Tasotter and H will shortly start another boating adventure, but this time swapping Prime Thyme for Le Soleal. Regular followers will recognise the name from a previous cruise around New Zealand, but this time we will be heading south to visit some Subantarctic Islands and the Ross Ice Shelf. As it’s an expedition cruise the zodiacs will take us ashore, and hopefully inspect Scott and Shackleton’s hut. All of this is very weather, ice and Captain permitting though….so fingers crossed. 🤞

We will have a couple of days first in Auckland, then Dunedin staying with last years pet sitters Steve and Lisa, who Cooper and Rosie still love. As usual I’m agonising of the choice of cameras, the harsh conditions, currently -16 degrees, make selection difficult. I’ll need a long telephoto for distant wildlife, wide angle for sweeping panorama’s and I’d like to shoot some film ! More on this later on….I’ve still got a few hours to finalise my thoughts !

We are safely ensconced in the Qantas Club at Heathrow. I’m still in shock at the size of their showers ! Double Nautica’s size and huge cf Prime Thymes….

Hopefully there will be a time to photograph the orchids usually on display at Singapore Airport.

We are sitting in the Aer Lingus lounge at Dublin Airport reflecting upon our last 7 weeks, but first a quick recap on yesterday. Liverpool’s water front and dock areas is truly impressive, with some 38 miles of wharfage.

In the afternoon we took a tour of Port Sunlight, a village built for his workers by William Lever of soap manufacturing fame, and the Lady Lever Art Gallery. This is an outstanding collection of art, furniture and ceramics.

As you can see the collection was stunning, with 8000 pieces on display and another 20000 in reserve. Our last shore excursion concluded with an afternoon tea at a local farm. We finished our cruise on a high, having really enjoyed the itinerary and friendship of fellow travellers. The only downside is of course the travelling to the other side of the world. However we have signed up to 2 big trips next year with an expedition cruise to the Antartica, and a river cruise from Amsterdam to Bucharest. Till then Tas Otter will keep virtual cruising.

Our last day on the cruise was a cracker, but the blog will have to wait till tomorrow as we’ve had to pack tonight and both have colds to improve the flight home…..not. Suffice to say Liverpool didn’t disappoint and we met 4 lovely lads ! I’ll update tomorrow during our numerous transit periods of Dublin-Heathrow-Singapore-Melbourne-Launceston…..some 36 plus hours 😳

We had a late sail out of Belfast last night. The dockyards were still in full swing, I guess they work 24/7…..and Viking Orion was still at her berth with all lights on.

The seas picked up later on and by the time we approached the Isle of Man it was very confused with moderate winds and whitecaps. There was no way we could lower the tenders and the harbour wasn’t big enough for us. So with no free berths in other ports around us it’s a sea day today. Some passengers are a little disgruntled but I wouldn’t have wanted to tender in those seas. Tomorrow we will be at Liverpool, hopefully our last tour to Port Sunshine will be a good one.

It was a beautiful day when we moored up this morning, and it’s only got sunnier and warmer ! The view from our balcony is over the old Harland and Wolfe dry dock with its emblazoned cranes, and the new angular Titanic exhibition center with all its shiny exterior plates.

Today’s tour was to Mount Stewart House and gardens. But first a stop at Stormont House, Northern Ireland’s Parliament House.

Then onto the main attraction. Mount Stewart House is still privately owned and lived in, whilst the National Trust run the gardens. I had heard about them, but they exceeded my expectations.

The sunken garden led into the Italian garden. With partial glimpses of the house and a bewitching array of tropical plants (with the Gulf Streams warming effect), it was a delight to walk around and photograph. The fantastical statues greatly added to it, with naughty monkeys and Dodo’s.

The Italian garden ran into the Peace, Spanish, Mairi gardens and then the Fountain walk. All had a distinct different feel to them.

By now half of our time was up ! We still had a lot more to see, so split up. Hazel “did” the house whilst I continued to roam around the garden. The lake had a circular path around it with paths radiating out to a walled garden, rose garden, family mausoleum and a red squirrel hide (sadly it was too warm/late to see any).

A great morning, but you really needed the whole day to do it justice. The drive back to the ship thru Belfast then showed man’s ugly side with sharply divided communities still evident.

So a great morning ! Sadly all that activity wore me out….we didn’t bother going into town for shopping this afternoon. We have a dinner in the speciality restaurant Toscana tonight, and then only 2 days more cruising before the long haul home.

After yesterdays enforced sea day we were looking forward to land and a shore excursion, Killibegs didn’t disappoint!

We wandered into town with a free morning, it was small but extremely friendly. A local shop provided a few mementoes.

This afternoons tour was to the Wild Sliabh Cliffs, at 601 metres they are the tallest in Europe ! Hosted by Maureen and Peter these 2 sparked off each other, and their passengers providing a lot of laughs. Our first stop was a photo opportunity of where we had entered earlier that morning into a good deep water berth.

As usual the roads were narrow and at one stage the bus and a tourist car got stuck, somebody else got out of their car and drove the car out of the way. The difference between local and tourist drivers was very evident.

We were transported up to the top of the cliffs by a smaller bus, with the local guide breaking out into song at every opportunity, fortunately he had an excellent voice !

I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves, with the perfect weather it made a memorable tour.

Well we had no sea days in our itinerary but the weather had different ideas. Our anchorage spot for today at Galway was too exposed to the Captains liking, so all day tours were cancelled and we sailed on. I think we are taking a roundabout way to our next port, where we will arrive at our planned time. So let’s go for a wander around our ship, Nautica

The ship Nautica

As part of a renovation project in 2014 the Nautica was transformed into a almost new ship and now captivates with the finest elegance as the other fleet members. The decks are made of the finest teak, custom stone coating and high quality tiles. The lounges, suites and cabins aboard this ship are luxurious and feature neo-classical furniture. Four first-class restaurants with free choice of seats and dining time offer exquisite food, eight lounges and bars complete the culinary offer. There is also a fitness center and a spa area aboard Nautica. The 180-meter-long ship accommodates 684 guests at double occupancy. There are few children aboard, there is no childcare. In April 2022 the ship was renovated once again continues cruising with a new design.

Nautica facts

• Year of construction: 2000
• Home port: Majuro
• Length: 181 m
• Tonnage: 30,277
• Speed: 18 knots
• Decks: 11
• Passengers: 684
• Crew: 400
• Language: English
• Currency: US $
• Internet: Wi-Fi (free of charge)

Horizons is a great spot to watch sail always or relax in during Sea days. Home of the afternoon tea and happy hour cocktails before dinner, a favoured spot for us.

The 2 speciality Restaurant’s, Polo Grill and Toscana, are also on the top decks, but pointing aft. Toscana, the Italian themed one is definitely the best in our opinion. Pics to follow when it opens.

The library is a haven of peace and provides a wide range of books to fill in those odd hours when not touring, sleeping and eating. Off the pool deck, 1 small pool and 2 heated jacuzzis, is Waves Bar and Grill, perfect for a burger and drink. That flows into the Terrace Cafe, used for all meals it provides a casual area for eating, a preferred choice for breakfast.

Down to Deck 5 now, with a couple of shops, lots of seating and Grand Staircase to Reception.

You can walk thru Martinis, an evening Piano Bar or the Casino towards the rear of the ship for further dining options.

Baristas provides the best onboard coffee and small snacks. A usual spot for lunch for us rather than going for another meal.

If we are not in a Speciality Restaurant the Grand Dining Room is our preferred choice. Most people get dresssed up, but it’s usually just a jacket, no ties or formal wear is required onboard.

Aft of the ship is the lounge, used for shows and talks we also meet here prior to planned shore excursions. Finally our cabin, which has everything we require including a small veranda.

It was a misty wet day when we dropped anchor at Bantry Bay this morning. Our tour was to the Beara Peninsula, with a couple of stops along the way. Unfortunately the weather deteriorated, so with no photo stops the picture quality is not so good having to shoot thru the coaches windows whilst at speed.

Nevertheless Mary, and her wonderful driver John, made up for it with lots of information and stories. McCarthys Bar in Castletownbere is apparently famous, at least the pit stop facilities were better than yesterday.

We drove on thru some pretty scenery to Kenmare Hotel for coffee and a scone. Much appreciated with the deteriorating weather conditions. Time in town was a bit limited, but Hazel found a few more skeins of a wool/cashmere/silk blend.

The drive back over the mountains would have been even more spectacular if the mist and rain would have stopped !

By the time we got back to the boat the wind had also got up …. tendering is presenting a problem with the Captain having to swing the ship with thrusters whilst at anchor in an effort to present the lee of the ship to the incoming small boats. It could be a little rough tonight as we head further west into the Atlantic rather than the Irish Sea.

We had a late berthing time today, 11pm, so a lie in till 7:30 was in order ! Usually we are up at 6:30 to have brekky and get ready for the 8am shore excursion starts.

Our tour today was a scenic drive to Kinsale and free time in the town. Angela was a great host, whilst Dan “The Man” drove our 45 seat coach, with 18 guests, down some pretty narrow roads.

Kinsale is a pretty, small town unfortunately swamped by traffic and tourists. Norwegian Dawn with 2400 passengers was also moored up and a lot were in Kinsale ! Some of the shops were painted fairly lurid colours and the roads were narrow and twisty. It’s perfectly acceptable to drive on the pavement in an effort to get around parked cars. Coaches just stopped on the road to disgorge passengers as there are no car parks, or toilets..

However Kinsale does have one redeeming featuring, a wool store. We had googled this and made straight for Vivi Trading. Hazel wanted some Irish wool to knit an Aran sweater and found a suitable pattern and wool. This will make an excellent and memorable souvenir.

We had a roundabout drive back along some very narrow roads with views of the lush green countryside. Angela told a few jokes, sang us a song and gave us a blessing along the way, a multi faceted guide to be sure, to be sure.