Zealand — Napier; Enjoying Random Sights

Hawke’s Bay Club (fourth oldest club in New Zealand)

I’ve already described for you in this series the various areas Ursula and I walked in Napier. So, today, we’re just going to look at random photos from this trip:

Circumnavigating New Zealand — Napier Classic Cars

Proud Austin owner

We lucked out on this visit to Napier, as we had on a previous trip to Curaçao (see: Cruising for Classic Cars in Curaçao) and stumbled upon some real automotive beauties. But unlike our classic run-in in Curaçao, these examples for the most part predated Ursula and I by a few decades.

OLDsmobile

As such, I won’t even hazard a guess as to the years and models of the cars you’ll see today, except to say that most appear to date back to the 1920s and 1930s.

Hupmobil...

Washington, D.C. Seditious Insurrection — a letter to my Senator Ted Cruz

9 January 2021

The Honorable Ted Cruz
United States Senator for Texas
United States Senate
404 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

Dear Senator Cruz:

I am a proud American patriot who, over the course of my 34 years, five months of government service, have taken three times the oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States of America. The first time was upon my military enlistment. The second was during my reenlistment. The third and final time was upo...

Postponement of This Week’s Series of New Zealand Articles

Recent events have overtaken even this blog. As such, this week’s continuation of my series on circumnavigating New Zealand is now rescheduled to resume on Monday, 18 January 2021.

I cannot in good conscience continue as though nothing has happened, for indeed something profound, historic, and devastating to our nation and our international standing did in fact occur. Therefore, for the first week since I started this blog nine years ago, there will not be the usual three or more articles...

Fun Photo Friday — Circumnavigating New Zealand; Napier Favorites 2

National Aquarium sculpture

It’s Fun Photo Friday, and here are my Part 2 picks of Napier favorites:

Circumnavigating New Zealand — Napier Architectural Detail

Napier, New Zealand

Believe it or not, Napier is known as the Art Deco Capital of the World (although, for my money, Miami Beach deserves a shot at that title as well). You may think that strange that a city founded in the middle of the 19th century would find fame in the Art Deco movement that came to prominence in the 1930s, but there’s a reason.

Art Deco inspired building

This seeming incongruity derives from an event that occurred on 3 February 1931 — the devastating Magnitude 7.9 H...

Circumnavigating New Zealand — Napier’s Sunken Gardens

Napier Sunken Gardens

Today we backtrack a little from our first look at downtown Napier by going back to our northbound trek along Marine Parade and the shoreline. Just before reaching downtown you’ll stumble across Napier’s Sunken Gardens. As you can tell from the right side of the photo below, the gardens truly are ‘sunken’, in that they reside below Marine Parade street level. This provides one with a sense of removal from the bustling city just a short distance away.

Napier Sunken Gar...

Fun Photo Friday — Circumnavigating New Zealand; Napier Favorites 1

Buick Roadmaster with some Chicago-style

Here is today’s gallery of Napier favorites: