Bill & Cindy's Travelblog

P.S. It's a small world

2007-11-01T13:15:00.000-07:00

We had so many coincidences on our trip that we want to share.

(1) One morning on the ship, we struck up a conversation with the couple standing behind us in line waiting for the tender to take us onshore in Bora Bora. They told us they were from Valley Springs, CA. I said, "Well, I don't know how big Valley Springs is, but do you happen to know Carol & Leonard Palomino? They moved to Valley Springs from Antioch and are friends of our friends (Peggy and Verne, our son-in-law Vernie's parents)." They do, very well! In fact the two men play golf together.

(2) This one woman and I had been noticing each other on the ship. I kept thinking she looked familiar, and later found out she thought the same thing when she looked at me. At one of the ship's get-togethers (they had all sorts, for current & retired law enforcement personnel (which Bill went to), for grandmothers (which I went to), for chess players, for Rotarians, etc.) anyway, one day they had a designated spot on the ship for people from different states to meet. At the California spot, we walked in and the cruise director asked what city we were from. When we said Antioch, he said, "Oh, there's someone else here from Antioch. I'll go get her." Sure enough, it was the woman who had looked so familiar to me. After asking each other all kinds of questions, we finally realized that we'd been in the same water aerobics class for years!

(3) On one of the winery tours in Australia, I struck up a conversation with the man next to me. It turned out he and his wife had lived in Antioch for 32 years. He had been a member of the Contra County Sheriff's Department and had worked with the husband of one of the women I worked with at Garin School!

(4) Eighteen days after we'd arrived in Australia, while we were on the Kuranda tour outside Cairns, we ran into a Canadian couple we'd met on the Regal Princess. It turns out they will be staying in Australia well into November and were also travelling all over the country, but it's a HUGE country (roughly same size as continental US) so it's amazing that we'd run into each other!

(5) This coincidence I'd already mentioned in the Melbourne posting, but it's so unbelievable to us. We still can't get over that we ran into Susie and Bob, from our dinner table on the ship, when we had dinner on the Colonial Tramcar Restaurant in Melbourne. What are the chances? They didn't even know they'd be going on it; the friends that they were visiting took them there for a surprise for their final night of their visit with them. Even more of a fluke, we had been assigned to the same tramcar (there were 4 that night) and were seated diagonally across from them.

(6) The last coincidence happened Tuesday morning at the Brisbane airport. We were in the departure gate for our plane to Sydney when we noticed that the Regal Princess' captain was waiting at the same gate. This guy had been so entertaining for the entire cruise. We'd never had such a down-to-earth, approachable, friendly captain. You could tell he just loved his job. Everybody talked about it. So, when we saw him at the airport, we walked over to him, introduced ourselves, and told him just how much we'd enjoyed the cruise. It turns out he and his wife (who was also on the cruise and did the port talks for New Zealand and Australia) have an apartment on the Gold Coast, not far from where we had been staying, so that explains why he was in the Brisbane airport, but we still were surprised to see him again.

The End

2007-11-01T12:09:00.000-07:00

We can't believe it -- our trip is over! Yesterday morning, we got up in Sydney and headed over to the Opera House for a tour. What a great way to end our time in Australia. It is such an impressive building in an incredible setting. We're sorry we didn't get to any performances there, but next time we'll be sure to do that. Many types of shows take place there in the different venues within the Opera House. When we finished the tour, we walked back to the hotel for the shuttle to the airport. The flight from Sydney to San Francisco was long (13+ hours) but the flight wasn't full so we had a little room to spread out. We left Sydney at 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday (Oct. 31st) and landed in SF at 9:55 a.m. the same day. We couldn't believe how quickly we passed through baggage, immigration and customs. Heather and Niko surprised us by picking us up. Niko did a good job of making us feel like he remembered us, smiling and cooing the whole way home.

Niko, in his Eeyore Halloween costume, welcomes us home with a special sign

Later on, Melanie brought Maile and Mason over, so we had a great welcome home!

Alice in Wonderland and Donald Duck (Maile and Mason) made us feel glad to be home! (Note the date on these 2 photos -- the camera is still on Sydney time, just like our bodies!)

Back to Sydney

2007-11-01T10:15:00.000-07:00

The purple blossoms of the jacaranda trees made Brisbane a beautiful sight. They were everywhere!

We couldn't believe the day had arrived that would start the end of our trip! On Tuesday, Oct. 30, we woke up to sunshine and drove to the Brisbane airport to return the rental car and catch our flight to Sydney. Once we arrived, the airport shuttle took forever before it even left the domestic terminal, then it went to the international terminal, and when every seat in the bus was full, began taking us to hotels all over the Darling Harbour/the Rocks/Sydney area, with our hotel being the final one! Good news at check-in, we were upgraded to the executive level which meant free drinks and appetizers. The flat ones insisted we go to the lounge even before our luggage was brought up to our room! They have been so agreeable this whole trip that we went along with their suggestion and took a little while to relax before heading out for an evening walk.

On our last night in Australia, Flat Mary Ann & Flat John enjoy a view of the Sydney Harbour Bridge from the executive lounge

Flat Mary Ann and I agree that next time in Sydney, we'll make reservations for the High Tea at the Opera House

Rained out

2007-11-01T09:58:00.000-07:00

Our planned trip to Brisbane with Michael and Sue was rained out on Monday 10/29. Throughout the night there had been thunderstorms, and by morning the rain was still with us. We took a raincheck on going to Brisbane because most of the things we were going to do (river boat ride, botanical gardens, scenic overlook at One Tree Hill) would be hampered by the weather. We told Sue and Michael that this gave us another excuse for a trip back! We enjoyed dinner at their house that night, and made plans for them to visit us in December when they will be in San Francisco.

During a break in the showers, Flat John checks out one of the surfboards that are part of a sculpture on the Surfers Paradise beachfront

Snorkeling the wrecks and bobbing with the Aussies

2007-10-28T03:35:00.000-07:00

Wow what a cool thing we did today, 10/28! We went drift snorkeling through a reef of fifteen scuttled ships, called the Tangalooma Wrecks. This was the first time that Cindy or I have ever snorkeled over wrecks. The ships were sunk on purpose to create a safe harbor at Moreton Island. They were sunk in the early 1960's and they now have all kinds of coral growing on them and they are teeming with fish and other sea life.

Part of the Tangalooma Wrecks off Moreton Island

We snorkeled with the current. You leave the boat at the top end of the current and drift along snorkeling through the wrecks. When you reach the end of the wrecks the boat is there to pick you up. So if Verne does this, if he misses the boat he will end up in New Guinea! I know you are wondering two things; well the answers are yes and no. Yes we had morning tea on board and learned a new Aussie word "bicky". We had tea, cakes and bicky (biscuits/cookies). No we did not see Nemo. We dove down to the bottom of the wrecks looking through the coral for the clown fish but no luck. I think Disney just made up those fish! We did see plenty of green sea turtles. These were just like the ones in the Nemo movie. We also saw an eagle ray, starfish and a dugong, which looks a lot like and is in the same family as the manatee.

a dugong (Google photo)

Moreton Island is about 14 miles off the Gold Coast. We caught a catamaran at the town of Redcliffe. The seas were choppy on the way to and from the island but out at the island the seas leveled off nicely. We snorkeled for a few hours then had lunch on the boat. After lunch they did a strange thing. They put a net off the back of the boat and several people got into the net and they drug them through the water bouncing up and down. They call it boomnetting. I guess this is an Aussie thing. Cindy wanted to do it until she watched the first group go and she quickly changed her mind. After that fun was done the boat pulled on to the beach and we all piled off and went beach combing, sand dune climbing and swimming. The whole island is made of sand washed north from the sandstone that is being washed out of the rivers further south. One dune is over 300 meters high and covered with trees.

This is the catamaran from today's trip. If you were on the Na Pali coast catamaran trip the week of Heather & Taki's wedding, you'll recognize this boat. The only difference was the way the inside was configured. The ride was pretty much the same. Good thing Cindy had her sea bands!

Almost forgot to mention that Cindy and I were the only ones on the boat from the USA and the Aussies had a good time with that. They had special life jackets just for us (water wings), vegemite sandwiches for our lunch (instead of the buffet), and if the ship sunk everyone was supposed to form a tight circle in the water to avoid the sharks and we were assigned the perimeter. Oh it feels so good to be loved!! One good thing when we got back on the boat they always made sure the two Americans were onboard.

No worries, we have our own tour guides

2007-10-27T01:30:00.000-07:00

This morning Michael & Sue picked us up for a drive down the coast. Their personal knowledge of the area (they've lived here for 40+ years) is appreciated by Bill & I. They showed us the Life Savers' (lifeguards) Club that Michael was a member of in his youth and explained that the volunteer life savers clubs are very competitive with each other and pride themselves in their training and readiness. They are very well respected.

Bill, Sue, & Michael

We stopped in several spots to take pictures and admire the views of the lush coastline. Being a Saturday with beautiful weather, the beaches were crowded with people of all ages. (Every child I'd see, I'd say to myself "She's about Maile's age." or "That one's running around just like Mason." or "Niko must be about that size by now.")

One of the many beautiful Gold Coast beaches

Cindy standing in Queensland, Bill in New South Wales

We crossed over the state line from Queensland to New South Wales, then continued down to Byron Bay, the eastern most point of Australia. At the Byron Lighthouse, we were thrilled to see a mother humpback whale with her baby swimming by on their migration from New Guinea to Antarctica, plus a group of about 8 dolphins frolicking in the waves. One dolphin in particular seemed to 'surf' a wave before jumping high in the air over it. He did this a few times, almost as if he was showing off for us. We certainly enjoyed the show!

Byron Bay, the eastern most point of Australia

I guess you are wondering about the flat people since we didn't mention them in the above adventures here on the Gold Coast. Well the photo below tells the whole story. . .

We found a great restaurant here in Surfers Paradise called Baritalia. It is run by a gentleman named Francis who is from Italy but he is part French and part

Croatian and I might add a great chef.

Flat John & Flat Mary Ann seem ready to go when wine is on the agenda (go figure)

Brisbane & the Gold Coast

2007-10-25T18:27:00.000-07:00

Well, you can probably tell by the unimaginative title that this is Cindy writing again! Bill wore himself out posting so he's taking a little break out on the balcony, discussing sightseeing plans with the flat ones.

We flew from Cairns to Brisbane on the 24th, and for the first time this whole trip, rented a car to drive ourselves to our hotel in Surfers Paradise on the Gold Coast. Bill didn't have any problems switching to right-hand drive, other than putting on the windshield wipers instead of the turn signal the first couple of times. He stayed on the correct side of the road, and that's the main thing!

Driving into Surfers Paradise

We are looking forward to getting together with Sue and Michael, a couple we met while we were on the Regal Princess, who live here. They have graciously volunteered to show us around the area, and we'll be hooking up with them this afternoon.

Taking a morning walk on the Surfers Paradise beach

Looking for the Crocs or have you seen the flat people

2007-10-25T16:17:00.000-07:00

October 23rd already! Where has the time gone but we were off again to the Daintree Wilderness and Cape Tribulation. Our first stop on the adventure took us to the Rainforest Habitat Wildlife Sanctuary to have morning tea with the birds, crocs, roos, koalas, frogs, snakes and bats. Man can those roos drink the tea! We got some great photos of the animals and I'm not talking about the ones on the bus.

mom with joey hanging out of her pouch, heading back from tea

After our refreshment stop we moved on to Mossmann Gorge where we hiked through the rainforest and our guide told us how all the plants and trees fight to get to the sunshine. He also told us how some vines use the large trees as hosts until they get started and eventually choke out the host tree. We saw examples of that in the forest. The process takes several hundreds of years to complete.

We continued on to the Daintree River and crossed it on the bus using a cable-driven ferry. We noticed all the warning signs about crocodiles (I think this is where we may have lost the flat ones.) We scoured the banks of the river hoping to spot the salt water crocs but none were sighted. We were told the day before they saw a croc that was over six meters long near the ferry crossing. If you want to know what that is in feet here is the conversion formula 6X300-457+631/72= really big croc or almost 20 feet. After we crossed the Daintree river we headed up to Cape Tribulation where we stopped for lunch and a walk on the beach. The beaches were really nice but we didn't have enough time to go swimming with the crocs and marine stingers (jelly fish). Several people took advantage of the beach and the swim. The bus was less crowded on the way home. No just kidding!

Soaking up the rays on the beach

News flash: croc dies from choking on paper

On our way back we stopped at the Daintree river and took a river cruise. We were looking for crocs, snakes, frogs and birds. You could always tell the birds that were slow on the takeoff from the river. They were the ones with one leg. The guide did tell us to keep our hands, arms, feet and heads inside the boat. He said the crocs can leap out of the water to snag a meal out of the air such as birds, snakes and frogs on limbs, flat people etc. We did see snakes, birds, frogs and just the head of one croc. After the cruise we were welcomed back on dry land with afternoon tea and back on our bus for the treck home. We had fantastic sights, met great people and that's no croc!

Can you see the croc? He's looking at you!

He paid us a visit on our boat on the river

Hey guys we can come out now, I think the boat is gone!

Clam what Clam

2007-10-24T23:44:00.000-07:00

We boarded the catamaran Ocean Spirit I for our cruise to Michaelmas Cay

Approaching Michaelmas Cay

Onward and outward, out to sea and the Great Barrier Reef that is. The bus picked Cindy & I up at our hotel at 7:30AM on 10/22 and dropped us at the dock in Cairns, so we could board our catamaran and head out the 27 miles to Michaelmas Cay on the reef. Another disappointing day for the flat ones, they forgot their swimmers (bathing suits) and they didn't go. We got onboard and yes, first thing before even the lifeboat drill, morning tea! After tea we were given a safety briefing and a rundown on the day's activities at the reef. Whilst on our two hour journey to the reef we were shown a video of what we would see on the reef. It was narrated by Marine Biologist onboard. He pointed out the diffrent types of coral, fish, sea creatures and clams and I mean clams. After the video we all were outfitted with snorkel gear or SCUBA gear. We arrived at the Cay and were ferried onto the Cay by a smaller boat so we could snorkel from the beach. It was low tide; we had to be really careful of the coral. In some areas the water was too low to snorkel over the reef. Once Cindy and I got away from the masses and found a deserted section of reef, we saw some of the most colorful & varied types of coral we have ever seen in our lives. I was surprised that there weren't as many kinds of fish as you see in Hawaii. The best part were the giant clams. I dove down to one and it was as big as my outstretched arms. I bet it was close to six feet wide. I tried to talk Cindy into putting her hand into the clam to see if it would close up but she wouldn't cooperate. Some people just don't know how to have fun. We next went looking for Nemo but were told that he was back in Disney World. So no Nemo on this trip, bummer. We were in the water for a couple of hours and got out just in time to catch the tail end of the lunch provided by the tour operator. I couldn't believe how much they fed us. After lunch we decided not to snorkel, instead we sat on the boat taking in the beauty of the reef from above water level.

I caught Cindy having a snack between lunch and Afternoon tea!

Next on the agenda was Afternoon tea. Next a viewing of the photos the photographer took of everyone snorkeling, eating, drinking and sun bathing. We then headed back to Cairns and celebrated the successful cruise with a champagne toast. The reef is so big and there is so much to see. I guess we will have to come back and spend more time at the reef.

Taming the Tully

2007-10-24T22:25:00.000-07:00

Hanging on for dear life (we are the two at top of photo)

Maybe we should point out the rock to the guide

Wild ride - is the raft still inflated?

Early Sunday morning (6:35) on 10/21 Cindy and I were picked up in front of our hotel for a 150k (90 mile) bus ride to the Tully river for a day of white water rafting. There were 30 or so people on the bus with us heading for the white water challenge. I looked around and realized we were the oldest on the bus including the bus driver by some 20 years! Well we got the last laugh. The head guide asked who had experience rafting. Cindy and I were the only ones who raised our hands. Now we're not only the oldest but here we are surrounded by white water rafting virgins. On our bus ride down to the Tully you guessed it we stopped for morning tea (love this country). After tea we picked up eight more rafters and headed up to the put in spot on the Tully. The guide told us, in rafter speak, that the Tully was a dam controlled water release river and at this time of the year we would hit level three and four rapids and it was a very technical river. Now to say that in terms we all can understand here is what he meant. Rapids are rated from one to six. One being barely a ripple in the water and six being a waterfall that can not be rafted. The very technical part means the water is low and we will be hitting and seeing lots of rocks and boulders in the river. Now you know a little rafter lingo. We got on to the river about 9:50AM and the guides told us we had to be ready to go by 10AM. I asked why we had to be ready at 10 and we were told that is when the dam would open the spillway and release water to bring the level of the river up so we could raft it. They leave it open for four hours and then close it off. This is only done on the weekends and the rafting companies have to pay for the release. During the week the dam is used to generate electricity and the dam is open all day to meet the elecricity demand during the work week. I guess you are wondering about the flat people and how well they did in water. Well they both slept in back at the hotel. They were exhausted from the rainforest tour the day before. Back to my story we got on the river and the water poured out and we went charging down the river. We both managed to stay in the raft through all the rapids. Other rafts had a few swimmers (not by choice) through some of the rapids. We spent about five and a half hours on the river. We had a great time and met some great people. We had two students from Korea and a girl from Canada in our raft with us. All three had been working in either Japan or Australia for about 10 months and were taking two months off to travel before they went home. After we completed the raft ride you guessed it, it was time for afternoon tea but this time we all celebrated with beer and chips! We got back to our hotel about 7PM. The flat ones were still in bed but some of our wine was missing and they both had smiles on their faces.

We surived to tell the story! Speaking of surviving, this area near the Tully river was where Survivor Australia was filmed (so we were told).

Off to Cairns

2007-10-24T21:51:00.000-07:00

About 24 hours after arriving at Ayers Rock, we were back at the airport for our 1,112 mile flight to Cairns in the Sunshine State of Queensland. As soon as we landed, we kept saying, "This reminds us of Hawaii!" and it did in lots of ways. It is tropical and laid back. We got settled in our hotel, then walked into town to visit the Night Markets and grab something to eat.

The 4 of us aboard the Kuranda Scenic Railway

The next day, Saturday the 20th, we had a tour to the village of Kuranda. We boarded the Kuranda Scenic Railway for a trip through the rainforest and a deep river gorge on our way to the village. We had some time to stroll through the quaint streets, then we got onto the Skyrail cablecar to travel over the rainforest. We had the opportunity to get off at an intermediate station and take advantage of scenic walkways through the rainforest.

It was an amazing sight! We were oohing and aahing the entire hour. At the end of the cablecar ride, we walked to the Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural Park for a full afternoon of demonstrations, dances, and music of the local tribes. We each tried our hand at throwing boomerangs, and Bill tried spear throwing as well. It was a very entertaining and informative afternoon.

Trying to find a didgeridoo for Verne

Ayers Rock

2007-10-24T04:17:00.000-07:00

Ayers Rock as seen from the plane

We flew from Perth to Ayers Rock on Thurs., the 18th, a flight of 1,021 miles. It was 66 degrees when we left Perth, and 110 degrees when we landed at Ayers Rock! It really reminded us of Phoenix without the cactus. We were very excited about the Sounds of Silence Dinner that we had planned for that night, and it definitely lived up to our hopes. We were driven out to the desert floor near the base of the Rock where we were served champagne and canapes (including crocodile with macadamia nuts in phyllo, and kangaroo with mango on crackers) while we watched the sunset. As we sat down to dinner at candlelit tables, a didgeridoo was played. The delicious buffet included lamb and barramundi, an Australian fish. After dinner, while having coffee and dessert, an astronomer pointed out various constellations of the southern hemisphere.

Getting ready for the sunset

Luckily our hotel was only about 10 minutes from the site of the dinner, because we had to get right to bed. The next morning we were scheduled to do a Sunrise Tour which meant getting up at 4:00 a.m. Fortunately, that tour started with -- what else -- Morning Tea! We didn't mind getting up so early, because we knew it would be worth it to see the sunrise over Ayers Rock, but the Morning Tea gave us an extra incentive. After the tea and sunrise, we had a guided walk around parts of the base of the Rock where we were able to see Aboriginal cave paintings and learn about the customs and culture of the native peoples.
The Flat Ones didn't complain about getting up early to see the sunrise.

Wave Rock & Dog Cemetery

2007-10-24T03:52:00.000-07:00

On Wed., the 17th we took a bus tour inland from Perth that included a HUGE granite rock formation called Wave Rock. The wind has carved it over thousands of years. It was really impressive, and hopefully you can see its scope in the photo. We also saw some rocky areas that were significant to the Aboriginal peoples, and heard the legends of the area. Along the way, we stopped at another area of interest: a cemetery for working sheep dogs. One of the graves was for a dog named Cindy; I couldn't resist taking Bill's picture there.

Whew!

2007-10-23T16:25:00.000-07:00

Sorry for not posting for awhile. We've been to Ayers Rock (awesome) and Cairns (terrific) and have just been TOO BUSY to get online! We'll update once we're on the Gold Coast and have some free time. We can't believe we have only a week left here down under. The time has flown by! Can't wait to show some pictures of our adventures with the flat ones (who are getting a little rough around the edges.) Yesterday in the rainforest along the Daintree River, Flat John almost lost a leg to a crocodile! Photo to follow . . .

No dolphins!

2007-10-16T02:50:00.001-07:00

Last night when we got back to our hotel at 9:45, there was a message for us, letting us know that our dolphin swim had been cancelled. You can imagine our disappointment, but we used the time today to rent bikes and ride a large loop over 2 bridges and along the Swan River. It was another perfect day weather-wise, and we certainly took full advantage of it. We stopped for lunch at the Old Swan Brewery along the route (photo above). After the ride we toured the old Perth Mint and saw gold being poured to make an ingot. They have a scale that tells you your weight in gold. Bill is worth over 2 million dollars!

Southwestern Australia

2007-10-16T02:28:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we took a 450 mile trip to the southwestern-most point of Australia. We saw where the Indian Ocean meets the Southern Ocean and traveled through ever-changing scenery to get there. We drove through old, dense forests as well as farm regions and coastal areas. We stopped for wine tasting in Margaret River. We learned that the state of Western Australia is five times the size of Texas with a population of 2 million. Of those, 1.6 million are residents along the coast in and near Perth. We visited a Raptor Center and were able to hold a wedge tailed eagle after putting on a thick leather glove. We stopped for dinner at the southern hemisphere's longest timber jetty, in Busselton, and watched a beautiful sunset.

Before I forget I want to tell you about my new favorite morning tea. It is long black coffee with hot scones slathered with cream and jam! As you can see tea has nothing to do with it. I can really get to like this place. Now I will turn it back to Cindy so she can finish updating the blog.

Busy Days Ahead

2007-10-14T02:35:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure when we'll be posting again, because we have 3 full days of touring coming up. (For example, tomorrow we have a 7:20 AM pickup, and don't get back to the hotel until 9:20 PM.) If we get back in time from our dolphin swim on Tuesday, we'll try to update the blog then. We're using an internet cafe here in Perth, and probably won't be able to add any pictures to our blog.

Perth

2007-10-14T02:10:00.000-07:00

Bill posing for his bust in Fremantle The flat ones & Cindy in King's Park, Perth

We arrived in Perth, Western Australia yesterday. We were supposed to go on a Grayline tour in the afternoon, but there was a little mix-up with the pickup, so we rescheduled the tour for this morning. It turned out that doing so offered a great opportunity to stay longer in Fremantle, a coastal town that is charming. The weather was perfect for walking around. We visited the Fremantle Markets, which was a totally new experience for us. There is NOTHING you can't get there, from clothing, to crafts, to produce & meats, to mysterious drugs packaged in baggies, to household goods, to coffee & ice cream, to artwork, etc, etc, etc! Unbelievable. When we were on our cruise, 2 different couples told us that when we were in Fremantle we should get fish and chips at a place called Cicerello's, so of course we did that. Their claim to fame is that the food is wrapped and served in newsprint paper. We also toured the old prison, which was constructed in the 1850's by convicts sent from England. After building it, they occupied it! The prison was used until 1991 with very few modifications.
Before going to Fremantle, we toured the highlights of Perth, which included King's Park. It's a huge park that has botanic gardens, walking/bike paths, fountains, statues, war memorials, and panoramic views of the city. We would have liked to spend more time there. While on the bus, we learned some more Australian terms. (Verne, study up on these for your test when we get home.) A 'jumper' is a sweater or pullover. 'Netball' is a game mainly played by women that is similar to basketball, but there's no backboard on the net and the players don't dribble, they just pass. 'Footie' has different meanings depending on the part of Australia you're in. In the Sydney area, it's rugby. In other parts of Australia, it's Australian football (AFL) which is played on a circular field. We're still trying to figure out how these games are played, along with cricket.

Tea Time

2007-10-12T02:35:00.000-07:00

I just have to comment on the Tea Times here in Australia. Both Morning Tea and Afternoon Tea are popular. In fact, even when we flew between cities, the snack service on the plane was called Morning Tea! Bill loves it because Tea is always accompanied by Cakes! Cakes can be any sort of pastry or cookie (they call cookies biscuits.) This morning Flat John and Flat Mary Ann really enjoyed the Morning Tea at the winery.

Barossa Valley

2007-10-12T02:22:00.000-07:00

Today we visited the Barossa Valley, one of Australia's great wine regions. One of the wineries we visited (pictured above) has the oldest shiraz vines in Australia. They were planted in 1843 and are still producing grapes that yield about one bottle per plant. It sells for $100 a bottle and they only export 50 cases a year to the United States. In an average year, they only get a total of 350 cases from those old vines. Believe it or not, they let us taste that wine!

We stopped at 3 other wineries, having our Morning Tea at the first one and lunch at another. We got to see some beautiful contryside and the tour was very informative. We were surprised to learn that most of the pruning and harvesting is done mechanically due to shortage of qualified labor.

Adelaide

2007-10-10T23:20:00.000-07:00

We flew over to Adelaide yesterday morning. When we were checking out of the hotel in Melbourne, I asked if Adelaide was in the same time zone as Melbourne. The guy at the desk said, "No, they're 30 minutes behind." Bill and I thought he was kidding! Who ever heard of a time zone change of 30 minutes??? Guess what, he wasn't kidding! Funny, huh?

We took a shuttle to our hotel and were surprised to see that it's like a one bedroom timeshare. We have a full kitchen (including dishwasher) and a washer and dryer right in the unit. We've given the laundry a good workout already. (Christian, we're just like you. The first thing we did after checking in was start a load of wash!) Today was our FREE day in Adelaide, and I mean that in more ways than one. First, we took a free guided walking tour of downtown, followed by a free hop-on/hop-off bus around the perimeter of the city. We hopped off the bus to visit the Museum of South Australia (free), the Botanic Garden (free), and the Wine Museum (free.) Now we're at the public library, using their free wifi internet access. If we can find a place that serves a free dinner, we'll go there. If not, we'll go to the casino where the dinners are half price!

Echidna Walkabout

2007-10-09T02:12:00.000-07:00

We spent the day on a nature tour for Australian wildlife, specifically searching for koalas and kangaroos in the wild. It was a wonderful small group tour, just us and 2 women from Belgium plus our terrific guide, Janine. We started by driving to an area about 45 minutes outside Melbourne, to a nature preserve. We walked through the 'bush' (what we in the US call woods) looking up into the trees. It wasn't long before we saw 3 koalas sleeping high in trees, and what really made it interesting is that Janine was able to identify the koalas by name by observing their physical characteristics. Janine first located and pointed out Rainey, then one of the Belgian women found Merle, and then Bill spotted Baby Pat. After a delicious picnic lunch which included Billy tea, we set off to the Serendip Open Range in search of kangaroos. We saw so many that we couldn't even count them all! A highlight was when we saw a few females with their baby joeys peeking out of their pouches! It was an unbelievable experience to be right in the same fields as the kangaroos. We also saw emus at Serendip. We got up close to a nest which included 4 dark blue/black eggs, each of which was larger than a softball. No wonder, since emus are the 2nd largest bird in the world after ostriches.

Great Ocean Road

2007-10-08T05:51:00.000-07:00

The Twelve Apostles

Today's bus trip along the Great Ocean Road was fantastic. The coastline is very dramatic with huge sandstone formations, sheer cliffs, and pounding surf. On a part of the road that winds through eucalyptus groves, we saw several koalas sleeping in the trees. It was a thrill to see them in their natural habitat.

Melbourne

2007-10-08T05:23:00.000-07:00

Yesterday (Sunday) we took a city highlights tour which was partly by riverboat and partly by bus. We were driven into the mountains for afternoon 'Billy tea' at a picnic area that gave us a panoramic view of Melbourne. Along with the tea, which is made by adding a few eucalyptus leaves and loose tea to a bucket of boiling water, we were served Lamingtons, sponge cakes with a jam filling and chocolate coating dipped into coconut, AND vegemite, the popular Australian spread which is made from yeast taken from the bottom of beer barrels. I found the vegemite tolerable but Bill didn't care for it.

For dinner, we had reservations on the Colonial Tramcar Restaurant, which travels through the streets of Melbourne during the gourmet meal. For an appetizer, we both tried and enjoyed kangaroo meat. As we approached the tram stop where we would board the tramcar, we couldn't believe our eyes. Our friends Suzie and Bob (from our dining table on the Regal Princess) were waiting there! We had known that they'd be in Melbourne visiting friends for a few days, but never expected to run into them in this city of 3+ million people. What a coincidence!

Date Correction

2007-10-06T17:14:00.000-07:00

We've noticed that the dates of our posts are sometimes off, because the server for blogspot must be on the other side of the international dateline from where we are. I am actually posting this on Sunday, Oct. 7th, not that it matters a whole lot!

Melbourne

2007-10-06T17:05:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we flew from Sydney to Melbourne. After getting settled in our hotel, we hopped on the free city tourist tram, which circles the city center and gives a commentary on the sites. There was a power failure in a section of the track, so we got off and walked through the city on our own.

This afternoon we have a bus tour and river cruise in Melbourne, followed by a dinner on a tramcar. (Trams are big here!)

I have to mention the weather. Yesterday when we left Sydney, the forecast was for temps in the 90's. When we landed in Melbourne, it was 56 degrees and cloudy! It actually feels good, though, and hopefully we won't get any of the "possible showers" that are in the forecast. The high is supposed to be 64 today, 68 tomorrow.

Hunter Valley Wine Region

2007-10-06T16:59:00.000-07:00

On Friday, we toured a wine region in an unusual way -- by bicycle! We went on a 'Wobbly Wine Tour' through about 7 miles of vineyards in the Hunter Valley, a few hours outside of Sydney. Something that we didn't expect is that we were put in with a group of 16 American college students who are doing a semester abroad in Australia. We went from feeling like we were the youngsters on the cruise, to being the oldsters on the bike trip! We had the last laugh, though, because although they passed us on the downhills, we passed them going uphill!

Blue Mountains & Wildlife Park

2007-10-04T03:53:00.000-07:00

What a beautiful day of sightseeing we had today. The weather couldn't have been better for our bus trip up to the Blue Mountains, so-named because the oil evaporating from the eucalyptus trees appears as a blue haze in the sunlight. We saw the sandstone formation called the Three Sisters as well as unbelievably thick forests covering the mountainsides and valley. We took a ride on the world's steepest railway down into the valley, then ascended by way of a cable car.

On the way back to Sydney, we visited the Featherdale Wildlife Park, a wonderful display of native Australian animals and birds. We saw many animals we'd never seen before, including wombats, echnidnas, Tasmanian devils, dingoes and kookaburras.

Here we are, getting up close and personal with a sleeping koala. (They sleep 16 - 20 hours a day!)

A word from the male side

2007-10-03T01:34:00.000-07:00

Well I thought I would put in my two cents. First let me back up a few days and tell you about my NFL withdrawal symptoms. No football since we started this vacation or holiday as they call it down under! Monday October 1st I was sitting on the ship plowing through 30 foot waves in the Tasman Sea and watching Cindy turn green. I took a chance and turned on the TV and started going through the channels and what do I see but the Sunday night football game on ESPN2 between the Eagles and Giants. I couldn't believe it. Here I am 13,000 miles from the east coast of the U.S. and I get to see my team play a game. Well by the middle of the game I was hoping that the satellite signal would be lost again but oh no I had to watch that whole *&%$ game!

Now on to more important things. The bridge climb was fantastic. One of the best things we have done so far on this trip. One of the stories that the guide told us about was all the houses, four churches and one pub they had to tear down to build the approach to the bridge. The residents in the houses and the members of the churches didn't give the government any trouble when they had to sell their properties to the government. When they tried to get the pub the patrons refused to let them take it down. The government had to disassemble it and move it and rebuild it a few hundred feet from its original location. The pub is still open and we went in and and sampled one or two cold ones after the bridge climb. Now you know the rest of the story!

Tonight we are planning to go to the -5 degrees Ice Lounge. That's the temperature inside the lounge. They serve you your drinks in glasses made of ice. That will taste good since it hit 98 degrees here today. Well got to go, don't want my glass to melt with something in it!!

Bridge Climb

2007-10-02T22:30:00.000-07:00

We did it! This morning we climbed the Sydney Harbour Bridge. What a thrilling experience it was. We first were given a breathalyzer test, then signed the medical waiver and outfitted with special jumpsuits, radios, locking pulley belts, hats with hat clips, and headsets. Bill and I were part of a group of 11 climbers plus the guide. Groups that size went out every 10 minutes. The total climbing time was about 3 hours. Along the way, we stopped for our guide to point out various points of interest. Only the guide was allowed to have a camera (they don't take a chance on the climbers dropping anything) and he took pictures at a few spots. You can see that it was windy, but beautifully clear. We recommend this climb very highly to anyone visiting Sydney and want to thank our terrific travel agent Chris Meny for suggesting it to us.

Here we are at the summit. The Opera House is on the right hand side.

Arrival in Sydney

2007-10-02T05:17:00.000-07:00

G'day from Sydney! Our ship pulled into Sydney Harbour around 6:00 this morning, but we weren't called to get off the ship until about 9:00. After we picked up our luggage and cleared customs, we walked to our hotel and were very happy to find that our room was ready. We did some unpacking then headed out to look around. We had a half-day bus tour scheduled for the afternoon which provided a good overview of the city and surrounding area. Right after the bus dropped us off, we saw the Regal Princess passing under the Harbour Bridge on its way to Singapore to be refurbished. It seemed so odd, after being aboard for 31 days, to see the ship leave without us!

Good bye, Regal Princess!

Stormy Tasman Sea

2007-10-02T04:02:00.001-07:00

Bill took this photo from our cabin window on Deck 9!!!

Wow, did we have some excitement crossing the Tasman Sea. The weather deteriorated soon after we left Dunedin. It was so bad that we couldn't cruise through the fiords, which we were supposed to do on Saturday. The winds were gale force, and we had swells to 38 feet!!!! It was unbelievable, so dramatic! We talked to a lot of veteran cruisers, and most said they'd never experienced conditions like that. An especially strong wave hit while we were eating breakfast, and everything went flying. During the storm, passengers weren't allowed out on the open decks because it was too dangerous. The rough conditions continued for about two and a half days before calming late yesterday. Whew! We made it!

Local Drink

2007-10-02T03:47:00.000-07:00

I forgot to mention that we tried a local beverage favorite: a shandy. (I'm not sure if that's how the New Zealanders spell it, but that's how it sounds. Their accent can be very tricky!) Anyway, when we were on the train, we were offered New Zealand beer. I said that I don't really like beer, but I'd try the lightest one. The woman said that people who aren't crazy over the taste of beer drink shandies. She said you mix half beer and half Sprite. Well, I tried it, and liked it. Bill also liked it. I know this is probably killing real beer drinkers, especially Brewmaster Taki, but hey, we always like to try the local food specialties. There is also a coffee drink, similar to a latte, called a 'flat white' that is popular in both New Zealand and Australia. We didn't get around to having one in NZ, but it's on our list of things to do before we leave Australia.

Dunedin

2007-09-28T01:58:00.000-07:00

Great weather continued today in Dunedin as we had another full day of touring. As with yesterday, we began with a train ride. The Taieri Gorge Railway took us into the mountains, with striking scenery for the entire time. The train travelled over steep gorges and through many tunnels. We saw sheep all over, including on the railroad tracks. More than once the train had to slow to allow the sheep to get out of the way. In the lowlands we also saw cattle, horses and alpaca in the daffodil-dotted fields. From the train we boarded buses to the Larnach Castle, situated on a hilltop from which can be seen the ocean, the harbor, and the city of Dunedin. The castle was built as a private residence, but is now a bed and breakfast.

As we were leaving the port tonight, the Captain announced that the sea conditions will deteriorate and by morning we'll have rough seas. After the wonderful weather we've had for sightseeing these past few days, we can't complain!

Christchurch

2007-09-28T01:49:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we had a perfect day in Christchurch. In the morning we rode on the Weka Pass Railway steam train through the fertile Canterbury plains. The scenery of the countryside is so beautiful; since it is springtime here, there were blossoms everywhere, and newborn lambs by the hundreds all along the way. We were told NZ has 10 times the number of sheep as people, and we believe it!
After the train trip, we stopped at a winery for wine tasting and lunch on their patio. The next stop on our tour was the International Antarctic Centre, an actual working research campus for scientists from the US, Italy and NZ. The interactive displays were very well done. One of the best was the 'simulated Antarctic storm' room. We were provided parkas, then stepped into the ice-floored room to experience conditions where the temperature and wind made the wind chill factor feel like 27 degrees below zero. We have a new respect for the those Antarctic research scientists!

Windy Wellington

2007-09-25T20:08:00.000-07:00

Wellington, the capital of New Zealand, is living up to its nickname "Windy Wellington" today. During the night we had gale force winds and since coming into the port, the winds have continued, although they're not as brisk as last night. Wellington sits at the southern tip of the north island of New Zealand, where the Tasman Sea meets the Pacific Ocean, so that explains the breezy conditions.

We planned our own tour today, and first took the cable car from the center of the city up into the hills. At the end, we walked through the beautiful botanical gardens, with their colorful displays of spring flowers, and then through the Cable Car Museum. The cable cars were built from plans of those in San Francisco. When we returned to the main part of the city, we saw Old Saint Paul's Church, the new Saint Paul's which serves as the Wellington Cathedral, and also parliament buildings.

We had quite a change in the weather from the past few days temperature-wise. When we pulled into the harbor this morning, it was 42 degrees! Fortunately the forecast of rain didn't hold. Although we had a few very light showers while walking around, it was on and off sun all day.

Auckland, New Zealand

2007-09-24T01:23:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful day in Auckland, the City of Sails. The ship is docked right at the edge of the downtown, so it's very convenient. We took a bus tours of the city's highlights first, and then set out on our own. Although the forecast had been for showers, we really lucked out for the most part. I say most part because the one episode of precipitation was extreme: thunder and lightning along with the rain. We hardly ever get to experience storms like that! Luckily this was over quickly, and occured while we were on the bus. Unfortunately, we had driven to ther highest point in Auckland for a panoramic view, but we couldn't see very far. Later, though, we walked to the Sky Tower and saw for miles. One unique feature of this tower (similar to the Space Needle in Seattle) is that there are glass panels in the floor. It is really wierd standing on them and looking down. We were up there for the sunset -- perfect timing. We didn't have time to see everything we wanted to, and already know we want to come back!

Fiji

2007-09-23T02:55:00.000-07:00

We stopped in Fiji on Friday. The ship docked in Suva, the industrial capital city which is a couple hours' drive from the resort side of the island. Bill & I hired a taxi to take us to some points of interest. The driver recommended a cultural center where we saw a show featuring Fijian customs, dancing and firewalking. He also took us to a beach popular among the locals, but unfortunately it was raining steadily so we only stopped long enough to take a few pictures. Going to and from the cultural center (about 45 minutes outside Suva) gave us a great taste of the local flavor. After being dropped off at the ship, the rain let up enough that we walked to the produce and fish markets -- what an experience that was! Really interesting to see how all the vegetables, fruits and seafood items were displayed for sale.

Busy Day

2007-09-20T01:15:00.000-07:00

Sometime last night, we crossed the International Dateline. Last night when we went to bed it was Tues., Sept. 18th; this morning when we woke up it was Thurs., Sept. 20th.

This morning the ship passed by Niuafo'au, also known as Tin Can Island. The nickname comes from the practice of delivering mail to the island by ships dropping a sealed biscuit tin overboard, to be retrieved by the islanders. Initially a swimmer would pick up the tin, but after a shark attack in 1930, boats were used. Today cruise ships carry on the tradition for the sake of their passengers, with plastic containers having replaced the tins.

Following the excitement of Tin Can Island, Bill & I participated in "On Deck for the Cure" a 5k walk to benefit the Susan G Komen Foundation for cancer research.

Then, in the afternoon, the Scrapheap Challenge was held. Late yesterday it was determined that today's forecast of calm seas with clear, sunny skies would be perfect for the competition. Of the 4 teams that entered, 3 of the vessels (including ours) met the requirement of carrying a case of beer across the pool and back. Spectators voted on the creativity of the vessel, team spirit, and overall performance. Although our team didn't take the top spot, we did walk away with a bottle of champagne that we all enjoyed with our dinner tonight.

Pago Pago

2007-09-18T13:42:00.000-07:00

Here we are in American Samoa. This morning as we pulled into the harbor, it was drizzling . We've had a few showers, but it reminds us of Hawaii rain -- gentle and warm. The island is green and very lush with steep mountains covered with thick jungles. All of the buildings hug the coast. Tourism isn't big here, but the people are very welcoming.

Bill & I are doing a self-tour and have discovered this "internet cafe" which contains only one computer so there's some waiting involved, but it's free, so hey, it works for us. We're planning to go to the beach after this and hopefully be able to do some snorkeling.

Sea Days

2007-09-17T19:05:00.000-07:00

You may be wondering how we spend our time on the days at sea, besides eating of course! Both of us enjoy the lectures on the ports, plus talks given on various subjects by guest lecturers. We've attended a cooking demonstration, a wine tasting & a galley tour, participated in a game show similar to "Card Sharks" (we each won a Princess Cruises luggage tag -- wa hoo!), practiced yoga & worked out in the fitness center, walked the deck (Bill's policy is to order 1 dessert for each mile walked), and joined the trivia contests a few times. Along with our dinner tablemates, we've entered the Scrapheap Challenge, whereby we have to build a vessel capable of carrying a case of beer across the pool and back. We're really enjoying working with our 6 new friends on this. The base is made up of empty 1.5 liter water bottles, with a frame of PVC pipes that one couple bought in Papeete. We're also using a beach mat and duct tape that we picked up in Honolulu. I'll let you know how we do in the competition.

No Rarotonga!

2007-09-17T18:58:00.000-07:00

As I said in my last post, we were having some rough weather; no rain, but gale force winds stirred up good-sized swells. The winds stayed with us as we approached Rarotonga yesterday, and actually forced the captain to cancel our port call there. It was too dangerous to operate the tenders to get us ashore. Of course we were very disappointed to miss out on our chance to visit one of the Cook Islands, but I didn't hear any of the passengers dispute the captain's decision. The ship circled the island slowly, about 1 mile offshore, so we could at least glimpse what we were missing. That took about 2 hours, and by the time we pulled away the sun was out and the wind began to let up a little, & conditions have continued to improve. Today is very pleasant, sunny, about 82 degrees at noon with light winds.

Rough Weather

2007-09-15T15:08:00.000-07:00

Soon after we left Moorea, we encountered some rough weather. If you've checked the bridge cam, you'll see what I mean. We've been rockin' and rollin', but so far I haven't felt at all seasick, thanks to my sea bands. We've had a little rain now and then, and the captain just announced that we'll have this same weather all the way to Rarotonga. We've been so lucky with our weather up to this point, though, that we can't complain!

Moorea

2007-09-15T15:01:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we anchored off of beautiful Moorea, another tropical paradise. Bill & I took a cab to a beach where we spent several hours snorkeling in the lagoon, walking along the shore, and relaxing in a shady spot with our books. Two highlights of snorkeling: Bill's stingray sighting, and the HUGE cucumbers we saw. Many were about the size of a large loaf of French bread! The lagoon was clear, calm and uncrowded, the perfect spot to spend the day.

Bora Bora and Tahiti

2007-09-13T19:40:00.000-07:00

Here we are in an internet cafe in Papeete, Tahiti, using a French keyboard and trying to understand the commands in French . . . very challenging! This internet connection is so much faster than on the ship that we decided to give it a try.

We LOVED Bora Bora yesterday and definitely want to go back for a week or more. The island is surrounded by a shallow lagoon that is indescribably beautiful. The color of the water is unreal, and it is the clearest, cleanest water we have ever seen. We took a wonderful tour on a power boat which only carried 3 other couples so it was customized to what we wanted to do. We snorkeled at a spot called the Coral Garden and saw blue-lipped giant clams for the first time, as well as beautiful fish and many types of coral. We also stopped to swim at a motu, which is a small island in the lagoon. We also stopped at Bloody Marys for a drink (Bloody Mary from the show South Pacific) --- a popular restaurant and bar on the island.

Today in Tahiti we took a 4x4 jeep tour, the highlight of which was Bill climbing a waterfall and jumping in! I, on the other hand, just enjoyed a refreshing swim in the pool below the falls. This island is much more developed than Bora Bora and we will have a chance to sample the nightlife because our ship does not sail until 4 in the morning. At that time we will go 17 miles to our next island, Moorea.

Sorry I cannot add photos here, and may not be able to until Australia.

Christmas Island

2007-09-10T17:25:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we stopped at Christmas Island, part of the nation of Kiribati. Something that I found fascinating: the islands of Kirabati, with a total land mass of 280 square miles, are spread over 2 million square miles of the Pacific. Christmas Island is so-named because Captain Cook discovered it on Christmas Eve, 1777. Due to its remote location, it has yet to be developed into a tourist destination. We heard about 10 cruise ships stop here each year, but other than those, visitors are few.

We hopped into the back of a truck to be driven around the island. There are 2 benches along the sides and the top was covered, so it was comfortable riding. The buildings we saw were constructed of either natural materials (bamboo, palm fronds, etc.) or cinder blocks, very basic. Not much English is spoken here, but the people are full of smiles and very friendly.

Maui

2007-09-06T16:16:00.000-07:00

Aaahh . . . Maui! We're enjoying a beautiful day at Marriott's Maui Ocean Club. We were here in April with Heather and Taki. Today we took a bus from Lahaina, where the ship is anchored, to Whaler's Village at Kaanapali Beach. From there we walked to this resort. I forgot to bring the cord to transfer photos from the camera to the laptop, so I won't be posting any today.

We have to be back onboard by 5:30 in order to begin the next leg of our journey. I'll try to post from the ship sometime in the next few days. Until next time . . .

Honolulu

2007-09-05T18:46:00.000-07:00

Aloha from Honolulu! We've had a very relaxing 4 days crossing the Pacific. One of my concerns had been rough seas, but we've had calm conditions. So far, so good . . . I haven't felt the least bit seasick!

Flat John and Flat Mary Ann have met some great people, from all over the world. The 2 of them especially enjoyed the ship's wine tasting a few days ago.

"Flat John & Flat Mary Ann with Suzy, one of the people who sits at our table at dinner."

Our dining table is made up of all Americans. Besides Bill and I, there's a couple from Oregon, a couple from Arizona, and 2 ladies from Florida. We all hit it off right away.

Today we took the shuttle from the port into Waikiki, with a stop along the way at the Maui Divers Jewelry factory, which both of us enjoyed. At Waikiki we tried something new -- a ride in an outrigger canoe which 'surfed' the waves. We were teamed up with 3 Japanese men and it was hilarious.

We're at a Starbucks now, using their wireless. The ship's internet is very unreliable, and when it is working, is extremely slow. I'm a little discouraged about keeping this blog updated, but we'll see what happens. Until next time . . .

Time to Pack

2007-08-29T08:24:00.000-07:00

Well, it's getting close now, so it's time to start packing. Our good friends, Mary Ann and John, will be coming along on our trip --- but not in person, in a 'flat' version! (Are you familiar with the children's book Flat Stanley by Jeff Brown? Stanley gets flattened to 1/2" thick, which enables him to slip under doors, into mailboxes, etc., allowing him to travel to places he otherwise couldn't get to.)

I thought it only fair that Flat John and Flat Mary Ann help us with our packing, so last night I put them to work!

2007-08-18T15:08:00.000-07:00

Our trip to Australia will begin on August 31st, when we fly from San Francisco to Los Angeles to board the Regal Princess for a 31-day cruise to Sydney. We will visit 13 ports along the way. After arriving in Sydney on October 2nd, we will be touring Australia until the 31st. You can check out our entire itinerary at the bottom of this page.