Komodo island

We have spent three days at sea and finally arrived at Rinka Island to see the Komodo dragons.  The air was heavy with humidity, sunny and about 85°. The surrounding islands were absolutely beautiful with the lovely turquoise waters. All I wanted to do was jump in that beautiful water, but instead we jumped into the pool.

We have been to Komodo island three times previously to see the dragons and did not feel it was necessary to do it again.  This time the ship stopped at Rinka Island where they have developed a visitor center, that happens to be air-conditioned, to give details about the dragons. But what is different here is that they have an elevated walkway for you to go and see them in person. From what people said they were small, not like the ones that we saw on Komodo island. Some people were very disappointed not to see the very large ones that can grow up to 10 feet in length.

When our granddaughter, Isabelle, was about five or six years old or so, I told her we saw dragons. Well, what’s a dragon without fire?  So I sent her this picture and she said to me, “Grammy, that’s not a dragon!” And I asked her why is that not a dragon? And she replied, “It’s not pink!”  Duh, how could I not know!  Disney dragons are pink or purple!!!

They are the largest living lizards on earth, and can grow to 10 feet and weigh up to 200 pounds.  Here is a link to give detailed information on these prehistoric creatures. It’s very fascinating to read about them.  https://www.treehugger.com/surprising-facts-about-komodo-dragons-4864224

We were very fortunate to get up very close and personal on our first visit. We had a guide whose only weapon was a long forked stick. We were walking on the trail looking for the lizards when the guide noticed there was one trailing behind us, a very big one! He asked us to quietly step off of the path, and as we did so a huge Komodo Dragon just sauntered on by us. 

Since we didn’t get off the ship, we decided to spend the day at the pool. We went to the main pool, got in and holy cow, it was warmer than a hot tub. We asked one of the deck people if they could put some cold water in to cool it down which they did, but it wasn’t enough. So we moved to the aft infinity pool, and the water was much cooler.  We then had lunch, got back in the pool, and Michael lasted about an hour and I spent the rest of the afternoon in the pool just chatting with people who got in and out.

We had dinner with Melinda and Duncan and Jenny. We talked about bridge, of course, but also about all the people that are getting off the ship due to the fact that the itinerary change impacted their decision. People did not sign up to go around Africa.  Since they could get credit for the rest of the world cruise, they could use this credit for other trips that they would rather take. At this point, we have no idea how many people are getting off, but we do know that we’re losing a lot of our bridge players and knitters.

***

On a sad note, our dear friend Carol Orazetti passed away February 27.  We have known Rick and Carol for almost 40 years. We have traveled together many times over the years. Carol was always up for going on a cruise somewhere, anywhere. She love playing bridge and knitting, and was an excellent cook. Carol, may you have calm seas and fair winds on your final journey. We send our love to Rick.

Thursday Island, Queensland, Australia

Thursday Island got its name in 1848 and Captain Stanley, who was in charge of HMS Rattlesnake, recorded the names of three islands in the area – – Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday islands. Admiralty maps in 1855, however, reversed the order of the islands. The island was actually spotted on a Sunday.

Thursday Island is situated approximately 40 KM from the main land of Australia, and is part of the Prince of Wales island group or inner islands of the Torres Strait. We are now in the tropics, and that means hot, muggy weather.  Harvesting pearls was a huge business until plastic buttons became popular in the 1940s and pearl buttons became unfashionable.

We have been here probably four times. There isn’t a whole lot here: there’s a grocery store, pharmacy, café, and 2 hotels. Town is approximately three blocks long. On our included excursion today we tendered to shore, and this is probably the longest tender ride I’ve ever been on – – about 40 minutes. I found out later that the ship moved farther out because of the currents.

Our first time here March 2011

Here we are on the tender 

Anyway, we got to shore in the afternoon, and we walked up to town to a community center, where a group of children of all ages put on a show about their heritage and their historic language. Thankfully, the community center was air-conditioned. The show was short, but sweet. After the show, they had a taxi to bring the walking impaired back to the pier.  

Food for thought: we visited Thursday Island on Sunday and visited Whitsunday Island on Thursday. 

Magical Mystery Cruise light

For weeks we have been speculating what our itinerary would be since we are not able to go through the Red Sea and the Suez Canal due to the current conflicts going on in that region. So today at 9 AM the captain came on to make an announcement that corporate would be giving us a presentation at 10 AM as to what our new itinerary will be.  Thorstein Hagen, President of Viking, announced that we will be going around Africa instead.  This also means that the Mediterranean is out.  

The Star Theatre was packed to hear the announcement on the big screen. They also piped the announcement in to our rooms on the TV, which is where I watched it.  This was something that we totally expected, and we are pleased with the new itinerary. Many people are unhappy because they wanted to go to Israel, Egypt, Petra, not to mention Europe. Some folks will choose to get off, most likely in Singapore, and compensation is something Viking will negotiate with each person.  Of all the folks I have talked to, most will be staying on and enjoying this unexpected detour in our world cruise adventure. 

Cairns, Australia

Today we both went to the aquarium in Cairns. Cairnes is Queensland’s seaside resort town and is the gateway to the great barrier reef, which stretches over 1,400 miles. It is the largest continuous coral reef system on earth.  The last time we were here we went out to the great barrier reef and snorkeled. We had been to the aquarium previously, but I think they made some incredible improvements. It was quite wonderful with very large tanks of incredible fish swimming around and plenty of seating so you could just sit and enjoy watching it. This makes me think that we should get a fish tank so that I can knit and look at it and be very Zen. But then again, we have not had good luck with water, so I think we’ll just put one of those aquariums on the TV. Just watching the fish is so relaxing.  I have tried to identify as many fish as I can, but if anyone has information on what these fish are, please let me know, and I will update.

We had lunch on the ship and then decided to take a dip in the main pool under a very cloudy sky. But that is not a problem because the dome was closed over the pool but it was very hot and humid. The water was very nice.

We went for tea and then met up with Emily and Thi. We wound up having dinner on the aft deck with them and had a very pleasant evening.

Salt water crocodile 

Brown basilisk

Long neck tortoise

 

Cat fish 

Coral

Ctenosaura 

Hope the video works!

Arlie Beach, Whitsunday Island, Australia

As we are getting closer to the tropics, the air has become quite hot and humid with clouds threatening to rain. But that did not stop anyone from going on their excursions today.  Michael was up very early as his excursion left at 8:45 this morning. I will let him tell you about what he did today.

It was a short, but very enjoyable day. I signed up for a six course seafood lunch, which started at 10 AM and included two glasses of wine, so by 11:30 I was half smashed and full. They took us to an award-winning seafood restaurant called Fish D’Vine. Every day they assess what super fresh fish arrived in the morning and plan the six course menu. Accordingly, I’ve included the menu below, so you can see the amazing dishes they served. In fact, they actually prepared each one of them in front of us, so it was even more enjoyable. 

Red Throat- Michael liked this one the best

Pineapple fish

Dessert

As we’re having lunch, it started to rain, so the weather got terribly muggy. The half mile walk back to the ship was drenching, and a shower was absolutely necessary. I spent the rest of the day lounging around, with a little laundry thrown in for good measure. Tonight we’re going to a birthday dinner in Manfredi’s and so a steak dinner will sit nicely on top of the seafood dinner. (P.S. he didn’t have steak).

Beverly here. As you know, mornings are tough on me, and the last few days of walking many miles has taken a toll. So I decided to do nothing, and go to my favorite spot and sit and knit.  However, I’m always afraid that I’m going to miss something. So with just a few minutes to spare, I went to see if I could get on the included tour, which was a boat trip around Whitsunday Island, the largest island in the archipelago. The Whitsunday archipelago  emerges from the Coral Sea amid the great barrier reef. There are beaches of pure white sand that contains silicon so the sand never gets hot.  The tour ship rafted next to our ship on deck A so there was no walking involved.  This tour was two hours, and it was about an hour too long. The guides pointed out resorts that have been abandoned when hurricane Bonnie came through and destroyed them. Apparently, the Chinese are buying up lots of property with plans to fix them.  I didn’t see anything interesting. 

Tour boat rafted to our ship

We didn’t see much more than this

My Apple Watch is apparently ready to bite the dust. It gives me the wrong date and most important, it gives me the wrong pedometer reading.  My watch said I walked 2.8 miles today and my phone said I walked 0.8 miles today. Since I never walked anywhere other than on the ship, I have to believe that my phone is correct. And I thought I was having a pretty good day.

After resting up, we decided to go to tea and do laundry on the way. How many times do you get to go to the laundromat when the ship is full and actually get two machines? Not very often. Is it quite a schlep from our room to the laundry but we were able to get it all done before going to dinner.

Tonight, dinner was in Manfredi’s private dining room. Duncan and Tom were celebrating their birthdays, and there were 10 of us enjoying a lot of stories, a lot of laughter, and sharing stories of how we met.  Both Michael and I had the special spaghetti dinner with assorted seafood.  It was yummy. We have known Duncan and Melinda for over 10 years and it’s because of them we’re on this world cruise. Two other couples, Thi and Emily (Who happened to live 20 minutes from us!) And Tom and Kathleen have become our “group.”  

Thought you would like to see my knitting group. They come every sea day whether it’s mentioned in the daily newspaper or not!

Good news from Touchmark. The repairs to our house are coming along and should be done by mid March. 

Shout out to our dear friend, Carol. Sending our love; we are thinking of you. 

Brisbane

Today’s walk from the ship to the buses was the London Heathrow airport equivalent of a marine passenger terminal. It went on and on and on. It was actually half a mile from the ship to where the buses were parked.  You are exhausted before you ever start. Given my ailments, I am usually the slowest one now and I have to leave a lot more time to get from point A to point B. 

We are in Brisbane and they have just opened this new passenger terminal, which is approximately 10 miles up river from the ocean. This facility is brand new and it’s only been open for two years. It’s pretty far from the city and that’s because they had to move it so that ships could turn around in the widest part of the river.

Brisbane is the capital of Queensland, and is one of the oldest cities in Australia. It’s the third largest city in Australia after Sydney and Melbourne. Its first European settlers were the secondary offenders from the Sydney penal colony. Famously, it served as one of Douglas MacArthur’s Pacific headquarters during World War II. Among its riverside skyscrapers, the city is host to some decidedly less dramatic architecture: the quaint Queenslander homes, characterized by their terraces and raised living spaces, and old buildings wedged between huge modern structures. 

Today was supposed to have some rain, but it turned out to be absolutely glorious. Brisbane is located in the northern part of the subtropical region of Australia. It gets very hot and muggy here and it rains a lot. Today it was mid 80s and the humidity was tolerable. Both Michael and I had very early morning excursions, leaving at 8 AM!  My destination was to the koala sanctuary, and Michael was going to the Australia zoo.

My trip started with a panoramic tour of Brisbane, and then we arrived at the koala sanctuary.  There are approximately 130 koalas here, as well as other animals that cannot be released into the wild due to injury or illness. There was a long line of people wanting to take their picture with a koala, but they could not hold it. They could only touch it. Well lucky me, I had a picture taken with me holding a koala the last time I was in Australia, so I left the line and went looking to see what I could see. 

I looked at some koalas and then wound up watching a predator bird demonstration. We saw some different owls, and they flew back-and-forth – – big whoop. I then went looking for the crocodile, but could not find it, or at least could not see it as it was probably hiding. At that point, I decided to take it easy for the day and go back and look at the koalas. I’ve seen enough kangaroos so I wasn’t going to go look for them today. I saw some other animals. There were many koalas and some are quite active and they are absolutely adorable . You just want to hug them and hold them. 

Rainbow lorikeet

Dingo

Noisy Miner

Lazy nap time 

I am having trouble uploading pictures due to Internet issues. Check back as I will be uploading a lot more pictures when I get better Internet. I have pictures of a variety of birds, a dingo, kangaroo, and, of course, more koalas.

At the end of our visit to the sanctuary, we headed back to Brisbane for an additional tour of parts of the city that we had not seen before. We also made a stop to take a photo before returning to the ship. And then, of course we had to face the long walk back to the ship.  I only walked about 2.5 miles today. 

Brisbane 

Michael’s Turn:  Well, I didn’t get my first choice of excursions today, but I couldn’t be happier with what I did get – Steve  Irwin’s Australia Zoo.  I have been to some of the great zoos in our world, including both zoos in New York City, and San Diego, but I think Steve’s zoo is my favorite.  You are given the opportunity to celebrate the legacy of Steve Irwin and enjoy a memorable wildlife experience. The Australia zoo is located on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, and is still operated by the Irwin family, and includes on-site rescue and conservation programs.

The Irwin Family 

They have just about everything at the zoo, including an African area with giraffes, rhinos, elephants, tigers and cheetas, and of course, all the Australian animals including kangaroos, koalas, dingoes, and others. Of course, they have reptile areas where you can see monitor lizards, and Komodo dragons, and a bird area with just about every Australian bird you can imagine. The highlight of the tour is the visit to the Crockaseum for the croc show. Today, they brought out Bluey, an Australian crocodile who weighs in at 800 pounds.

This is a huge zoo and, of course, I had to see everything, I logged over 4 miles through it’s twisting paths, but enjoyed every minute of it. It took about an hour and a half to get back to the ship because we ran into traffic, but all is well that ends well.  The end was, as Beverly described, a half mile walk from the bus back to the room. I don’t know what the port planners were thinking.

Naturally, I needed a shower after this big excursion and then we proceeded up to the aft deck for cocktails and dinner. The evening was truly glorious. The weather was perfect, just a little bit of breeze, and a sail away out of the Brisbane river, along with some very, very good wine. An incredible end to an incredible day.

Sydney, Day 2

The best laid plans … fell apart. The plan was six of us were going to go to Paddy’s market in Chinatown and one by one each couple said they were too tired to go. If it wasn’t for the fact that we were trying to find my medication, I don’t think I would’ve gone either. The weather today was hot and muggy.  I don’t ever remember sweating as much as I did today. 

Late last night the ship was moved from Circular Key to White Bay. We have to take a water shuttle to get into town. So we left at 9:30 and like last time we were here they made us walk four times as long as we needed to because they wouldn’t open up one gate. So that’s a half mile before we ever get anywhere. If you get the idea that I’m complaining, I am. Anyway, we get over to Kings wharf and we are walking toward where the pharmacy was that I went to yesterday to see if I can get the second prescription filled. Maps are very deceiving. It was uphill both ways, ha ha ha but it was quite a ways to walk and we get there and the pharmacist on duty said no can-do. You have to go get an Australian doctor to write the prescription. So we will try again, probably in Bali. 

After that failed attempt, we went and hopped on the tram to go up to Chinatown where Paddy’s market is located. We walked through the market, which is more like the flea market, but with new stuff. Michael bought some socks and I bought a water bottle holder. The market is inside and there’s no air-conditioning and it was very hot and there was nothing else for us to look at so so we went and had lunch at a dim sum restaurant. It was very good and we enjoyed it, and it also had air conditioning. 

It was time to head back.  We hopped on the tram and got close to where we needed to go but this time I’m pretty much dragging fanny.  I had suggested we take a taxi. Oh no, Michael said it’s not that far besides, it’s downhill. Big Whoop.  We got on a water shuttle to return to the ship in Whites Bay where the ship is docked, and again had a walk that ridiculous route to get back to the ship. All totaled, we walked over 3.3 miles today.  3 miles yesterday and 3 miles today and I am feeling it. I am totally exhausted and I’m thankful that tomorrow is a sea day.

And no one misses the sailaway from Sidney Harbour. The open decks were packed with people taking snapshots of the iconic landmarks here. It is always a magical occurrence, especially going under the Sydney Harbour Bridge. You could see people walking on the bridge waving to us as we waved up to them.  Goodbye Sydney, hopefully we will see you again.

Luna Park

Walking the bridge 

Another view of the opera house 

Sydney Day 1

This is the view we woke up to this morning; it doesn’t get any better than this. 

The view from our veranda this morning

I’m Worn out. I walked 2.7 miles today (according to my phone). Today was a planned maintenance day. I got off the ship to where the transit center is located near Circular Quay where the ship is docked—and that’s about a half a mile before anything happened.  Michael was off for a big excursion today and that left me by myself to go get around the city. He worries about me, but I’m a big girl and I’ve been here before so I know how to do it. I got on the tram and road to the Queen Victoria Building, which, by the way, is a magnificent building that has been turned into a shopping center.  

My destination was the yarn shop – – yeah, I know I promised myself I wouldn’t buy anymore – – but I was meeting some of my knitters there.  On the way to the yarn shop, I passed a pharmacy, and I had a prescription written by the doctor on the ship for the medication that I have somehow lost in transit. I was told that they would not fill it unless I went to a local doctor to get the prescription. But to my surprise, they actually filled one prescription  But they did not have the second one because Australia doesn’t carry it. So later in the day I went back to the ship doctor to see if there was a substitute and there was, so tomorrow I’m going back to the pharmacy to see if I can get that filled . 

Back to the yarn shop. There was a 90% off clearance sale, and boy was it a big one! But I was very proud of myself. I did not buy anything.  I met Kathleen to help her pick out yarn for a project and then a few more of my knitters came in, but I have no idea what they bought. I feel so good when I can create knitters that love the craft as much as I do.

I did my research and found a nail shop within short walking distance of the shop. This is a Westfield mall unlike any of it I’ve ever seen — it was huge and it went over several blocks.  I had a pedicure and my nails done, and was very satisfied with the job. BTW, there was no tipping involved. I asked for the shortest way back to the tram, and of course the gals in the shop had me go in the wrong direction.  I stopped and asked a police officer, and he says to go back the way you came from. And I retraced my steps, got on the tram, and walked back to the ship. 

Michael’s excursion:

Today, it was up at the crack of dawn for a nine hour excursion to the Blue Mountains. This is a spectacular part of Australia and we were so lucky to have a perfect day. Our sistership, the Neptune sky, was here just yesterday, and it was so foggy that they saw absolutely nothing. Our first stop was at Echo Point where you can see the entire Blue Mountain range in all its glory along with the rainforest which is in front of it. We had a terrific view of the famous three sisters, which incidentally, used to be seven sisters, but four of them fell off.

We next traveled to Scenic World, which is a series of rides and walks within the Blue Mountains themselves.  We didn’t have enough time to do it all.  I did get the opportunity to ride on the Scenic Skyway, and the Scenic Railway, which at 64°, is the steepest passenger train in the world. It was quite an experience. We could definitely have used another hour to hour and a half here to explore the various walks, but such is the way of a guided tour.

It was then a short 15 minute bus ride to the town of Leura.  Well, if I have ever been in a town that was geared to tourism, this is it. Every store was either a restaurant, a gift shop, a clothing store, or something similar, and it was very, very crowded. Tourism in Australia is back!  Having now walked approximately 3 miles, it was now time to sit back and relax on the bus as we returned to Sydney. The Guide did do one diversion to the old Olympic village from when the Olympics were in Sydney in 2000. Most of the venues were still there and still being used. In fact, the major stadium was in the process of getting ready for a Taylor Swift concert, which is going to happen later this week.

Iconic images of Sydney:

Sydney Harbour Bridge

Opera house at night

SPECIAL TREAT TONIGHT