Fremantle & Perth - Our Australian Swan Song

Chatting with a hungry kangaroo at Caversham Wildlife Park,  Perth, Australia

With our arrival in Fremantle, Western Australia, our adventures down under were quickly drawing to a close.  We had so been looking forward to the month of February, which was spent entirely in two of our favorite countries, New Zealand and Australia, and we were very sad to bid farewell to these wonderful ports.

Fremantle, the port for Perth, is located at the mouth of the Swan River.  Founded in 1829, it is a small and “walkable” city.  Because we arrived at 4:00 PM, we had the opportunity to spend the first evening exploring.  Chuck was unable to leave the ship right away, but I decided to head out as soon as I could and explore on foot.  Within short order I had found a Woolworth’s (which is a grocery store in Australia and not a 5 & 10¢ store that we grew up with in the US) and went in to purchase one of my favorite Aussie treats, TimTams (chocolate-covered cookies).  I was hoping to find some souvenir shopping since in the last few ports I hadn’t had the chance to browse, but most of the shops either didn’t have what I wanted or closed by about 4:30.  However, it was interesting to see the typical early Australian buildings with their second-floor verandas, and it was obviously a university town with an arts school and a small Notre Dame college, both of which I saw in my stroll through town.  I also managed to find the Round House, the oldest public building in Western Australia, which was originally used as a prison. 

By the time I returned to the ship I decided that I had really overdone because my foot, which hadn’t been bothering me for the past few days, was really protesting!  I gave it a rest that evening, knowing I would need to be ready to go the next day, and fortunately it cooperated. 

Being an overnight in port, a folkloric show was brought on, the Wadumbah Dance Group, an Aboriginal group that performed several traditional dances to the music of the didgeridoo.  Our favorite by far was the kangaroo dance; it is amazing how grown men hopping around can so accurately portray the movements and behaviors of kangaroos – right down to the hand gestures and the tilting ears.  We thoroughly enjoyed their performance.

The following day we were scheduled for an excursion to a wildlife park in Perth.  Named for Perth, Scotland, the capital city of Western Australia has a population of 1.3 million people.  Geographically, Western Australia is the largest of the seven Australian states, and is approximately three times the size of Texas! Much of this state is sandy and dry, boasting three vast deserts. It is known for its mining, and we saw some multi-million dollar mansions along the river in Perth that had been built by mining magnates. Perth is recognized as the most isolated capital city in the western world.  It has the world’s largest city park, King’s Park, a 988-acre area that is sacred to the Aborigines.  Nearby is a large cemetery where one can often find kangaroos wandering among the gravestones.  This brings to mind St. Tudno’s churchyard & cemetery near Llandudno, Wales, where the sheep meander through grazing on the grass. 

We set out from Fremantle by bus to head toward Perth and the Caversham Wildlife Park.  We were pleased that for the first time on the cruise we were able to take a tour with our friends Sally & Ange.  The four of us sat together on the bus and enjoyed our time together in the park.  Our first stop was into the kangaroo enclosure, which boasted several species of kangaroo, including the rare white kangaroo, which many people mistakenly assume are albinos. Because of their white color, they do not blend in with their surroundings and therefore have more difficulty surviving in the wild.  We must have been some of the first visitors of the day because all the kangaroos were very eager to be fed!  On other occasions when we’ve tried to feed the animals, they’ve had no interest because everyone else in the park had already given them something to eat.  This time however, some of them actually grabbed our hands and wouldn’t let go, wanting as much food as we could give them.  Despite the walkway being so crowded with tourists and kangaroos that it was difficult to get pictures, we had a great time feeding these delightful animals.  We were really concerned about stepping on tails, but the guide assured us, “No worries. The tail is the strongest part of the kangaroo.  It won’t bother them.”  Despite this we stepped carefully. 

Before we’d had our fill of feeding the roos, we were escorted out and were soon on our way to visit the wombat.  There were probably more of them in the park, but only one was brought out to greet us.  The difference between this and other parks was that we could have our pictures taken, posing with the wombat.  She sat fairly still, though did fuss some after awhile, as if to say, “Enough of this tourist action! Let me down.  I’m done!”  We do get a kick out of wombats, finding them quite comical to watch.

Then we were whisked past the flying foxes (a large species of bat), the black cockatoos, and the quolls (another species of marsupial) to head toward the koala pen.  These sleepy little guys were really content to perch in their eucalyptus trees and let us take close-up pictures of them.  Koalas are not indigenous to Western Australia, so these had been brought in from the eastern and southern regions of the country. 

I’m not sure what it is about the Australian wildlife, but I am absolutely fascinated by all of these unusual animals that are found nowhere else in the world!  Seeing them in the wild is about as common for Aussies as it is for us to see squirrels or raccoons.  The only problem for the tourists is that the marsupials are nocturnal and are usually curled up somewhere sleeping when we are out and about. 

After hurrying through the park, we headed into the heart of Perth, where we would catch the ferry for a trip down the Swan River back to Fremantle.  We had hoped to get a tour of this beautiful city, but there just wasn’t time.  As we arrived at the harbor, the guide pointed out the Swan Bells, a famous landmark bell tower at the entrance to the harbor.  The bells that ring regularly are a gift from St Martin in the Field, a church we have visited many times while visiting Trafalgar Square in London.  Our timing was perfect because the bells were pealing as we arrived!

The ferry was packed with guests, considering that four busloads of cruisers were scheduled on this trip.  Sally and Ange were on before we were so they got us seats at a table for six on the upper level.  As we headed down the Swan River, we realized that the other two ladies at our table, although they had American accents, were not on our cruise.  Both were from Grand Rapids, Michigan.  One had married an Aussie and had been living in Perth for eleven years.  The other was visiting her for a month.  We thoroughly enjoyed visiting with both of them. They were fascinated by our cruise experiences, and we were equally fascinated by the first lady’s experience as an American living in Australia.  She was able to point out interesting sites on our 75-minute journey back to Fremantle. 

As we sailed down the Swan River, we realized how aptly the river was named.  Graceful black swans dotted the shoreline as we traveled past.  In fact, the black swan is such a well-known symbol of Western Australia that it adorns the state flag!  While we had anticipated catching glimpses of these beautiful birds, we were quite surprised to spot a dolphin in the river.  We had heard that dolphins sometimes swim up the Swan River, but we certainly hadn’t expected to see one so close to Perth! 

I must admit that when the ship’s horn blew as we set sail from Fremantle, I had tears in my eyes.  I do so love Australia and New Zealand, and while we are really looking forward to the rest of the cruise, we will miss the friendliness and familiarity of both of these wonderful countries!  We feel so comfortable in both countries, and while each has a very unique and fascinating heritage, they remind us in so many ways of home!

In Captain Jonathan’s departure announcement, he referred to the cyclone that we mentioned in the previous post.  Fortunately by the time we are in that area of the ocean, the cyclone should have headed inland and the most we will get is some small swells.  We were relieved to hear this for more reasons than one!  Naturally we did not look forward to violent storms, but we also knew that the days between Fremantle and our second Indonesian port would be Mariner Appreciation Days.  Stein Kruse, the CEO of Holland America, joined the ship in Fremantle, and the days while he is onboard are always filled with extravagant and gala events!  There are cocktail parties (which aren’t a big draw for us) and brunches, and one night we will be in the Pinnacle Grill for a special dinner hosted by Stein Kruse.  Another night will be a huge party where the Lido is transformed into a unique setting.  The theme is always a big surprise, but we are assuming that this year it will be an Indonesian theme.  Last year we celebrated Mardi Gras with a New Orleans theme while he was on board. This year’s event will be held while we are in Bali.  With so many Indonesian crew members, I’m sure they will be eager to show off their culture. 

So as we sail toward our first Asian port of Bali, we close another page on our wonderful cruise and look toward new horizons. 

BT  

Albany, Australia - A Day of Sun and Rain in Western Australia

Five inches of snow in Chicago a few days ago?  That’s the story we heard on the ship….  Sailing the seas below “Down Under” (south of Australia), there wasn’t a snowflake to be seen here!  After a couple rocky days crossing the Australian Bight after leaving Kangaroo Island, we were happy to be on solid ground again!  Never having crossed to Western Australia by any means of transportation, we had no idea that the waters might be as  rough as they were.  Barb had wondered on Saturday if she might be getting sick as her stomach was “off”, but with the high swells and rocking ship, she concluded that it was probably a touch of sea sickness instead.  Many others were showing symptoms as well, so she certainly wasn’t alone. We learned that many Aussies think of the Australian “Bight” as the Australian “Bite”.  If Australia looks like a kidney bean, it also looks like a hamburger sandwich with a “bite” taken out of the bottom portion.  That’s where we have been the last few days.

As we sailed into Albany (pronounced like the man’s nickname, “Al”, rather than the way New Yorkers pronounced the capital of the state).  So here, it’s “Albany” with the flat Western New York and Chicago “a”, rather than “All – bany”, the skies were bright blue and a good day looked to be in store.  Despite the fact that it has been a pretty hot summer in Western Australia, it was pleasantly cool.  We passed several pretty islands as we approached the mainland and before we arrived in port, several people were along the shore waving their welcomes.

Albany, a city of about 35,000 today, is located near the southwestern corner of Australia.  It’s the oldest permanent settlement in Western Australia, originally settled in 1827 as a military outpost for New South Wales (Sydney) to stop French efforts in that area.  As the only deep water port in the remote western part of Australia, Albany thrived.  For much of the early 20^th century, Albany was a major whaling center but by 1978, the whaling industry was ended.  Presently Albany touts its heritage with a large whaling museum; many of the people we know on the ship visited the museum.  Today, Albany depends upon tourism, fishing, and agriculture.  In fact a huge complex for shipping grain is located at the port and is every bit as dominant in Albany as logging and timber was in most New Zealand ports.

Although the whaling museum is supposed to be the thing to see around Albany, Barb and I tend to avoid tours that focus largely on museums (and wineries).  Rather, as readers may have noticed, we prefer wildlife and scenery.  It works out well as Barb’s first choice is a focus on wildlife with scenery a second choice.  For me it is the reverse, but they are both 1 – 2 for each of us. Occasionally a museum or winery slips into our itinerary because there are other features of the tour we like.  This time it was another wine tasting event, our third of the cruise, but much briefer than our other experiences.

In Albany, instead of doing the Holland America excursion which we normally select, we opted to do one through a fellow Cruise Critic member, Karen Deacon, from Florida.  Karen has taken time in quite a few ports to check out local vendors, prices and logistics.  It takes substantial effort and the appeal is that they normally are less expensive than the ones sponsored by Holland America.  However, the ship excursions, while more highly priced, include assurance that if something happens that we don’t get back by the final boarding time, the ship will wait or will get guests to the next port.  That actually happened to us on Kangaroo Island as our trip ran longer than anticipated and we did get back after the time we were supposed to be on board; the ship of course waited and it was no issue for us.  In Albany, the tour was to return several hours before we needed to board and we liked the itinerary, so did what was called Harbor Boat Ride. The ship actually offered no nearly identical tour to what we and nearly 30 others did.

Karen arranged for us to be met by three van cabs to take us the approximately 15 minute drive to the harbor where we boarded the Kalgan Queen boat, captained by owner, “Captain Kalgan”, aka Captain Jack.  Although it could accommodate about 38 passengers, there were less than 30 of us, most of whom sat in seats along the perimeter of the boat, facing the opposite side.  Captain Jack explained that the boat would be traveling in very shallow waters, some of which would be no more than waist deep. We would never be far from shore but would have a different perspective than if we were on a form of land transportation.  Some of the time, we would be traveling on the Kalgan River, the oldest river in the world.  It’s not well know and is rather short, but using criteria to determine age of the rivers, it is older than the Nile though less famous, obviously!  But this river is said to be 3.28 billion years old, with a “b” years old.  (I kept wondering if maybe it could have been 3.27 years old…)

As we began to pull out from the small dock, there were all kinds of large Australian pelicans in the water near the boat.  They are much larger than the pelicans we typically see in North America and, as Barb said, their eyes almost look like they aren’t real.  They look like they are pasted on their faces until they blink and let us know that’s just the way the eyes are.  Captain Jack had some favorite pelicans that perform for him, and if they perform as he expects, they get a reward of some fish.  One in particular, “Pav”, a female that Captain Jack had originally thought was male, was taught to respond to the command, “Dance,” to turn in a circle in order to be rewarded with the fish.  Pav’s mom Percy had been entangled in some fencing and Captain Jack had cared for the weak bird until it was ready to be returned to its natural environment.  He used the circling exercise as a means of building the strength back and then taught Pav the same trick.

Captain Jack also rewards some white breasted sea eagles with fish and attempts to throw the fish into the water so that the sea eagle can retrieve it with its talons before the more numerous greedy pelicans can snap it up.  He regaled the tour members with stories, self-written poems, and history of the area as well as a commentary of the economy and politics of the river and of Albany.  He pointed out various birds and noted that changes in the climate have brought some birds back to the area sooner in the season than even in the recent past.  We saw black swans, mallards, a giant stingray, darters and some aggressive fish that snapped up bread scraps he threw in the water.  We even saw a very interesting large bird on a tree branch.  It has an exceptionally long neck and in that sense, resembled a loon or crane.   Captain Jack gave the unfamiliar name and Barb and I tried to retain it, but we couldn’t.  We have a picture with our Picasa pictures.  If anyone with knowledge of birds is able to enlighten us, please let us know.

As we rode in the open boat, with the plastic flaps rolled up, the once blue skies became dark and a bit of rain came.  We put the flaps down and secured them but the shower was brief and up went the flaps again.  As we reached a certain spot in the river, we pulled up to a small remote dock for the winery we were to visit.  A short, steep, but manageable hike up took us to a place where the owner, Murray Montgomery, met us and took us for a five minute ride by small bus to Montgomery’s Hill Winery where most people enjoyed the wine tasting.  Barb and I waited it out with views of the landscape and attractive scenery as well as conversation with several others.  We met a couple from Western Springs, IL, who for a few years had lived in Country Club Hills, one of the communities to our east.  The rain came in earnest but abated sufficiently to let us get back on the boat before heavy rain commenced.  We were concerned that the rain might turn the sharp descent to the boat muddy, but fortunately it didn’t happen and there were no mishaps!

Back on the boat, Captain Jack had prepared some hot coffee and tea in metal cups.  His wife had prepared bread loaf, called Hot Damper.   Apparently in Aussie lingo, the tea is called “billy” and together they are referred to as “tucker”.  The iconic Australian song, a favorite for Americans, “Waltzing Matilda” is full of slang which is barely understandable to us, but when the terms are understood, it tells a story of life on the Outback.  In short, the “tucker bag” in the song contained the tea and bread.  Damper is a type of bread that Aussies eat if they are hungry and away from home.  It’s prepared with different recipes but everyone raved about how delicious the Hot Damper was. In addition to the usual ingredients for bread, it had been soaked in olive oil and some other “secret” ingredient that gave it a special good taste.  Captain Jack willingly told his guests that the secret was to use sour milk.  Sour milk?  Yes, but we all agreed that whatever it was, the bread was wonderful.  He told us that someone had asked how to get sour milk? Duh, even a non cook like me could answer THAT question!  Captain Jack told the person to just leave the milk on the counter for four days and he would have the sour milk!  He heated the bread on the boat oven so it was fresh and hot when we ate.  When he brought another loaf out for seconds, one lady picked up two pieces for herself and her husband, but dropped it fast because it was so piping hot. 

By now, the rain was pouring down and all the plastic flaps were pulled down and once again secured.  Fortunately it was at the end of the tour, so our return to the boat dock was purely functional and we returned as Captain Jack told a few more stories¸ poems, and even gave some expression derivations for popular slang terms in the English language.

The vans were waiting for us as we arrived at the dock and quickly, after a brief tour of Albany, we were back at the ship.  I might comment that places like Albany and most other cities in Australia, with the exception of Adelaide, look more like American cities and towns than virtually any other place in the world.  Personally I think you could put a blindfolded person into many of the cities of Australia (definitely excluding the bush and Outback areas) and a person might think they were in the US.

Having enough time before the ship sailed, I took the short shuttle ride to the shopping area of Albany and browsed a few of the stores that were open on a Sunday afternoon.  Back on the ship in plenty of time, we sailed out of the attractive harbor areas, maneuvered through a few small islands, and out to the open sea and headed, sadly, toward our final Aussie port, Fremantle (for the larger city of Perth)! 

It has been nice to skip the winter snows of Chicago, the constant stories of political corruption there with Jesse and Sandi Jackson making news here too, and the Chicago-style politics in Washington, but just a few days short of halfway through our cruise, we know we will be home to reality before we know it.  And the reality is that there IS no place like home and we do think of family and friends every day.  But we have loved New Zealand and Australia and we don’t want this segment of the cruise to end!!!

CT

P.S. As we post this in Fremantle before setting out toward our next destination of Bali, Indonesia, we have heard rumor of  a large cyclone that is heading across the Indian Ocean toward northwest Australia.  We are not yet sure if this will affect our travels.   Stay tuned…

Kangaroo Island, Australia: An Amazing Wildlife Adventure!

The day promised to be a very, very long one but full of adventure, and it certainly didn’t disappoint!  With such a short cruise from Adelaide to Penneshaw, Kangaroo Island, we were anchored in plenty of time to be on our way ashore at 7:15 for our shore excursion, Wildlife Encounters 4WD Safari.   Ever since my slight mishap on the 4WD excursion in Wellington, I’ve been overly-cautious about these experiences, but we were very pleasantly surprised to find that we would be on a small 4WD bus rather than 4-passenger jeeps.  Unlike in Picton where the seats were so small with very little legroom, we had ample space.

Kangaroo Island was first discovered in 1802 by explorer, Matthew Flinders, who claimed the island for England.  While the French got there shortly thereafter, Flinders made sure they knew that the land had already been claimed.  The third largest island in Australia (behind Tasmania and Melville), Kangaroo Island (KI) is approximately the size of Singapore, or about 4500 square kilometers.  However, Kangaroo Island has far fewer residents with only 4600 people living there.  Recently National Geographic ran a study among journalists, specifying criteria to rank islands as desirable places to visit.  Much to their surprise, of the top 100, Kangaroo Island tied with another of our favorite islands, the Isle of Skye in Scotland for 5^th place!  They are hoping that this will increase tourism; currently approximately 180,000 tourists visit per year.  Needless to say, tourism would be a boon to the economy of the island! 

Kangaroo Island boasts a wide variety of gum trees, and gum is a kind of eucalyptus tree.  Most of the trees here survive with little water, which is fortunate because between the months of October and April there is virtually no precipitation.  In fact, my impression of what the driver told is was that there are two seasons – the wet season and the dry season.  During the dry season they have to be very careful of bush fires.  As we drove, we saw two separate incidents where bush fires were being brought under control by firefighters.  Apparently this is very, very common in the areas of Australia that we have been visiting because the people take it as a matter of routine.  The bush fire is a way of clearing things out and regenerating growth.  (Later in the day we visited a national park that was devastated by a bush fire in December of 2007.  While evidence of the fire was unmistakable, there was also an amazing amount of plant growth despite the destruction that had occurred just five short years ago.) 

Has anyone else ever wondered why Australian athletes wore green and gold rather than the red, white, and blue of their country’s flag?  This is because of the wattle, Australia’s national tree. We learned that the wattle, a kind of acacia tree, is found everywhere in Australia; not only that, but it is always in bloom somewhere so the colors of green and yellow on this tree are ever-present in the country.  For this reason Aussies compete in the green and gold colors. 

Although the island has a very small human population, it has prolific wildlife, many species of which are indigenous to the island.  The KI kangaroo is a subspecies of the Western Gray kangaroo.  At one time Kangaroo Island was part of the mainland, but after the last ice age, it separated and became an island.  That is when the KI kangaroo began to develop its own characteristics.  The kangaroo is so prevalent that it was used as a source of protein for early explorers (hence the name Kangaroo Island), and is still so common that it’s not at all unusual to see kangaroo road kill.  (We heard from both the guide and our Aussie friend John that this kind of road kill is called “was a roo.”  Ugh!) There are thousands of Tammar wallabies on the island.  This is a very small animal very similar to its larger counterparts but only stands about knee-high.  I asked the guide if it was related at all to the adorable little pademelons we had seen in Tasmania back in 2009, and the answer was not really.  Pademelons are even smaller than the Tammar wallaby, but they all definitely look like part of the kangaroo family.  The Australian sea lion is an endangered species with only about 14,000 left.  The brushtail possum, unlike in New Zealand where they’re open game, is completely protected on the island.  The echidna, like the platypus, is a monotreme, or an egg-laying mammal. 

Animals introduced to the island are the koala and the platypus, both introduced in the 1920s, sheep, pigs, wild deer, rabbits, and cats.  Wild cats have become such a problem that they are trying to find ways of getting rid of them.  Another animal brought to the island is the honeybee, which arrived in the 1800s.  The settlers were wise in immediately requesting that this bee be protected by law. As a result, the honey is very pure, and it is just about the only place in the world where the honeybee is not infected with a mite that kills off these bees.  Our guide Daniel told us that if this mite was not brought under control, honeybees would really become endangered worldwide. 

Our tour was off and on its way early enough that the nocturnal kangaroos were still hopping around in the fields.  Daniel explained that because of the overcast skies (no chance of rain because this is the dry season) the kangaroos would be fooled into thinking it wasn’t quite daytime yet.  We caught quick glimpses of several of them as they foraged for food.  Enjoying the unique flora of the island we continued on our way across it, making a stop at Prospect Point, where we could enjoy a view of the seaside resort of Pennington Bay. 

Then it was on to Seal Bay, our first wildlife stop.  This was where we would find a colony of 1100 Australian sea lions.  Female sea lions spend their lives pregnant!  When a female comes to maturity at about age 4, she is immediately impregnated.  Gestation period is about 18 months, and when the pup is born, she takes care of it.  In the meantime, she immediately gets pregnant again.  The only one who will take care of a pup is the mother.  When the pup is able to be left alone, the mother goes out to sea to feed, sometimes traveling as far as 1200 miles.  During that time she is in danger of being attacked by predators – whales and sharks.  If the mother dies, this means a loss of not just the mother, but also the fetus as well as the pup she left on shore because the pup will starve without its mother.  As we watched, some sea lions lounged on the beach while others swam in the waters.  As mothers or pups calls back to the mother.  That way mothers and pups can find each other.  We watched as one pup wandered the beach calling for its mother.  We were a little concerned that this pup had been orphaned, but after a continued calling and searching, the pup found its mother.  Watching these animals walk is interesting because unlike many other sea lions, they can lumber along on all fours, leaving long tracks all over the sand making it appear like hundreds of dune buggies have raced across the beach. Their flippers act like “snowshoes” in the sand.  Soon we were on our way again, having enjoyed the unique experience of being so near to such an endangered species of animals in the wild.

Continuing our journey to a nearby wildlife sanctuary, I kept my eyes peeled for anything that might signal an animal.  What a surprise to look down and see a little Tammar wallaby sitting along the side of the road just as we might view a squirrel or rabbit ready to dart for cover at home! 

A few minutes later we had arrived at our next destination, a wildlife park where the animals could roam freely.  The only fences we saw were specifically to allow the animals to separate themselves from the humans!  In other words, the animals could come and go at will, but the humans were limited to where they could walk.  We started down a path, wondering what to expect.  After a similar experience in Melbourne in 2009, we didn’t anticipate having much opportunity to see any real wildlife so we were very pleasantly surprised to discover that we could see koalas in several trees.  In 2009, we saw two high up in the trees – hard to spot hidden in the branches.  This time though we caught sight of two quite near each other as soon as we started down the path.  And even more to our surprise, there was another one a little farther down that nestled in the crook of a tree just about six feet above the ground.  Here we were, practically at eye-level with this adorable little creature!  He was really settled in for the day, and he completely ignored our crashing around in the brush trying to get the best vantage point for pictures.  One man even touched him to see what his fur felt like.  I gasped – I was so afraid he would wake the little guy up so he’d climb away!  Nope – he just slept through it.  By the way, koalas spend most of their time sleeping, and they smell like eucalyptus.  Closely related to the wombat, koalas eat virtually nothing but eucalyptus.  Koala is an Aboriginal word meaning little or no water.  They get their water from the eucalyptus leaf, and since the leaf has little protein, this means that the koala has little energy – hence the need for so much sleep!  After spotting yet another koala, we discovered a couple of the Tammar wallabies hiding in some nearby bushes.  Hard to spot, they hunkered down till they could find a way out and around all the people who were eager for photo ops.  Lounging nearby, totally indifferent to its “celebrity status” (pictures to be posted on Facebook when we get a chance) was an Australian kangaroo.  Walking a little farther, we encountered more kangaroos.  A couple were inside a fence relaxing while a couple more were outside the fence posing for pictures.  Both stood up tall to grab the nearby trees and feed on the leaves, oblivious to the clicking cameras.  Finished with lunch, one kangaroo hopped away heading for who knows where.  

Very happy to have seen so many of these iconic animals, we headed to Flinders Chase National Park, where we were scheduled to have lunch and spend the afternoon.  This park comprises most of the western end of Kangaroo Island.  We had a nice picnic lunch of prawns (but not on the barbie – by the way, shrimp on the barbie is a fallacy because Aussies don’t call them shrimp), pasta salad, tossed salad, and a dessert of fruit and cheese.  I walked up to the visitors’ center and after exploring the gift shop I was heading back when I saw a few people a few yards away gazing up into a tree.  Yep – another koala nestled into a branch doing what koalas do best: sleeping.   As we waited for people to come back so we could depart, all of a sudden our HAL representative on the excursion pointed to something and Daniel went dashing off.  They’d spotted an echidna making a “run” for it across the road in front of another bus.  Daniel managed to head him off and he curled into a ball under some brush right near the road.  While we were unable to see his little snout, his prickly spines were very visible to us. Since the echidna is rather elusive, this was a very pleasant surprise for us! 

As we traversed the lands of Flinders Chase National Park, we could see the result of the 2007 bush fire that devastated the park.  However, also evident was the regrowth of the plants. Myrtle and a kind of tea tree were abundant, albeit low to the ground.  Our next destination was Remarkable Rocks, and with the low foliage we caught a glimpse of these massive stones in the distance.  It reminded me of coming around a corner and seeing Stonehenge rising out of the Salisbury Plain in England; however these monoliths were created over millions of years by nature rather than by man, and the dramatic seascape formed a completely different backdrop.  Set atop cliffs that rise about 270 above the sea, the stones themselves stand approximately 30 feet high, carved artistically by nature. We were able to walk up the smooth rock slope to climb on and stroll around these strangely shaped, imposing stones.  Chuck ventured farther than I did because my foot had really taken a beating with all the walking I’d been doing.   However, no matter what the vantage point, these naturally formed sculptures were impressive. 

After another short ride through the park to the southwest tip of the island, we arrived at Admirals Arch, another incredible natural land formation, which also boasted a colony of New Zealand fur seals.  Back in Wellington I had visited a colony of the same species and was able to get very close.  In this case however, we viewed them from above as they lounged on the rocks or cavorted in the waters.  There was a long walkway that sloped gently down toward the sea, affording several vantage points where we could see these huge marine animals.  Daniel told us that in order to see the arch we would have to negotiate several stairs because this arch was only visible from the very bottom platform.  I went down as far as the end of the ramp and then decided to try the stairs.  Discovering that the stairs were an easy walk, I continued downward, and am I glad I did!  There was Admirals Arch in all its seaside splendor!  Carved out of the rocks as it was, it was a perfectly formed arch that offered a view of the rocks on the other side of the point.  Cavorting through the waters under the arch were more seals.  Hanging down from the arch were what appeared to be small stalactites; these tiny rock “icicles” gave the impression looking from the inside of the top half of a giant’s mouth with his jagged teeth hanging down taking a huge gulp of water.  What an incredible view, and a perfect last stop on a wonderful excursion.

By this time it was late in the afternoon.  The last tender back to the ship was supposed to be 5:30, and as we set out after a final rest stop, we had a lot of road to cover from the southwest corner to the northeast coast of the island.  We whizzed along, backtracking part of the way, enjoying the scenery once again, and even spotting a lone kangaroo venturing across a field late in the afternoon. 

As we rode, Daniel told us a little about life on the island, and his information corroborated what we had gotten from the ship.  With a small population, the island remains unspoiled.  He commented that there were only two restaurants on the island, and if someone wanted to go to one, they would have a long round trip.  As a result, people would entertain each other, inviting a group of friends over for dinner and a movie (since there are also no theaters on the island).  To rent a movie is about $3.50, so if it’s a group of six to eight people, they can enjoy each others’ company and not worry about wasting a lot of money on a movie they don’t enjoy.  There are no police, no taxis, no public transportation.  People don’t lock their doors; they leave their keys in the cars, just in case a neighbor needs to borrow the car!  It’s difficult to imagine such a safe environment when at home we live in a culture where everything must be kept under lock and key!  Ever present, however, is the fire department! 

Having so thoroughly enjoyed our short stay on Kangaroo Island, we were sorry to see the day end.  This is one place we would return to in a heartbeat!   We certainly hope this wonderful island remains as fascinating as it is today and that tourism doesn’t affect its innocence! 

BT 

Adelaide, Australia: A Dignified City with a Unique History

Leaving Tasmania behind meant that each of the four ports yet to visit in Australia would be new ones for us.  And to say that our love affair with this incredible country continued, would be an understatement.  Australia always fascinated me and the more I see of it, the more interesting it becomes.

Our next destination was Adelaide, the capital of the State of South Australia.  That means that by our third trip here, we have now visited five of Australia’s seven states:  Queensland (Cairns and Brisbane), New South Wales (Sydney), Victoria (Melbourne), Tasmania (Hobart), and now South Australia (Adelaide).  The two remaining states are West Australia and the Northern Territory; the former we will visit in a few days.

Even those with limited knowledge about Australia know that it is noted for its charming indigenous animals, many of which are marsupials like the kangaroos and koalas.  Historically, most know that Australia was founded as a penal colony and that the English colonization founded Sydney and Tasmania for that purpose.  Barb commented on those roots in a previous post.  The history of South Australia is vastly different as our Explorations Speaker on board, Dr. John Crews pointed out in his lecture on South Australia.  Clearly the purpose of founding a colony in South Australia was not to make it a penal colony.  Rather there would be a careful selection of settlers to go to South Australia with an emphasis on young married couples so that it would encourage a natural population growth.  Rather than the rough and tumble kind of individual that might be expected with a primarily convict population, the people in South Australia would hopefully be of a higher moral caliber. 

A major debate ensued among some of the British founders, first as to where the major city and capital would be located and then what its name would be.  The present city of Adelaide was selected and named after “Adelaide”, wife of King William.  Founded in 1836, the city boasts a population of about 1.2 million inhabitants and ranks as Australia’s 4^th or 5^th largest cities.  Another group of people encourages to make the long voyage by boat to the southern continent were German craftsmen who settled a community known as Hahndorf.  When the first ships arrived in South Australia, they arrived in December, right at the beginning of summer. 

(It’s hard for those in the Northern Hemisphere, particularly in northern US and Canada to think of December as the beginning of summer, but we always have to take our months and reverse them by six months.  Thus, for us, “December” – the beginning of summer equals “June” – the beginning of summer.  Then it’s easy.  Therefore, this month, “February”, so think “August”.  When our Lincoln-Way travel group visits Australia and New Zealand in June 2014, we have to think “December!” The only consolation is that winter in Australia isn’t the harsh northern winters we experience with lots of snow.  Rather we have been told to expect highs around 15° C or mid 50s F.)

Settlers had no idea as to what to expect in terms of climate, but they knew the kind of heat they experienced was vastly different from home.  The 40° C that South Australia recently experienced is pretty hot by our standards, unless of course, one comes from someplace like Arizona!

We had an arrival time of 10 AM (by the way, South Australia is one of the rare places where it is a half hour ahead of New South Wales and Tasmania, not a full hour) and as we were docking there was a small band, “The Old Gum Tree-O” Bush Band playing rousing Aussie music for us, including a rendition of what Americans think of as the Aussie song, “Waltzing Matilda”.  Since we had a complementary shore excursion from our cruise booking agency, AAA, called “ Hanhdorf, the Adelaide Hills, and Wine” scheduled at 11 AM, Barb and I were anxious to make a quick trip to the terminal which had several souvenir shops set up.  Barb in particular had had little opportunity in Australia to check out shops, so was eager to do so.  We made our quick trip out and back on in time to check in for our AAA tour.

Our tour whisked us out of Port Adelaide to Adelaide itself rather quickly.  I was impressed with the unique architecture of the area.  Early settlers had used the abundant stone to construct many of the buildings.  Those sturdy buildings continue today, though many are used for different purposes than originally planned.  Many stores are built of stone and often have porches on second floor levels.  Individual homes are nicely maintained and again are often old stone homes.  In front are many leafy trees, providing ample shade for a relatively hot climate.  We noticed that the ground was quite brown but most of the indigenous trees need little water.

Entering Adelaide, our guide explained that the city is ringed with parkland so that one can’t come into the city from any direction without passing through a parkland area.  That adds to the charm and beauty of the city.  Adelaide was also noted years ago for its many churches; today churches are outnumbered by the pubs and nightclubs.  We passed elegant state government buildings as well as Adelaide’s major universities. 

Unfortunately our guide, who told us that there was zero per cent chance of rain for the day, said that the sky was hazy and gave the appearance of clouds, but the haze came from the smoke from brushfires burning in Victoria, the state to the east of South Australia.

As we left Adelaide, we climbed to higher elevation to Mt. Lofty where we had a nice lunch at the top consisting of quiche, fries, a leafy salad and a variety of cheeses for dessert.  There was an opportunity to look out over Adelaide for a panoramic view but it was obstructed somewhat by the fire-caused haze in the area.  There was a commemorative “Flinders Column” for the man who had explored the area and also a monument to those lost in a dramatic Ash Wednesday 1983 fire that burned trees and killed several people.  It was a stark reminder to those who live in the area as to the constant summer dangers from forest fires.  A tower is at the top of Mt. Lofty and is manned 24 hours a day to be on guard for fires. 

Our next stop was the German community of Hanhdorf.  Organized in 1839 by Prussian immigrants, it was named for the captain of immigrant ship, Dirk Hahn, which brought the Germans to the Adelaide Hills outside the city.  The community was consistent with the theme of South Australia in that settlers came voluntarily and represented a group of industrious people who were determined to be a success in this far away land. Today, Hahndorf is a magnet for tourists who come to browse the shops for handcrafts and to eat in one of the many German and other style restaurants and coffee shops.  We enjoyed our hour and half visit there and enjoyed wandered in and out of the shops before returning to the bus and heading for the Penfold Wineries in the Barossa Valley.  Since neither Barb nor I are into tasting fine wines, we just tagged along with the group. Neither of us cared to participate in the wine tasting, but I joined the group for the winery tour.  Barb’s foot was bothering her again after so much walking during the day, so she opted to sit with a few others who had chosen not to do the winery tour.  Although I have visited other wineries, I figured it would be more interesting than just sitting and waiting for the tour to end.  We wouldn’t elect to do an itinerary with a winery tour and wine tasting unless the rest of the tour looked outstand, or unless the excursion was complementary as this one was from AAA.

After the tour ended, we drove back to the ship, but by then we were crawling through Adelaide at afternoon rush hour.  We took a somewhat different route and did enjoy seeing more of the parkland that marks the boundaries of the city and having the opportunity to admire other stately buildings there as well as more of the unique architecture that Adelaide offers.  While we knew we would be late for our dinner seating, there was an Aussie Outback BBQ on the Lido Deck which we attended with our Aussie friends, John and Gerda.  As our next port, Kangaroo Island, is a part of South Australia and lies only about 9 miles from our Port Adelaide, our departure was an unusually late 11 PM.

As February draws to a close, regret that our stay in New Zealand and Australia will be ending soon.  The emphasis on those countries embracing about a quarter of our cruise time was a major reason for booking this journey, so we look forward to savoring the time in the last several ports in Australia!

CT

Hobart, Tasmania: A Walk among the Treetops

Tahune Forest AirWalk

Twice to Tasmania, twice gloriously sunny days!  How lucky can we get? 

We had been “promised” a beautiful sight as we sailed into the port of Hobart, Tasmania.  Travel guide Barbara had said the sail-in would be roughly comparable to the Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland.  However, someone must not have gotten the memo because despite being up before dawn (on Chuck’s part) and at dawn (on my part), we saw nothing unusual.  Apparently the ship had managed to maneuver into the mouth of the River Derwent well before passengers were up.  Despite that, we welcomed the opportunity to enjoy the beautiful arrival to Hobart.

At one time the island of Tasmania had been connected to the mainland of Australia, but with geological shifts in the earth’s surface, it separated and became an island off the southeast coast of Australia.  Named for explorer Abel Tasman, it was settled by the English in 1804, but had been inhabited by various groups of Aborigines before that date.  After the American Revolution, England could no longer send convicts to the colony of Georgia so sought another location where they could ship these convicts.  Tasmania became one of the prime sites for convicts to be sent.  At one time, Australians were reluctant to admit convict ancestors; now however they wear this badge with pride, and specifically search for those English ancestors who arrived on the shores of Australia as convicts.  How times change! 

Tasmania is about the size of Ireland.  Its capital, Hobart, has a population of 200,000. Farming is a major industry; we passed orchard after orchard, many trees laden with apples, others covered with netting to protect the cherries from the birds that would strip the trees given an opportunity.  Because cherries are shipped overseas to countries that value them so highly, people have been noted to pay up to $2.00 for one cherry!

We could also see evidence of the severe drought that has prevailed in Eastern Australia over the past few years.  In fact, at one point we passed an area where the guide casually told us, “This was burned in a bush fire last week.”  Like us, another passenger was surprised enough to ask, “When was that fire?”  The guide again said, “Last week.”  Apparently this is not uncommon, but for us it was a stunner!  Residents often keep their homes and lawns as free of trees that might catch fire as possible in order to prevent them from being lost in one of these fires.  The brown, burned-out trees we viewed formed a backdrop for a line of houses along the road.  With the Huon River on the other side of the road, it afforded us a very interesting view.

Because nobody is far from water, about one in four Tasmanians own a boat of some kind.  Tasmania appears to be the “Florida” or “Arizona” of Australia: there is a larger percentage of senior citizens living here than in any other Australian state. 

We had chosen a totally different tour from the one we’d done in 2009.  This time we drove south out of Hobart and headed toward the Huon Valley where we would enter the forests of Tasmania for an AirWalk, a stroll on a walkway high in the canopy of trees.  Tasmania had discovered that this locale boasted the tallest flowering tree in the world, the Eucalyptus Regnus.  While smaller than trees such as the Sequoia, it holds this distinction because trees that are taller do not produce flowers. 

Tahune is an aboriginal word meaning peaceful place by running water.  The inspiration for this walk came to the late mayor of the Huon Valley, Greg Norris and four others, who hoped to promote tourism in the area while providing jobs for residents; the walk was opened in 2001.  The AirWalk is about 619 meters long (or roughly the length of 6¼ football fields) and averages a height of 20 meters above the floor of the forest.  It was built to withstand winds of over 100 mph and can support almost 900 lbs per square meter.  There is a cantilever (an arm extending out from the walkway) that concerned us about how it swayed in the air till we learned that it was built to support 120 very crowded people or 12 baby elephants!  No worries after finding that detail out! 

Upon arrival in the forest, our two buses were quickly split into three groups.  I was a little uncertain of taking the walk with my foot bothering me, but being assured that I could walk back to the bus in short order if I set out and found it too difficult, I was on my way.  The trip through the forest to get to the AirWalk was level so I had absolutely no problems with it.  We enjoyed seeing the towering trees of the forest.  One we passed had fallen and the gigantic tree trunk was on its side.  Another was still standing but was nearly hollowed out. 

In short order we had arrived at the start of the AirWalk.  I once again checked to be sure it was something I could handle.  We had not received information on the logistics of building the walk until after the tour, and I was not into doing anything that might resemble a rope bridge, but it turned out to be a steel structured flat walking surface.  The best way to describe it was steel beams covered with what looked similar to chicken wire.  We were warned that people who experience vertigo might feel discomfort, but despite being so far up in the air, we felt very secure.  There were chest-high railings to protect us, and the walkway was narrow enough for one person to walk and one person to pass if necessary.  It was a very unique experience to stroll among the treetops looking down to the dense forest floor and the Huon River. Some trees towered above us while we gazed down at the tops of others.  Not being a botanist, and without having the opportunity to record things as I walked, I can’t add a lot of detail other than the fact that there were several varieties of eucalyptus trees, as well as myrtle and sassafras, among others.  One tree was nicknamed the Mickey Mouse tree because shape of the bright green leaves looked like mouse ears. 

The cantilever was an experience in itself.  We set out across the arm to the viewpoint at the end, with the knowledge that only 20 people should be out there at a time.  We could see about 7 or 8 people there so we felt fairly safe until we realized that about 15 more people were following us.  Gulp!  A little nerve-wracking to feel that structure swaying so high in the air and realizing that more than 20 were out there!  I guess we didn’t outweigh 12 baby elephants though because we managed to get back safely!  The vistas from the endpoint were worth the walk as we could view the convergence of the Huon and Picton Rivers in the near distance. 

The horseshoe-shaped walk came to an end within a few yards of returning from the cantilever, and we now had another choice to make:  walk down 80 to 100 steps to the floor of the forest and proceed on foot to the Visitors’ Center, take the shuttle to the Visitors’ Center, or walk back through the forest the way we came to get the bus that would take us to the Visitors’ Center.  Figuring that it would not be wise for me to do all those stairs, but still enjoying the forest walk, I opted for the third choice and set off to return through the woods to the bus drop-off point.  As I walked, the shuttle passed me going in and passed me again a few minutes later going out. I was almost back to the bus drop off point as the shuttle passed me, and when it went by and passed the bus, I heard another engine start.  Then I saw a cloud of dust.  All I could think was, “Don’t tell me the bus left!!!”  Sure enough, when I got back to the bus drop-off point, there wasn’t a vehicle to be seen anywhere! 

For those of you who are old enough to remember The Life of Riley, all I could think of was his quote, “What a revoltin’ development this turned out to be!”  Now what was I going to do?  Here I was in the middle of a forest in Tasmania with nothing but trees in sight and all by myself!  Needless to say, I was a little stressed!  I had to decide if I should wait there just in case the bus came back or start walking.  The problem was, I didn’t know how far I would have to walk, and if I came to a crossroads, I wouldn’t have any idea which way to go!  But just standing there and doing nothing didn’t seem like a good option either!  So I set off trudging down the dirt road, wondering what would happen.  I knew the bus wouldn’t leave the forest and head back to Hobart without me, but it was more than a little disconcerting to be in that situation!  I walked along giving myself little pep talks, trying to stay positive, but each step was filled with doubt: should I have stayed put, or should I have started to walk? I kept checking my watch.  We were due to leave at 11:45, and it was 11:30.  I had no idea how far the bus had come, and hadn’t even remembered passing a Visitors’ Center on the way in! 

Since this is being told in the first person, you know that I did get out of the situation and managed to return to the ship. At about 11:35 I could see signs of movement and hear voices.  Then I saw a guide with a small group and decided to approach him and explain my situation, asking him to contact the Visitors Center and let them know that they had abandoned a passenger in the woods.  However, just as I was making that decision I saw someone else nearby with a round orange sticker #4 on – someone on my bus!  Hooray!  I asked the person where the Visitors’ Center was, and he pointed up the flight of stairs I’d just noticed. 

Enormously relieved, I climbed the stairs and spotted Chuck, who was surprised to see me coming up the stairs.  He had seen the buses and the shuttle and figured I was back but perhaps in the Ladies Room lineup.  I saw the bus driver and let him know that he’d left me behind.  He explained that when he saw the shuttle come out, he figured that everyone was on that and left.  I also made sure I let our tour guide, the forest ranger assigned to our group, and the HAL representative from the ship (who also happened to be in the Shore Excursions department) know what had happened.  All of them were rather casual but apologetic.  I knew it was a simple matter of crossed signals, but that didn’t reduce the stress of those ten to fifteen minutes when I had no clue whether I was headed in the right direction or how far I would have to walk. 

I’m certainly glad I didn’t hear till I got back to the ship what the tour guide on the other bus had told his passengers.  Apparently in the not-too-distant past, a couple got lost in the woods.  The woman got out, but they never, ever found any trace of the man.  I’d never heard of the Tasmanian tiger before, but someone said that it is known for eating everything, bones and all!  It leaves a lot to the imagination, and I really appreciated that I hadn’t heard that tale before going off alone! 

Back on the bus, we had another pleasant drive back through the Huon Valley to Hobart.  The excursion got back late, but fortunately not because they had to search for me!  Because we had so little time left, Chuck dashed off the ship without having lunch, but I had done enough walking for the time being, and my foot was feeling it! 

As we were getting ready to sail away, Captain Jonathan made reference to another boat that was in port with us.  Apparently the small boat nearby was the one used in the whale watchers series on the Discovery Channel.  They were in port waiting for news of any Japanese whalers heading for Antarctica and would set out to chase them down and thwart any attempts made to capture whales.  I’ve seen a few of the episodes so I was quite interested in seeing the oddly-shaped little boat! 

Anyone who thinks life on the ship must be dull hasn’t experienced some of the things we’ve had happen!  Every day brings new and unique adventures, and one never knows what tales are awaiting! 

BT

Sydney, Australia - Another Wonderful Time Spent with Friends

Sunrise in Sydney Harbour

As the millennium rang in across the world over 13 years ago, I remember watching celebrations near the iconic Sydney Opera House and the nearby Sydney Harbour Bridge and thinking what an amazing city that would be to visit, but as far away as it was, I knew it was a mere fantasy that I ever might go there.  My impressions were further confirmed when watching the 2000 Sydney summer Olympic Games.  Australia had always fascinated me but I just knew that long flight put a trip to Australia out of the picture.

That was before we began to cruise…

In July 2008 we had booked the Grand South Pacific, Australia, and New Zealand cruise for 2009 which included the first visit to Sydney with the ship docked for three days looking out at the Sydney Opera House.  As the three days ended, we had fallen in love with Australia and Sydney!  Last year, our two day visit to this amazing city made us more familiar with a new favorite city.  This year’s world cruise itinerary became much more appealing with the full month of February being devoted to New Zealand and Australia. What could be better?

So, while we regretted leaving beautiful New Zealand, at least we knew we were headed for Australia to visit amazing Sydney once again.  Two days before arriving in Sydney, a notable even occurred on the ship.  Our seats at dinner look out at the sea and we can always see the ship’s wake from our table.  But that night, we noticed a bird gliding and swooping gracefully behind our ship.  I happened to have my camera at dinner and captured several pictures of this bird after zooming in on it.  Then, after enhancing the size, it appeared an albatross, probably a Wandering Albatross, was following us.  Once while walking the deck a couple days after leaving New Zealand in 2009, I saw an albatross but had no camera available then.  But this time, the camera seemed to leave no doubt that we were watching one of the most amazing birds of all, the albatross – a true sight to behold.

Although we had visited Sydney twice before and had watched the impressive sail in, we decided to get up at 5 (having set our clocks back the previous night, we had an extra hour of sleep as it was) to watch the Amsterdam pass the Sydney Opera House and to view the Amsterdam as its highest points barely sailed below the bottom of the Harbour Bridge.  There was only the first hint of daylight when I looked out but noticed we were passing the islands that anticipate the beautiful Sydney harbor would be fast approaching. Even before daylight we were passing the Opera House, sailing under the Harbour Bridge, and turning into Darling Harbour and our dock.  It was even too early to capture the sunrise since once we turned into Darling Harbour area, there were too many buildings to permit a good sunrise view. 

Once safely docked, the ship was cleared by immigration officials by 7:15.  We remember last year, it seemed to take a very long time and guests were anxious to get off the ship.  Then we were greeted by our friend Andrew whom we had met during a World War II land tour in Western Europe in 2010.  This year, cruise friends from the 2011 Voyage of the Vikings cruise and 2012 World Cruise, Ros and Gary, had volunteered to meet us and to show us nearby parts of Australia that cruise shore excursions wouldn’t take us. 

We had agreed to meet them in the cruise terminal as close to 8 AM as possible and as we passed through ship security and into the terminal, there they were.  Knowing that since we had seen Ros last, that she had been treated for colon and liver cancers, we didn’t know what to anticipate, but we were pleased to see her looking so good!  She admitted that she wasn’t feeling that well, but after all she had been through ten rugged sessions of chemo.  She has one more scheduled next week before they leave on March 9 for the US to begin a Grand Mediterranean cruise.  She has been determined she was going to do this cruise and knowing what a fighter Ros is, she is committed to do this long anticipated cruise, particularly after the difficult year she has just experienced.

Ros and Gary had told us that they would take us down along the south coast of Australia, south of Sydney to view the spectacular coastline views.  As we left, we noticed a huge black cloud ahead of the ship.  Gary commented that that would be the direction we were going but assured us that the sky would clear up.  I began to have my doubts as the rain began to come down and the skies got even blacker.  But hearing how the area needed rain badly gave us mixed feelings.  We stopped at a scenic view called Sublime Point Lookout which, under normal circumstances would afford a magnificent view of cliffs and villages below with the sea beyond.  Instead, the rain and fog hung over the treetops and all I saw as the tops of a few trees.  It reminded Barb and me of our separate views at separate times of the Grand Canyon in the rain – for each of us, the only time we visited the Grand Canyon!

We continued on to the pleasant town of Kiama where we headed for a nice lighthouse and a blowhole that put on a show dependent upon the kinds of waves the weather afforded.  We did see several good displays of water in the blowhole.  Barb wanted a couple Aussie stamps from a post office there for the postcards that she is sending some friends’ granddaughter as a part of a school project.  As we walked, the rain began to come down harder – harder than any time on the trip to date, so Gary returned to the car to bring it where we waited under the canopy of the stores we had passed.  From there, we drove to Gerrora, where we had our lunch at restaurant called Fisherman’s Club.

By the time we were coming out, skies were clearing and sure enough, Gary was right.  The weather was improving substantially.  We made another stop along a cliff near where some people participate in hang gliding.  While one person lifted off as we drove up, we didn’t see anyone do it while we watched.  Nevertheless it was a great view and yes, there were the bright blue skies.  Finally we drove along a winding bridge along the coast and through some small towns, were we could look UP at the cliff that we tried to look DOWN in the morning for what would have been a great view of the coastline and small villages. 

From there, we drove back to Sydney with a stop at a mall near where Gary and Ros live so Barb could buy some lipstick and so I could get lens of sunglasses secured since one had popped out during the trip.  That business conducted, they dropped us off after a wonderful and thoughtful tour of some of Australia’s beautiful southern coastline.  At dinner, we met other Australian friends, Gerda and John from Brisbane. They had booked a 24 day segment between Sydney and Hong Kong and we made arrangements for them to be with us at our table. We had met them last year as our tablemates for most of the second half of the cruise.  John and Gerda are well traveled and interesting and we had enjoyed their company so much last year that we wanted to have them eat with us during the short segment of our trip that they have joined.

On Saturday, our second day in this world class city, we joined Gerda and John by taking a city bus to an area called Birkenhead Point where there is an outlet mall.  Gerda had shopped there many years ago when she lived in the Sydney area.  Because we are docked at Darling Harbour, we had to take a ship shuttle to Circular Quay where the “action” is – the Opera House, another cruise ship dock, lots of shops, and street entertainment.  It was there that we got the correct bus to Birkenhead Point.  After we got off the bus, we had to walk several blocks to the mall.  Barb found that the walking, particularly on a hill, was affecting the foot she hurt in Wellington six days previously.  We decided the best thing would be for Barb and me to go back to the bus stop and return to Circular Quay. The bus came promptly and as we rode, we noticed the sky getting black, very black!  As we neared Circular Quay, the heavens opened and the rain came in sheets.  When we stepped off the bus, I opened the umbrella and we huddled with several others under a small bus shelter.  By now, the rain was soaking our supposedly waterproof jackets.  We darted from overhanging canopy to canopy, occasionally stopping in a store to look around.  When we finally reached the shuttle bus stop, fortunately, it was there so we got on and made the return to the ship.

Barb decided that though she really wanted to browse “The Rocks” craft market near Circular Quay, the combination of her somewhat painful foot and the wet weather, she wouldn’t go back on the shuttle after lunch although the skies were improving.  I, however, decided to give it a try since we like Sydney so much but we have little choice but to sail on with the ship!  I took the opportunity to wander the shops and the markets and just enjoy the beauty of Circular Quay, the Opera House, and the Harbour Bridge.

It was a more leisurely day partly because we know Sydney so well and it is such a safe and friendly city.  Sydney was one of the highlights of our cruise and we look forward to returning for a brief time next year!

CT

Picton, NZ - A Wild Ride into the Southern Alps

Picton, on the South Island of  NZ

A short overnight cruise took us across Cook Strait from Wellington on the North Island to Picton on the South Island of New Zealand.  Established in the 1850s as a fishing village, Picton is now a terminus of the ferry that runs between the two islands.  It is more built up because of the tourism this has brought to the area and boasts large marinas. 

As we sailed into Picton early on the 11^th, we chose not to be up for the scenic cruising – an option we rarely skip.  Naturally this meant that we missed the large pod of dolphins accompanying the ship on the port side.  We’ve heard from various sources that there were 30 to 60 dolphins; it would have been a marvelous sight to see, but I wasn’t doing a lot of racing around at that point.

We had booked a full-day shore excursion called Marlborough High Country Safari, which was scheduled to leave at 8:30.  Because I really needed a seat where I could extend my left foot into the aisle, we arrived in the Queen’s Lounge extra early in order to get prime seats for the “mad dash” when the excursion was called.  I wasn’t concerned about the difficulty because it was ranked as an easy tour, but being gone for nearly nine hours, I needed to pamper my foot at every opportunity. 

After receiving our shore excursion stickers, Chuck was the first one out and to the bus.  I limped along behind and was, I think, the last person on the bus, but it was fine because he’d gotten a good seat – or as good as he could get.  It was a small bus with about 16 seats for our exclusive group of 13 passengers and one HAL rep.  We were on our way right on schedule, heading toward the town of Blenheim, so named for Blenheim, England. It appeared to be a small town, but despite its English name, it certainly had an American influence: Burger King, Subway, McDonald’s, KFC, to name a few familiar places. 

Not far beyond Blenheim, we made our first stop at a honey factory.  Here we learned about the production of honey and were given samples of several types of honey, each named for the plant that the bees pollinated to make the honey: “cream” clover, blue borage, and manuka, to name a few.  As we have previously mentioned, manuka is used for medicinal purposes, but the spokesperson here indicated that it could be used on the skin to reduce scars. I felt silly, but I had to inquire if they meant the same kind of manuka that a person eats.  The answer was yes.  Somehow the idea of spreading honey on one’s body seems to be contrary to what one would think. Wouldn’t it be awfully sticky? A hive was brought in and we were asked to find the queen. Talk about a black-and-yellow “Where’s Waldo” challenge!  None of us could locate the queen, whose only difference from the other bees was that she sported a yellow dot on her head!  We then were given the opportunity to purchase some of the delicious honey, and many of us walked out a little poorer in NZ dollars but richer in sweets.

Not far from there, the driver pulled into a forested area where we got out, wondering what there was to see (other than an outhouse). Apparently the only purposes for this stop were a morning tea break and a chance to use the facilities. He took out a collapsible table, covered it with a tablecloth, and served us morning tea (or coffee or juice) and a muffin.  (Three shore excursions in a row – three muffins in a row!  Kiwis certainly do like their muffins, I guess!)  As we stood talking with some of the other people, we learned that one couple was from Madison, WI.  We commented that our aunt and cousins lived in Madison, adding that our cousin’s husband was a doctor associated with the University of Wisconsin.  The lady asked what his name was.  When we replied Priest, she immediately responded, “Oh, Dr. Priest!”  She had been a nurse at a Madison hospital where Geoff has hospital rights, and being in cardiology and pulmonology (Geoff’s field), she had seen his name on patient charts.  She did say though that having worked the night shift, she’d never met him.  However, it does remind us of how small the world really is!  Last year we met someone in Ushuaia, Argentina (southern tip of South America) with a Lancaster, NY, connection, and this year we met someone in New Zealand with a connection to relatives in Wisconsin! 

On our way again, we left the forests of the coast and drove inland and upward.  Soon we were passing vineyards, and before we knew it, we were winding our way up and down one-lane mountainous roads that traversed a very rugged terrain as we drove up into the Southern Alps.  This made the third day in a row for me of twisting, turning, and jarring, bumpy rides!  Never a dull moment and today was anything but dull!  Our driver took these turns at what seemed to be break-neck speed!  He obviously knew every twist and turn, but for us it was a white-knuckle ride!  In the small bus, where the windows vibrated at each bump, it was a noisy but amazingly beautiful hour-and-a-half journey to our next destination.  It would be almost impossible to paint a word picture of what we saw, and even photos wouldn’t do it justice!  We saw high snow-capped mountains, forests, a stream meandering through a wide riverbed, grazing lands as far as the eye could see of brown grass and shrubs, dotted with sheep and/or cattle, small homes nestled into valleys and miles from any neighbors. 

Finally we arrived at the Upcot Station, where we were to watch a(nother) sheep-shearing and sheepdog demonstration.  We learned that a station is a name given only to places that have 5000 or more acres of land.  In this case, the family that runs Upcot Station owns 17,000 acres and leases 17,000 from the government, making their station a very impressive 34,000 acres of land.  Their station has all merino sheep; we saw some of the raw wool already packaged for shipping with more ready to be bundled up.  The owner, Bill, demonstrated shearing one of the sheep, which appeared to be very reluctant to have his coat removed. Bill even commented that the sheep was getting “angry”, a term I’ve never heard when referring to a sheep. 

We went outside to watch two of his dogs handle the sheep.  One was a Huntaway, a large dog specially bred for herding on the farms.  Eager to show his skills, this dog leapt the four-foot fences in the paddock with ease, herding the sheep through a gate into a very narrow passage in the corral.  It was amazing to see this dog bounding over the fences with virtually no effort! 

About a dozen of these sheep were separated out and set loose for the Border collie Tim to show his skills.  Unlike the Border collie Squeak that we saw in Auckland, Tim obeyed not voice commands but whistles to quickly round up the sheep that had scattered in the open fields.  At one point all the sheep appeared to be running directly at me, quite a disconcerting feeling when I was being so ginger about walking and not causing more problems with my foot!  But Tim gathered them into a huddle and skillfully brought them back into the paddock.  No matter how many times I see this done, I am totally amazed at the skill these animals have, and the love they have for their work.  They absolutely can’t wait to get out and do their jobs (reminiscent of the eagerness of sled dogs we’ve seen in Arctic regions). Someone asked how many sheep one dog could handle, and the answer was an absolutely incredible 400, even more so considering the fact that in the remote areas where these stations are, there is an average of one sheep per five acres while farther down near town, the ratio is five sheep per acre.  Because the sheep stray so far, the dogs really have their work cut out for them to round them up when the time comes, but they find virtually all the sheep.  Sometimes the dogs are brought to different areas of the station by helicopter and are dropped off to find sheep in more remote areas. 

After the demonstrations, we rode a very short distance down the road where Bill’s wife Nickie had prepared lunch for us.  We were kind of dreading it – we fully expected to be served lamb, not something either of us enjoys.  Nickie greeted us warmly and invited us in for lunch.  She had a tossed salad, delicious homemade bread, zucchini fritters, and a casserole of some kind.  We asked what the meat was and she replied, “Rabbit.”  Gulp!  Okay, I thought, here we go… Never having tried rabbit before, I really wasn’t sure what to expect, but both Chuck and I found that we had enjoyed it far more than we thought we would!  The two of us sat down outside at a table with two other couples, a German couple from near Hamburg, Germany, and fellow (and rather iconic Cruise Critic) bloggers Bill & Mary Ann.  Nickie also sat down and ate with us while Bill remained inside, eating and visiting with others.  It was such an pleasant afternoon, chatting with Nickie, who had as many questions for us as we had for her!  Then we were free to roam the gardens and house.  I found it quite interesting to see the fuse box in the kitchen – very, very unique!  The house had been in the family’s possession since about 1902, and the electricity was put in before that.  It was the original wiring.  I’m sure our friend Jim Maxim would find it very fascinating!

Once again we were on our way – back down the mountains, back through the gravel roads at seemingly breakneck speed.  About a half hour on the way, we were left in the dust by a car.  Our guide’s comment?  “That’s Nickie on her way to pick her daughter up from school.”  That’s quite a trip to have to do a few times a day!  And bus service would be very impractical with so many remote stations!

Our final stop was at the Yealands Estate Wines, where we saw a video and were given the opportunity to sample wines.  Unlike the honey earlier, the wine didn’t draw us in.  I was afraid after having had so little water to drink that any amount of wine I tasted would really hit!  So I took a complete pass.  Surrounding the winery was acre after acre of vineyards; our guide told us that some rows of vineyards are as long as 4.5 kilometers (or just under three miles)!  We believed it when we saw those rows and rows of vineyards extending as far as the eye could see!

Scheduled to arrive back at the ship at 5:15, we pulled up to the port gate at that exact time.  No wonder the guide had traveled so quickly in order to cover that vast amount of territory!  It had been an amazing trip, covering approximately 175 miles with exceptionally beautiful vistas! 

Regretfully we boarded the ship, leaving New Zealand behind.  Our friend Carole will be very pleased to know that it was definitely on its best behavior, with beautifully sunny skies, warm people, and fantastic scenery! What a wonderful country, Carole!  No wonder you are so proud of New Zealand!!! We wish you had been with us to share your love of your country of birth.

Now as we cross the Tasman Sea, we eagerly anticipate our arrival in another favorite country – Australia! 

BT