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sea of love
Volcanoes, earthquakes, a Tsunami warning and an eccentric German captain who looked like a famous TV cop. These were just some of the surprises awaiting Golf Vacations editor Jon Underwood on a gourmet golf cruise in New Zealand.
Consider this for a moment. Golfers spend their entire lives trying to avoid water. The stuff has ruined many a good round. Yet here I was, about to join 77 other passengers, most of them golfers, aboard the cruise ship Orion ready to take “a path less travelled.”
We’d been promised fine dining, excellent wine, great sightseeing and, of course, golf at some of the best courses New Zealand could offer. But would it live up to such great expectations?
DAY ONE - CHRISTCHURCH
Arrived at Christchurch Airport to be met by tour organisers Glenn and Gayle Hedley. Everyone seems friendly but at this stage it’s all a bit quiet. A nervous expectancy fills the air. Reminds me of the first day at ‘big’ school.
We board the courtesy bus for a scenic trip through downtown Christchurch before arriving at Lyttleton Harbour. It’s going to be something of a unique experience for all of us. This is the first gourmet golf cruise on Orion that our ebullient and ever-friendly hosts have organised.
My bags disappear from sight, later to re-appear in my cabin. It’s a similar story with the golf bags because on this cruise, they’re taken care of at every course we visit. Ready and waiting when you arrive, collected and transported to the next destination when you leave.
My stateroom is impressively spacious and incredibly comfortable. A big double bed dominates but doesn’t cramp the living area while the bathroom is small but functional, with a great shower. There’s a TV, DVD and big writing desk.
Then it’s time for the ‘setting sail’ party. It’s truly amazing how two common interests – golf and champagne – help make complete strangers old friends in an instant.
I meet all kinds of people. Bill and Lyn David from Narrewarren South in Melbourne are seasoned travellers – they’re heading to Russia later in the year and Lyn eventually wants to cruise around the world.
But the biggest surprise comes when the captain takes the microphone. How to describe Steffen Friedrich? He looks a bit like Starsky from Starsky and Hutch and has completely missed his vocation. Should he ever give up the sea, a fabulous career as a nightclub comedian awaits. He’s the funniest German I’ve met in a long time.
And so to the second very good reason to join this golfing/gourmet cruise. The food. All the dinners are crafted by Serge Dansereau of Sydney’s famous Bathers’ Pavilion restaurant. And all dinners on board are accompanied by a complimentary and generous supply of quality wines from New Zealand and Australia.
I opt for spinach-ricotta ravioli with pancetta cream, garlic and chervil parmesan cheese, followed by olive oil roasted pork rack chop, with lyonnaise potatoes, garden veggies and a yummy thyme and lemon sauce.
There’s just enough room left for a delicious vanilla bean & lavender pannacotta with a fresh summer berry and mint sauce.
Tonight’s wine selection is a cheeky Whitehaven sauvignon blanc or elegant Bunnamagoo cabernet-sauvignon. If this is the quality of food and wine we’re in for, my waist is going to blow out as fast as my handicap.
Replete and totally in love with the sea, I waddle off to bed. Is the ship lurching a little more than usual...or is it just me?
DAY TWO – WELLINGTON
New Zealand’s capital is named after Arthur Wellesley, the first Duke of Wellington and hero of the Battle of Waterloo. It also goes by the nicknames The Harbour Capital (because of the harbour), Wellywood (because of Peter ‘Lord of the Rings’ Jackson and now Avatar) and the Windy City (because of the wind).
Michael Deaker is the on-board expert in all things Kiwi. He informs us that Wellington sits on a major fault and is geologically unstable. “An earthquake will hit Wellington at some point. We just don’t know when,” he tells us, somewhat less than reassuringly.
Hopefully it won’t be anytime soon because Wellington is a delight, weather-permitting. It is a compact, boutique capital full of cafes, nightlife and a thriving arts scene. Sadly, I don’t have long to hang around because for the first time since packing them into the travel bag, I‘m about to wield my golf clubs in anger.
Royal Wellington was founded in 1895 and received the ‘royal’ tag in 2004. Sited at Heretaunga, about 20 minutes north of the city, it has been a regular host of the New Zealand Open.
We’re off the white tees, which cuts the course down to a manageable 5,696 metres, while the ladies are off the yellows (5,195 metres). RW also has blue tees, which extends it out to 6,249m, but the par-72 remains the same. With several doglegs, you do have to shape the ball both ways and sometimes can bite off more than you need from the tee.
But the reason Royal Wellington is considered one of New Zealand’s prettiest courses is the trees. All 2,000 of them! There are more than 100 different varieties and the words ‘tree-lined’ simply don’t do it justice.
The stretch between the 165-metre, downhill par-three third, and the 478-metre par-five seventh were my pick. In between you play the prettiest hole on the course – the 338-metre par-4 fourth. Drive away from the water running down the left but watch out for the narrow landing area with trees on the right ready to gobble up the greedy golfer. Then it’s a precise second into a green protected at the front by a pond. Anything left here swims with the fishes.
This is a scenic, easy-walking course, with a premium on crisp ball striking to beautifully manicured, fast-paced greens. It’s not a gung-ho, in-your-face type of course that’s designed to bring golfers to their knees. Royal Wellington is a grand old lady who warrants respect in a world of big hitting and even bigger courses.
DAY THREE – SHIP COVE
Captain Cook visited Ship Cove on all three of his voyages to New Zealand, using it as a base to take on fresh water. Unfortunately, he also introduced goats, pigs and (unknowingly) rats to the area, which have devastated the native habitat. I guess he couldn’t be good at everything.
It’s a free day onboard so I decide to explore more of the ship. The Orion is basically a floating hotel, complete with boutique, gym, spa, sauna and hairdressing salon. There’s a jacuzzi on the back deck providing a cooling dip or a warming soak. The ship has a more than adequate library and DVD collection (I note they have ‘Titanic’ which seems a little inappropriate).
Massages are available and come with enticing names like ‘Aphrodite for the Day’, ‘Kimberley Radiance’, ‘Antarctic Explorer’, and ‘Melanesian Magic’.
My particular favourite is the ‘Papua New Guinea Mud Man Wrap’, which despite its name works for both sexes. A dry brush exfoliation invigorates the skin before warm, mineral rich mud infused with coconut oil and botanical extracts is painted on your body. Heated towels help infuse the nutrients into your skin while you enjoy a scalp massage. Then a warm shower, a moisturising massage, and your skin feels supple and soft. The perfect way to spend 105 minutes....and $180.
DAY FOUR – NAPIER
No one is taking much notice of the activity going on around us as we arrive at busy Napier harbour. The talk is about what lies ahead: Cape Kidnappers.
Many writers have waxed lyrical about Cape Kidnappers (Golf Vacations Oct-Dec 2009 ) . Like an art critic reviewing the Mona Lisa, this kind of course is what golf writers live for.
Tom Doak’s masterpiece sits some 250-metres above the Pacific in Hawke’s Bay. From the air, it looks like a giant has raked his fingers through the land, creating soaring cliffs and plunging valleys. From the aerial pictures, you’d swear someone had photo-shopped a course onto the land.
But therein lies the genius of Doak. He hasn’t tried to force his course on the environment, rather used his incredible vision to shape the holes over, around and down the existing landscape. It truly is a modern work of golfing art.
Today a light northerly is blowing, instead of the more prevalent southerly that can really sharpen the par-71 course’s teeth. We’re also off the green tees (5,708 metres as opposed to 6,532 off the blues). The ladies will play from the yellows at a more favourable 4,739 metres (5,310 from the reds).
A caddy is well worth the investment if you’re coming here for the first time. Because Doak is also a master of illusion. Too often you stand on the tee and can’t believe how small the landing area looks. Too often, when you get to your ball, you can’t believe how big it actually is. One round simply isn’t enough at Cape Kidnappers.
One of my partners is John Hamm, who’s come from America to join the Orion. He’s travelling with wife Joanna, who’s hoping to become Mayor of San Francisco. John is already impressed with the course but it’s the par-3 sixth that really blows his socks off.
With a nose bleed inducing drop on the left and the wind blowing straight into the face, ‘Gulley’ is just plain scary, even off our forward tee of 174-metres. A hook shot here and you’ll need a submarine to find your ball. Truly one of the great par threes of the world, you’ll remember it for the rest of your life.
Called ‘Pirates Plank,’ the 15th is the signature hole. This monster par five (594-metres off the blue tees, 503 off the green) plays straight out to sea and into a strong headwind you’d almost need a taxi to reach the green in regulation. And all of this with a 140-metre cliff to your left and a 20-metre drop on the right. It’s like playing golf on a highwire, but without a safety net.
As John Hamm comments so succinctly: “This is all the par five you can eat.”
Cape Kidnappers is a tough but hugely impressive course that’s always in immaculate condition. Ball control is at a premium, whether with driver or iron, while correct placement on the greens is essential, with putts against the grain giving a distinct advantage, allowing you to make a firmer stroke.
And the fairways are simply superb. As one player remarks: “You just want to lie down and hug them.”
DAY FIVE – NAPIER
One of the best things about touring with Events Worldwide and Orion is they provide plenty of entertainment for the non-golfers. So I figured a day with the wives and ‘Light Golfers’ would be both an enjoyable and informative experience.
I wasn’t wrong. We started the day with a tour around Napier. Mother Nature can be cruel when she wants and at 10.47am on February 3rd, 1931, she did her best to wipe Napier from the map. A devastating earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter Scale effectively flattened the city and the resulting fires razed what was left.
But by early 1933 the town had largely been re-built in the style of the time – Art Deco. So today, almost 80 years after it became fashionable, it’s possible to walk down the streets of Napier and imagine you’re on the set of a Charlie Chaplin movie.
The Hawke’s Bay Museum and Art Gallery has an ever-changing range of exhibits but the 1931 earthquake dominates. Graphic photos capturing the aftermath of that dreadful day when 162 people were killed in Napier alone bring home the sheer scale of the disaster.
Spirits would be raised – literally – at our next stop. Craggy Range is one of the best wineries in the Hawke’s Bay region, if not the whole country. Not surprising really, as chief viticulturist Steve Smith was recently voted one of the top 50 most influential wine makers in the world. He certainly knows a claret from a bordeaux.
A tasting just whetted the appetite for lunch in the renowned Terroir restaurant. The organic roasted chicken breast with baba ganouch, spiced lentils and preserved lemon was simply delicious. All ably complimented by generous helpings of the local wine. Accommodation is available and if you’re looking for a great long weekend, put this somewhere near the top of the list.
DAY SIX – THE BAY OF PLENTY
A rest day so I visit the bridge for another encounter with our comical captain, Steffen Friedrich. Among all the high-tech equipment, he has a stuffed koala, a book of Aussie slang words and a fake steering wheel. There’s even a golf ball attached to one of his navigation aids. This is a man who dares to be different, even aboard a $100million dollar ship.
The Orion passes by White Island, an uninhabited complex of two overlapping volcanoes that lies about 50kms from the small town of Whakatane on the east coast of the North Island. As we cruise slowly past, it’s possible to look right into the heart of the steaming crater and smell the sulphur coming from within. It’s a truly awesome sight, with the volcano rim towering some 312 metres above us.
Amazingly, people did try and mine the sulphur here. But in 1914, the crater wall collapsed and 10 miners working underneath disappeared forever. In fact the only survivor was the camp cat called Peter the Great, who presumably used up all nine of his lives that day.
DAY SEVEN – WHANGAROA
Now I’ve been known to wear some outrageous golf attire. My red and yellow striped trousers were the stuff of legend in the 80s. But I have never travelled to the course in a lifejacket, nor arrived in a rubber dinghy. Yet this is the case as we leave Orion and head to Kauri Cliffs.
We’re hitting from the green tees (5,560 metres), although the course does have white (5,930) and blue (6,510) to choose from. The ladies will be off the yellows (4,476metres) but also have red (5,261) for the bigger hitters.
My esteemed colleague Paul Myers has already eulogised about Kauri Cliffs (Golf Vacations, Oct-Dec 2009) so I won’t go over old ground. Suffice to say that while Cape Kidnappers may be tougher and more intimidating, I think Kauri Cliffs has it covered in terms of sheer beauty.
Designer David Harman, who died of cancer in 2008, made 46 trips from his home in Florida to work on the course. I can think of no finer legacy than this par-72, championship course. Kauri Cliffs has a serious WOW factor.
The tee on the par three 14th offers possibly the best views on a golf course I’ve ever seen. It’ll take you a long time to get ready to hit the downhill tee shot to a green that’s fairly generous, but into the wind you’ll be hitting anything from wedge to 5-iron. Miss the green left and your ball can pack the sunscreen because next stop is the beach below.
And just when you think it can’t get any better, you find out that the 14th is just the appetiser. The stretch from 14 to 18 is, in my golfing career, the best five holes in a row ever built.
‘Cook’s Hook’ offers the toughest drive on the course, with a massive gully left, trees right and a narrow landing zone. This par-five 15th rewards longer hitters who cut the corner, but most will have to lay up, before turning sharp left to a green below your feet.
There just aren’t enough superlatives to describe Kauri Cliffs. Sure, the fairways are wider and more forgiving than Kidnappers, but it’s still an intimidating test, made more so by the ever-distracting vistas that assault the eyes at every turn. And it’s one of very few courses I’ve tackled where you have to play a variety of shots with the same club. High, low, knock-down, chip and run. This course demands them all.
Whatever your holiday plans in the next few months, take a good, hard look at coming to Kauri Cliffs.
Having had such a great day on a superb golf course, I was going to skip the evening entertainment, which would have been a pity. The ship’s crew had organised a show and some of the performances were sensational. Believe me, until you’ve seen a Malaysian bosun pretending to be Tom Jones and belting out ‘Delilah’, you haven’t lived.
DAY EIGHT – WHANGAROA
There’s nothing like a tsunami warning to get you out of bed in the morning.
A massive earthquake off the coast of Chile has sent ripples through the Pacific Ocean and could reach us at any moment. Hotel manager Tracey Greiner informs us that the local jetty will be closing at 8am. That means they’ve only got 15 minutes to get those who want to go ashore off the ship.
A small group, including yours truly, decide to stay on board and ride out any incoming danger. Captain Steffen informs us that the tsunami is supposed to hit between 8.30am and 9am. We sit on the back deck, watching and waiting. Des Whybird is still wearing his lifejacket, even though he’s chosen to stay on board. Maybe he’s got the right idea...
Fortunately, the lifeboats weren’t needed and disaster didn’t strike. Still, it made for plenty of talk during our final dinner and trophy presentations. Retired exploration geologist Michael Tuite from Perth carried off first prize while Denise Robinson from Wales took the ladies’ trophy.
DAY NINE - AUCKLAND
And so, some 975kilometres from Christchurch, we arrive at our final destination. This has been my first cruise and I can see now why so many people like to holiday at sea. Once you board the ship, everything is laid on and you can visit different places without having to check in at airports and worry about your luggage. And on this cruise, all the golf is booked and the clubs are looked after.
But the greatest memory you take away from a cruise is the people you meet. Onboard a ship, the passengers and crew become a mini family, listening to each other’s stories and sharing experiences. And some of the people you meet become good friends, which simply makes you want to do it all over again.
at a glance
Accommodation: Orion has 53 staterooms (4 Owner’s suites, 6 French Balcony suites, 2 Deluxe suites, 19 Junior suites and 22 Oceanview staterooms.)
www.orionexpeditions.com
Orion expedition cruises. 1300 361 012 Future gourmet golf cruises: The Best of Vietnam, Nov 9-18, 2011; The Best of Borneo, Feb 26-Mar 6, 2011. www.gourmetgolftours.com
Events Worldwide. 1300 788 666
or +61 (3) 5989 7596.
Green fees: Royal Wellington. NZ residents with member: $NZ60. NZ residents unaccompanied by a member: $NZ80. International visitors accompanied by a member: $NZ60. International visitors unaccompanied by a member: $NZ150. www.rwgc.co.nz
Cape Kidnappers. NZ residents: $NZ180 low season (May 1-Sep 30) $NZ225 high season (Oct 1-Apr 30); International visitors: $NZ300 low season, $NZ400 high season. www.capekidnappers.com
Kauri Cliffs. NZ residents: $NZ180 low season (May1-Sep 30) $NZ 225 high season (Oct 1-Apr 30); International visitors: $NZ300 low season, $NZ400 high season. www.kauricliffs.com
Attractions: Craggy Range. Cellar door open 7 days from 10am. Terroir restaurant open for lunch (Mon to Sun) and dinner (Mon to Sat). Accommodation available in one or two double bedrooms. www.craggyrange.com
Napier. The Art Deco Trust.
www.artdeconapier.com
Hawke’s Bay Museum and Art Gallery. www.hbmag.co.nz
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