Australia

Australia

Arrived Sydney and tied up opposite the Opera House on a bright sunny day that got better as the day progressed. Took a tour from the pier head up the Paramatta river. The boat was a swift low streamlined catamaran. First stop was in Macquarrie Square where the National Marine Museum was we later found out. In the river was a replica of the boat used by Cook on his expeditions to the South Seas. Went to see this later and took some pics.

Took a walk around the” Rocks“, which is situated under the bridge and is the place where the first settlement started. The houses were tiny and crammed together but the rocky area was very interesting. We had a Guiness in an Irish pub and then repeated this as it was so good.

In the evening we left the ship once again. We were delighted to see that the ship had been lit up in pink glow to raise funds for breast cancer research. The Opera House was also lit up the same way. We walked around the harbor to the Opera House and took some good pictures. It was a Friday night and the café frontage was thronged with people. A very lively scene with lots of music and a party atmosphere reminiscent of Friday nights in England but without the Lager louts.

Next morning after a hearty breakfast we took a hop on - hop off tour of the city. At Kings Cross and passed the hotel we stayed in on our first visit here 18 years ago. Australia seems to have had a continuing boom compared to Europe and the US. It seemed to have many more high rises than we remembered.

We hopped off the bus and joined a sister bus to Bondi Beach a very famous surfing area. The weather was very sunny and the beach looked very crowded but very spectacular. We continued the tour around Rose bay and Double bay. Here we saw some very expensive property and very inviting sheltered bays for boating. Back in the city we hopped off to see the Australian Museum spending an hour there and had a cup of tea. Jumping back on the bus we completed the city circuit until we arrived at the Maritime museum in Murray street.

The Maritime Museum was spectacular, a must see next time we are here. It has many interesting boats and ships outside in the Museum Harbour. Inside the building are some really interesting exhibits that tell the story from a marine perspective. The replica of Cook’s ship in full rig and full size was moored on the key. A couple of modern warships including a submarine were tied up close-by giving a contrast of how unbelievably small Cook’s ship was for such a journey but how rugged it had been built.

The sail-a-way was a big success. we were on an upper deck to take pictures of the harbor and heads as we set sail for Melbourne. We had champagne and watched some of the entertainment crew dance to the swing band. We watched the ship pass the heads in the twilight and then retired to the Lido for dinner.

The show that night was Des O’Conner who much to our surprise was excellent and played to a packed house. The other night while in transit we watched a group from Liverpool play Beatles, they filled the theatre also and were well received by all. Next night they played to the dancers in the Queens room.

Melbourne

We arrived in Melbourne and tied up next to another cruise ship that had raced us in to port during the night. We could see it from the window all lit up as it sailed past us.

We took a tour to the Dandenong hills. It was a forest covered area with lots of wild life. We stoped in a little town called Olinda. On the way back to the ship we stopped in the city and took some pictures.

In the evening we were invited to a dinner arranged for passengers who were going round the world, a real posh do. It was a grand affair in the main art centre. We were treated to a recital by a boys choir and an address by the CEO of Cunard etc. Dinner was excellent.

Back at the ship there was a sail-a-way dance in full swing. We decided to go up to the Commodore Lounge and watch the ship negotiate the channel as we set sail for Adelaide.

Sheila and I sat by the front window, pretending to steer the ship through the navigation buoys, while drinking champagne. It is a good job we are not in charge, is all I can say.

Adelaide.

We left the ship for a Cunard organized land tour to Ayers Rock and Alice Springs. We stayed overnight in the center of Adelaide after a tour of the city. We were treated to a dinner at the original Penfold winery. The evening was very balmy and as the winery was situated high above the city, we were able to have a wonderful view of Adelaide and surrounding area.

The following day, we were driven to the airport for our flight to Alice Springs. This is known as the Red Center of Australia and it certainly is. However, we were treated to a rare occasion; it RAINED. The usually dry river bed was flowing. Because it is rare, there is only one bridge over the river into town. There are only causeways and the river was flowing over them. We found ourselves in a traffic jam trying to reach the bridge to get to our hotel. After freshening up, the group went to an authentic Australian Outback dinner. This consisted of a sampler of emu, crocodile, camel and kangaroo. When we had decided which of these samples we preferred we could choose to have a larger portion plus a serving of Baramundi fish for our main course. The meats all tasted like beef but had not been cooked, in my opinion, properly They had been overcooked and were dry and chewy. Searing the meat would have been a better choice than barbecue. However, I did choose Camel and in a larger portion it cooked better. It has a mild taste, very lean and very little cholesterol. The Australians export this meat to Arabia, together with live animals, as Australia has too many and they are ruining the vegetation in certain areas.

Before going to dinner we were given a guided tour of the first telegraph station in Alice Springs then on to the Flying Doctor headquarters and a School of the Air. The school communicates with the outlaying cattle stations so that the children have a means of education.

The following day we visited the Alice Springs Desert Park. This covered a large area and one could spend many hours looking at the various animals, etc. We had a very good ranger explaining the plans and trees and what the aborigines used them for. They were able to sustain themselves for thousand of years by using these natural resources. The ground in this area is a very red sandy soil. We also visited a rocky range named the McDonald Range. There are several narrow gorges through the range and one of them is called Simpson’s gap. This is a narrow gap in the rocks where a small river flowed through. The walk from the car park to the gap was very rocky and uneven with small bridges along the way to cross the river. As it was raining, we were able to see the area in its full glory rather than a dry river bed. We returned to the coach and drove off to the airport and Ayer’s Rock.

Arriving at Ayers Rock we were taken to our hotel named Sails in the Desert. It was a very nice hotel in the middle of the desert. Robert and I had a nice swim before getting ready for the evening meal. This meal was a delight. The venue was under the stars, no roof or walls, just on top of a sand dune in the open air. The weather was kind to us and it did not rain. However, the sky was cloudy so we did not see the stars as was planned. The setting was delightful though and the meal was excellent. It was a great experience watching the sun set on Ayers Rock and listening to the small strange sounds of an otherwise silent desert.

The following day we were driven to the base of the rock. When seen from afar it looks like a smooth round rock. However, on close inspection it has many cracks and crevices, caves and holes. Because of the rain it also had run offs down the sides and we visited a large watering hole that fills with these runoffs. There are many walks around the base which because of the time frame we could not do. If one had the time and ability they could also climb to the top. The aborigines are discouraging this as the rock has significance to them. There were hotels, at one time, quite close to the rock. These have been closed and new ones built further away. This happened when the area was returned to the aborigines in recent times. Two of the caves we did visit had ancient rock art. We took many pictures of everything. We all wished we could stay longer to see more but it was time to leave and catch our plane to Perth.

On our arrival in Perth we were treated to a nice tour of the city and then on to Freemantle for the night while we waited for the Queen Victoria to arrive the following morning. This ended our overland trip which we would not have missed for the world.

In Freemantle we spent the afternoon visiting the town. It is quite small but retains its old world beauty. The stores are modern inside. The houses and stores are only two storey high and most of them retain their wrought iron balconies. We were shopping for a hat for Robert. Somewhere between the coach and the ship the hat went missing. As a hat is essential we needed to buy one. This proved to be more difficult than expected as the summer season was at an end here. After visiting several stores, including a Target, we found a small store named The Red Dot Store which had just what we wanted. Feeling triumphant we walked back to the ship which proved to be a longer walk than expected. We had taken the ship’s shuttle bus into the town. This had one stop only and, by the time we had made our purchase, we were a long way from the stop, hence the decision to walk back. Many others were doing the same thing. It was an interesting walk. We saw a fishing fleet in the docks which Robert recognized as shrimp boats. Many others were moored alongside. The walk was alongside the rail line to Perth and we used the footbridge to reach the portside and passenger terminal. That evening the ship sailed for Exmouth our last port of call in Australia.

One day at sea and we were in Exmouth. The temperature was 41c or 104F. It was a clear blue sky and very dry. We had booked a trip in the afternoon to a place named Yardie Creek. This entailed a fifty mile drive there and the same back. We had a good driver and he put his foot down hard to get us to our destination quickly. We saw Emus by the side of the road and many termite columns. A couple of kangaroos hopped off into the dunes now and again. At Yardie Creek we boarded a small flat bottom boat with a nice screen above to shade us from the sun. It was piloted by a female ranger who was very informative about the area and wild life. Floating along the creek the vegetation was rock, bush and mangrove trees. Mangrove trees have their roots in the water and as the bush gave way to high rocky terraces the roots were hanging down like vines or pony tails into the water. On the terraces there were eagle and osprey nests. It had been recorded that these nests have been in use for one hundred and fifty years. Our ranger was very keen that we should see rock wallabies. These are quite small, about the size of a large rabbit and the same color as the rocks. It took some looking for but we did eventually manage to pick them out amongst the rocks. We saw two eagles flying over the creek which disturbed some white parrots nesting amongst the rocks and they flew up, squawking, hoping to scare the eagles away. Our trip over, we returned to the ship and onwards to Borneo.