Programs Blog

Author: Brooke Levan, A Watch, Oberlin College ‘25

Ship’s Log

March 3rd, 2024

Position: Docked, 41° 17.091’S x 174° 46.816’E

Ship’s heading and speed: Not moving, still at Wellington woopwoop

Weather: many, but mostly sunny…until the end with some blustery gusts of
force 9 winds!

Hello hello from across the Pacific O!

We are officially back under way after some very lovely days at port in
Wellington! Some of you may have received special calls with updates galore
of all our adventures–it was so nice to hear from you all back home! After
some days off the blog, I have the daunting task of summarizing what exactly
we all got up to during our busy days in ANZ’s capital. Spoiler, it was a
lot!

March 1st, Day 1:

First day in port, we speedily (yet thoroughly) ran through a field day to
get the ship all spic and span. (I cleaned a side of the Hobart that I think
had been forgotten about for some time–thick dust). We then all prepared to
venture ashore. It was quite the transition leaving our cozy little ship
into a bustling downtown. Everyone was quite impressed with our ship—I was
feeling like a real celebrity as people marveled at our masts and asked to
take pictures. Katie, Bethany, and I quickly set off on our mission to find
a Laundromat. Sleeping bag sacks and backpacks stuffed with our salty
laundry we had a nice jaunt through the city streets before arriving at our
destined location. In between loads we jetted off on some mini
adventures—including our first ice cream on shore! Peppermint and coconut
peanut sesame, sooo yum! We were running on a real laundry high after our
clothes came out. I couldn’t stop smelling how flowery goodness the armpits
of all my shirts now smelt. And so very soft, huzzah! We happened to be
docked close by the annual dragon rowing races that were taking place so we
enjoyed some delicious Thai food at the waterfront and joined the crowds in
cheering on the rowers! I got to end the day with a lovely sunset over the
harbor before heading back to join Ms. Bobby for A watch dock watch.

March 2nd, Day 2:

We had an early start getting off the ship and speedily made our way up up
up the steep hilled neighborhoods to reach a gorgeous Botanical Garden at
the tippity top. It was well worth the hike. There was a lovely rose garden,
various paths, and sculptures to enjoy. The roses not only smelled delicious
but were each donned a special name—best one was a magenta colored rose
named “Hot Pants.” We took the trolley back down the rolling hills, grabbed
a quick, yet tasty lunch, and the jetted off to our tour of ANZ’s Parliament
buildings! I didn’t have many/any expectations going in and was quite
happily surprised by how much fun we all had! (Although I don’t know if
anyone had quite as much fun as Chelsea who seemed to be living out her
government major dreams standing behind the press conference podium!) Best
fact that I learned was that royals can only walk on red carpet thus the
legislation room is decked out with green carpets to keep them from too much
meddling! Also, shout out to our awesome tour guide Liv and the super dinner
recs she gave us J We spent the rest of the day wandering about—this led us
primarily to various book shops, more food (at a place called Abrekebabra),
and more ice cream!

March 3rd, Day 3:

I awoke early this morning to help with A watch morning chores. But this
time as I wiped and sprayed all the handrails and stairs, I felt a little
tingle, something different inside me…why it was the fact that I was a year
older! Woohoo, birthday port day! Leaving behind a clean boat, my super
birthday adventures began with a stop for pastries and coffee before heading
to the highly anticipated Te Papa museum. This national museum is 6 floors
of incredible interactive exhibits that explore ANZ history, environment,
and culture. Some highlights included a super ginormous squid, nature
bushwalk, and section on Maori rowing. Although that is just the small
amount I could get to—after about 5 hours inside I had only seen about 2.5
floors! Once we were thoroughly museumed out we spent the rest of the day
downtown finishing our final shore to-dos—more laundry, snack cravings, more
books, some phone calls etc. By day 3 we were navigating the Wellington
streets like true pros, no maps needed! I ended my day of festivities with a
student family dinner in the park, a ginger beer toast (courtesy of Julia
and Chelsea), and of course…a final ice cream! A huge shout out thank you to
all my shipmates for making me feel so special on my 21st —you are all the
sweetest and made me feel so celebrated!

Next up on the cruise track, Kaikoura! Fingers and toes crossed we see a
whale (we will surely let you all know if we do)!

Cheers!

Brooke Levan, A Watch, Oberlin College ‘25