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Published: March 4th 2011
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We have cruised into Sydney Harbor a dozen times and it is always a thrill. This time there was more anticipation than usual as we had to wait an hour for the pilot to board and take us into port. But that extra hour allowed us to enter at daylight instead of in the predawn darkness. Since two of the Cunard Queens were already in port we were docked around the bend at Darling Harbor instead of Circular Quay. But fortunately we got to sail by the Queen Mary II and the brand new Queen Elizabeth, cruise by the iconic Sydney Opera House and then pass under the Harbor Bridge on the way to our berth. This was our shortest stay ever—a mere fifteen hours to visit one of the great cities of the world. But we managed to cover a lot of territory during our one day stopover. We visited the ultra chic Apple store and bought a new camera from a very smooth talking Turkish salesman, hit Paddy’s Haymarket, lunched in Chinatown took the ferry around the harbor and then met up with our good Aussie friends, John and Dawn for a great dinner and dancing under the stars
"The Hanger"
And Sydney Opera House on the ship. We always have such a good time with them.
With five more Australian stops on our itinerary, we were surely going to be steeped in everything Down Under. Four of the ports are located along the Queensland coast. This is the area that has been deluged since November with rains of biblical proportions. And to make matters worse in February they were hit with the strongest cyclone in recorded history. We were happily surprised at the pace of recovery that we saw starting in Brisbane. While most of the ferry docks, the river walk and several restaurants had been washed away last month and parts of the downtown were under water, we were still able to take a ferry from portside into the city center. The free bus was circling around the business district and the pedestrian mall was alive and well. A lot has been written about the Aussie spirit and here we were witnessing the results of that “can do” resilience.
While we were on the ferry I got an email from my sister Judy on our iPad. She was on an Amtrak train from San Diego to Santa Barbara and here I
John and Dawn
Dancing under the stars on the Voyager in Sydney was on a commuter boat in Brisbane, Australia and we were playing our online Scrabble game. The world is shrinking!
Townsville showed the effects of cyclone Yasi with uprooted trees and boarded up buildings. Their damaged nature park, which will be officially closed until after Easter, was opened just for our ship’s passengers who delighted in cuddling koala bears (which are not bears) and wombats (which are not bats) and seeing the kangaroos hopping around with their packed pouches. Magnetic Island is located off the coast of Townsville and is home to wild koalas. The cyclone stripped the gum trees of their leaves which is the only thing that koalas eat. The government ended up airlifting tons of leaves onto the island to feed the starving marsupials.
Jim Nantz, the famed sports announcer was one of the featured guests on board this segment. He is best known for leading the CBS television team covering the Masters Golf Tournaments, many Super Bowls, basketball’s Final Four games and several winter Olympics. He is a natural on stage and a great storyteller. Speaking of cuddly koalas, Jim went to the nature park and while holding a sweet little koala, the bugger
Jim Nantz
CBS Sports scratched his arm and left Jim with a small memento. He was only on the ship for five days as he had to get back to the States to work the NCAA tournament. He said that Cypress Point at Pebble Beach is his favorite golf course and he is getting married there soon. His fiancée accompanied Jim on this cruise.
My Dad celebrated his 95th birthday this week. My sisters and brothers organized a party and we all sent letters recalling some of our favorite memories of this amazing man who along with my Mother did a darn good job of raising twelve children, while being a successful businessman, a civic leader and an accomplished sportsman. One aspect of traveling around the world is that we often miss special family events. Keeping in touch by email, Skype and letters helps to make me feel like I am still involved in these family affairs.
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