Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from the Ovation of the Seas! A low-key day of enjoying family and celebrating the birth of Christ our Savior! May He reign forever!

Christmas cookies

Presents from the ship!

The little ones were somewhat disappointed that they were towels and not toys

Time for Christmas dinner

Finally get to wear our formal gear!!!

Nana and grandpa

Oma and Opa

Picton

SUN...the next thing that the family wanted to kiss. After seemingly days of grey skies, wind or rain...we were greeted with sunny blue skies. We loved Picton already! The group split up. Those who managed to palm off their young children went on a kayaking and walking tour. We reconvened for a picnic lunch before returning to enjoy the ship's facilities. Did I already mention that we really missed the sun? Yay sun!

I guess timber is an important industry here!

Sunglasses = sun!

Ready to hit the water!

The gorgeous harbour

We looked uncoordinated but we weren't really. Dwarfed by the ship in the background...

Time for a walk!

Our walking track

Jonah loved it!

Kiwi rehabilitation

Beautiful views from the top

Family photo with blue skies!

One of the many man made nests to help the birds

Hard to see but there is a chick in there! Spotted by Jonah

Summer blooms

Time for lunch

Like seagulls at the fishmarket. It was chaos!

Sun means warm enough for ice-cream!

It is almost like we have never seen the sun before...

SUNSHINE!!!!

Wellington

LAND...something most of the group could have kissed!

The ship managed to docked in Wellington, the windy city. It certainly lived up to its name! The family boldly battled the blustery conditions exploring the city before returning to the port for our afternoon Lord of the Rings tour. This was highlight for many. Even for those who were not big fans of the Lord of the Rings movies, a quick visit to the Mt Victoria lookout allowed an appreciation of the beauty of the Wellington and its harbour. The tour moved on to filming locations of several famous scenes before finishing off at Weta – the company who designed and fabricated almost everything Middle-earth.

Hang on to your hats!

Let's go up!

We travel with our own crowds...

I'm sure we filled up nearly the whole car

Made it to the top!

The family!

Yes we are self respecting Chinese who have an inbuilt homing beacon to chinese food

Shopping. Finally the olds are happy

Last minute snacks

On to the next tour!

Our private minivan tour. The joys of travelling with numbers!

Wellington

View is still good even when windy

Time to hit the LOTR locations

You could do this walk yourself potentially, but the photos from the movie helped alot!

As you do...you try to re-enact the scene

Gollum

Oma loved Gandalf