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March 7th 2014

Published: March 7th 2014

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Kevin and Susan

SUNRISE IN SYDNEY

No matter what time of day we sail into Sydney, we are always out on deck. The dramatic views leading into Sydney Harbor are breathless. We never tire of Sydney’s beauty. The Port Authorities have instituted a new rule that cruise ships must not interfere with the passenger ferry schedules especially during the heavy commute hours. Now all ships must be docked by 6:30am or else they have to wait until 9:30am. As a result we got up at 5:30am for the sail in. We planned to drive up to Lake Macquarie and spend the night at our favorite B&B with Ilsa. We stayed there last year for a week and loved Ilsa’s warm hospitality. As it turned out we had some business to take care of in Sydney which required us to stay in town.

Nevertheless we were able to get to Paddy’s Market for a quick shop and a lunch in Chinatown. We got together with cruising friends John and Margie for a lovely dinner at their stunning house in Double Bay. It was nice to have a home cooked meal with friends on their beautiful patio overlooking Sydney.

The next day we took the ferry to

OPERA HOUSE IN THE AFTERNOON

"THE SAILS"

the suburb of Mosman to visit our longtime friends, John and Dawn. We always get together with them when we're in Australia. The ferry system is great around Sydney and we take it just to get out on the water.

We sailed out on a spectacular night with the city lit up and twinkling in the darkness.

In Brisbane we docked at the container terminal which is a ways out of town. Since we were meeting friends who live next to the passenger terminal, we had to take the ship’s shuttle to downtown and then catch the ferry down the river. We cruised with Theo and Tina several years ago and they are a delightful couple of Aussies. They took us to their favorite Chinese restaurant for a wonderful meal and to celebrate Chinese New Year’s. Kung Hei Fat Choi!

This was a very different visit from last year when we got caught up in a cyclone in Brisbane. The authorities closed the port and we anchored out in Moreton Bay for the duration of the storm, which lasted two days causing us to miss our call in Cairns. This year we had balmy weather on our

NIGHT TIME

cruise up to Cairns and everyone was able to visit the Great Barrier Reef in calm seas.

Cairns still has a very distinct frontier feeling. This is the land of sugar cane and crocs, kangaroos and koalas, and heat and humidity. We spent two days in port hiking around Cairns and swimming in the city waterfront lagoon.

The city’s trees are infested with huge fruit bats, aka flying foxes. These megabats are considered an endangered species and luminaries like Jane Goodall and Glen Close have campaigned in support of these mammals. Unfortunately they tend to destroy the fig trees and crops they feast on and create a smelly mess on the ground with their droppings. At dusk they all relocate to the mangrove swamps outside of town. It is an eerie sight when thousands of these creatures fill the sky with their high pitched squawking audible for miles. It’s straight out of a Dracula movie.

We celebrated Kevin’s birthday with a dinner dance on the pool deck. We met fellow passengers Ralph and Linda earlier in the cruise and as it happened Ralph and Kevin were born on the same day. So we had a joint birthday

MARGIE & JOHN

Good friends of Captain Dag

party. Janaka decorated our room with candles and cake…battery powered…the candles, not the cake. A birthday on a ship is always a special event and everyone gets in the spirit of the occasion.

Cairns has completely renovated the waterfront making it possible to walk from the ship on a nice boardwalk for miles. The town is very user-friendly and human size. It is a lovely place to visit.

Our week in Australia flew by. I wish we had more time there since we like visiting this upbeat country with its friendly folks and thriving economy. G’day mate.

Additional photos below

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