Disappointing News

We have just learned that bad weather and high seas will prevent our ship from cruising Milford Sound. We are bummed because this was going to be a highlight of the cruise. Pictures below are what we will miss.  :(

The good news is we will have a new port which will allow us to visit wineries in the Marlborough wine region. Hello Kim Crawford and Oyster Bay! We will stock our cabin with Sauvignon Blanc for those warm evenings ahead!

Hobart, Tasmania

We spent yesterday sight seeing in Tasmania. Originally another British penal colony, Hobart is now a lovely port city with interesting shops, sidewalk cafes and craft breweries. We took advantage of all!  :)

In the morning, we went to the top of Mount Wellington. The views encompassed a third of the entire island and were spectacular! We also visited the Cascade Brewery (first established in 1843) and the Female Factory (the original women's prison now a World Heritage Site). After a great lunch of Tasmanian cheese and beer in a historic waterfront pub, we explored the CBD and did a little shopping.

We are now at sea for two days as we cross the Tasman Sea to New Zealand. Our next post will be from Milford Sound.

Historic Melbourne and a Day at Sea

We spent our second day in Melbourne exploring the historic residential neighbourhoods near the waterfront. The architecture of the old houses was a very interesting combination of Victorian terraces and wrought iron embellishments.  In some ways, the houses reminded us of New Orleans.

Today we are at sea on our way to Tasmania. We spent a lazy day on the pool deck reading and using the hot tubs. We also power walked on the track to burn off some calories. Tonight we are having dinner at one of the specialty restaurants called Red Ginger. The food on this cruise is amazing!

Melbourne and Penguins

We spent yesterday morning touring the CBD of Melbourne. Another lovely clean, modern city with active sports and vibrant arts and culture - there are stadiums, galleries and theatres everywhere.

In the afternoon and evening, we took a bus tour out to Phillip Island just off the southern most coast of Australia's mainland. The scenery was breathtaking! We also saw lots of animals in their natural environment.

The highlight of the tour was watching the penguin parade at dusk. Every evening thousands of little penguins return from a day of eating as much seafood as possible in the rough seas. As darkness falls, they struggle out of the sea and over the dunes in their exhaustion to bring the food back to their offspring waiting in their burrows.

It is truly emotional to watch their heroic efforts and to listen to their calls to one another during this miraculous feat of nature.

Day at Sea

Today we sailed the Tasman Sea on our way to Melbourne. It was a quiet day relaxing on the pool deck, doing laundry, exercising and attending the Captain's Welcome Cocktail Party. Big day touring Melbourne tomorrow!

Hockey is Canada's Game !!!!!

Congratulations to Canada from the Tasman Sea!!!!!!!!

Bon Voyage!

We said farewell to Sydney today and boarded the Marina to begin the cruise phase of our trip. The pictures above were taken as we sailed out of the harbour.
 The ship is lovely but definitely an older crowd! Bruce and I are the hipsters! LOL
 We got settled in, had the mandatory lifeboat drill and enjoyed a great dinner. Now we are trying to find the Gold Medal game on the ship's satellite TV system. All we can find is a cricket match! Can anyone explain that game?

Go Canada!!!!

Last Day in Sydney

Today was our final day in Sydney before the cruise. In the morning, we did a little shopping at Tommy Bahama. Then we watched a wonderful performance of The Magic Flute at the Sydney Opera House.
This evening we had cocktails in Blu Bar on the 36th floor of our hotel - the Shangi La Sydney and then had a casual dinner at an historic brew pub called Hart's Pub.
Tonight we are relaxing and watching Catching Fire in our room.

Tomorrow - Bon Voyage!

Olympic Gold!

We are back in Sydney for two nights before we board our cruise ship on Sunday. Tomorrow we see The Magic Flute at the Sydney Opera House.

But right now we are riveted to a TV watching a replay of the Women's Hockey Gold Medal Game. Wow, so exciting. Go Canada!

And look what is right outside our hotel window - Canadian Embassy!? Must be a good omen.

The Great Barrier Reef

Today was fantastic. We traveled north about an hour from Cairns to the beautiful tropical resort of Port Douglas. From there, we were transported to the outer edge of the Great Barrier Reef on a huge catamaran. We spent the day snorkeling and exploring the coral and sea life on the reef. Spectacular!

Wine from the land down under

I have always liked wines from Australia and New Zealand. This trip has allowed us to try many regional wines. I am crazy about Synonymous Barossa Shiraz from southern Australia and Squealing Pig Sauvignon Blanc from the Marlborough region of New Zealand. Wonderful!
Tonight we had a few glasses under the stars listening to live music and eating Indian curry and Indonesian satays at a great waterfront restaurant.
Australia is even more multicultural than Canada.

After a refreshing swim in the hotel pool, we have retreated from the heat to listen to a crazy thunder storm in our room.

About Cairns....

Cairns is a beautiful beach town like South Beach surrounded by mountains and rain forest. Bruce and I spent the evening watching Olympic hockey amid Tiki torches at a waterfront bar.

One really unique thing about Cairns is the startling event at dusk each evening, The huge fruit bats that sleep in the mango trees during the day fill the skies for about half an hour as the sun sets. They are the the size of large sea gulls. It is a very freaky thing to witness if you are a tourist but the locals barely notice them.

From desert to rain forest!

We flew from the interior to Cairns in Queensland (north east coast) late yesterday. Cairns is a beautiful tropical resort town nestled between the Pacific Ocean and the rain forest. The landscape and climate could not be more different from the Red Interior. The humidity is extreme - feels like being in a lush greenhouse.
Today was spent up in the mountains exploring the rain forest and interacting with native animals. A great day!

PS - I was attacked by  a really cute wallaby!  :)

G'day from the Outback!

Sorry for the delay in posting, but we have been on the move. From Sydney, we flew to Ayers Rock in the Red Interior of Australia. The landscape was flat, red, covered in scrubby growth and punctuated by amazing rock formations which have spiritual significance for the Aboriginal people. The desert like climate had 40C plus temperatures of very dry heat. We visited the mystical 36 domes of Kata Tjuta and hiked the Walpa Gorge. We also visited Uluru (known as Ayers Rock before the Hand Back) at both sunrise and sunset to witness the incredible colour variations on the rock caused by changing light conditions. We also visited early Aboriginal caves and learned about their mythology and culture.