Six, no wait, five more days at sea. Back to our routine of working out, attending lectures & musical performances, looking for sea life & birds, reading, crocheting, playing games, and consuming great food and wine.

We “lost” one of those days as we crossed the International Date Line. And, of course, we had to have a big party to celebrate the event. Truthfully, we did not cross the IDL on the 27th as the certificate indicates, or even the 29th as Viking originally told us. It was more like the 30th, but because they had to pick a date when planning the cruise, the 28th at 2 am was their best guess. To have done it any other way would have caused serious computer problems. Besides, if you’re in the middle of the ocean and decide to lose a day, does anyone really care?!

On January 26th, we attended the Australia Day Celebration. Our new Aussie friends let us crash the party. The fare included Lamington cake, Anzac biscuits, Vegemite sandwiches, and lemon-lime & bitters to drink. All in all, a good get together. Although only one Vegemite sandwich was consumed by us....

This week’s lectures included:
• What Does It Mean to Be 2% Neanderthal? – Dr. Lisa Matisoo-Smith
• The Kon-Tiki Expedition – Geoff Peters
• History of New Zealand – Dr. Robb Robinson
• Japanese Perspectives on the Pacific War – Dr. Joseph Kess
• The Opal – Nature’s Rainbow Gem – Mariana Cestellos (our jeweler)
• Navy Enlisted Men & Women in the Pacific War – Bruce Petty
• The Longest Journey: from Africa to Aotearoa (New Zealand) – Dr. Lisa
• The Natural History of New Zealand – Robin Petch
• Pacific War Heroes -Ordinary People Who Did the Extraordinary – Russell Lee
• The Voyages of La Pérouse – Geoff Peters
• Iconic Species: Awesome Albatross – Robin Petch
• Mutiny on the Batavia – Geoff Peters

The entertainment included:
• The Voice of Legends – NZ Singer/Entertainer Chris Powley
• Prince of the Violin - Australian Patrick Roberts – he just returned from a live performance with Sting and his Classical Crossover album, Fragile, featuring Sting & Tommy Emmanuel, debuted at No. 1.
• Viking Neptune Vocalists – Stage Door (songs from Broadway & the West End) – we knew all of them except one – “Rhythm of Life” from Sweet Charity. These four performers (Shane, Eliza, Miaya, & Aaron) are as good as any of the big-name entertainers brought on board.

On to (not so) dry land in Aotearoa/New Zealand!