Melbourne is a large, modern city. It was established in 1835 and was well planned with parks and tree lined boulevards. In 1851 a gold rush increased the population. Melbourne is also a very diverse city: 25% of the 3.7 million population is foreign born.
While in Melbourne, we first visited the Victoria Market. This market reminded us of the open markets in London and is not dissimilar to Seattle’s Pike Place Market. We wandered about, made a few purchases and enjoyed a freshly made lunch (they call it “take away” not fast food). Larry had an authentic Australian lamb baguette and Ruthanne a ham and cheese. We found a little cobbled alleyway set up with bistro tables between the market buildings. It was a warm day and the shady lane was a happy rest for tired feet. The market offered the usual fruits and vegetables, crafted goods, but also goodies from markets around the world. We sampled kangaroo jerky…an aboriginal treat.
It tasted like chicken…hee hee…not really. It tasted like beef.
Next we took a tourist bus, free transport provided for visitors, that traveled in a circular route all around the city. This gave us a great overview of the business district, sporting district (Melbournians are avid sports fans with several sporting arenas), historic areas, the Yarra river, and the garden park areas.
After our city tour, we jumped off the tour bus and enjoyed the quiet serenity of the beautiful Royal Botanical gardens. Like New Zealand, the gardens were set up Victorian style…tall stately trees, formally planted flower beds, and wooded winding pathways with ponds and water birds. What a wonderful retreat for such a busy city. As always, time flew by and before we knew it, it was time to catch a bus back to the city center and tram ride to the wharf where the ship was docked.
SIDNEY
Our kind of town! There is huge competition between the residents of Sydney and Melbourne about which is the most livable and beautiful city. Our vote is Sydney, hands down. The natural beauty of Sydney harbor is hard to beat. Ferry boat or city buses take you to bright blue sky and water, golden sand beaches where the wave action is hypnotic. Larry, Dennis Fennessey and Don Kredel went body surfing on Bondi Beach and ogled topless female sunbathers while Ruthanne read a book, keeping one eye on Larry to assure the waves spit him out at the end of a wave run. It was a great day at the beach.
Our second day in Sydney was spent wandering in the historic “Rocks” area (where the first settlement area of Sydney is located) and visiting Toronga Zoo.
The ferry ride back from the zoo was spectacular. Being Sunday, many pleasure boats, mostly sail boats, ferry traffic, the entrance to the harbor of a huge cruise ship thrown into the mix, made for an exciting return.
Our sail away out of Sydney harbor was historically a once in a lifetime event. The Queen Victoria and the QE2 both sailed passed each other in the harbor and completed a whistle salute to each other in the harbor at sunset. This will be the last time the QE2 and Queen Victoria will be in port together. The QE2 is being retired this year to Dubai and will be refitted as a floating hotel/resort. Thousands of people lined the hillsides, waterways, and decks along the harbor to witness the event. Literally hundreds of boats of all shapes and sizes traveled through the harbor with the Queen Victoria as escort as we cruised out to sea. We thought the sail away from NYC was outstanding, but this was even better. Larry took some great video and we have some still shots to share at the next internet café.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Monday, February 18, 2008
New Zealand
New Zealand…Auckland, Napier, and Wellington
Our visits to each of the New Zealand port calls were short, but sweet. In Auckland we enjoyed the opportunity to be back in an English speaking country and be able to find our way about downtown. We had a wonderful berth just on the waterfront harbor side of the downtown corridor. Having been to Auckland before, we used our day and location for updating the blog with an internet café land line, shopping for sundries (soap, shampoo, phone cards) and Larry enjoyed a Burger King Whopper for lunch. Before we knew it, the day was spent and it was back on board for the sail away.
Overnight and into the early morning we cruised toward Napier arriving mid-day. The Queen Victoria was the biggest cruise ship to ever port in Napier and the local population came out in huge numbers to greet her. Napier is located at Hawke’s Bay and has a population of 57,000. Napier has become an important grape growing and wine producing region so we (predictably) spent the day touring the local wineries. The weather was pleasant, the people delightful, and the wines very drinkable.
Napier suffered a huge earthquake in 1931, destroying the city. When the local population rebuilt, they styled the buildings in an art deco theme that survives and is celebrated to this day. 250 lives were lost in the earthquake and the city memorialized the loss of life by planting one Norfolk Pine along the city coastline for each life lost. The pines stand tall and beautiful and outlined the beach as we sailed out of the harbor all too soon. Napier is a treasure to behold.
Wellington is the capitol of New Zealand and is located at the southern tip of the North Island. It has a compact city center and we spent the day in port exploring on foot. We took a cable car up the steep bank behind the business district and found ourselves at the entrance of a beautiful botanical garden park and historic cemetery. The walk through the park with 100+ year old botanical growth zigzagged down the hillside back into downtown. Once back downtown we walked to the waterfront where wharfs are lined with restaurants, pubs, parks, museums and boating activity. We saw a long queue winding around one area of the waterfront and Larry asked a person in line why everyone was lined up blocks long. The answer … it was a queue for a tug boat ride to see the Queen Victoria docked in a secure area in a container ship berth. She was too big to be in the usual cruise ship berth. We chuckled, and went to lunch pleased to know we weren’t missing something locally important that would require us to wait in that long line of people. It would have taken the balance of the day to get through that line!
We’ve been on our cruise 37 days or 35% of the tour around the world. We have yet to share some personal observations about the experience so far. Our accommodations are fine as we have adjusted to the cabin. The most important aspect for livability is to assure each day that we put things away and keep clutter to a minimum. The food is good and it takes strong self control to avoid eating too much and eating the right things. For example, the eggs Benedict in the morning are terrific and we have limited ourselves to once a week. Otherwise, we have raisin bran, oatmeal and the like. The entertainment is varied and never ending. The Cunard people have gone great lengths to keep a steady stream of interesting lectures, activities and experiences for the passengers to enjoy. Yesterday we heard a very interesting lecture by Rita Moreno who played the part of Anita in the movie West Side Story. She had some interesting history to share about the Latino experience in the early days of movies and theater. We continue our main go to activities of Bridge for Larry and watercolor painting for Ruthanne. We were guests at the Captain’s table for dinner and even renewed our wedding vows on Valentine’s Day. Overall the experience is a good one but, from time-to-time we get a little home sick and miss family, friends and the desert experience. We’ve taken many videos and pictures to share and will probably bore you with our stories.
Our visits to each of the New Zealand port calls were short, but sweet. In Auckland we enjoyed the opportunity to be back in an English speaking country and be able to find our way about downtown. We had a wonderful berth just on the waterfront harbor side of the downtown corridor. Having been to Auckland before, we used our day and location for updating the blog with an internet café land line, shopping for sundries (soap, shampoo, phone cards) and Larry enjoyed a Burger King Whopper for lunch. Before we knew it, the day was spent and it was back on board for the sail away.
Overnight and into the early morning we cruised toward Napier arriving mid-day. The Queen Victoria was the biggest cruise ship to ever port in Napier and the local population came out in huge numbers to greet her. Napier is located at Hawke’s Bay and has a population of 57,000. Napier has become an important grape growing and wine producing region so we (predictably) spent the day touring the local wineries. The weather was pleasant, the people delightful, and the wines very drinkable.
Napier suffered a huge earthquake in 1931, destroying the city. When the local population rebuilt, they styled the buildings in an art deco theme that survives and is celebrated to this day. 250 lives were lost in the earthquake and the city memorialized the loss of life by planting one Norfolk Pine along the city coastline for each life lost. The pines stand tall and beautiful and outlined the beach as we sailed out of the harbor all too soon. Napier is a treasure to behold.
Wellington is the capitol of New Zealand and is located at the southern tip of the North Island. It has a compact city center and we spent the day in port exploring on foot. We took a cable car up the steep bank behind the business district and found ourselves at the entrance of a beautiful botanical garden park and historic cemetery. The walk through the park with 100+ year old botanical growth zigzagged down the hillside back into downtown. Once back downtown we walked to the waterfront where wharfs are lined with restaurants, pubs, parks, museums and boating activity. We saw a long queue winding around one area of the waterfront and Larry asked a person in line why everyone was lined up blocks long. The answer … it was a queue for a tug boat ride to see the Queen Victoria docked in a secure area in a container ship berth. She was too big to be in the usual cruise ship berth. We chuckled, and went to lunch pleased to know we weren’t missing something locally important that would require us to wait in that long line of people. It would have taken the balance of the day to get through that line!
We’ve been on our cruise 37 days or 35% of the tour around the world. We have yet to share some personal observations about the experience so far. Our accommodations are fine as we have adjusted to the cabin. The most important aspect for livability is to assure each day that we put things away and keep clutter to a minimum. The food is good and it takes strong self control to avoid eating too much and eating the right things. For example, the eggs Benedict in the morning are terrific and we have limited ourselves to once a week. Otherwise, we have raisin bran, oatmeal and the like. The entertainment is varied and never ending. The Cunard people have gone great lengths to keep a steady stream of interesting lectures, activities and experiences for the passengers to enjoy. Yesterday we heard a very interesting lecture by Rita Moreno who played the part of Anita in the movie West Side Story. She had some interesting history to share about the Latino experience in the early days of movies and theater. We continue our main go to activities of Bridge for Larry and watercolor painting for Ruthanne. We were guests at the Captain’s table for dinner and even renewed our wedding vows on Valentine’s Day. Overall the experience is a good one but, from time-to-time we get a little home sick and miss family, friends and the desert experience. We’ve taken many videos and pictures to share and will probably bore you with our stories.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Auckland, New Zealand
We just arrived in Auckland and immediately found an internet cafe to update our pictures. These shots include Aruba, Costa Rica, Panama Canal and another watercolor by Ruthanne. The zipline excursion was a blast. More later
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Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Fiji Islands
Lautoka, Fiji
Fiji is a collection of 300 Islands, two of which, Viti Levu and Vanua Levu, comprise 80% of the total land mass. Most of Fiji’s resorts are situated in the Nadi area on Viti Levu. Lautoka, also located on Viti Levu, is Fiji’s second largest city with a population of 30,000. It owes it’s existence to a large sugar mill (said to be the largest in the southern hemisphere) and a deep water port. Fiji produces some of the worlds best sugar. About 90% of Fijians still live in villages in the countryside, and the power of the VANUA- one’s land and family ties- is still the most powerful cultural force. Extended family units known as Matagali comprise village communities who own land in common. The concept of individual ownership is foreign in a village where everything is shared. Each village has a chief who in turn owes allegiance to a higher chief. The essential nature of Fijian culture survives to this day.
We spent the day on a small Island hiking and snorkeling, reading and napping.
By the way, for those of you sending comments, (and we love getting your comments and messages!), if you can see them on the blog, so can we. Next stop, Auckland, New Zealand.
Fiji is a collection of 300 Islands, two of which, Viti Levu and Vanua Levu, comprise 80% of the total land mass. Most of Fiji’s resorts are situated in the Nadi area on Viti Levu. Lautoka, also located on Viti Levu, is Fiji’s second largest city with a population of 30,000. It owes it’s existence to a large sugar mill (said to be the largest in the southern hemisphere) and a deep water port. Fiji produces some of the worlds best sugar. About 90% of Fijians still live in villages in the countryside, and the power of the VANUA- one’s land and family ties- is still the most powerful cultural force. Extended family units known as Matagali comprise village communities who own land in common. The concept of individual ownership is foreign in a village where everything is shared. Each village has a chief who in turn owes allegiance to a higher chief. The essential nature of Fijian culture survives to this day.
We spent the day on a small Island hiking and snorkeling, reading and napping.
By the way, for those of you sending comments, (and we love getting your comments and messages!), if you can see them on the blog, so can we. Next stop, Auckland, New Zealand.
more on pago pago
More Pago Pago…
Having visited Pago Pago during our last cruise on the south Pacific, we knew of a special spot on the beach we were eager to see again. The name of this special place is called Tisa’s Barefoot Beach, a beautiful beach, palm trees dipping toward the water, clear, clean green blue ocean and gentle breezes in the humid tropical climate. Great snorkeling. The beach has an outdoor bar and restaurant where the meals are served native style, grilled sword fish or shrimp, rice, and fresh fruit, served in bowls of woven palm leaves. The pina coladas are made with fresh flaked coconut cracked and shredded to order. We have pictures! We celebrated Don Kredel’s, one of our traveling companions, 65th birthday at this magical location. It’s interesting that the San Diego Tuna Fleet ended up here in Pago Pago.
Having visited Pago Pago during our last cruise on the south Pacific, we knew of a special spot on the beach we were eager to see again. The name of this special place is called Tisa’s Barefoot Beach, a beautiful beach, palm trees dipping toward the water, clear, clean green blue ocean and gentle breezes in the humid tropical climate. Great snorkeling. The beach has an outdoor bar and restaurant where the meals are served native style, grilled sword fish or shrimp, rice, and fresh fruit, served in bowls of woven palm leaves. The pina coladas are made with fresh flaked coconut cracked and shredded to order. We have pictures! We celebrated Don Kredel’s, one of our traveling companions, 65th birthday at this magical location. It’s interesting that the San Diego Tuna Fleet ended up here in Pago Pago.
Saturday, February 9, 2008
pago pago american Samoa
here we are in Pago Pago (Pango Pango) and we can't upload pictures...bummer...We went to the beach today and snorkeled with the fishies and had a few too many brews... Great time, great people, I'll send another blog when I'm a little more alert. Love, Larry and ruthanne
Friday, February 8, 2008
Crossing the Equator
February 7th: Pollywog to Shellback
The historical tradition of this transformation occurs when crossing the equator for the first time. It dates back to the 14th century from when it was discovered that the world was round. The Spanish and Portuguese explorers ventured further south and west without fear of sailing off the edge of the world. The excitement of sailing into the southern part of the world became a special event commemorated in a quasi religious/mythological ceremony including the dousing of pollywogs (first time crossers) with whatever liquid or muck was available on board. Then, they were tied by the ankles and submerged into the ocean. Obviously, the ceremony has been changed somewhat but the excitement remains. We are now official Shellbacks!
The cruise continues to be fun and our interests in painting, bridge, exercise and lectures continues. We’ve introduced the game of Mexican trains
to our travel partners and, yes Alec, it’s a hit just like in Belfast. We so enjoy reading your comments on our blog site and look forward to more of the same. At some point, we hope to catch up on transmitting pictures from our stops thus far. Love to all.
The historical tradition of this transformation occurs when crossing the equator for the first time. It dates back to the 14th century from when it was discovered that the world was round. The Spanish and Portuguese explorers ventured further south and west without fear of sailing off the edge of the world. The excitement of sailing into the southern part of the world became a special event commemorated in a quasi religious/mythological ceremony including the dousing of pollywogs (first time crossers) with whatever liquid or muck was available on board. Then, they were tied by the ankles and submerged into the ocean. Obviously, the ceremony has been changed somewhat but the excitement remains. We are now official Shellbacks!
The cruise continues to be fun and our interests in painting, bridge, exercise and lectures continues. We’ve introduced the game of Mexican trains
to our travel partners and, yes Alec, it’s a hit just like in Belfast. We so enjoy reading your comments on our blog site and look forward to more of the same. At some point, we hope to catch up on transmitting pictures from our stops thus far. Love to all.
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Hawaii and the Super Bowl
Honolulu, Hawaii and the Super Bowl
Our altogether too short of stay was great. Even though we had heavy rains, we enjoyed a car ride around Oahu stopping from time-to-time to enjoy the sites and take some pictures. It was an inaugural visit for our friends, the Fennessey’s and they were blown away by the Aloha and beauty of the Pacific Paradise. After the tour, we ended for a late lunch and Mai Tai at the Moana Surfrider on Waikiki beach. Then a long walk on the beach and enjoyed the surfers doing their thing. Overall, a good day.
On Sunday, we had a direct feed into the ship and enjoyed the Super Bowl, WOW! Larry lost a little money on this one, but it was worth it; best super bowl I’ve ever seen.
Realizing Honolulu was our last US port of call on our voyage, we made good use of our cell phone and enjoyed voice to voice catch up reports on the news from home. We will now be out of cell phone contact as our service does not afford global access. So keep those blogs coming! Yes, Sandra, we did get your blog…and thank you. We very much enjoy reading everyone’s news and comments. Dale, thanks for the Citrus weather report. Glad to hear no damage was down to our home in the wind. Next stop, Pago Pago, American Samoa!
Our altogether too short of stay was great. Even though we had heavy rains, we enjoyed a car ride around Oahu stopping from time-to-time to enjoy the sites and take some pictures. It was an inaugural visit for our friends, the Fennessey’s and they were blown away by the Aloha and beauty of the Pacific Paradise. After the tour, we ended for a late lunch and Mai Tai at the Moana Surfrider on Waikiki beach. Then a long walk on the beach and enjoyed the surfers doing their thing. Overall, a good day.
On Sunday, we had a direct feed into the ship and enjoyed the Super Bowl, WOW! Larry lost a little money on this one, but it was worth it; best super bowl I’ve ever seen.
Realizing Honolulu was our last US port of call on our voyage, we made good use of our cell phone and enjoyed voice to voice catch up reports on the news from home. We will now be out of cell phone contact as our service does not afford global access. So keep those blogs coming! Yes, Sandra, we did get your blog…and thank you. We very much enjoy reading everyone’s news and comments. Dale, thanks for the Citrus weather report. Glad to hear no damage was down to our home in the wind. Next stop, Pago Pago, American Samoa!
Saturday, February 2, 2008
sailing to Hawaii
Sailing toward Hawaii
We’re in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, making our way at about 20 knots to Oahu. Larry is almost back to normal and has returned to the bridge table once again. Ruthanne continues her art lessons and has produced some terrific pictures. The entertainment, food and accommodations continue to excel and we’re having the time of our life.
We’re in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, making our way at about 20 knots to Oahu. Larry is almost back to normal and has returned to the bridge table once again. Ruthanne continues her art lessons and has produced some terrific pictures. The entertainment, food and accommodations continue to excel and we’re having the time of our life.
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