Advertisement
Published: November 21st 2009
Edit Blog Post
We had two days of cruising across the Great Australian Bight which is what this part of the Southern Ocean is called. It stretches from Albany to Adelaide. This patch of ocean is somewhat notorious for its rough seas and unsettled weather. We lucked out as we had a relatively smooth but cool crossing. It was a perfect place to celebrate a birthday—mine! The day began when I woke up, glanced out the window and was greeted by a breaching whale. I thought that was a pretty cool birthday present. When we came back from breakfast our steward had filled our room with balloons and birthday banners and ribbons.
We played tennis with Barry and Audrey. Barry is a retired British Air Captain and Audrey does human resource consulting. They are good players and have played tennis with us in all sea conditions from hot to cold and windy to rocky.
We had a country faire where each of the ship’s departments set up game booths on the pool deck and the passengers vie to see who can win the most tickets. The ship’s horn is sounded and then the race is on. One of the most popular games was trying
to toss hula hoops over the heads of the dancers who were bobbing around in the swimming pool. There was another game where we used a powerful fire hose to try to spray the junior officers. The country faire is always a lot of fun and is enjoyed by the crew and passengers alike.
That evening we were invited by Jack and Sue from Carmel Valley to a party in the Master Suite. Imagine my surprise when we walked into their cabin and found it decorated for a birthday party and there was also champagne and cake. Kevin had mentioned to Jack and Sue that it was a special day and they took it from there. It was so thoughtful of them to commemorate my birthday.
Then we had dinner with Jamie and Dana, the cruise director and assistant cruise director respectively. We have sailed with them for seven years and they are valued friends. Sandra joined us also. She is a most gifted and knowledgeable lecturer whom we have known for many years. Stephen Fisher-King was the sixth of our group of merrymakers. He is a remarkably talented singer from Australia who we first met on the 2003 world
cruise. Kevin and I were celebrating our 30th wedding anniversary and Stephen serenaded us on that memorable night. This was another memorable evening arranged by Kevin who brought together good friends and frivolity and love to make for a perfect birthday.
We spent a nice day in Adelaide and because it was 100+ degrees we decided to take in a few indoor activities. The South Australia Museum has the best collection of Aboriginal artifacts in the world. These nomadic people roamed this part of the world for over forty thousand years and developed a society steeped in mysticism and nature. The interaction of this primitive culture with the Western settlers resulted in tragedy. Like many native cultures, their numbers were decimated with the introduction of diseases like smallpox, syphilis, and alcoholism. We have learned a lot about the “Lost Generation” of thousands of Aboriginal children who were taken from their families in the 1900s in a misguided effort to improve their lot. The Australian government has recently issued a formal apology to these children and their families.
Earlier this year we had gone out to the McLaren Vale vineyards and the German village of Handorf. We had previously visited the
Audrey & Barry
Tenacious Tennis Twosome! quaint seaside town of Glenelg utilizing the extensive tram car system of Adelaide. This time, given the heat, we were content with a visit to Chinatown and posting birthday packages to the U.S. and buying a few essentials. We have been surprised by how expensive everything seems here due to the weak dollar. Just since our last time in Australia, which was only nine months ago, the US dollar has lost 25% of its value. The international monetary crisis that has crippled most of the world was just a blip on the radar screen for the booming Aussie economy. There is an energy and vitality in Australia which is very refreshing especially as this land of “Oz” becomes more of a powerhouse in the Pacific region. My nephew Kevin and his family have recently become citizens here. They live in Rockhampton, on the central coast, and love the pace and lifestyle in the land downunder.
In Melbourne we met up with our longtime friends, Bob and Jan and John and Cheryl for an afternoon at the Sandringham Yacht Club which was celebrating opening day of the summer sailing season with a party and boat show. For us boat lovers, this
Capt Patruno
A Day at the Country Faire was a perfect way to spend a warm Sunday afternoon having lunch by the seaside and walking the docks of the large marina. We got to meet some of the rest of the family as well and visited Christopher and Meighan's new homes. Coincidentally, the Australian Masters Golf Tournament was going on several miles away. Tiger Woods took top honors and won the hearts of the locals. Next trip here we want to ride the bicycle path which follows the Yarra River for miles past downtown into the suburbs. We brought our friends back to the Mariner for cocktails and much too soon we were waving goodbye as we sailed off to Sydney.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.083s; Tpl: 0.019s; cc: 17; qc: 31; dbt: 0.0347s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Jack Darby
non-member comment
Happy Birthday
Susan, Happy belated birthday, looks like you had fun...Won't be long now and I'll see you guys on the Voyager..We'll celabrate mine and Kevin's B-day on the WC..along with Cap' Dag i believe...see ya'all soon...Jack