Mona Risk

Still in New Zealand

Posted on February 14, 2014 by Mona Risk

Valentine in Downtown Sydney, Australia

I wish all my readers a very Happy Valentine Day.

Traveling to the Southern hemisphere is interesting but a bit confusing. While flying to Auckland our plane captain announced that we not only crossed the Equator but also the International Time Line which put us a full day ahead of the USA, (time difference 18 h). Which meant for us travelers that we lost a day somewhere since we took off on Sunday, flew for ten hours and arrived on Tuesday. Don’t ask me to do the math!

As a result, a pastor who came with a group from his church forgot to do the Sunday service because he thought it was Saturday and many people aboard were constantly asking what day it was. Day One of the cruise the local TV channel announced diplomatically.

Our first stop was in Taurango, NZ. We booked a guided tour to visit the island. We were warned not to take any food, fruits, bread or snack into New Zealand territory.

Notice the smart and so cute doggy sniffing and catching a ‘felon’ who was smuggling an apple into Tauranga territory. The security officers took the apple and fined him$500. You don’t joke with the law in NZ.

After a 30-minute scenic drive from the port we visited a local Maori village and we soaked for two hours New Zealand’s heritage.

The tour included a demonstration of their traditional and religious music, an afternoon tea and a colorful Maori folklore performance.

If you like to travel and love to read, come and enjoy my international romances. Around the world through stories that simmer with emotion and sizzle with passion.

A set of three bestsellers– Sweet romance series for $2.99

Posted in Contemporary Romance, Uncategorized | Tagged cruises, island, New Zealand, readers, Romance, travel | 1 Comment

Down Under in New Zealand

Posted on February 10, 2014 by Mona Risk

Last week, I promised I would post about my journeys to foreign countries. Let’s start with the other side of the world since I just returned home four days ago from visiting New Zealand and Australia. The trip was both a vacation and a wanted obligation; a cruise around New Zealand which ended in Sydney, and a visit to our Australian sister-in-law who suffered several strokes that left her paralyzed on the left side.

We flew to Auckland via Dallas, TX –3 hours–and Honolulu–8 hours where we spent a night to stretch our backs, and then from Honolulu to Auckland–almost 10 hours. Should I mention that by the time we finally landed, every bone hurt and every muscle was cramped? But we made it safe and sound.

Here is a view of Auckland Harbor from the Princess ship, with the Sky Tower, the tallest building in the Southern Hemisphere, and next to it the hotel where we stayed.

As you can see from this picture, summer in New Zealand is not as warm as we expected. Actually we were greeted with cloudy sky, rain and 60 degrees F. Needless to say I was very cold and bought myself a heavy jacket lined with possum wool to wear over my summer clothes.

We were supposed to board the ship at noon but an email notified us that boarding was delayed to 6pm because of an epidemic of intestinal flu on the previous cruise. The ship had to be thoroughly sanitized before we could come in.

To better visit Auckland and its surroundings we took a tour on a double-decker bus and explored the botanical gardens.

We had lunch at the rotating restaurant on the fortieth floor of the Sky Tower and watched daring youngsters bungee-jump from the fiftieth floor. We also had a magnificent view of Auckland and the bay.

In the evening we strolled through downtown Auckland and had dinner at this fun restaurant.

Notice the chandelier made of beer bottles.

Stay tune for the visit of Port Chalmers, the Fjords and Tasmania.

If you like to travel and love to read, come and enjoy my international romances. Around the world through stories that simmer with emotion and sizzle with passion.

Posted in Contemporary Romance, Uncategorized | Tagged cruises, Mona Risk, New Zealand, Romance, ship, travel | 2 Comments

Traveling and more

Posted on February 7, 2014 by Mona Risk

Can you get tired of traveling? Maybe if you’ve traveled as much as I did.

So many friends and readers asked me to share my adventures abroad with them and take them along for an armchair exotic trip.

Let’s see if you’d like to cruise to Iceland and Greenland, or take a train through the mountains of Switzerland, maybe visit the monuments of Ancient Egypt, or pat the giant turtles of the Seychelles Islands, or climb the Great Wall of China, or take off your shoes to enter a temple in Thailand or India?

I can take you there anytime. Would you like to hide in my suitcase?

We can start next week. I will post pictures and stories about a different place twice a week, on Tuesday and Friday.

See you then.