Day 47 – Feb 21 – Sydney, Australia

Oh, what a day this has been.  From an early morning gathering to a fantastic “Sail Away” from this beautiful city and harbour, more about that later.

My big mission of the day was to take care of a computer “situation” with Sharon’s laptop.  I had inadvertently gotten a CDROM stuck in it.  Fortunately, I was told that there was an Apple store in the business section of Sydney, so off I took at a face pace; which is not an easy thing to do when you are carrying a computer case containing two laptops.  Now I want to say here that without a doubt the Sidneysiders (which is what they call themselves) are the most genial and laid-back individuals on the planet with the Kiwi’s running a very close 2nd.  However, one should be careful when you ask for directions.  That is when you get a good example of their extroverted natures.  Every time I’ve asked for directions, I get a long-winded very detailed description of how to get where ever it is that I am going.  Besides giving me too many details, these kind well-meaning English speaking individuals might as well be speaking in Greek.  I think a course should be offered to us travelers on how to understand the unique Australian accent, along with the slang words.

Anyway, the Apple Store was a real treat for me.  It is a beautiful 3 story modern glass building with the famous Apple symbol engraved in the front.  I certainly could not have missed it.  Upon entering, I was met almost immediately by one of the blue shirted young men who were all carrying small hand held computer devices.  He asked my name and to describe my computer problem.  He entered all that information and then directed me to the elevator where I would be greeted on the 2nd floor by another blue shirted fellow.  The elevator was very sleek, I felt like I was being “beamed up”.  I then was shown were I could sit to wait for my name to be called.  So there I sat right in front of this huge glass window happily watching all the activities in the store and on George Street below me.  There were a few other Amsterdam passengers there also.  While I waited I bravely pulled out my Gateway computer and was able to get wireless access.  I received no frowns from the Apple employees and was able to get some of my computer chores done while I waited.   After about a 20 minute wait, a Apple technician approached me and he walked me over to the long table where other technicians were taking care of other customers.  Everything was so orderly, slick and modern  The stuck CD was removed and the problem was resolved.  It appears that this happens quite frequently with these laptops.  He also gave me some advice on how to download Sharon’s pictures from her camera.  I was very impressed and felt very much like the country girl in a big savvy city. 

With that mission accomplished, Sharon and I took off in a taxi to go to the Sydney Wildlife World where I saw for the first time animals that I would only see in Australia.

Koala Bear

Cute yellow-beaked birds

Napping Kangaroos

We also saw a Cassowarie which I didn’t have much luck taking a picture of.  They are about the size of a human.  They are very stately looking and don’t look at all dangerous but they have a murderous claw on each foot, which they use when they attack by jumping up and striking out with both feet together.  I’d hate to run into them on a hike.  As Bill Bryson noted in his book “In a Sunburned Country” – Australia has more animals and plants that would kill you than anywhere else in the world.

Sydney Harbour Neighborhood.

The visual highlight of the day was by far our grand departure from this fair city.  We knew beforehand that a Duyfken replica was going to lead us out of the Harbour which is quite appropriate because the orginal Duyfken was a famous Dutch 16th century exploration ship. The Duyfken which means Little Dove was built in the Netherlands at the end of the 16th century.  This small Dutch ship sailed from Indonesia and landed on the north coast of a huge continent, Australia.  The first landing of a European vessel on these soils.  How appropriate that this replica of a Dutch ship was leading the Amsterdam out of the World’s prettiest Harbours.

The Duyfken showing us the way.

This all happened with the Sydney Brass Band playing on the deck overlooking the sky view pool.

And the party begins…

My biggest thrill was seeing the fireboat directly in front of our ship.

But it doesn’t stop there, a helicopter was flying above us while another tall ship got into the act by crossing our bow just after the Duyfken did.

It was all quite thrilling.  In fact, two days later a Captain Alistair Heron who was doing a presentation on the Great Barrier Reef since he is an official Reef Pilot; commented that in all his years on the seas he has never seen such an outstanding send off

The Sidney Brass Band disembarked from the Amsterdam to on a smaller boat.

Another perfect day on the, as our Captain says the  “beautiful and elegant Amsterdam”

Day 46 – Feb 20 – Sydney, Australia

We arrived in the Sydney Harbour area very early.  Both Sharon and I woke up very early around 5:30 am so that we could be either on deck or in the “Crow’s Nest” to watch our approach to what many consider “the finest harbour in the world”.  I always like watching this big ship come into a port, it’s a major operation.  Barbara, our cruise tour guide gives a commentary every time there is something of significance for us to view.  She does a good job, providing us with historical facts and interesting tidbits while pointing out landmarks both geographical or man-made.  She also knows when to keep quiet so that we can just soak it up.  The Dining Room staff always provides us with coffee and rolls for this early morning events.  Heaven forbid that we deny ourselves nourishment at any time.  When we were finally docked, Sharon and I walked outside to “oh and ah”.  Our ship’s berth is right between the famous Opera House and the iconic Sydney Harbour Bridge.  Most of the sites that the city has to offer are only a short walk or ferry ride away.

Sunrise over the Sydney Opera House.

The Opera House’s roof is constructed of 1,056,000 glazed white self cleaning granite tiles imported from Sweden.  As it rains the water slides off the roof onto the terrace where it then slips through the spaces between the concrete blocks back into the harbour  The Danish architect, besides being a creative genius, was also concerned about efficiency.  I was disappointed that we weren’t able to see a show there because the acoustics are fantastic.  So I bought a CD of an orchestra performance there instead.  

Sydney Harbour Bridge

After eating a quick breakfast I went off the ship to walk across the Bridge.  It was supposed to get very warm and humid later on in the day and this was one of the “must do” activities for me.  It took me about an hour to cross it and return.  The views of this busy harbour were well worth the walk along a heavily traveled bridge.  So now I’ve walked across the Brooklyn Bridge and the Sydney Bridge, good bragging rights…

The bridge is heavily guarded and even has surveillance cameras.

After completing this jaunt, my land legs were now fully operating and I was ready to walk some more.  So down to the “Rocks” I went.  The “Rocks” is Sydney’s oldest and most picturesque area, once the domain of drunken sailors and pickpockets, it is now full of charming shops, lanes and buildings constructed of sandstone.

New Hotel versus an Old Hotel.

The Sunday Market was in full force and since there were two ships in town, the place was crowded with both tourists and the locals. 

After lunch, both Sharon and I went on a tour provided by her travel agency.  This was a great way to see the highlights of this city (air conditioned bus).  Sydney was first settled in 1788 when 1400 people – convicts, soldiers and a handful of other settlers arrived from England to establish a remote new colony.  The city now is a thriving metropolis with over 4.1 million people.  70%  of it’s citizens are a combination of two or more ethnic backgrounds and over a third were born overseas.  This makes for some great people watching, especially at Bondi Beach.  A favorite among the city’s inhabitants, especially the young and fit.

This is a beautiful beach hemmed in by a bowl-shaped park and sandstone headlands.  The lifeguards are very strict here and have orange flags out in the water indicating where people can swim.  They are always on the lookout for sharks and rip tides.

A shower for four

We had tea, sandwiches and fruit at one of the cafe type restaurants that was right next to the Bondi Pavilion.  Sandwiches were fairly good even though they were served on white bread….

One interesting stop that we made was at South Gap Park, a dramatic cliff-top lookout on the ocean side, which has a reputation for suicides.

We then drove through the neighborhoods of Sydney and experienced once again the skills required of a bus driver for driving on the left side of the road.

Day 45 – Feb 19 – Day At Sea

Today we are having quite a ride over rough waters as we sail up to Sydney. 

One of our Captain’s main duties besides navigating us around the world is to keep this diverse group of travelers happy.  He is managing to do that in spite of what I see as a cocky attitude. He does a daily broadcast informing us of the weather conditions, sea levels and current world events that might affect our route.  Today his comments were on the stormy nature of the Tasman Sea and how the high seas and the gale force winds that we are experiencing are fairly routine for this body of water.  Early in this journey we were provided with a short biographical sketch on the Captain.  He started his seafaring career working on a cargo ship.  He is a far cry from that environment now.  The Ladies love him. 

I felt fairly unproductive all day but I guess that’s o.k. on a cruise ship.

Day 44 – Feb 18 – Port Arthur, Tasmania – Australia

Port Arthur is on the Tasman Peninsula and it is situated above Mason Cove.  Between 1830 and 1877 a very active penal colony was established there.  This historic site that we visited was remarkable with it’s many ruins still standing in various stages from fallen down to being renovated or fully renovated.
 
It’s a stunning geographical location that recalls some of Australia’s darker history.  In the literature that I was given I read two conflicting information.  Some experts say that only the worst criminals were send to this hard to escape penitentiary while others write that the inmates had either done nothing wrong or were convicted of only a minor infraction.  Nevertheless, the degree of punishment was extremely severe.  The overriding opinion was that you could reform men through religion or solitary confinement. the former only driving men crazy.  Walking through the “Separate Prison” certainly showed you how easily this could happen.
   
The church towered over the whole colony.

The Accountant for the prison’s House
However, in spite of the dreariness of Port Arthur’s past, this small town was well worth the stop.  It toot me the whole day to see it all and go through as many of the buildings that I could.  The Australians like the New Zealanders are very good at bringing their history alive.  The museum displays were extremely well done.  They also had outside speakers that would come alive as you walked by and project the noises of men working at the trade that archaeologists have proven happened at that exact location.  The visitors center had a well-stocked gift shop that I enjoyed browsed through.  Once again Australia like New Zealand is fairly costly.  However, I just had to buy some socks for both Sharon and I.  They were Lavender scented aromatherapy socks with massaging soles and Aloe Vera Moisturizer.  I told you my feet were hurting me.  While I was eating my lunch out on an outdoor deck, a kindly French gentleman came out to ask me if I could read English. 

I guess he was only looking out for my safety but I thought it was rather funny, it was cloudy and I didn’t see a wasp in sight.  I just now remembered the fact that Australia contains more animals and insects that will kill you than anywhere else in the world.  So maybe these were killer wasps.  Oh well….I lived to see another day.
In the afternoon, I took a solitary walk that went away from the Historical sites towards Stewarts Bay.  I have never seen such huge Eucalyptus trees, the aroma of these beautiful trees just about picks you up and takes you away.

My walk ended at Stewarts Bay Reserve where there was a quiet beach with only a few people walking on it.  A great place for me to do some serious contemplating…so I sat her entranced by the sounds of nature, the waves lapping the shore, the birds of the sea and forest and the wind as it goes through the beach grass and the eucalyptus trees.  I am all myself.  Perfection.

I so wanted to take a nap but I had to see and hear more about the epic story of the settlement of this country.  Thankfully done of my ancestors arrived in chains here (they had 2 research computers that I could enter my families name).  You could also enter the name of a country, so I entered Ireland and up came with about 30 names, where they were from and when they ended up at Port Arthur.
This was added to the site after WW1.  After the penal colony stopped running, a town developed in it’s place.  At one time there was even a hotel run out of the Commandant’s house.
  The back side of the Commandant’s house with it’s five chimneys.
Upon our departure the Captain told us that he was going to take us on a scenic trip out to Cape Raoul.  In his opinion it’s the most interesting Cape that he has ever sailed around.  It’s the southern most point of Australia.
  CapeRaoul
So there were most of the passengers leaning over the starboard side to take pictures and to just gasp.  It was a marvelous sight.  I had just gotten out of the Hot Tub so I stood there in a wet bathing suit taking pictures in a blustery wind.  So I do hope you appreciate this shot that I got.
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Day 43 – Feb 17 – Hobart, Tasmania - Australia

Cloudy skies greeted us this morning as we came into Hobart, the first bad weather that we’ve seen since leaving the US.

Hobart is the state capital of Tasmania which is an Australian island, southeast off of the larger part of Australia.  The “Tassies” don’t like viewing themselves as “less than” the mainland of Australia,

 They have ways of changing that perspective.

 They are proud of their Tasmania Devil and the now extinct Tassie Tiger.

Hobart was originally founded as a penal colony in 1803.  It has a busy seaport which reflects all the history that has occurred there.

  Original Harbor Warehouses.

 

I’m surprised that my female forbearers didn’t answer this call.

It took us quite awhile to get off the ship today because we had to have “face-to-face” passport inspection.  They did this for all passengers regardless if they were going off the ship or not.

Once ashore I walked through the busy shopping and business port of the city to get to the post office.  I then walked back to Salamanca Place, which is a arty tourist spot of old waterfront warehouses turned into galleries, restaurants, cafes, etc.  I had a take-out lunch in a park across the street.  I shared my picnic table and my “Tim Tam” cookies with a young French female farm worker.  She told me what kind of fruit she picks but I couldn’t understand what one because of her accent. 

A charming walk through Battery Point revealed 1830’s historical artisans cottages & grand homes, delightful gardens, businesses on winding old streets and great harbor views:

Interesting construction site

Mail slot at a gate column

Australian Mail box

My feet were hurting me after this long walk so I decided to take a 90 minute Red Double Decker Tour, which gives you a good over view of the city.

After having a cup of coffee at a cafe on the Elizabeth Street Mall I spotted these teen-agers just hanging out and sounding very much like kids at the NH mall, if you overlook their Aussie accents.

Our dinner on the ship this evening was a “Outback Barbecue”.  I’m not too sure if they were grilling Kangaroo meat or not.  I stick to my fish.  Speaking of fish as I walked back to the ship I spotted these “Fish & Chip” establishments which were so unique.  They looked like a Lunch Van but in the water with a very short pier for the customers to stand on as they ordered.

At the band stand – The ship’s Band.

Eva and Sharon with one of our “always smiling” servers.  Please notice his hat.  It’s an original Australian design, the hanging corks keep the mosquitoes and flies away – hopefully.

  This is the Ice Cream server who always remembers my favorite ice cream flavor – Pistachio