The Sky Tower was the last visible human landmark as, cocktails in hand, we passengers sailed out into the Hauraki Gulf. “There are 85 of you and 105 of us,” explained expedition leader Jose Restrepo at our welcome briefing. “So you won’t win in a mutiny.”

A kaka
It transpired that this light complement of passengers made for excellent personal service, right down to the “welcome back, Mr Mike” notes left in my suite by my solicitous butler Georgin Kottukapalill.
Dawn on day two unveiled the smoking, bomb-site contours of White Island, New Zealand’s oldest active volcano. Calm seas allowed us to effect our first Zodiac landing. On shore we donned precautionary gas masks – more straps for the now-burgeoning cat’s cradle of binoculars, camera, life jacket and daypack – and filed behind our guide across the blasted terrain. Mud pools bubbled beside toxic yellow sulphur vents and jets of steam burst from the ground as though the island’s pipes needed lagging.
Only the overhead thrum of a seismologist’s chopper cut through the subterranean roar. At the centre, a crater lake, its waters “four times more corrosive than battery acid”,cheap real jordans, sent up billowing plumes. A derelict sulphur mine at the jetty had closed in 1910 after its 10 workers died beneath a mudslide. These miners had, apparently, earned three times more than their mainland colleagues. No wonder.

A sperm whale, common to the waters of New Zealand
It took a full day at sea before we reached the Chatham Islands. By now we were growing into the on?board routine of lecture, lunch and deck vigil. The last of these proved especially productive as we navigated the Chatham Rise,cheap jordans for sale, a submarine ridge known for its prolific marine life. Flying fish skimmed the waves, dolphins raced our bows and spouts broke the horizon as we passed a pod of sperm whales. “Going down!” yelled our marine mammal expert Olive Andrews, as raised flukes signalled a deep dive. “That one won’t be back for an hour.”
The Chatham Islands lie 423 miles east of mainland New Zealand and were our last inhabited stop. Its sunny bays belied a dark history: in the 1830s, the original Moriori inhabitants were slaughtered and enslaved by invading Maoris from the mainland. Happily, our group sustained no such casualties. Sailing in, we had passed the monumental Pyramid Rock, swarming with the world’s only breeding Chatham mollymawks.

The variable oystercatcher, similar to its European counterpart
The words “nowhere else on the planet” became the wildlife theme as a Zodiac excursion revealed diminutive shore plovers (world population: 200) and a hike through lush native forest produced pouting Chatham Island pigeons.
And so, one week in, we found ourselves sailing south into the sub-Antarctic proper. “We’ve got weather ahead,” announced Jose on day seven. I remained on deck as Silver Discoverer battled eight-metre swells, accompanied,cheap jordans free shipping, as ever, by our retinue of unflappable (and unflapping) albatrosses. With Zodiac expeditions out of the question the day’s destination, the Bounty Islands, lurched past on the starboard horizon.
Undaunted, our guides soldiered on with their lectures and lounge pianist Mervin tinkled Cole Porter standards to an occasional percussion of calamity from the kitchen. At dinner, the waves redoubled their efforts, making the dress code of “casually elegant” a serious challenge, not least when my chair slid across the floor like a fairground dodgem to deposit me among my neighbours.
Breakfast saw sleepless passengers picking at their muesli while swapping tales of things that went bump in the night. But the swell had fallen, the sun was out and the Antipodes Islands loomed. We boarded Zodiacs to nose into caves beneath cliffs of crumpled granite. Kelp flexed and coiled around the rocks like a sea-serpent apron. Elephant seals hauled out on to boulder beaches while erect-crested penguins preened their headdresses and porpoised through the limpid waters.
Campbell Island, next up, marked the southernmost point of our voyage. Landing here is a serious matter. Our briefing the previous evening on biosecurity stressed the importance of not introducing invasive seeds or other organic items that might compromise the fragile island ecology and we sloshed our wellies in disinfectant before disembarking. Even the Velcro of our natty Silversea parkas received a hoovering.

Sailing the remote waters around New Zealand
From the shoreline a wooden boardwalk wound up to a windy plateau. On its lower slopes we peered through dense elfin forest for any sign of the reputedly stroppy New Zealand sea lions: endangered these sea mammals may be but we didn’t want them endangering us. On the plateau we found Macquarie Island cabbages and yellow-flowering bulbinellas dominating a knee-high floral tapestry of “megaherbs”. And scattered among them, each sheltering beneath its tussock, sat southern royal albatrosses on their nests.
At ground level these huge birds appear more vulnerable and that blackcurrant eye seems disconcertingly knowing. “Look, this is the only rat-free island you’ve left me,” it seems to say. “I’ve circumnavigated the globe to get here and this egg takes three months to hatch. Please let me be!” We continued to the summit,cheap air jordans, where a view of our ship in the bay confirmed that we were, indeed,http://www.vivasanvivat.ru/news/2015-04-28-solnechnyi-ozhog-ili-zagar-bez-problem.html#comment-58250cheapjordanshoesfreeshipping.com/bolg, in the middle of nowhere.
By day 11 Silver Discoverer was heading northwards, towards the Aucklands. Calm conditions allowed us ashore on Enderby, the group’s northernmost island, where I joined a small party to hike around the shoreline. Each turn of the trail brought something remarkable, whether yellow-eyed penguins waddling through the rata forest or the historic Stella Hut built as a provision store for shipwreck survivors. Meanwhile, sea lions provided excitement. Our indomitable guide, Keith Springer,http://siemprelucenacf.es/index.php/component/user/?option=com_content&view=article&id=115cheapjordanshoesfreeshipping.com/bolg, wielded his stick at a succession of testosterone-crazed territorial bulls that galloped up from the beach to confront us. These 500kg (1,cheap jordan shoes,102lb) marine predators can certainly shift. “They’re just curious,” said Keith, with signature understatement.
More rough seas contrived to strike the Snares Islands, the last sub-Antarctic group,Kicksokok.com, from our itinerary, and so our next glimpse of terra firma came a day later at Dusky Sound, on the south-west New Zealand mainland. Penetrating deep into the labyrinth of Fjordland, this rugged inlet seemed as wild as any oceanic island. We assembled on deck as Discoverer sailed up its 25-mile length, passing mist-wreathed cliffs of temperate rainforest where the wind-chime tinkle of bellbirds and splash of waterfalls were audible above our awed hush. A humpback whale caught napping on the surface proceeded to blow and dive, as though embarrassed.
We dropped anchor at Astronomer Point, the site of a temporary observatory built during Cook’s second voyage in 1773, then disembarked for our final Zodiac excursion. Inquisitive New Zealand fur seal pups peeked from the boulders and Fjordland penguins shuffled out from tree-root dens. And in late-afternoon sunshine, a pod of bottlenose dolphins escorted us back, weaving beneath our speeding craft and cavorting exuberantly in its wake.
Our final dose of “wild” came at the forested sanctuary of Ulva Island, tucked into the contours of Stewart Island, where vigorous conservation work has preserved or restored many species that once thronged mainland New Zealand. Native birdsong burst from the greenery as our guide, Kari Beaven, described how invasive predators were eradicated. “Nobody likes to kill stuff,” she explained. “Not even rats.” And I believed her. But as she spoke, a flightless weka trotted confidently down the trail, as its ancestors once did across New Zealand, and I knew where Kari’s sympathies lay.
From Ulva, it was a final overnight sailing to Dunedin and our cruise end. Silver Discoverer offloaded its passengers – most airport-bound to Auckland – and took on supplies. Standing on the dock, without albatrosses to commune with, I felt bereft. But, with time before my flight, perhaps I could find a sushi bar.
Essentials
Mike Unwin travelled with Silversea (0844 251 0837; silversea.com).
A 16-day cruise from Auckland to Dunedin calling at White Island, Napier, Chatham Island, Pitt Island, Bounty Islands, Antipodes Islands, Campbell Island, Enderby and Auckland Island, the Snares, Dusky Sound, Ulva Island and Stewart Island costs from ?8,750 per person departing on December 20, 2015.
Includes guided excursions. Air New Zealand (airnewzealand.co.uk) operates daily flights to Auckland from ?1,070 return. To find out more about the region, visit newzealand.com/uk.
Telegraph Cruise Show
The year ahead promises to be a particularly exciting one for cruising,cheap retro jordans, with a number of major ship launches, events and celebrations taking place.
In March all eyes will be on the spanking-new Britannia, the latest addition to the P?&?O fleet and the largest ship ever built for the UK cruise market.
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Also in April, the newest ship in the Royal Caribbean fleet, Anthem of the Seas, will begin a season of Mediterranean cruising from Southampton, while Allure of the Seas, the world’s largest cruise ship, will embark on a Mediterranean season from her home port of Barcelona.
In May, Cunard celebrates the day when, 175 years previously, its first ship left British waters bound for America. Celebrations will take place on every cruise in 2015, and in cities on both sides of the Atlantic, including Halifax and Liverpool. Also this month, Cunard’s three Queens (Elizabeth,http://www.elllo.org/graphics/cheapjordanshoesfreeshipping.com/bolg, Mary 2 and Victoria) will meet on the Mersey for the first time and in July the Queen Mary 2 will recreate the first transatlantic crossing.
Yet more ship launches, Ponant and Norwegian Cruise Line among them, will follow later in the year.
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On Saturday, January 10, guest speaker Simon Reeve will be talking about the filming of Sacred Rivers, the recent BBC TV series that took him to the Nile, Ganges and Yangtze. Charles Starmer-Smith, Telegraph Media Group’s head of travel, will be interviewing Reeve about his experiences at 2pm at the Destinations Theatre.
When you arrive at the exhibition hall at London’s ExCeL, check the information boards: each day of the three-day show is structured around a series of informative talks designed to provide insight into life at sea or on the river. Helping you navigate your way to a great holiday are the Telegraph’s cruise experts Jane Archer and Sara Macefield.
Over three days our expert journalists and destination specialists will be advising on the all-important minutiae of cruising, from what to pack and how much spending money to take, to what you may be expected to tip.
At the Destinations Theatre, a handful of Telegraph Travel writers will be offering tips and insight for cruises in the Caribbean, the Norwegian fjords, the Baltic cities, the Mediterranean and rivers in Asia, Europe and the United States. Still have questions? Cruise line representatives will be on hand for a question-and-answer session at the end of each talk.
Finally,jordan shoes, don’t miss the daily prize draw at 4pm for your chance to win one of a selection of prizes worth more than ?30,000.
Telegraph Cruise Show discount
To book a ticket to the Cruise Show visit the website or call 0800 542 5859. Use code TRAVEL to secure ?20 entry tickets for just ?13. Offer applies to adult advance tickets, for a limited time only. Booking fee applies. Use your Telegraph Cruise Show ticket to access the London Boat Show, also at ExCeL free of charge on Saturday January 10 and Sunday January 11.
Colin Kaepernick has filed a lawsuit against NFL owners for what his lawyer Mark Geragos alleges is their collusion in denying the quarterback employment.
Kaepernick last year started the concept of taking a knee during the national anthem before games as a protest against perceived racial inequality.
Despite being a starter for the San Francisco 49ers, the 29-year-old has not been recruited by an NFL team since becoming a free agent in March and blames his political views for being ignored.
"We can confirm that this morning we filed a grievance under the CBA on behalf of Colin Kaepernick," Geragos said in a statement released on Twitter.