Our last day in Perth

Sunday March 21, 2010 our last day in Perth.
Today we are taking a wine tasting cruise on the Swan River with Captain Cook Cruises. We were up early and in the lobby waiting for our ride to the jetty by 9 am. Our cruise began at 9:45 and our captain was a lady. As we were sailing away from Perth we were offered coffee and muffins and by 10:30 they began serving samples of white wine followed by red wine from the vineyards we will be visiting. The Swan River Region is very picturesque with lovely homes and vineyards all the wide riverbank. We travelled for about an hour before we stopped at “Sandalford Winery” for our first tasting well...not our first taste of the day but our first tasting at the winery. This is a fairly large winery and they have more vineyards in the Margaret River area The wines were pared with various cheeses and combined with the heat from outside, I believe I had a buzz going. Once we were back on the boat more wine was served but I had to pass...I’ve had enough for a while....Who in their right mind passes up free wine????Me I guess at least for ½ hour. We stopped again around 2 pm at “Water’s Edge Winery” Where we were served lunch...there were three choices of fish, chicken or pasta plus salads, rolls and dessert and of course wine. After lunch the tastings began again. Needless to say we were a cheerful bunch of cruisers on the way back to the city. The wine continued to flow like water until we docked. Everyone was singing and dancing on the deck. I almost felt 25 again. After docking, we hired a taxi to the Hilton. . Tonight I must organize our suitcases and pack up everything. Tomorrow we fly to Sydney and we are staying overnight before making the long trek home. This has been a dream vacation. We have sampled a bit of this wonderful country and its’ people. I don’t think I have ever met such a friendly bunch of people. They don’t seem to lead the fast paced lifestyle that we seem to live even in the cities. We have just touched the tip of the iceberg of this amazing diverse land. We have seen the beaches, the cities, a portion of the desert areas and we have encountered the native animals up close. Now it is time to mentally prepare for our normal routines. Sheldon is anxious to get back to hockey and start golf and I am just anxious!!! It has been fun doing this blog of our travels and sharing some of our pictures. Until we travel again. Will see most of you in a few days
Toddie

A Day in Perth

Saturday march 20, 2010 A Day in Perth
We had a wonderful sleep last night. The first order of business was to dispose of the rental car...it was far easier than we thought it would be. The hotel concierge called Avis and requested on our behalf that the Perth office come pick up the vehicle and they agreed with no charges involved for a different drop off location. We then checked out of our room and immediately checked into our suite for the next 2 days. Our balcony is much larger. We then set out for Kings Park. We caught a city bus which are all free which dropped us off at the far western part of the park. It seemed like we walked for miles but was in fact about 2 kilometres to get to the top of the park where the visitors centre is. The views of the city were fabulous. The park covers over 400 hectares and is split up in sections i.e. botanical which did not have any flowers in bloom as it is the beginning of the winter season, bush lands, synergy is a large play area for children. There are also many large open areas for picnics. We spent about 2 hours here wandering around. We then caught a Double Decker explorer bus to do a tour of the city. The ride felt great as there was a wind blowing and it didn’t make the heat of the day seem so bad. We saw lots of areas such as Burswood which is where the casino & tennis dome is located, Northridge which is the older part of the city, and the Riverside area where the swan bells are located. We also got an overview of the inner city streets and where the eateries and shopping areas are located. We finally hopped off the bus at the waterfront area and wandered around for a while before heading back to the hotel which was about 1 ½ kilometres away and mostly up hill. By the time we got back to the hotel, I was having excruciating pain in both knees and my feet were throbbing. You would think after 5 weeks of a lot of walking I would be more used to it but that is not the case. I couldn’t find my Aleve so I had to substitute with a stiff drink of rum & coke. After putting my feet up for a while, I felt much better. We were served chocolates in our room. This was a lovely touch. Later we set out again to have a late supper. I’m so tired of walking today that I wasn’t very hungry but Sheldon needed his vittles. I was so glad to get back to the room and I’m not leaving until the morning. We booked a cruise on the Swan River and wine tasting for tomorrow. I can hardly wait.

In perth

Thursday March 18, 2010 A Day at Jill’s
We had a late start to today because I overslept...shame on me. After lunch Jill & I set out for some girl only shopping in Margaret River then in Augusta. I bought some wonderful treasures. Sheldon spent the afternoon with Greg at Greg’s work site. The evening was quiet with a lot of reminiscing of our school days. Oh what laughs we’ve had. I packed all our clothes as we are leaving in the morning.
Friday march 19.2010
We were up around 7 am . I hate saying goodbye especially when I know I’ll probably not see Jill again. We had a few tears actually a lot of tears on my part. What a great visit we have had. Sheldon & Greg hit it off as if they’ve always known us. What wonderful hosts they have been. Anyway we were on the road by 8 am heading south. Jill had given us maps and suggested a sort cut with a beautiful drive though a majestic forest of Karri trees which eventually brought us to Pemberton and we then followed a road thru farmlands of sheep before we finally hit the southern town of Walpole. We stopped at the visitor centre and bought our tickets of the Tree top Walk at the “Valley of the giants”. This is a wonderful walk 40 meters high among the giant tingle trees some of which are over 400 years old. Words cannot express their beauty. We spent over an hour here before we left for the town of Demark about 50 km away. Here we saw the world’s largest barometer which was brought over from Europe when the owner moved here. We then had a late lunch at a street side cafe before we continued on our journey toward the bustling seaside town of Albany. The town is known for its whaling industry in the past but is now a busy shipping port .We decided not to stop in the town as is was well after 3 pm. We then began heading north on the Albany to Perth highway with full intentions of stopping for the night at Mount Barker which is a beautiful town that looks out for the Sterling Mountain Range. We stopped at the visitor centre, gassed up the car and decided to carry on for a while longer as we would still have over 400 km to do in the morning before dropping off our car in Freemantle. The drive was through more farm country. We saw a lot of dead Kangaroos along the way and we saw the sweetest pure white kangaroo. We truly planned to stop along the way but we only saw what looked like flea bitten run down hotels and in no way was I laying my head down in one of these dumps. So I programmed the GPS for the Hilton Parmelia in Perth where I already have a reservation for tomorrow, & Sunday night. We finally arrived in the city after being on the road for over 13 hours. Dun said he was stressed...poor bugger. The only reason we were given a room is because we already have reservations for tomorrow & Sunday nights and because I’m an elite Hilton Honors member. The hotel is completely booked and the only room available was one with twin beds. We don’t care...I’d sleep in the basement at this point. Tomorrow we will need to change rooms to our suite. We ordered room service for supper and after eating we’ll hit the sack. Good night.

A Day with Jill

Wednesday March 17, 2010 Touring with Jill
What a wonderful night’s sleep we had. Sheldon & I were only up at 7:30. Jill had been up since 6 am and was just finishing the morning work in the barns and Greg was getting ready to go to work. After showering we left to go see the area. We began our drive leaving Augusta and driving through the Leeuwin Naturalist Forest where we saw huge Karri trees then we went to Hamlin Bay where there is the most beautiful beach I have ever seen then on to Boranup Forest to the look out. I think this is one of the most beautiful places I have ever visited. From here we headed north through more wine country heading to the Margaret River surfing masters where the surfing competitions are being held. This is one of the world circuit stops for surfing and security is tight. The surf was high today and we could see the surfers out in the water. From here we headed to Yallingup and stopped at the wool shed where they shear sheep and there is a wonderful wool shop. I splurged and bought myself a wonderful sheep skin hat . Yallingup is a wonderful seaside town and Jill’s daughter Kate lives here. We then stopped in Dunsborough for lunch....wonderful Australian meat pies and then we went to Yallingup Ugg boats where I then bought myself a pair of wonderful brown soft winter boots. Dun is a bit distressed wondering where I’m going to pack this stuff. We made a quick stop in Busselton before taking the back roads back to Jill’s. Wonderful day we have had. Tonight we are going out with Jill & Greg. We visited the Augusta social club for the weekly lawn bowling competition. They have 2 large bowling grounds and there were about 200 people there. Dun got in on the action. They had tubs of beer and sausages on the grill. It was a really nice evening. It was fairly late when we got back to the farm so it wasn’t long before we called it a night

manudrah March 15,2010

Monday March 15, 2010 our cruise is over
Last evening found us rather reluctant to go to bed. At dinner the chefs and dining room wait staff sang a farewell song. Sentimental fool that I am cried...oh well, nothing new for me so I will have to get used to it. We then went to our regular haunt on the 11th deck with Eve, Jean, Les and Avril for our evening drinks before attending the farewell show. After shedding a few more tears we said our goodbyes with the best of intentions of keeping in touch. We have an open invitation to stay in Eve’s flat in London or to visit Les & Avril if we are ever in Queensland again. Les has mentioned that we should do a house swap for vacations at some point and we have not ruled this out for sometime in the future. The other night we tried Kangaroo for dinner. It was grilled. I thought it was terrible and I almost gagged. How do you daintily spit it out when at a formal dinner??? Well I chewed like a cow with its cud, and gulped a lot of wine until it went down...The remainder was left on my plate. The waiter graciously brought me lamb chops so I therefore did not go hungry.
This morning I was awake at 5 am and enjoying my morning coffee while we quietly slipped into the port of Freemantle. This is a bustling port with many container ships and other cargo ships. The passengers were all given departing color codes to put on their luggage last night. Our departing time was 9:40 so we had plenty of time to have breakfast before leaving the ship. This was the easiest we have ever found our luggage. Australian customs was quick. We then got in the queue for a taxi and the wait was about an hour. We now have an Avis rent a car. We are both very nervous driving on the opposite side of the road. We did manage to get out of the city with no problems but a few close calls and soon we were heading along the coast. Thankfully we have a GPS which tells us well in advance where to turn off and we follow the other cars when in a “round about”. We finally cut off in Mandurah and after going in circles for about ½ hour we found the “Sebel Mandurah”. It is a wonderful new hotel. We are on the 4th floor and our room has a nice balcony with wooden furniture overlooking a canal. There is a nice boardwalk with many restaurants. After checking in, we decided the first order of business was to find a laundry mat to wash our mounting pile of dirty clothes. Mission accomplished with only one minor mishap along the way but Sheldon forbid me to put on here what it was ha ha so I will obey! We later set out for a trek along the boardwalk and we ended up walking along the canal towards the centre of the city. The wind was strong so the air felt much more comfortable than we have had thus far on this trip. On the way back, we stopped at Cicerello’s for our dinner. Their claim to fame is the best fish & chips in Western Australia. We each ordered the senior’s meal which consisted of a cup of seafood chowder ( which was very thick and seemed to have more of a gravy base), two fillets of deep fried hokie (a new Zealand white fish) with French fries, black forest cake & coffee . It was a great meal and very tasty. We met a couple fishing for octopus. Dolphins are also plentiful in the canal but we haven’t seen any. It’s a beautiful evening sitting on the balcony. In the morning we head toward Bunbury, Busselton & Cape Naturaliste along the coastal highway before heading south to Jill’s.

Our last day at Sea

March 14, 2010 Our Last Day At Sea
I was awake very early this morning...5:30 am to be exact. There is nothing better than morning coffee, sitting on the balcony with just my thoughts and gazing out at the clear turquoise waters. After a late breakfast I decided that some shopping was in order as my cash is beginning to burn a hole in my pocket. I ended up purchasing an Australian opal necklace and matching earrings. Now I feel much better. Later I attended a napkin folding demonstration where we were shown how the cute towel animals are made (that are left in our staterooms each night) as well as dining room napkins. While this was interesting to watch, it will never be in my repertoire of talents. Sheldon went for his usual morning walk on the upper deck. I have most of our things packed up so I can now relax for the remainder of time on board. Tomorrow we depart the ship at 9:30. What a wonderful experience we have had. Our tablemates are wonderful folks who we have spent time with during the evenings and on excursions. We hope to meet again sometime down the road. We have exchanged e-mail addresses, snail mail addresses and phone numbers. My next post will be from on the road south of Perth.

Exmouth

Saturday march 13, 2010 Exmouth
This morning we dropped anchor at 5:30 am and I was sitting outside on our balcony with my first coffee of the day watching the sun slowly rise. This is a tender port and it was interesting watching the crew slowly lower the tenders into the water. Exmouth is a small, remote, isolated seaside town with a permanent population of appx 2500. It sits at the tip of North West Cape about 800 from Perth. It was established as a communications base for submarines. It is also known for its raw natural beauty, with Outback ranges, red rock canyons with over 700 caves. We left on our safari tour at 8 am in a 4WD vehicle heading directly to Caper Range. We began climbing up over a rough red dirt road. There are no trees due to lack of water and what shrubbery there is, it is low to the ground. It is very dry & dusty and soon we began to feel the dust on our lips. We stopped along the long windy road to see the wild kangaroos and emu’s. The canyon is a bright red which reminds me of Sedona Arizona and there are many caves that we can see along the way. The view of the Ningaloo coastline with many miles of white sandy beaches is spectacular after driving along the top of the range we began to slowly meander back down to drive through the town. All the buildings are made of cement to protect against cyclones as the town was completely demolished a few years ago. It is a quaint, neat little town and our guide told us that the emu’s come into town at night for water which the residents leave out for them. After leaving town we headed to the beach. The swim in the Indian Ocean was so refreshing. I am very buoyant and float like a harbour buoy. I could have stayed here for hours but alas, I must haul my weary body out of the water. While we were relaxing in the warm ocean water, our guide was boiling the “billy” for morning tea and homemade fruitcake. To be polite, I had the tea but I soon guzzled about 3 cups of water. It is very hot and the humidity is high. I now know why Australia is known as as hottest, driest continent on earth. Before returning to the ship, we visited the Ningaloo lighthouse, situated high on a cliff with a 360 degree view of the rough, rugged area. I will always remember the beauty of this place. We arrived back at the dock around 12:30. I was too hot to even go back into the town for any shopping. I have done no shopping yet. This trip has been about the adventure of seeing a new land. Can you believe that I am too hot to eat lunch? I headed directly for the pool where I remained for a couple hours before heading back to our balcony which thankfully is a bit shaded. Dun is having a nap and dreaming about playing golf in Pubnico. Tomorrow is another sea day and the last day of this wonderful cruise and I must waste part of the day packing up our clothes.

A Sea Day In TheTorees Strait

Thursday march 12, 2010 At Sea
Today was so hot, you could smell the heat. We got up rather late today and after breakfast we went directly to the pool to cool off. It was too hot to stay in the direct sun. Dun went to a session given by the staff on lifestyles at sea while I sat and listened to music. This afternoon we went to a movie. It was a very uneventful day. Tomorrow we are in Exmouth and our tour leaves at 7:15 so we will be in bed early tonight.

Broome

Thursday march 11, 2010 Broome
Last night an elderly gentleman had a stroke. The captain made an announcement that there was a medical emergency but the person had stabilized but he was speeding up so that we could get to Broome to get him to a hospital. Around midnight, a pilot boat came along side and they off loaded the patient. It is so sad that this happened on a vacation. This morning we awoke to clear skies and extreme heat. We docked around 7 am and do to government regulations we are not allowed to walk off the ship along the jetty. All passengers must take a shuttle bus into town and they are supplied complimentary by the ship. We can only disembark at 9:30. Dun went to pickup our shuttle tickets and we are on shuttle # 27. Figure this out. They have 7 shuttle buses that hold appx 46 passengers each and it is 20 minutes into town and there are 2000 passengers that are getting off the ship. We were told that our wait would be about an hour which didn’t add up. Our first tour is scheduled at 1 pm with pick up time at 12 :15. Our chances were slim. At 11 am I went to the pursers’ desk to ask them to call a taxi, but was told that the port does not allow taxi’s onto the jetty unless they are booked several days in advance. I was starting to get really disappointed. Finally, we were ashore at 12:45 and at the visitors centre at 1 pm. I spoke to a wonderful lady and asked her to call the tour company of our situation and guess what...they held the tour for us to arrive and the manager of the visitors centre took us to the location. Is this service or what!!!!This was a hovercraft tour and it was truly an awesome experience. It took off from the sand out into Roebuck Bay. We followed the coast until we came to a small inlet where we went ashore and were shown dinosaur tracks in the rocks. The coastline is a sight to behold...red cliffs with mango trees growing up through the white sand. After the tour, they delivered us back to the ship just in time to take our next tour which was an orientation tour of the city. Broome is a small city of about 20,000 people and it is the gateway to the Kimberlies and the outback. The prime industry is pearling followed by cattle industry and then tourism. Our first stop was to the Japanese cemetery which is the final resting place for many thousand pearlers who perished. Our next stop was Cable Beach with it’s 20 miles of pure white sand. It is listed as one of the top 10 beaches in the world. As it is late in the day we head back to the ship. We are supposed to go now for the camel ride but the skies have suddenly turned black and we are seeing the most amazing lightening show I have ever seen. The sky has opened and the rains are pouring down. I am disappointed about not riding the camels but I did see them and they looked ugly but wonderful. Maybe I’ll get to ride them on some other vacation. We are worn out tonight. The heat has been oppressive and it zaps what strength we have. Tomorrow is a sea day which will give us time to regroup again. We skipped the diningroom tonight and just went to the buffet for supper. Bedtime will come early

Another Sea Day

Wednesday March 10, 2010
Today we only awoke around 9:30 and after breakfast we decided we needed a short nap and that’s exactly what we did. That is the beauty of vacation isn’t...you can do exactly what you want when you want. I spent most of the remainder of the day on our balcony watching the world slide by. There is nothing to see but miles and miles of ocean and I never tire of gazing at the vastness of it. Dun wandered around the ship a bit and walked his daily mile. Before leaving the room for dinner, Dun decided that we needed to make a stuffed dummy to put in our bed for our stateroom attendant Francisco. We made the legs of pools towels, the body from a pillow, arms from regular towels and the head we rolled from a regular towel that we then wrapped in a black tea shirt. We used cut up band aids to make a mouth and nose and then we put sunglasses and a hat we left a note saying “do not disturb, Francisco is sleeping” He thought it was really funny. Tonight was our 3rd and last formal night for the cruise and we had a delightful surprise... we were invited to have dinner at the Hotel Director and manager of Guest Relation’s table. The Hotel Director, Rodney Darwin is responsible for everything on the ship which is non marine related and he is second in command. He hails from Toronto and he and Sheldon had quite a conversation about the Maple Leafs. After dinner we again retired to the lounge for wine and champagne. I think Sheldon has acquired a taste of white wine..he had 3 glasses at dinner and 1 glass in the concierge lounge..but then maybe it’s because it is free lol. All in all another great day

Sailing the Timor Sea

Tuesday March 9, 2010 Sailing the Timor Sea
This morning we awoke to another beautiful day. The sea is calm and with the sunshine it looks like tiny diamonds bouncing on the waters. There is not a cloud in the sky. I went to the pool at 10 am. Dun decided to explore around the ship. At 2 pm the captain held a “walk a mile” for the Make a wish Foundation. Most cruisers donated the $10 and received a T-shirt. It was amazing to see so many with the white T-shirts walking the upper deck. We have two new T-shirts. Can you believe it; I burnt the bottom of my feet walking across the deck at noon. How stupid could a person be? I was in a hurry to get in line to purchase the t shirts for the walk. I burnt my nose today too and I look like Rudolph. Tonight we are attending The Australian Phantom of the Opera. It has definitely been a laid- back lazy day and tomorrow will be more of the same.

Darwin

Monday March 8, 2010 Darwin
What a beautiful day to visit Australia’s capital of the Northern Territory. Darwin is located midway along Australia’s northern coast and it is situated on a peninsula surrounded by crystal clear turquoise waters. It’s culture is a melting pot of several nationalities as it is the gateway for several Southeast Asian countries. The city was completely ruined during WW11 and then again in 1974 by a cyclone. As we left the dock for today’s adventure, we saw several pearling boats. They look like our draggers. 65 % of the worlds’ pearls come from these waters. We left this vibrant city behind, following the Stuart Highway south toward Litchfield National Park. Along the way, we saw several road trains used to haul cattle. They are taken to holding pens before being loading on boats for Indonesia. Remember the movie “Australia”, these holding pens look like they did in the movie. Our drive was about 2 hours to the park. Along the way we also saw four WW11 airstrips that were used by the allies. Darwin also has the longest airport runway in the world. It is an emergency runway for the space shuttle and the US stealth bombers also land here. When we reached the park, our first stop was the termite mounds. They are found everywhere in the park and what an amazing site they are. Some are cathedral mounds which are the largest and some are magnetic and these are lined up facing the poles north to south. I was totally fascinated by them and I could not stop snapping pictures. We then visited two different falls. Florence Falls and Wangi falls. Wangi Falls was the largest and was a sight to behold. We had planned a swim in the pools beneath the falls but swimming was closed due to the high waters and strong currents. It sure would have felt good though. It was 97.5 degrees and 80 percent humidity. My glasses kept steaming up. While at Wangi Falls. It started pouring. The heavens opened and within 5 minutes we were completely drenched and then suddenly it was over and within minutes we were completely dry again. We saw more flying foxes in the trees hear. They are larger here than they were in Sydney. What an ugly creature they are. We finally left the park and arrived back to the ship just in time. Within minutes we were sailing away. Tonight I am exhausted and after our evening meal, I think I will call it a night. No wine tonight. The next 2 days are sea days. Good night.

Sailing the Indian Ocean

Sunday march 7 2010 A Day Sailing the Indian Ocean
This morning I was up at 6 am enjoying a cup of coffee on the balcony enjoying the world drift by. Sheldon only got up at 9 am and shortly after we headed for the top deck. It is another beautiful day in paradise. I suddenly had the need to visit the ships shops. I really want to purchase an opal necklace. I found the perfect necklace and they had a discount of 30 percent. My heart was pounding and when I tried it on it was the perfect one until I asked the price... $3.800.00. I could feel my heart drop to my feet. Needless to say the beautiful necklace is still in the shop as I still want to be married! Oh well, the dream was good while it lasted. I spent the rest of the morning relaxing on the lounge chair on our balcony. This afternoon we attended an information session put on by Captain Rick. What a terrific sense of humour he has. He told us that he has been at sea for 35 years, first with cargo ships and different freighters traveling around the world. He began as captain with Royal Caribbean 10 years ago. He said he works 10 weeks on the ship and then he has 10 weeks of vacation. He also told us about various situations he has faced and the most challenging places he has sailed. What an interesting life he has had. Before our evening meal, we were invited another reception for Platinum, Diamond and Diamond Plus members. The captain told us that there are 5 million Crown & Anchor society members worldwide among other statics that I can’t remember. It must be the champagne, I’m losing my memory. After, supper we went to the Diamond lounge for more champagne before heading to the evening show. At 11 pm we attend a pool barbecue and watched line dancing before retiring for the night.

A Sea Day In TheTorees Strait

Saturday march 6, 2010 A Sea Day
Today was a sea day. I think I am finally in relaxation mode with no cares in the world. This doesn’t happen often with me and it feels awesome. We only woke up at 9:30 this morning and that is a far cry from my normal of 6 am. We had a late breakfast and then we hit the upper deck to see the wonderful view as we sailed through the Torres Strait and the Prince of Wales Sound before entering the Indian Ocean. We only had 3 meters of water under the keel. The water was calm with clear blue skies. We could not have asked for better weather. Today was hot at 95 degrees but thankfully there was no humidity. We spent a lazy afternoon beside the pool or I should say Sheldon did. He went swimming once while I spent over 3 hours in the pool. I must have drifted off to sleep while relaxing in the lounge chair because I woke myself up snoring around 4 pm. Funny no one else was around me. Hum...wonder if I drove them away? Supper tonight was lobster tails and steak. Delicious. After we went to diamond lounge which is exclusive to elite Royal Caribbean past cruisers. We met up with Evelyn Jean, Les & Averill (our tablemates) and shared a few drinks of wine before heading to the evening show. Did I say how relaxed I am??? Wonder if it’s the wine??Time is flying by much too quickly. I think I could handle this life style on a permanent basis. Where is my maid and butler?? Tomorrow is another sea day. Wonder if I’ll sleep as sound again tonight? Time will tell

A few Pictures of Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea

Friday March 5, 2010 Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea
Yesterday was a sea day, so I didn’t do a blog post. We had a rather lazy day only getting up at 9 am. It was beautiful, hot & sunny and I spent the afternoon beside the pool while Dun had a nap on our balcony. I’m as red as a cooked lobster. It was formal night again so we donned our best clothes to head out for the evening. I’m afraid I relented and deposited $40 at the ship’s casino. We hit the sack rather early as tomorrow is a long day in port.
We pulled into port around 5 am and it was 7:30 before customs cleared the ship. It was overcast with fine rain, hot & steamy .From the water, all you can see are hills and lots of old boats are in the harbour. Papua New Guinea is located at the equator and is north of Australia. English is widely spoken although the region has many dialects. Today’s tour was independent from the ship and was organized by Marilyn Friedman from Scotland who is part of our cruise critic group. There were only 15 of us registered which made for a great individualized tour. Before leaving the ship we coated ourselves with insect repellent. We decided to forego the Malaria pills due to the side effects. Hopefully we won’t regret this decision. We left the ship around 8 am to total mayhem and disorganization by the harbour authority. Tour buses were lined up for several miles and only a few were allowed near the ship at a time. It was about 9:30 before we got underway but the wait was well worth it. All the places we visited were outside the city but the drive there was a real eye-opener. There was squalor and garbage everywhere. The smell of stench with the heat is not good for a weak stomach. Dozens of people were packed on the backs of trucks and tent markets along the side of the road were plentiful with everything from live chickens to dope. To me it appeared like thousands of umbrellas with nothing but people and garbage beneath them. People had no shoes and were walking in their bare feet and many children were naked. Oh how we complain, we should all see how some people live and then count our blessings. How fortunate we really are. We traveled along the water’s edge to see the stilt villages where appx 10,000 people live in little huts built on stilts. Our first stop was Bomana War Cemetery which is about 20 minutes outside the city. What a site to see. The cemetery is maintained by the Australian government. There are about 3900 graves in total of which about 600 are unknown soldiers from the UK, Canada, Australia & USA from WW 11. All the headstones face west where the sun sets. There is a hero buried in every grave. Our next stop was at a local primary school. Unbeknownst to our tour guide, the school headmistress had arranged for all 1500 students to be dressed in their school uniforms and students from different regions of Papua were dressed in traditional dress and the later performed dances. A stage was set up under the trees and we were all given chairs to watch the performance. We were then asked to introduce ourselves to the students and tell them where we were from and describe where we lived.. When the children returned to class we were invited to visit the class rooms. They were many buildings of classes, with no glass windows. The children sat on the floor (no individual desks) and they were barefoot with their sandals lined across the wall. The teacher had a small desk but no chair. The average class was 45 to 50 students. What a wonderful visit we had. We showed the kids on an atlas where we lived. From here we visited the parliament house. It was a beautiful building and the surrounding gardens were lush with flowers and tropical trees.. We were unable to go inside as parliament was currently in session. From here we stopped at Schwimmer Drome, which was an unsealed American bomber aerodrome during WW2. After the war it was forgotten and became overgrown until a local villager started digging up weaponry and other war paraphernalia which is now displayed for others to see. It remains in an overgrown forest area where the local villagers live. When we arrived, we were treated to traditional native dancers and then we were given fresh coconuts of which we drank the juice, fresh mangos, pineapples and bananas before we left for our next place of visit. This turned out to be the botanical gardens where there are thousands of orchids. We didn’t stay here long as it was getting late in the day but what a memorable day this has been. Tonight as we were eating our evening meal we left port and we will be sailing the Strait of Torres. We will be a sea for the next two days before arriving in Darwin. Sheldon has begun drinking green tea. This is no joke; he was drinking it tonight from a wine glass!!!Wonder who he was trying to fool. Well we are off to the evening show before calling it a night.

Wednesday, March 3, 2010 Cairns, Australia
Last night in the night, we had a beautiful lightening display but no one was up to watch it with me so I only stayed on the balcony about ½ hour before returning to bed. This morning I was awake around 5:30 and went on the balcony to enjoy my morning ritual of coffee as we began our entry in Cairns Harbour. Cairns is located in northern Queensland and is referred to as the tropical capital. One of the main industries is sugar plantations. After docking at Trinity wharf which is right in the heart of town, it didn’t take the crew long to have the gangway ready for us to depart for the day. We got off the ship and began walking for about ¼ mile to pick up a taxi to go to the train station. It is a pretty city, with wide streets, delicate ferns and tropical shrubs at every turn. Originally, this was supposed to be a tender port so the train tickets I had purchased on line were for a different train station but the ticket agent had no problem changing them for us. While waiting in line we met a couple from Berwick, NS and a couple from Miramichi. The 1 ½ hour train ride up to Karaunda village was absolutely breathtaking with waterfalls, and lush tropical plants. Once we arrived to the village high in the mountains, we strolled around and visited the shops and even purchased a few items. The weather was so hot, that I thought I was going to collapse. It was well over 95 degrees, sunny with humidity levels over 80. I think sweat was pouring out of every pore of my body. No man would ever want to pick me up because I’m sure I didn’t smell very good. I drank more water today than I have in the past year. Around 2 pm we left the village and began the cable car ride back to Cairns. I think the ride down was more beautiful than the ride to the top. We then purchased tickets for a bus ride back to the ship. By now I was really hot and getting cranky. There were several passengers on the bus and there was this really obnoxious fellow that kept making comments about the Canadian fans at the Olympic gold hockey game. And then he started in about “Sid the Kid” After about 10 minutes of this crap, I was cranky enough that I loudly said....Yeah Canada...I’m Canadian and proud of it and everyone started clapping. The obnoxious fellow never said another word. This evening we had to fill out our immigration papers for Papua New Guinea, take our passports and meet with Immigration officials. This will expedite the process and we will be able to get off the boat immediately upon docking the day after tomorrow. Enough for tonight. Tomorrow is a Sea Day and I plan to spend a good part of it in the pool.

Airlie Beach, Whitsunday Islands

Tuesday March 2, 2010 Airlie Beach Three Island Tour
Early this morning it was cloudy and very windy. We have been sailing inside the Great Barrier Reef all night. Due to all the winds and the extra ordinary high tides, we are not expecting to see a lot of fish today. This was a tender port which means the tour boats come directly to the ship. We finally got away at 9 am. Our first stop was to Hook Island which was a 20 minute ride on the high speed catamaran, which was very rough. Once off the boat, we began by walking up many steps which I thought would never end. My legs were burning and I was panting and it wasn’t from excitement! Finally we reached the top and we began the journey down the other side to the beach area where we donned stinger suits as this is the season for stinger jellyfish. Oh my, I sure do not look like a goddess or a mermaid in this outfit. Into the water we went, with the snorkels. It wasn’t long before we began seeing many beautiful fish of all different colors. The water was murky and we didn’t see any coral but the swim was worth the walk. We stayed in the water for more than an hour before beginning the trek back up the side of the hill. The catamaran then sailed along Whitehaven beach. We were supposed to have stopped here, as this is one of the most beautiful beaches in the world. Due to the extraordinary high seas we were unable to dock and you could hardly see the beach. We then stopped to Daydream Island. The name suites it well. By the time we arrived the sun was out & very hot. We were met at the dock by drivers with golf carts to take us to the resort. We spent an hour or so swimming in the pool and browsing the property. I could see myself staying here. We then left for the return trip back to the ship and it was a really rough ride. Back on the ship by 4:15 pm. I talked to the fellow in the suite next to us who had gone to the outer reef and he was very disappointed because the weather and poor visibility. He said more than half of the people were sick. He also told us about a gentlemen who had a heart attack while snorkelling and was unable to be revived. That is so sad. At supper tonight, I commented on Kelly’s (a tablemate) beautiful necklace and she said she has never really liked it and when we all left the table; she slipped her necklace off and gave it to me. I was so shocked and never expected this generous gift. I will always treasure this thoughtful gift and it will forever be a memory of this trip. Tonight we will call it an early night. My knees are cracking and legs are still burning.

Another Sea Day

Monday March 1, 2010 Another Sea Day
Sorry about the spelling and grammar in Sunday’s post. I will correct when I get back on internet. Today we spent the day doing the usual cruise things of eating, relaxing & swimming at the pool. We did get our dining time changed to the early seating and we attended a lecture on the Great Barrier Reef which was put on by the port pilot for the region. This was really interesting. Weather is hot but cloudy today. At 5 pm we attended a welcome back party hosted by the Cruise Director. This is for all returning guests that are loyal to Royal Caribbean. There are over 600 of us on this cruise and special crystal sculptures were given to a couple who had over 200 cruises and another couple who had over 100 cruises with this cruise line. Lots of goodies were served and the champagne was flowing freely. I sampled a few and I’m sure I have acquired a taste. The Captain told us there were 35 nations represented among the guests and 56 nations represented by crew and that everyone gets along better than the United Nations. The dinner theme tonight was Italian and it went well with my New Zealand white wine. All the dining room staff then sang in Italian. Two of the ladies at our table from outside London are elite cruisers with Royal Caribbean and (we had previous met them at our cruise critic meeting) they among other elite cruisers have a special lounge that is open only to them from 5:30 to 8:30 daily for wine and champagne where they can mingle. They also have other perks available such as reserved seating at events. They invited Sheldon & I to join them this evening which we were very happy to do. Another couple glasses of champagne. I think I’m getting addicted and the atmosphere in the lounge was great. We then sat with them at the evening show in the reserved section. I can hardly wait until we reach this status. We only need a few more cruises of 12 days or more to qualify. The evening show was “Piano Man” which was a great production. We went to bed shortly after as tomorrow we have a long day ahead.