DAY 5 Saturday 4 April Wings over Wanaka Air Show

 Today was predicted to be wet and cold with a good wind chill factor.

Elizabeth opted not to come, as did a number of our tour buddies. She went into town for breakfast.

There was a display of vintage cars and tractors.

There were some strange aircraft types. Republic RC-3 Seebee.

It was cold but except for a few spits at 3.00 pm, it was a good day.

Having problems uploading the videos =at the moment.

DAY 4 Friday 3 April Wings over Wanaka Air Show

Our Gold Passes gave us a grandstand viewing. This was a practice day but it was still exciting. The mountain backdrop made for an impressive setting.

Four US jet training fighters were in town. Because of the war in Iran, the visit by the USAF 

 F-22 Raptor was cancelled, as was the NZ air force's contribution.

Below are some Yak-52s.

DAY 3 Thursday 2 April Dunedin to Queenstown

 

Dunedin has the steepest street in the world but the photo does not do it justice.

Christchurch Railway Station is very ornate.  A heritage train was getting ready to depart.

At Lanarch Castle we had a tour, followed by a high tea in the ballroom.

The gardens were lovely too.

There was an opportunity to visit the district museum at Arrowtown, which was a gold mining town.

Moa Skeleton or bits of it anyway.

Queenstown in the twilight. We walked the 20 minutes into town and had a kebab.

DAY 2 Wednesday 1 April Christchurch to Dunedin

.

RNZAF Museum Wigram

An ejector seat.

-

As part of the behind-the-scenes tour, we saw what had to be restored.  Good luck with that one! Often they have to hand machine all new items.

Chris, our tour guide's father flew spitfires in World War Two and his Dad is featured in this display.

We stopped in the afternoon at Oamaru, a very attractive sea side town.  It had been a very rich town in the past, with many beautiful stone buildings.  Most have since been repurposed.

Original town hall.

War memorial and church.

What had been the ANZ Bank...very impressive and not just for the blue skies.

The Steampunk Museum which is a Victorian industrial fantasy world. We did not have time to go inside. 

-

DAY 1 Tuesday 31 March Brisbane to Christchurch.

A fairly seamless day although our flight was late in departure with a blocked toilet but they made up the time. A problem free transit to the hotel with our guide for the evening, Lynn who taught 4-year-olds during the day. We met our tour buddies, all Australians and had a nice three course meal.

Day 23 Friday 13 February Cape Horn to Ushuaia

 The last day of our incredible journey.  We sailed past Cape Horn and into the Beagle Channel, like so many explorers before us.

                      The iconic Cape Horn

                      Entering the Beagle Channel as viewed from the Explorer's Lounge.

                       Stephen's final lunch of a Viking burger.

Viking Octantis arrived in Ushuaia at about 7.00pm.  We were able to go ashore and have a quick walk around.

                                 A memorial to the Malvinas (Falklands War).

A monument to Adrien de Gerlache celebrating his achievements.  He was the Commander of the "Belgica" and his expedition discovered an important part of the Antarctic Peninsula and was the first to winter in the Antarctic (His ship was trapped in ice).  Amundsen and Dr Cook were on this expedition.  A fascinating tale revealed in "Madhouse at the End of the World".

Captain Joergen Cardestig had summed up our incredible journey.  We had sailed 3,295 nautical miles.  We had journeyed as far as 64 degrees 28 minutes south  (the furthest south the Octantis had ever sailed).

Our return to Australia involved flights from Ushuaia to Buenos Aires (overnight at the Hilton), then to Santiago, then our long flight to Sydney and finally our return to Brisbane.

Day 22 Thursday 12 February Drake Passage

 A two day journey across the Drake passage - Drake Shake or Drake Lake ??  It was somewhere in between.  The Captain claimed it was quite a smooth crossing!

Drake Passage from the Explorer's Lounge.

There was a wonderful farewell reception in the late afternoon.  Many of the staff were rightfully praised for their dedication to making this a most fantastic adventure for all.

It has truly been a most magical experience.