SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA
We woke this morning to a beautiful blue sky day--just the opposite to our first encounter with Sydney. We left the ship without too much hassle by Aussie Immigration and Quarantine--they permitted us to keep our Bali fisherman carving! After a short taxi ride and check in at the hotel, we shopped for breakfast food to eat quickly next morning. We found a nice deli beside the hotel and ate our lunch outside on a bench, then walked through the Royal Botanical Gardens to check on access to the Opera we'd booked for that night. Everything worked and we can walk there in 20 minutes.
Now for the good part! We took a 30 minute ferry ride to Manly, a distant suburb of Sydney. It is a delightful town--clean, attractive, and very pedestrian friendly. It has a great white-sand beach; people were swimming, but it was cold for Irene's toes and ankles! After all, it is middle of autumn there. The return ferry trip gave us opportunity to see the Dawn Princess leaving Sydney harbour with the Opera House and Harbour Bridge for a backdrop.
We'd eaten in Manly at Hungry Jacks (which is Burger King here), so when we returned to Sydney, we walked to the hotel, changed and were ready to go to the Opera.
La Traviata was performed on a stage built over the Sydney Harbour with the Opera House and Bridge behind it. There was a huge Swarovski Chandelier that was raised and lowered by a huge crane instead of a curtain. The performance was excellent, and the brilliant fireworks on two occasions really added to our enjoyment. There were about 3000 people there and the majority were 25 to 45 years old. Although it was outside, the day was so warm that the evening did not cool down too much. What a great ending to a wonderful vacation!
Next morning (Saturday, Apr 14) we were up at 6:30 am, flew out of Sydney on a Boeing 777 at 10:25 am and arrived in Vancouver on Saturday, Apr 14 at 7:30 am (we had 2 Saturdays this week!). We were met in Victoria by Jim (Debbie's husband) and he had washed our truck! After a visit with him, we also saw Bruce for a while, then drove home by 7:00 pm. After unpacking most of our things, we slept thoroughly until next morning.
C'est tout! We are home--this completes the blogs!
Sunday, April 15, 2012
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
HOBART, TASMANIA, AUSTRALIA
We had an overnight in Hobart, so there was one sleep without "rocking and rolling". Yesterday was a cold day in Hobart, but we relaxed on the ship for the afternoon, and arranged with a gal to be picked up to play bridge in the evening. It was a very nice evening with welcoming people, even though we played badly.
Today was a blue sky day, and our first stop on our tour was Mt. Wellington. It is 4000 ft high (1280 m) and its base is part of Hobart. There are homes built halfway up the mountain. After that, the vegetation starts to change from large eucalyptus trees, to smaller versions, and then at the top Arctic dwarf trees and scrub vegetation. It was cold on the top, and there is always a frigid wind. There was still snow on the ground from Easter. But the view! Since it was a clear day, you could see for miles!
Next we had 90 minutes to enjoy Hobart's Royal Botanical Gardens. They were wonderful! We think they are the best botanical gardens we have seen; in some ways they almost equal Butchart Gardens. The Japanese Garden section was particularly attractive. I have many pictures!
Well, the highlight of every day is dinner, and tonight was the Captain's dinner--lobster and giant prawns, for the main course (there are always 5 courses available).
We are bouncing along through the Tasman Sea on our way to Sydney. We have some things planned for our overnight in Sydney, but the details will be released in our final blog after we get home! So, keep on reading and thank you all for putting up with our comments. Hope you get the chance to do it too, some day.
g'day
We had an overnight in Hobart, so there was one sleep without "rocking and rolling". Yesterday was a cold day in Hobart, but we relaxed on the ship for the afternoon, and arranged with a gal to be picked up to play bridge in the evening. It was a very nice evening with welcoming people, even though we played badly.
Today was a blue sky day, and our first stop on our tour was Mt. Wellington. It is 4000 ft high (1280 m) and its base is part of Hobart. There are homes built halfway up the mountain. After that, the vegetation starts to change from large eucalyptus trees, to smaller versions, and then at the top Arctic dwarf trees and scrub vegetation. It was cold on the top, and there is always a frigid wind. There was still snow on the ground from Easter. But the view! Since it was a clear day, you could see for miles!
Next we had 90 minutes to enjoy Hobart's Royal Botanical Gardens. They were wonderful! We think they are the best botanical gardens we have seen; in some ways they almost equal Butchart Gardens. The Japanese Garden section was particularly attractive. I have many pictures!
Well, the highlight of every day is dinner, and tonight was the Captain's dinner--lobster and giant prawns, for the main course (there are always 5 courses available).
We are bouncing along through the Tasman Sea on our way to Sydney. We have some things planned for our overnight in Sydney, but the details will be released in our final blog after we get home! So, keep on reading and thank you all for putting up with our comments. Hope you get the chance to do it too, some day.
g'day
Sunday, April 8, 2012
BURNIE, TASMANIA, AUSTRALIA
Today we went on a Scenic Burnie and Surroundings tour. Burnie is a small town (only 19,000) and being Easter Monday, most shops were closed. But we'd booked on a "small bus" tour that took us to some picturesque places.
We started at Fern Glade. There are tree ferns in NZ and Australia, but today we saw them with reflections into a quiet stream. We also went to another small river with several waterfalls and this was scenic.
We drove through small towns and saw coastal views from lookouts. The ocean was a beautiful color today. Although it was sunny, it was a cold day. There was fresh snow on surrounding mountains, so we had a cool breeze. Tomorrow is Hobart (overnight) then back to Sydney.
g'day!
Today we went on a Scenic Burnie and Surroundings tour. Burnie is a small town (only 19,000) and being Easter Monday, most shops were closed. But we'd booked on a "small bus" tour that took us to some picturesque places.
We started at Fern Glade. There are tree ferns in NZ and Australia, but today we saw them with reflections into a quiet stream. We also went to another small river with several waterfalls and this was scenic.
We drove through small towns and saw coastal views from lookouts. The ocean was a beautiful color today. Although it was sunny, it was a cold day. There was fresh snow on surrounding mountains, so we had a cool breeze. Tomorrow is Hobart (overnight) then back to Sydney.
g'day!
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA
He is risen! He is risen indeed! We celebrated the resurrection of Jesus yesterday, as today was a port day and we had a great trip planned. There were over 100 people at the Church service.
Today's trip was wonderful! We took a bus (just 36 people)from the port to the Puffing Billy Steam Train. We went through the mountains by train for 6 km, then back to the bus, and a ride to an old winery for lunch. It was more than lunch, however; there was roast beef dinner and all the trimmings!
Finally, the highlight event--2 hours at Healseville Sanctuary for Australian animals. The animals are in natural settings and it is spacious. We could not see everything in 2 h, but we made a good effort. I have some great photos!
We were back on the ship in time for Easter dinner. It was rack of lamb, so although we'd already had a dinner, we could not resist! Now we are traversing the Tasman Sea on the way to Burnie, Tasmania, and the sea is rough, as we expected. Tomorrow is another port and another story for you!
g'day!
He is risen! He is risen indeed! We celebrated the resurrection of Jesus yesterday, as today was a port day and we had a great trip planned. There were over 100 people at the Church service.
Today's trip was wonderful! We took a bus (just 36 people)from the port to the Puffing Billy Steam Train. We went through the mountains by train for 6 km, then back to the bus, and a ride to an old winery for lunch. It was more than lunch, however; there was roast beef dinner and all the trimmings!
Finally, the highlight event--2 hours at Healseville Sanctuary for Australian animals. The animals are in natural settings and it is spacious. We could not see everything in 2 h, but we made a good effort. I have some great photos!
We were back on the ship in time for Easter dinner. It was rack of lamb, so although we'd already had a dinner, we could not resist! Now we are traversing the Tasman Sea on the way to Burnie, Tasmania, and the sea is rough, as we expected. Tomorrow is another port and another story for you!
g'day!
Friday, April 6, 2012
ADELAIDE, AUSTRALIA
Wow! What a day! Before we left Canada, we really searched for a better tour in Adelaide than those offered by the ship. We finally found a vendor who was willing to work with us to tour the way we wanted and to the locations we wanted. The deal was that he needed 8 people to do the tour, but he offered us the incentive, that if we filled his bus (13 persons) we could go free. This tour boomeranged! We ended up with 49 people and 4 buses! He was so pleased he paid for our lunch!
We were picked up and dropped off at the ship--a major concern as the port is 30 minutes from the city center. We drove through some expensive real estate on the waterfront, saw the downtown area from several streets, and then stopped to see koalas in the Adelaide Hills. They were there, resting in large eucalyptus trees; I have great pictures! Then we went to the top of Mt. Lofty, 2100 feet high, and viewed Adelaide. It was cold and windy while we were there, with a cold front passing through, but still a good view point.
By 12:00 we were in Hahndorf for lunch. We had reservations for our group at the best hotel. The food was plenteous--huge portions! I had Kangaroo and it was wonderful! Irene chose German sausages and sauerkraut, also amazing! This is the oldest German town in this area, and quite interesting to walk through it. There were policemen on grey horses, fascinating shops, unusual buildings, and beautiful tree-lined streets. Everyone enjoyed themselves!
We left there at 3:00 pm and took our time returning to the ship, with other scenic side trips. Adelaide is a planned city, with a huge green belt around it. No slums here, but a few low-cost areas, nonetheless. Most of the housing is expensive and this is the only area of Australia that was not first settled by convicts.
Back on the ship, we arrived just in time for trivia, followed by a wonderful Good Friday Church Service (and another one tomorrow for Easter Sunday, since we are in Melbourne that day), then dinner--how could we eat after our huge lunch? Lightly!!
g'day!
Wow! What a day! Before we left Canada, we really searched for a better tour in Adelaide than those offered by the ship. We finally found a vendor who was willing to work with us to tour the way we wanted and to the locations we wanted. The deal was that he needed 8 people to do the tour, but he offered us the incentive, that if we filled his bus (13 persons) we could go free. This tour boomeranged! We ended up with 49 people and 4 buses! He was so pleased he paid for our lunch!
We were picked up and dropped off at the ship--a major concern as the port is 30 minutes from the city center. We drove through some expensive real estate on the waterfront, saw the downtown area from several streets, and then stopped to see koalas in the Adelaide Hills. They were there, resting in large eucalyptus trees; I have great pictures! Then we went to the top of Mt. Lofty, 2100 feet high, and viewed Adelaide. It was cold and windy while we were there, with a cold front passing through, but still a good view point.
By 12:00 we were in Hahndorf for lunch. We had reservations for our group at the best hotel. The food was plenteous--huge portions! I had Kangaroo and it was wonderful! Irene chose German sausages and sauerkraut, also amazing! This is the oldest German town in this area, and quite interesting to walk through it. There were policemen on grey horses, fascinating shops, unusual buildings, and beautiful tree-lined streets. Everyone enjoyed themselves!
We left there at 3:00 pm and took our time returning to the ship, with other scenic side trips. Adelaide is a planned city, with a huge green belt around it. No slums here, but a few low-cost areas, nonetheless. Most of the housing is expensive and this is the only area of Australia that was not first settled by convicts.
Back on the ship, we arrived just in time for trivia, followed by a wonderful Good Friday Church Service (and another one tomorrow for Easter Sunday, since we are in Melbourne that day), then dinner--how could we eat after our huge lunch? Lightly!!
g'day!
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
ALBANY, AUSTRALIA
After the bad weather for Bunbury, we were glad to see sun for Albany. We walked to town, against a brisk wind of 38 knots, but it was sunny. Irene found a nice outfit in a local store, and then we played bridge. We were hoping to find someone willing to drive us around, and that happened!
Allison took us to Torndirrup National Park. She lives near there so knew all the best places to go. With the strong Westerlies, the sea was raging and very interesting. They call this the "rainbow coast" because the spray comes up so high that rainbows often appear. We saw some beautiful ones, and we got wet!
After going to about 6 lookouts, we drove to a quiet beach near Allison's home. This is a swimming beach, and very lovely. The water temperature was about 19 degrees C. Then we saw her home, with a view over the water.
Allison was determined that we see kangaroos, and she knew just the place to go--the golf course. There was a mob of them there, so many good photo ops. She drove us back to the ship, just in time for dinner and the evening shows. The last one was a man doing mime and shadow art--extremely well done! Now we have 2 sea days before Adelaide.
g'day!
After the bad weather for Bunbury, we were glad to see sun for Albany. We walked to town, against a brisk wind of 38 knots, but it was sunny. Irene found a nice outfit in a local store, and then we played bridge. We were hoping to find someone willing to drive us around, and that happened!
Allison took us to Torndirrup National Park. She lives near there so knew all the best places to go. With the strong Westerlies, the sea was raging and very interesting. They call this the "rainbow coast" because the spray comes up so high that rainbows often appear. We saw some beautiful ones, and we got wet!
After going to about 6 lookouts, we drove to a quiet beach near Allison's home. This is a swimming beach, and very lovely. The water temperature was about 19 degrees C. Then we saw her home, with a view over the water.
Allison was determined that we see kangaroos, and she knew just the place to go--the golf course. There was a mob of them there, so many good photo ops. She drove us back to the ship, just in time for dinner and the evening shows. The last one was a man doing mime and shadow art--extremely well done! Now we have 2 sea days before Adelaide.
g'day!
Sunday, April 1, 2012
FREEMANTLE (PERTH), AUSTRALIA
We had a wonderful day in Perth. It all began in Napier, NZ, when we took a private tour and were joined by Bob and Bev from Perth. They asked us to join them in Perth for a guided tour. We've been in touch several times by email, so after a very enjoyable Captain Cook cruise up the Swan River from Freemantle to Perth, we arrived and were greeted warmly.
Bob and Bev said they were "shouting us", which is Aussie slang to mean they were paying for everything, and we were to keep our hands out of our pockets! We walked through the Supreme Court Gardens, drove to King's Park and walked and drove to various viewpoints.
Then we went to a waterfront venue on the Swan River for coffees. We drove to a large shopping complex along the ocean, looked in shops, admired boats in the marina, and then watched the sunset since we were in Western Australia.
Next we went to their home for a glass of wine and a tour of their home. It was "just an ordinary home" according to Bob and Bev, but it was lovely. Their furniture was made out of a lot of native Australian wood, and we liked it. Then we were off to a restaurant for a very fancy dinner graced with Australian wine, and our favorite dessert--Tiramisu.
They then drove us back to the ship in Freemantle, which was 20 km away. We were the last ones to arrive at about 10:15 pm. What a great day! We were thoroughly spoiled!
We joked that if we missed the ship, we'd stay overnight with them and catch up with the ship in Bunbury. Not a good idea, as it turned out. Today, our stop in Bunbury was cancelled, because there is too much swell and it was not safe to attempt coming into port. Consequently, we have a sea day before Albany, tomorrow.
g'day!
We had a wonderful day in Perth. It all began in Napier, NZ, when we took a private tour and were joined by Bob and Bev from Perth. They asked us to join them in Perth for a guided tour. We've been in touch several times by email, so after a very enjoyable Captain Cook cruise up the Swan River from Freemantle to Perth, we arrived and were greeted warmly.
Bob and Bev said they were "shouting us", which is Aussie slang to mean they were paying for everything, and we were to keep our hands out of our pockets! We walked through the Supreme Court Gardens, drove to King's Park and walked and drove to various viewpoints.
Then we went to a waterfront venue on the Swan River for coffees. We drove to a large shopping complex along the ocean, looked in shops, admired boats in the marina, and then watched the sunset since we were in Western Australia.
Next we went to their home for a glass of wine and a tour of their home. It was "just an ordinary home" according to Bob and Bev, but it was lovely. Their furniture was made out of a lot of native Australian wood, and we liked it. Then we were off to a restaurant for a very fancy dinner graced with Australian wine, and our favorite dessert--Tiramisu.
They then drove us back to the ship in Freemantle, which was 20 km away. We were the last ones to arrive at about 10:15 pm. What a great day! We were thoroughly spoiled!
We joked that if we missed the ship, we'd stay overnight with them and catch up with the ship in Bunbury. Not a good idea, as it turned out. Today, our stop in Bunbury was cancelled, because there is too much swell and it was not safe to attempt coming into port. Consequently, we have a sea day before Albany, tomorrow.
g'day!
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