Adelaide

Unlike the convict population of the east coast of Australia, early settlers to South Australia were predominantly religious dissenters and free of what was considered the “convict stain.” These settlers, determined to stand apart from the rest of the country, set out to establish a more sophisticated and cultural environment for their city.  Religious dissenters established their own churches and the city became known as the “City of Churches” with over 100 of them in the vicinity.  Adelaide, founded in 1836 by free settlers, incorporated in 1840, became the first municipality in Australia, and is the capital city of South Australia.

It boasts a strong manufacturing base – chemicals, electrical goods, textiles, motor vehicles and steel tubes.  It has its own refinery , is the state’s administrative and cultural center and is an ideal location for sport, recreation & tourism.  It can still be traversed from north to south and through the main street without having to contend with traffic jams, even at peak hours.  It is Australia’s fourth-largest city and for its population, has more restaurants than any other Australian city. Great, more food!

We got off the ship at about 9:30 and had to be back at 3:00.  Short day here so we took the shuttle to town which is about a 40 minute ride.  We walked around town, had lunch and I bought a “Tilley” for Africa.  It’s an all-weather hat with a lifetime guarantee, waterproof and UV protected.  It was also very expensive. Our dollar is worth nothing in the world and even the Australian dollar is stronger than ours. There was a time when everyone wanted the American dollar, not any more.  Unbelievable!

The waters in the Tasman sea are usually very rough.  The last time we came to Australia the waves were so high that some people actually found fish on their balcony.  This time it was relatively calm with only 1 day being somewhat rocky.  Lucky!  By the way, Mike Farrell (B.J. Honeycutt on M.A.S.H.) and his wife Shelly Fabre joined the ship in Sydney.  He’s quite the activist but only spoke about M.A.S.H.  He’s very tall and looks exactly the same off camera as on and is very grey.  She, on the other hand, looks very strange with blond, pink & purple spiked hair.  Shelly Fabre…whoda thunk it.  It’s a very small ship and we run into them quite often.  Oh, how I did love M.A.S.H.  Our next stop is Bunbury, Australia.

  

Sydney, Australia

The city’s harbor is instantly recognizable, not only for its magnificent beauty, But for two of the most famous landmarks in the world…the Harbor Bridge and the Opera House. When it was discovered in 1788 British Captain Arthur Phillip called it “the finest harbor in the world.”  Few have since disagreed.

Sydney, the capital of New South Wales is very cosmopolitan and home to almost 4 million residents.  High-tech & high-rises, residential and recreational, vibrant and Victorian, industrious and independent – Sydney is the one city that has it all.  It is the oldest city is Australia and was the site of the first British penal colony on the continent and was named after Secretary Lord Sydney.  By the mid 1800s, the colony’s sheep-sheering industry gave way to fortune-seekers as gold was discovered, and the city has flourished ever since.

We have been here several times and pretty much knew where to go & what to do.  We also have a few friends in Queensland.  A couple of times we rented a sail boat and sailed around Sydney Harbor (in front of the Opera House).  We are here for 2 days, the first was spent on the “on off bus,” where we can ride for 24 hours on busses that take you throughout the entire city and the outskirts.  You can get off at any stop, stay for a while then get on the next bus to see something different.  Museums, beaches, shopping, whatever your choice.  We did a little of everything and were gone from 9:30 in the morning until 10:00 that night.

There is a fun restaurant here where you walk up a a few steps to a cook house, choose your entrée from the raw meats being displayed (chicken, various steaks, fish or pork), then take it to a grill and cook it yourself.  Other patrons are using the same grill.  After our steaks were cooked, we took them back to the cook house to get a baked potato, onions, vegetable & salad.  It’s called “Phillips Foote,” and is located in a popular area called “The Rocks.”  We had the best meal since leaving the states and had the most wonderful time.

The next day we walked to the Maritime Museum where docked were an Australian sub and a destroyer.  David, who is an x-submariner, took us through the sub giving us a better tour than the museum volunteers.  We ate a “hamburger” near the museum ($27.00for 2 with fries) then walked back to the boat.  I thought we walked a lot in Auckland, that was nothing compared to Sydney.  This is definitely a walking city and probably one the most beautiful in the world. 

About 200 passengers will disembark here as the 1^st segment of the trip is over.  200 others will board.  There are 4 segments to the trip the next being Sydney to Singapore, Singapore to Dubai and finally Dubai to Rome. Our sail-away is at 8:00 this evening – next stop Adelaide.

So “g’day” mates and hope you are having a lovely day.

Sydney, Australia

We rented a car and had a slight accident...we are all OK. The car was totaled.

Auckland, New Zealand

With more boats per capita than any other city in the world, Auckland is appropriately known as the city of Sails.  It is also one of the cleanest and most peaceful and the main city in New Zealand.  The British bought the 3,ooo acres that is now Auckland from the Maoris for $110.  It was named for the Earl of Auckland, the Viceroy of India. Although Auckland is no longer the capital, it flourishes with more than 1 million residents, and has always attracted the bulk of New Zealand’s population.  Spanning a narrow isthmus, it separates two seas – the Pacific Ocean to the east and the Tasman Sea to the west.

We had a great day today, actually they have all been great, but Auckland is a lovely, bustling,  cosmopolitan city that is very special.  For a sailor like Gary, it's heaven.  There are sailboats everywhere.   They have an extensive maritime museum that we have visited before and found it to be wonderful.  We spent our time walking around the city center and along the waterfront.  The waterfront is a very trendy area with several outdoor cafes complete with white linen tablecloths. We took a ferry to a quaint little town called “Devon Port.”  Got a lovely view of Auckland from the boat (which we missed this morning as we arrived very early), and spent a couple of hours there.  

We will be leaving here at 10:00 tonight and will have dinner in town.  Our beautiful little ship is docked next to the new Queen Elizabeth, which is approximately 4-5 times larger and is just magnificent.  After walking about 12 miles today, we got back to the ship at 6:00, changed clothes and went back out to keep a 7:00 dinner reservation at “Wildfire,” one of the waterfront restaurants.  It was a Brazilian barbecue (as if we needed more food), but we had a lot of fun and the view was awesome. We are now back in our room, it’s 9:40 and we are waiting to depart Auckland for Sydney.  It is really something when we leave a big city port like Auckland, the lights of the city are stunning and the view is breathtaking.   

No Sunday

We have two more sea days before reaching Auckland.  Today is Saturday, February 12^th, tomorrow will be Monday, February 14^th, Valentines Day.  We will be crossing the International Dateline tonight and there will be no Sunday.  There goes our Sunday morning breakfast!  We are now 19 hours ahead of Chicago.

 There was a question as to whether or not we will be stopping at the Seychelles due to pirates in the area.  Apparently, that’s no longer in question and we will be stopping there.  Really looking forward to seeing it, we have never been there.  Haven’t been able to get on the internet for several days and getting our e-mail has been impossible.

Morea, French Polynesia

We had the most incredible day!  Morea, from the air, looks like a beautiful green butterfly floating over a still aqua sea.  It is the sister island of Tahiti and is around 15 miles from the bustle of Papeete.  However, unlike modern Tahiti, Morea is an uncrowded tropical land of jagged mountains, lush forests, turquoise lagoons, coconut fields and glistening white-sand beaches.  The Bali Hai parts of the movie “South Pacific” were filmed here.  Our ship was anchored below Bali Hai Mountain.

We took the tender in and thought we would get a car to drive the island.  Instead Gary found a boat that would take us all around the island for about 3 hours and make various stops along the way. There were about 10 of us on board.  On our way to one of the many magnificent beaches, swimming In the middle of the beautiful turquoise water, were about 15 lemon sharks and countless numbers of stingrays.  We anchored here so that some of us could swim with the rays (clothes & all). They surrounded us even enveloping us at times but were actually very gentle.  Their skin is smooth and soft but for the very top of their body and, of course, the tail which is very coarse.  The sharks never bothered us but were ever present brushing against us at times. Surprisingly enough we had no fear of either the stingrays or the sharks but Gary was always on guard, just in case.  We both found it to be the most incredible experience and stayed in the water for quite a while.  We were going to go diving in the afternoon, but after this couldn’t imagine seeing anything more wonderful.  From there we went to a white sand beach and swam for about an hour, this time we were able to change into our bathing suits.  Morea is everything a south sea island should be…paradise.  We will long remember  our swim with the rays.

Papette, Tahiti - French Polynesia

Tahiti is an island paradise countless have written about and even more have dreamed of.  Part of the Windward Islands, Tahiti makes up more than one-quarter of the total surface of French Polynesia and two-thirds of the population.  High cliffs, cascading waterfalls, dense forests and breathtaking flora are some of the charm of Tahiti.

Tahiti is also the land of the black pearl  Everywhere are stores filled with beautiful black pearls in every hue and shape. Hanging along the streets are pareo’s galore in beautiful floral prints and displays of fresh flowers in huge bouquets that would take up half of our cabin.  It has become a very commercial port and would disappoint most who travel the distance thinking it will be as the crew of the Bounty found it more than 200 years ago.  We walked around the city center and the outskirts of town thinking we could either rent a car or find a taxi to take us around the island.  It is very expensive here and we were unable to find reasonable transportation.  What we did find was a great Pizzeria for lunch.  The owner was terrific and the lunch actually made the day.  We are all looking forward to tomorrow’s stop in Morea which is more of an example of an island in the South Pacific.

Pitcairn Island

One of the most fascinating adventures of all time began about 200 years ago far out in the Pacific Ocean.  Pitcairn is one of the remotest inhabited islands lying half way between New Zealand and the Americas.  A few archipelagos lie to the north and the southern seas are empty to the ice caps of Antarctica.  The island is about 2 miles long and 1 mile wide.  It is surrounded with a rugged coast of cliffs and the island has rich fertile soil with a mild climate that produces lush tropical fruit.   The Bounty set sail to search for breadfruit to feed the slaves on the sugar plantations in the West Indies.  As it turned out, the workers didn’t like the taste and wouldn’t eat the fruit.  The entire venture was for naught.  After the mutiny Bligh along with 18 men were forced into a small boat and set adrift.  The voyage of Captain Bligh is thought to be one of the greatest displays of seamanship in history. 

As we were unable to access the island, several of the people came on board to sell carvings, jewelry, stamps, coins and, of course, t-shirts.  It was an incredible experience meeting direct descendents of Fletcher Christian.  We circled the island until the islanders left. They came in a small boat from Bounty Bay, which is where the Bounty sank, and is the only place to gain entry the island.  There are only 47 inhabitants on the Island. The picture is of the people of Pitcairn.

Amazing, most of the day we were living in the late 1700's, and later on we're eating popcorn and watching the Super Bowl.  There are 2 days at sea before reaching Tahiti.  We have had 3 time changes since Easter Island , all turning the clock back 1 hour each day.  Tonight will be our 4^th.  We are now 3 hours behind Chicago.

Easter Island

The first settlers of Easter Island still remain a mystery today.  Most anthropologists believe the island was settled as part of a wave of Polynesian emigration.  The people that produced the Moai flourished during the 16^th & 17^th centuries.  Population growth, deforestation and food shortages led to cannibalism and its collapse.  Today about 3,400 people inhabit the 64 square mile island which lies half way between Tahiti and South America.

We tendered in to the only opening on the island where we could dock.  There are a lot of rocks jutting out of the water and going in is very precarious as the wave action is always intense.  Waiting at the dock were several cars with drivers wanting to take passengers around the island for a fee.  We spoke to a couple but they wanted a lot of money for the 3-4 hours it would take to see the island.  It’s pretty desolate with stray dogs and horses all around.  The town is very small with several mini markets and trinket shops.  We decided that we would be better off renting a car and drive ourselves.  There is only 1 main road that goes around the entire island and the Moai and caves they lived in were off that road.  Our car cost $60. for the day.  We saw everything we wanted and even went to the most beautiful beach with white sand, palm trees and water that went from royal blue to pale aqua.  It was very hot and we did a lot of walking but got some great pictures.  We have 1 day at sea and then arrive at Pitcairn Island, home of what’s left of the Bounty and the descendants of Fletcher Christian.

 

Sea Days

The weather has been cool since we left Peru and the sea a little rough.  Several people got seasick but I was fine. 

The days are flying by although I couldn’t tell you what consumes the hours.  I guess our time on board is spent making new friends, sitting at the pool and, of course, eating.   Have had a few intense political discussions but have always parted friends.  So glad we are still able to get the news stations and keep up…especially with things in Egypt.  In 2008 we went there but this time the closest we will be is Morocco (Casablanca) and that won’t be until April 30^th. Heard about the snow in Chicago and am very concerned about our house.  

The food has been good and the service great.  Unfortunately, I’m gaining weight as I write which is what I feared most.  They are having a ship building competition which involves a lot of work.  Several people are quite talented in and have backgrounds in engineering, construction and put a lot of effort into the project. 

Gary & I went swimming today and were in the water with 3 other women.  The wave action became so strong that it seemed we had a tidal wave in the pool and it took off Gary’s bathing suit.  I started to laugh but looked down at my suit and my top was around my waist.  Those sitting on deck got a great show.  I was so embarrassed! 

We will be at Easter Island tomorrow.