Happy New Year,s , Todaybwe are iN our last port, Darwin which is 12 degrees below the equator. It I
S HOT. . Not too much to domherebthough the stores have opened for us. There is only a population of 75000 so when you drop 1200 off, it is wise to open your store no matter what day it is. we walked around to the Smith St Mall which
Has free wifi. the highlight of the day talking to Brian, Brit and Robert. Saw the cathedral. th
Is city has been destroyed by bombs during ww2 and in 1974 by a cyclone. Most of the buildings are new so not too much charm.
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Cairns, Australia.december 8,2011
Cairns December 28,2011
We still had the Suzuki Swift until 1 PM so we got up at 5:30 AM to hit the road. We were able to park it for the night alongside the ship for $3, one of the biggest bargains we have found in Oz. Cairns is funny in that it is so small but has the widest streets. It is easy to navigate as there are so few roads. We headed north out of town towards Daintree National Park. The road follows the coast of the Coral Sea with mountains on the left. The mountains are covered in palm, eucalyptus ,fig and jacaranda trees. Whenever we stopped the car you could hear all kinds of bird and animal calls. After reaching the tiny village of Daintree we started back by way of Port Douglas. This area is obviously very well off with lots of resorts and high end shops. Reminded me a little of Palm Beach in Fla. but on a smaller scale. I think I prefer Daintree, the old hippie colony . Saw various abörigine areas especially around Mossman. Though time was short we stopped at one of the sandy beaches by the side of the road. There I collected many tiny perfect scallop shells. The sea was warm and just such a serene way to wade along the shore. No waves just quiet lapping of the water. You cannot swim at this time of year due to the presence of poisonous box jellyfish. There was no way I was going to take a chance on getting stung by one of those guys. The sea was tempting though. Got the car back on time after being able to FaceTime with Robert. So awesome to actually talk with loved ones from halfway around the world. Just reminds me of StarTrek. Here we are over 10,000 miles from New York and we can see his face today and Brit's last night. God bless McDonalds and their wifi.
Now we have 3 days at sea, sailing around the Great Barrier Reef, through the Torres Strait which separates Australia from Papua New Guinea and the on to the top end of Oz, Darwin which has just experienced a cyclone this week.
We still had the Suzuki Swift until 1 PM so we got up at 5:30 AM to hit the road. We were able to park it for the night alongside the ship for $3, one of the biggest bargains we have found in Oz. Cairns is funny in that it is so small but has the widest streets. It is easy to navigate as there are so few roads. We headed north out of town towards Daintree National Park. The road follows the coast of the Coral Sea with mountains on the left. The mountains are covered in palm, eucalyptus ,fig and jacaranda trees. Whenever we stopped the car you could hear all kinds of bird and animal calls. After reaching the tiny village of Daintree we started back by way of Port Douglas. This area is obviously very well off with lots of resorts and high end shops. Reminded me a little of Palm Beach in Fla. but on a smaller scale. I think I prefer Daintree, the old hippie colony . Saw various abörigine areas especially around Mossman. Though time was short we stopped at one of the sandy beaches by the side of the road. There I collected many tiny perfect scallop shells. The sea was warm and just such a serene way to wade along the shore. No waves just quiet lapping of the water. You cannot swim at this time of year due to the presence of poisonous box jellyfish. There was no way I was going to take a chance on getting stung by one of those guys. The sea was tempting though. Got the car back on time after being able to FaceTime with Robert. So awesome to actually talk with loved ones from halfway around the world. Just reminds me of StarTrek. Here we are over 10,000 miles from New York and we can see his face today and Brit's last night. God bless McDonalds and their wifi.
Now we have 3 days at sea, sailing around the Great Barrier Reef, through the Torres Strait which separates Australia from Papua New Guinea and the on to the top end of Oz, Darwin which has just experienced a cyclone this week.
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Cairns. December 27,2011
This is a smallish city in the north east is the gateway to the Great Barrier Reef and to the many rainforest areas along the coast. It is very tropical, has large wide streets with palm trees, not many people, clean and safe. I see a pattern with these Oz cities. We rented a Suzuki car and drove, on the left, to Kuranda, an abörigine settlement in the mountains. We get to stay overnight here which is nice. On the way to Kuranda we got lost but did find the Baron river gorge which was not too different from those I have been to inNH. The difference here is that no one stops you from swimming in the river and playing on the rocks. When we finally found Kuranda most of the tourists had gone home. There is a cable car here and old railroad. By 5PM it was very quiet. We walked along a jungle trail which was fabulous. It was dark and eerie with lots of animal calls and howls We could not see them but they were there. We did see a strange looking turkey with a flaming red head and bright yellow throat.Also saw green parrots. I did think I saw a koala in a tree but cannot be sure. I am still looking for a kangaroo. I may have to go to a zoo. almost the best part of the day was stopping at a McDonald,s which had wifi and I was able to connect to file these blogs and to check messages. Even better Brit was online and we face timed . So cool!
This is a smallish city in the north east is the gateway to the Great Barrier Reef and to the many rainforest areas along the coast. It is very tropical, has large wide streets with palm trees, not many people, clean and safe. I see a pattern with these Oz cities. We rented a Suzuki car and drove, on the left, to Kuranda, an abörigine settlement in the mountains. We get to stay overnight here which is nice. On the way to Kuranda we got lost but did find the Baron river gorge which was not too different from those I have been to inNH. The difference here is that no one stops you from swimming in the river and playing on the rocks. When we finally found Kuranda most of the tourists had gone home. There is a cable car here and old railroad. By 5PM it was very quiet. We walked along a jungle trail which was fabulous. It was dark and eerie with lots of animal calls and howls We could not see them but they were there. We did see a strange looking turkey with a flaming red head and bright yellow throat.Also saw green parrots. I did think I saw a koala in a tree but cannot be sure. I am still looking for a kangaroo. I may have to go to a zoo. almost the best part of the day was stopping at a McDonald,s which had wifi and I was able to connect to file these blogs and to check messages. Even better Brit was online and we face timed . So cool!
Brisbane, Australia. Christmas, 2011
Christmas day found us in Brisbane. This shiny city of 2 million is located a few miles inland on the Brisbane River. The ship we are on, the Zaandam docked about 4miles away as the river becomes too shallow to navigate. To get to the center or CBD central business district , as it is called, we took a catamaran called the CityCat. These catamarans effectively are used as busses. We were one of the first off the ship at 7AM and had the cat to ourselves. Since it is Christmas virtually nothing is open so we rode the 35 minutes to South Bank which is the main park in the city center. It is an urban oasis consisting of different walkways, bamboo gardens, rainforest boardwalks.a Nepalese temple and a giant ferris wheel left over from a world exhibition held here in 1988 . It was interesting to see how Aussies observe the holiday. Basicly they have huge picnics in the parks comprised of large family groups and friends. South Bank has a man made beach with lots of water features and young and old had a blast playing in the various pools and fountains and beach. I searched in vain for WIFI to no avail so felt awful that I couldn't get in touch with our children and grandchildren. After a couple of hours we headed across the. Ew solar powered bridge to walk through the botanic gardens. Much of Brisbane was inundated a year ago by a massive flood. Many of the gardens were flooded and washed away. Still, though,there were camellias, what a wonderful scent! there were also the ubiquitous black necked ibises. These funny birds are about 2-3feet tall with very long skinny beaks.I have seen them stick those slender beaks in ladies pocketbooks looking for food. When they fly they look like herons , only less gangly and more graceful. I liked what we saw of "Brissie" . Like Sydney it was clean, lots of public conveniences, safe and friendly. The ride back on the cat was equally fun, even better because the guy never charged us,, Merry Christmas to the yanks. He was happy because he was making $450 for his shift.
Today we met Bert's cousin. Georgia Phillips and her husband Peter. Georgia emigrated here over 30 years ago as a teacher librarian and met Peter. they have 2 grown children, Liz and David who we had abeer with after his work. In the Am we went to the Sydney art museum which was awesome. My favorite painting was " The Ferry" by Fox. We then drove out to watson's bay for lunch at Doyle's and to see the gap. This walk on the sandstone cliff head brought us to the South Head and we could see ahead to the North Head. These are the two guardians to the opening of the harbor of Sydney and we will sail between them tomorrow AM. We then drove to the famous Bondi Beach. The sand is a beautiful butter color and as soft as talcum. not a stone in it and easily packed. there were many surfers and swimmers and we even saw 2 policeman on horseback patrolling the beach. we finished the day's drive with a beer at the local pub where we got to meet David. It was a really nice day and wonderful to get to know Georgia and Peter .
After we got back to the hotel we skipped out again to the QVB to see the unusable clock which beheads the king on the hour. on the way we stopped at St Andrews Anglican Cathredral to participate for a few minutes in carols and the service. sobeautiful to listen to the small boys in their choirrobes and the organ was magnificent. everyone is out shopping and eating and having fun. this city is wonderful.
After we got back to the hotel we skipped out again to the QVB to see the unusable clock which beheads the king on the hour. on the way we stopped at St Andrews Anglican Cathredral to participate for a few minutes in carols and the service. sobeautiful to listen to the small boys in their choirrobes and the organ was magnificent. everyone is out shopping and eating and having fun. this city is wonderful.
Australia
I've left Australia for my last continent, I think, for one reason. I've had some sort of fear of flying so far across an ocean. Other Asiantrips involved going over the pole. guess I thought we stood some sort of chance landing or crashing on ice than five mile deep ocean. anyhow we made it to Sydney via Washington and San Francisco, about 40 hours total. during the last stretch we had a lovely 31 year old woman from SFwho was moving to Australia for a year with a new job. Economy here is better than the US as evidenced by the prices which are astoundingly high. IU have seen $5 for a chocolate bar, al McDonalds is double, other prices I couldn't even believe.
after landing we walked to the next village, Wolli Creek thereby saving $25 on the train. From Central Station we walked the 5 blocks to the Vibe Hotel. nice big room. we dropped o,ur bags, showered and hit the streets. There is a tourist bus ,the 555, which is free and took us to Circular Quay which is the heart of the harbor, the Opera House and the Harbor Bridge are here. we took a ferry to Manly Beach which crossed the harbor giving us spectacular views of the skyline. Sydney has 4 million people, many are Asian and yo,u hear so many different l a gauges. it is extremely clean, vibrant, easy to navigate. Manly was a 30 minute ride and we walked along the Corso, the main pedestrian way to the surfing beach. Very picturesque framed on each end by rocks. We walked along for a short while before taking the ferry back .Dinner at Maloney Hotel and bed at 7 PM.
December 21,2011. Sydney
After 12 hours sleep I feel much refreshed. Today we will join a tour of downtown Sydney starting at the Town Hall. there were about 50 people and our guide was Evan a university students who just works for tips. He was so energetic and we walked for 7 km all over learning so many anecdotes . Sydney was settled about 200 years ago by convicts sent from England. We saw large Cathedrals, the rum hospital, Hyde park, the Victoria mall. outside this was a statue of Queen Victoria and her dog. the dog actually speaks when you put a coin in front of him, a charity thing, so funny though. We ended the tour at The Rocks, the original seedy section which now is the cool area with cafes and shops and cobbled streets. I learned so much and really loved Evans' lively presentation. After a short rest we headed over to inspect the Opera House. this iconic building was a bit disappointing. I thought it would be white but it is a dull butter color and kind of ugly up close. the harbor with all its ferries and boats was wonderful to watch. there were aborigine buskers who played their digeridoos . a warm sunny day at about 72 degrees, just perfect.
after landing we walked to the next village, Wolli Creek thereby saving $25 on the train. From Central Station we walked the 5 blocks to the Vibe Hotel. nice big room. we dropped o,ur bags, showered and hit the streets. There is a tourist bus ,the 555, which is free and took us to Circular Quay which is the heart of the harbor, the Opera House and the Harbor Bridge are here. we took a ferry to Manly Beach which crossed the harbor giving us spectacular views of the skyline. Sydney has 4 million people, many are Asian and yo,u hear so many different l a gauges. it is extremely clean, vibrant, easy to navigate. Manly was a 30 minute ride and we walked along the Corso, the main pedestrian way to the surfing beach. Very picturesque framed on each end by rocks. We walked along for a short while before taking the ferry back .Dinner at Maloney Hotel and bed at 7 PM.
December 21,2011. Sydney
After 12 hours sleep I feel much refreshed. Today we will join a tour of downtown Sydney starting at the Town Hall. there were about 50 people and our guide was Evan a university students who just works for tips. He was so energetic and we walked for 7 km all over learning so many anecdotes . Sydney was settled about 200 years ago by convicts sent from England. We saw large Cathedrals, the rum hospital, Hyde park, the Victoria mall. outside this was a statue of Queen Victoria and her dog. the dog actually speaks when you put a coin in front of him, a charity thing, so funny though. We ended the tour at The Rocks, the original seedy section which now is the cool area with cafes and shops and cobbled streets. I learned so much and really loved Evans' lively presentation. After a short rest we headed over to inspect the Opera House. this iconic building was a bit disappointing. I thought it would be white but it is a dull butter color and kind of ugly up close. the harbor with all its ferries and boats was wonderful to watch. there were aborigine buskers who played their digeridoos . a warm sunny day at about 72 degrees, just perfect.
Thursday, December 22, 2011
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