Sydney and Cairns

February 25^th and 26^th

Sydney, Australia

At last. We made it across the Pacific. It took about 19 days and the last few have been warm, calm and relaxing. Caught up on reading and various shipboard classes. Had an early wake up call to go out on the bow of the ship and watch as we sailed into one of the most magnificent harbors in the world. And it was…a beautiful Saturday sunrise, and lots of sailboats, and fishing vessels just getting ready to go out for the day. Looking forward to a warm sunny day. It took about an hour to sail in from the sea to the dock. We passed the Opera House, and sailed under the Sydney Harbor Bridge. A very ‘pinch me, am I really seeing this with my own eyes’ kind of moment. It looked just like the postcards and pictures. We docked in Darling Harbor about 8am and we were off the ship at 9, after an extensive debarking search which included a very thorough sniff by drug dogs. Customs even came on board and did random drug searches of staterooms. With the median age of 78, I shudder to think of what they might find. Anyway, I did not hear of anyone having to go to jail. We were not able to dock at Circular Quay, darn it. This is the dock right next to the opera house. It was already occupied. Darling Harbor, where we docked, is just on the other side and only about a 5 minute drive. The ship provided a free shuttle service to the downtown area, which was nice. I didn’t realize downtown Sydney had so many hilly streets. It would have been about a ½ hr walk hoofing it up and down streets in the industrial district. The population of Sydney is around 5 million and it is huge. After virtually seeing nothing but sea water for the last couple of weeks, it was also kind of a culture shock. Planes, trains, cars, and tons of people. The first time I saw children playing and a hearing a baby cry, made me realize just how isolated and remote we have been. Our first and only tour that we booked was to the Koala Park. Yes, we saw koalas, kangaroo’s, dingoes and almost any Australian animal and bird that there is. We saw green spaces that they have kept natural. I kept smelling a certain scent and realized that it was eucalyptus…it is everywhere. And very strong. The heat and humidity enhanced every smell. Then we caught the ferry and rode that all the way back to the dock. A very nice way to see the outskirts of Sydney, and all of the huge houses built along the shores. Got back around 4pm, so we went to ‘The Rocks’ area. This historic district is in the main downtown harbor area. There is shopping, restaurants, and of course the Sydney Opera House. Very cool. It also has many old buildings and museums. We walked and shopped. Sydney is very, very, expensive. Our dollar is almost equal to the Aussie dollar but things cost almost 4 times as much. Bruce and I had dinner along the harbor….2 small fish and chips and 1 drink each, 65 dollars…. Yikes! Guess we are going to have to hit the ATM before shopping tomorrow. They do not accept US dollars. The next day we took the shuttle downtown and shopped at the Sunday market. Lots of interesting things that were handmade. Bought a necklace that was just the insides of a Swiss watch with an Australian opal and tiny little rubies attached to the workings. Very different….Happy Birthday to me. Tried to figure out how to post pictures on the blog using the free Wi-Fi areas…..still having trouble and after an hour we were too frustrated to try anymore. I will get some posted, although they might be all at once. Anyway, we had a drink at the oldest bar in town and walked around until we had to be back on board at 3pm. I could spend at least a week here and probably not see everything that Sydney has to offer. It is an amazing city. Would love to come back to Australia and spend at least a couple of months. Too much to see and not enough time. 2 days sailing north along the coast. Next stop Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef.

February 29^th----Leap Day

Cairns, Australia.

After 2 days of sailing in hot, humid, and sometimes rainy weather we docked in Cairns at 7 am. It is the rainy season here and this part of Northern Australia just had major flooding in Queensland. I can see why. When it rains here it really pours. Along with the Great Barrier Reef, this area has many rain forests. It is green and tropical. We had an 8 hr excursion to the Reef. It was either the rain forest or the reef….not even a question…the reef, definitely. We boarded a ferry which took us out to the platforms that are set up as docks out on the reef. Every company has their own dock. It took us about 1 ½ hrs to get there. Pretty bumpy going over, which made about 10 people very seasick. We were fine, thank goodness. The Captain and his wife joined our excursion, so I knew that we would get back to the ship on time. Bruce had a 1 tank dive scheduled and I was going to snorkel. They provided all the equipment and gear. Even the full body sun-suit which even had hand coverings to protect your fingers from getting bit by the fish. Now I didn’t have to worry about how long I could stay in the water without having to put sunscreen on over and over. I think that they provide these so you don’t have to use as much sunscreen which, I am sure, is a contamination issue to the coral and fish. And the sun was intense. In the water we went…..it was like being in a salt water aquarium, and just as warm. About 87 degrees and crystal clear. There were dozens of species of coral, tropical fish, squid, turtles, and some sharks, though I didn’t see any of those. I was speechless. And no, it wasn’t because my mouth was plugged with the snorkel. It was just like the postcards and pictures. The tropical colors were amazing. Blues, greens, reds, and yellows, even purple coral….so very vivid it is hard to describe. I did not want to get out of the water but fatigue finally set in. Bruce’s dive lasted about an hour and he saw many more things since the divers could go out farther. He loved it. After lunch and a rest it was time to go back in the water for another incredible hour or so. They also had a glass bottom boat for the people that did not, or could not get in the water. We did go out on that later. You could not see as much, but it was just as wonderful. I did not want to leave, but back to the ship we had to go. We were leaving that night and I guess we did have to get the Captain back so he could sail us away. We really do have a very cool Captain. He has been a Captain with Holland America for years, but this is his first World Cruise as a captain, and he gets excited at new ports just like the rest of us. I still can’t believe that we swam in the Barrier reef. It was a dream come true, and by far one of the best things that we have experienced. We were not scheduled to leave until 3 am the next morning due to the tides. We were docked in very shallow water so we had to wait for high tide before we could leave. Bruce and I were going to go into town after dinner, but I was exhausted and it was literally pouring water outside and getting dark. Bruce went anyway just to check out the city, but most everything was closed for the night except Wooly’s---we know it as Woolworth’s. Australian wine and batteries, yes indeed. At least we can bring wine, beer, and soda back on board with us. On to Komodo Island, Indonesia.

Shipboard Meanderings………..

We have 4 days at sea before we get to Indonesia. We will sail through the north part of the Barrier Reef for 2 days, go around the tip of Australia, with New Guinea to the north and then head west. The reef covers over 1000 square miles, and the ship is required by law to have a reef pilot on board the whole time we are in the area. There are channels and very shallow areas that have to be maneuvered around. As a matter of fact we have already sailed by many shipwrecks that have been caught on the reefs. The pilot guides the ship and makes sure that it is not expelling anything that might contaminate the environment. We had to sail 25 miles out of the reef zone to dump all of the treated ‘gray water’ that was on board into the ocean and then go back in. We have been at sea 56 days, and have sailed 19554 nautical miles. We turn the clocks back another hour tonight, so we will be 7 hrs behind PST but 1 day ahead…I think. This is confusing since we crossed the date line. I really don’t even know what day it is anymore. Only port dates. And believe it or not sea days actually go by pretty fast. About 300 people left the ship in Sydney and only about 100 came on board for the next segment. So there is a total of about 1000 onboard now. I think as the cruise progresses more will be leaving at various ports. On the next blog I will write about the shipboard people dynamics….it’s a virtual ‘ Peyton Place’ around here sometimes……

Hanging out with Wally in the Great Barrier Reef