Down Under - February & March 2003

A Vacation to New Zealand and Australia

Getting There
Atlanta to St. Louis to Los Angeles to Nadi, Fiji, to Sydney to Auckland
The Cruise
Auckland
New Zealand
Wellington and the House & Garden Tour
Christchurch and the Sheep Shearing and Akaroa Tour
Dunedin and the Bonnie Dunedin Tour
Fjordland National Park
Australia
Hobart, Tasmania and the Bonorong Wildlife Preserve Tour
Melbourne, Victoria and the Aboriginal Walk Tour
The Shore Excursion
Cairns, Queensland and the Great Barrier Reef
Uluru, North Australia
Sydney
Sydney, New South Wales and the Walkabout
Wine Tasting Tour
Coming Home
Sydney to Los Angeles to St. Louis to Atlanta

The Tasman Sea

Sunset

It was a little rough on the Tasman sea. Notice the wave breaking away from the bow!

email home:
Date: Fri, 21 Feb 2003 20:12:05 -0800 (PST) From: Cruise Buddies Subject: The Southern Cross To: the.wack@eloptac.com As far back as I can remember that I've known about the Southern Cross I've wanted to see it. We almost got a change in 1998 on the Statendam but the clouds covered it. When Rebecca and Benji returned from their honeymoon I asked if they had seen the Southern Cross. Rebecca replied that since they didn't know exactly where to look, and since it's easy to find four stars and call them the Southern Cross, that's what they did. In one of the ships stores I saw a booklet on the southern skies. I didn't buy it but it did have a section on how to find the Southern Cross. Last night, after the last show, "If I was not Upon the Ship, " Mom and I went to the aft deck to look at the skies. This is the FIRST night that we've had clear skies since we got on board. It took me just a few moments to find the pointer stars. They are very bright and easy to identify (Thank that booklet). I followed the line of the pointer stars and there was ... The Southern Cross! Check Mark! I am really excited that we found the constellation! We're still having a great time. Connectivity is still iffy. It's not ship motion, it is satellite connection that is the problem. Mom & Pops Joseph & Christina Harlan - On vacation somewhere in the world!

We attended a cooking demo

and Christina got selected to try the Cherries Jubilee. Yummy!

Tasman Sea, well we did spend two full days crossing it

Hobart, Tasmania, Australia

email home:
Date: Thu, 20 Feb 2003 13:13:18 -0800 (PST) From: Cruise Buddies Subject: Hobart To: the.wack@eloptac.com We're in FRIKIN' Tasmania! Mom & Pops Joseph & Christina Harlan - On vacation somewhere in the world!

Frikin' Tasmania!

Hobart and Mt. Wellington

Hobart is off Storm Bay

Sunrise in Tasmania

The Regal at dockside

email home:
Date: Sat, 22 Feb 2003 21:56:26 -0800 (PST) From: Cruise Buddies Subject: Hobart, Tasi To: the.wack@eloptac.com The day started clear and sunny. A marked difference from our previous two sea days. We boarded the bus and headed to Bonorong Wildlife Preserve. It's about 30 minutes outside of Hobart. Bonorong is like a petting zoo for adults. They've got Kangaroos which stay away from the people, they are nocturnal and sleep during the day. They've got Wallabys which are small kangaroos. These guys are so tame that they can be fed by hand and Mom did. The park supplies lots of free Kangaroo food for the animals. They've got Emus which are big birds. About four feet tall. I fed them. They've got Blue Tongued Skinks which are thick bodied lizards. We chose not to feed them! They've got Echidnas which are the OTHER mammal that lays an egg. They were sleeping and not interested in food. They are a relative of the porcupine. They've got Tasmanian Devils. Squat tough looking dudes. There were signs over their pens that said, "DANGEROUS, DO NOT FEED, DO NOT TEASE, DO NOT PET, THEY BITE" Yes the sign was in big capital letters. The jaws of a Tasi Devil are 12 times stronger than a pit bull. We didn't feed, tease, pet or bite the Tasi Devils. They've got Koalas. The Koala is not indigenous to Tasi. They were brought in for us American tourists. The Koala eats only eucalyptus leaves and the one we saw wasn't hungry. He was BIG for a Koala weighing in at 40 pounds. We did get to pet him. His fur is very soft and very very thick. They've got Billy Tea and Damper for the humans. Billy Tea is, well, tea and it's strong. Damper is like a giant sized scone, a cross between a true scone and an english muffin, with cream and preserves on it. We had some and enjoyed it! They had a sign for KangaPoo. We thought about buying a bag of KangaPoo for Everyone's roses. However we just didn't want to pack it next to anything we'd wear! And they were 50 pound bags! Besides we figured you wouldn't be happy telling all your friends, "My parents went to Australia and all I got was KangaPoo!" We bussed back to Hobart, tried to call home but nobody ANSWERED! We ate lunch on the ship. The veggie burger is still mashed potatoes, yuck. The cheeseburger is still real meat, yum! We went back ashore. The original dockside warehouses are no longer dock side (land reclamation). They are now shops and restaurants. Mom's got a cold so we went looking for a chemist to get vitamin C and cough syrup. We found the chemist and a nice young lady helped us to select the proper medications. We stopped at Murphy's Irish Pub and had a VB! It was great. "Victoria Bitter," why so named? Not bitter at all. More random access walking around Hobart. We really enjoyed it. It's a lovely city. We finally got back to the ship, cleaned up for dinner and had a great meal. That night as we were going to bed, Mom took her cough syrup. It was Banana flavored! It must be a Tasi thing! Mom & Pops Joseph & Christina Harlan - On vacation somewhere in the world!

This was our bus for the day

This is the country around the Bonorong Wildlife Center.

And this is the center.

Blue Tongued Lizard

Christina feeding a Wallaby

Emus

and Roos

An Echnida, man this is one strange animal.

Christina feeding the roo

Close up of a roo!

A real life Tazmania Devil

Our first Koala (Er, the cute little guy on the right!)

And we got to pet the Kolala

We had the "Shearers Special" at the refreshment area

We had Billy Tea and Damper. Christina is enjoying her tea. Damper is like a giant scone served with double cream and strawberry preserves.

Bonorong and Tasmania

A Peacock

Time to leave Bonorong

The Richmond Bridge was built in 1838 by convict labor. It's the oldest bridge in Tasmania

Our bus stopped at a senic overlook above Storm bay and Hobart

Hobart at the foot of Mt Wellington

Christina

Joe

These were originally warehouses on the water edge. But land reclaimation has moved them a good distance from the shore.

They're now filled with little shops, all about the size of a two car garage or smaller

We stopped in Murphy's Irish Pub and had a VB

The Regal Princess at dock

We walked into downtown Hobart and enjoyed the sights

The sign says "Cascade Brewery Est. 1856" and tha's a Tasmanian Devil on top of the keg.

We went looking for a chemist to buy some cough syrup. Christina found this plaque on the side of a warehouse.

Joe bought an aboriginal painting. It was shipped home by slow boat and arrived May 13, 2003. That's a Barramundi, a local Australian fish, a duck billed Platypus and a Crocodile (Aint she a beaut!)

Back to sea and on our way to Melbourne

Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Port Phillip Bay

Hobson's Bay

Marius was our table captain at dinner. He did double duty in the Horizon Court for breakfast.

Melbourne

Sunrise

du 7267 melbourne

The Australian Grand Prix was held in Melbourne a week after we left. The sign on the crosswalk says, "If you drink and drive, you're a bloody idiot!"

Entrance to the Royal Botanical Gardens

Waiting for our Aboriginal Walk guide under this tree.

Dean, was our aboriginal guide on the walk. Yes he is aboriginal (and half European)!

Dean's walking stick was decorated with emu feathres

Berries on the Kangaroo Plant

Dean spoke with great reverance about this tree calling it "Old Grandfather." The tree is estimated to be over 250 years old and was here before the first white man arrived in Australia. It saw the first masts and sails enter Port Phillip Bay. It saw the city grow from a few small huts to a thriving metropolis. Ah, the stories Old Grandfather could tell us!

This tree is full of Flying Foxes. They are a very large bat. Thousands of Flying Foxes live at the Botanical gardens

A random spider web

A bilibong

We had tea under a gum tree

Black swans are very common in New Zealand and Australia

This is the Original Melbourne Museum

And a second building was built to expand the museum. It houses an aboriginal exhibit

It contains aboriginal art

And an exhibit on violation of aboriginal intectual property rights.
This work was used on the Australian $100 bill without permission.

Digerie-doos

Looking at downtown Melbourne

Melbourne street cars

St. Pauls Cathederal

Flinder Street Station

The Magic Statue - a typical street performer

The Yarra River flows through downtown Melbourne

We found a street market under a bridge

The Yarra River

We had lunch at the Bear Brass

In Australia its the law that if you ride a bicycle you MUST wear a helmet. Even this street performer put on a helmet to ride his very little bicycle. And he rode that bike for all of 10 or 15 feet.
I bet he got a ticket once for not wearing a helmet!

St. Pauls, again

This street car was painted in an aboriginal art motif

Back aboard ship its time for us to sail

email home:
Date: Wed, 26 Feb 2003 00:19:03 -0800 (PST) From: Cruise Buddies Subject: Sail Aways To: the.wack@eloptac.com We've all been on cruises. And we've all "Sailed Away" from many ports of call. Now, I vaguely remember a steel band or two in the Caribbean. But as I recall they were there more for tips than to salute the ship as it left. I don't remember any from the Med cruise. There probably were but the point is none of them were memorable. This cruise was different. Auckland simply let us sail away without fanfare. The city was immersed in the America's Cup at the time and the Regal Princess leaving was definitely second or third page news. Wellington was completely different. Mom and I got ready for dinner. I was ready before her and went out on the back deck a few minutes before the ship cast off. The sounds of a single bagpiper caught my ears. I looked and there she was (A fellow passenger with binoculars confirmed the piper was a she). Dressed in a full kilt, she played until I could no longer hear her. The pipes do carry a long distance over the water. She then simply walked off the pier. It was wonderful. I decided that I needed to be on deck for each Sail Away. Christchurch had an 8 or 9 piece brass band playing where we arrived. They were playing when we left as well. How nice! Unfortunately, they were playing in a little shelter and that muffled their sound. I soon lost their music. Dunedin was the best. Dunedin was founded by Scots and of course I've a soft spot in my heart for anything Scottish. The City of Dunedin Pipe Band, nine bagpipers, six drums, one of them a bass drum, marched down the pier to the cadence of the drums. They formed a circle at midships and began to play many traditional Scottish and pipe songs. Very quickly a crowd assembled on the Promenade deck to watch and listen. The railing was crowded! As the ship cast off and started to push out into the harbor the Pipe Band, while playing, formed into marching order and marched off the pier. Wow! I've got some movies of Amazing Grace! Horbart, Tasi did the same. Their pipe band was a little smaller, 5 pipes, 3 drums and a drum major but just as elegant. They played music that was a little less bagpipe traditional. I was surprised how nice "Waltzing Matilda" sounds on the pipes! Again, as we pushed off, they formed into marching order and marched up the pier. Well we were greeted with a second surprise from Hobart. It's the smallest city we'd been to so far. Only about half a dozen cruise ships dock here each month. Watching the ships leave is a big deal to the locals. There were lots of cars parked near the end of the pier and a surprisingly large number of people watching and waving as we sailed away. When the ship sounded its whistle several of the cars echoed with their horns. And across the widening gap came a distinctly Aussie voice, "G'Day mates! And hurry back!" Melbourne, pronounced "Mel Bun" is a city of about 3 million. The ship was, like Auckland back page news and we left without ceremony. Only darkness welcomed us into Sydney. But I got up just as we were approaching the Opera House in the darkness. As we slowly pulled in I (mom) was out on the Aft deck on my way to get the morning coffee. I was simply stunned as we passed the Opera House. One of the most recognized landmarks in the world and here I was right in front of it. Ranks up there with the Eiffel tower and Big Ben. It nearly brought tears to my eyes. What a sight. How Beautiful. How very moving. How lucky, very lucky I am to be standing here! We did the Great Barrier Reef today and tomorrow it's on to Uluru. We'll write again soon when we find a connection. Mom & Pops Joseph & Christina Harlan - On vacation somewhere in the world!

Richard was our waiter and Rangsan was his assistant

Waiting for a performace in the International Show Lounge

Back into the Tasman Sea

A day at sea and our last day aboard the Regal Princess

Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

We arrived at 5:00 AM in Sydney and this is the view from our balcony

We were about an hour late. Had we been on time we would have missed this wonderful sight

A Vacation to New Zealand and Australia