February 23, 2014. The Queen Elizabeth. Tauranga, New Zealand.

We have arrived in New Zealand. It took us quite a while, but now we are here. The day is beautiful, sunny and breezy with a clear blue sky overhead. Our ship is docked at the city of Tauranga, on the north island. Everyone else on the ship is exploring, but Ken and I stayed on board. We will be in New Zealand for a month and will return to this place twice during our visit. Today at lunch, Ken and I were the only people in our dining room. I am prone to be sick at sea. There is something about the rolling of the ship that makes me queasy. We have just completed three journeys on ships and I have not been ill. The mind is a wonderful thing. Ken bought medication and bracelets to prevent nausea. For the first two days out of Miami, the ship rocked and rolled and I felt sure I would get sick, but I took out a pressure bracelet and put it on. Ken read the directions carefully and within thirty minutes all my symptoms disappeared. From then on, I wore my trusty bracelet every time we were at sea. I have no clue whether the bracelet actually worked or whether my mind just thought it worked, but no matter, I wore my bracelet and all was well. I will never leave shore without it. I must note that the Pacific Ocean was calm too!! Tomorrow we arrive in Auckland, our destination. We will leave our comfortable cabin to tour New Zealand, travelling with our own guide who will drive the car and tell us about New Zealand. Then we see Gill in Christchurch, which was the purpose for the journey. It has taken us many years to get to New Zealand, but we have arrived. We are delighted to be here.