March 2, 2023

This Morning we arrived in Port Louis  Mauritius.

Mauritius is an Island in the Indian Ocean with a population of 1.2 million.Mauritius is a former UK Colony which gained independence in 1968.Mauritius is famous for Beach holidays because of its variety of beautiful beaches. 

Today we didn’t book any tours. We decided to head into town with the provided shuttle. When we got off the ship and walked over to the shuttle pick up, there was such a long lineup of people waiting in the very hot sun. We decided to go on foot to town instead of waiting for the bus. Carol wasn’t sure if it was safe to do that, but we decided to go for it. The area we walked through was a little sketsy, very much industrial. We came up to an intersection , not sure where to go but there was a policeman parked there. We asked him for directions and he offered to stop all traffic on a very busy road, so we could cross safely.(nice guy)We started to notice that on each sideroad we crossed there was a cop parked, so much for a safe neighborhood. Beside the road we walked on there was a deep ditch with flowing life sewer, you can imagine the smell with this hot weather.

After a 40 minute walk we reached the City. We decided to follow the waterfront towards some high rise buildings that looked like Hotels. There were numerous modern stores and restaurants in that area. I was still in need of one more set of pants and Carol needed a few clothing items also. After we got our shopping done , we sat down at a small restaurant for lunch, just to get out the heat. After lunch we wandered around the harbour some more till our legs were telling us to call’r the day. We managed to find the shuttle pick up point and took a ride back to the ship.

Port Louis looked like a modern City on one side of the highway and considerably more poor and lots of older buildings and houses on the other side of the highway. In hindsight we should’ve taken a tour away from the City to get a better idea of what the island looked like.

“Of all the books in the world, the best stories are found between the pages of a passport.”

Cheers

February 26, 2023

Hallo All, Today we are in the middle of Seven seadays. Cruising from Perth Australia to Mauritius on the Indian Ocean. Almost every night we have to set our clock back one hour. Slowly we are claiming back that day we skipped in the French Polynesia. We are keeping ourselves busy with activities offered on the boat, like movies, trivia”s, fitness center, swimming pool and afternoon naps. So far the weather haven’t been to bad, except for a couple nights with 10 ft swells what made the ship rock back and forth a bit. The highlight at night is the band which plays in the show lounge. They play everything from Motown to Hard rock. The musicians are very good especially the guitar player. We usually stop by there after dinner for a glass of wine or beer. On a sad note, the ship has run out of IPA beer. I am not sure if you guys remembered that we entered a competition doing 8 different kind of activities like Jenga, Beanbag toss, basketball throws and a few more games. Well, the good news is our team from Vancouver Island won this competition by a healthy margin. Even by being on the boat for almost 2 months, we still seem to meet people we haven’t seen before. I have to say that the crew on the boat are very nice and provide excellent service. The odd time I run into Dutch passengers or Crew, to brush up my language skills. ( en weer eens lekker nederlands lullen)Ok, that’s probably it for today. My next post be from land.(Mauritius)

” Travel is never a matter of money, but of courage.” By-T.S.Eliot.

Cheers 

February 21&22, 2023

Good Morning, this morning we sailed into Fremantle. Fremantle is a port City approximately 22 km. from Perth. Freo as the Aussies call it has a population of 32000. Freo has a lot of heritage buildings, lots of small stores and eateries and also houses a lot of drinking facilities like micro breweries. Perth has a population of 2.1 mill.Freo and Perth are connected by the Swan River.Today we hadn’t booked an official excursion. We had tickets to take the boat from Freo to Perth for 1 PM. Up until 1, we went into Fremantle and checked out the town with all its small stores and all the Heritage buildings. From time to time we had to take breaks, because it was quite hot out today. At 1 PM we boarded the river cruise boat for our trip to Perth. The Swan River is a spectacular river lined with jachtclubs, white sandy beaches and beautiful condos and houses. At times the river is over half a mile wide. After enjoying our boat ride for an hour and a bit, we arrived in Perth. First thing we did was have lunch on one of the patios on the waterfront. After lunch we walked around and did some sightseeing and ended up in a huge shopping area downtown. By 4:30 or so our legs were so tired because of all the walking and the heat. It was time to start thinking of heading back to Freo. We headed for the Subway and boarded the train to Freo, which cost us a whole $5 each. After we arrived in Freo we walked another 15 min back to the boat. After a small dinner we went to bed early. I was so tired that I even had to pass on the Mardi Gras party that was planned for tonight on the boat.

Day 2

For today we planned to take the ferry boat over to Rottnest Island. We got up early and walked over to the ferry dock to board the 7: 30 ferry. The Ocean was pretty rough for the 35 min crossing. To be safe I decided to wear my anti seasick armbands. I wasn’t sure what to expect of this visit to the island. The Island got its name from a Dutch explorer in the 1600’s who landed on the island and found nothing but Rat’s roaming the Island. The Rats were actually Quokka’s, a small wallaby-like marsupial. We found these small animals roaming all over the island. They are quite harmless. The Island is lined with beautiful white sandy beaches. The Island is used as a vacation destination by the Ausies. There are several hundreds of small cabins which are for rent. Vehicles are not allowed. There are bicycles everywhere to get around the island. The Island is covered with paved bicycle pads. We only had 4 hours to spend here today. After we arrived , we got ourselves a map of the Island and we took off on foot towards the lighthouse. We followed a walking pad along the ocean with beautiful views. After we checked out the lighthouse circled around and ended up near the place where we started. Here was also the site of  an old prison where over 3500 aboriginals were imprisoned over a period of 100 years. The prisoners were being led up here in chains from all over western Australia. Many of them got lengthy sentences for petty crimes like leaving an employer or stealing minor things. We got ourselves some coffees and pastries before heading back to the ferry. On arrival back in Freo we walked around the City some more and had some lunch in one of the old Hotels before we headed back to the boat. We finished the day on the back deck saying farewell to Australia with half price Margaritas. We truly enjoyed our visit to all the places we stopped in Australia.

“We should not look back unless it is to derive useful lessons from past errors, and for the purpose of profiting by dearly bought experience.” By- George Washington.

Cheers

February 17, 2023

This morning we woke up moored in a small Bay at Kangaroo Island. Kangaroo Isl. has a population of about 4000. It is 100 Mile long by 35 mile wide. The economy consists out of farming, fishing, tourism and the odd winery. Two years ago they had a bad bush fire what killed about 40,000 sheep and 20,000 Koalas. This was a tender port, this means that we had to take the lifeboats to shore. We got to shore around 9:30.We didn’t book any shore excursions for today. The town was called Penneshaw. First thing we stopped at a coffee place for a couple of flat whites. Next was the post office for sending cards to the grandkids. We followed a path up to the local museum, it consisted out of 3 small rooms filled with local items from the past and recovered from sunken ships. On the way back we visited a local small market before we set off on a sculpture trail. From the trail we had scenic views across the Bay. It took us about 45 min. to complete the trail. Before we hadded back on the tender, we picked up a few things at the IGA supermarket. The remainder of the afternoon we spend on the ship for a 5 PM departure. For the evening we enjoyed a Australian dinner on the ship, compleet with a taste of Kangaroo and Australian wine.

” Life is short. Eat dessert first”. By – Jacques Torres.

Cheers 

February 15, 16, 2023

Howdy, this afternoon we arrived in Port Adelaide. We were anchored in the container port. Port Adelaide is located 15 km from the main city of Adelaide. Adelaide has a population of approximate 1.4 mill. it is the 5th largest City in Australia. It is the Capital of South Australia. The city is surrounded by large green spaces (parks) The Torrens river runs through the city. It has consistently been voted as one of the most livable cities in Australia and the world.For what was left of the afternoon, we decided to take the train from the terminal to the City of Port Adelaide. a suburb of the main city. From the train station we walked along the main Street towards the Port River. Not much going on there. Before walking back we had to sit down for a cold drink by the river. It was very hot today 34C. On our walk back we stopped at a local mall to get some cheap workout shirts for in the gym. We decided to have dinner outside the ship and stopped at a restaurant called Portofino. I ordered a schnitzel, it was the largest schnitzel I ever seen, it barely fitted on my plate. I managed to eat about 3/4 of it. The waitress said, she only seen 1 person eat the whole schnitzel before. After dinner we took the train back to the ship. For the night we sat on the back deck by the pool enjoying a nice glass of cold white wine on this beautiful Summer night.

Day2

Today is day 2 in Adelaide. for today we had booked an all day tour. The bus picked us up around nine this morning at the parking lot. First part of the tour was cross the City. They did a wonderful job planning the City with literally green spaces everywhere. There are music and art festivals planned throughout the Spring and Summer. After driving through several streets showing us some old churches and historical buildings, we headed for the hills. Our next stop was scheduled at the Cleland wildlife area. Carol was all excited to finally see the Koala Bears. Unfortunately she couldn’t hold the Koalas because of the heat. We saw several Koala Bears, Dingos, Wombats, Kangaroo’s Tasmania Devils. Most animals weren’t very active because of the heat (38C today). Inside one of the buildings on-site we were able to view a variety of poisonous snakes and a collection of insects. Our next stop was at Mount Lofty (elev. 730 m ) We were served lunch at the restaurant on top of the mountain. There was a nice scenic view over the City from the viewpoint. After lunch the bus took us down the mountain back into Adelaide and dropped us of at the main shopping street downtown Adelaide. This street was called Rundle Mall on Rundle Street. We were given 11/2 hr to shop and sightsee. After this shopping outing, the bus picked us up and took us back to the ship. We had a 10:30 departure time that night.

” Keep your eyes on the horizon and your nose to the wind.” By – Clint Eastwood.

Cheers

February 13, 2023

Hi all, last night we docked in Hobart. Hobart a city of 210,000 people on the island of Tasmania. Hobart is also the capital of Tassie. The whole of Tasmania has approximate 575000 residents. Main industries are shipbuilding, agriculture, wineries and tourism. Hobart is a very nice City on the water. A lot of the sandstone buildings were build with the help of the convicts in the late 1700’s. We got on shore early and spend our time walking around the harbour. Today was a holiday to celebrate the wooden boat regatta. Over 500 wooden boats would go out on the water this afternoon. There was a lot of activity around the harbour, model boat building show and a display of old steam engines. Later that morning we had booked a short excursion to visit the historic town of Richmond about 20km away. There were a lot of historical buildings dating back to 1825-1830. We visited Richmond Gaol ( you guys guessed it right) an old jail . the jail was used till 1928. There was also the oldest bridge in Australia, still in pretty good shape. We managed to cross it with the bus with no problems. After the stop in town we stopped at a winery for some wine tasting on our way back to the City The vineyard was called the Puddleduck. After tasting four different wines, we returned back to the City. We completed our excursion around 3:30 PM. After sailing out of the bay by 5 PM , we had our dinner inside the ship. The temperature had dropped enough that it was to chilly to eat outside. For tonight we had entered another bar hop, visiting 4 different bars on the ship and doing silly contest’s at each location. In each location we were served a different cocktail.

Cheers

February 9, 10, 2023

Good Day, Early this morning we are slated to arrive in Sydney. Carol snug out the room at 4 AM to witness the arrival in Sydney harbour. We were assigned to dock in White Bay Cruise Terminal. First thing this morning, all passengers had to go through Australian immigration, and nobody could go back on the ship till this was completed. HAL had set up a bus shuttle to neighboring Darling Harbour. Instead of going back on the ship we boarded the shuttle to Darling Harbour. This is a nice developed area of waterfront small stores and cafes. What the City of Sidney has done over the last 20 or so years, they moved all the commercial industrial harbour operations out of residential neighbourhoods and did a very good job developing their waterfront for residential use. Out of Darling Harbour we took one of the small public ferries to Circular Quay Downtown. This ferry system is a great way of connecting the seventeen something different bays and suburbs. At the downtown cruise terminal there was a large Carnival Cruise ship docked. Apparently it was to high to go underneath the famous harbour bridge. After we got dropped off by the ferry we went on foot into the old part of Sidney called the Rock. This old area was at one time slated for demolition after the industry was moved elsewhere. The local citizens protested against this plan, and now it consist out of numerous art galleries, patio cafes and eateries. We managed to get a couple of coffees at one of these patios. After wandering through the streets, we stopped for lunch at a small Chinese deli. After lunch we walked towards the harbour on our way to the Opera House. This section of the Waterfront is lined with your usual souvenir stores and patio’s. Meanwhile the sky had gone very dark on us. It didn’t take long before a thundering bolt of lightning got our attention. The rain came shortly after. Whow did it rain, it came in sideways. We decided to grab an early dinner before the Opera. We managed to get some cheap tickets months ago through an app site called Viator. It was very exited to actually see the inside of the famous Opera House (this year 50 years old)The opera was scheduled to start at 7.00 PM There was not an empty seat left in the building. I wasn’t sure what to expect, as this was my first opera experience. After half time, we decided to go. I think I prefer listening to a Symphony better then an Opera.We found our way back to catch the small ferry to take us back to Darling Bay where we were able to catch the shuttle bus back to the ship. The ferry ride back was very spectacular with everything lit up, especially the Opera House. I was glad to be back at the room tonight, after being on my feet for most of the day.

Sydney – Day 2

Today, another day in this beautiful City. For today we had booked a tour through the City with final destination Bondi Beach. After boarding the bus, we started driving through all the different suburbs. Most of these suburbs were situated adjacent to one of the seventeen bays. Most of these bays are serviced by the public ferries. The pricing of real estate here is very high, rents are very expensive. After having stopped at at a few viewpoints we ended up at well known Bondi Beach. In the early eighties this was one of the more affordable neighborhoods to live. As times have changed, it is now one of the most desirable neighborhoods to live, but it is getting very pricey. This is a spectacular surf beach, beautiful sand with high waves rolling in, great for surving. The boulevard is lined with surf shops and boutiques. This beach made me think of Copacabana in Rio. After having spend an hour or so here, we continued on our way through more neighborhoods of Sidney. Eventuele we came through Chinatown, streets lined with small Chinese stores and eateries. By 2:00 PM we arrived back at our ship. That evening we had a beautiful sail away out of Sidney harbour with its dozens of sailboats on the water. When we crossed underneath the Sidney harbour bridge we maybe only had an extra 10ft between the bridge and the ship. Apparently the captain was directed only to cross underneath the bridge at low tide. This brought us to the end of a great stop on our voyage.

”  Don’t tell me how educated you are ,tell me how much you have travelled.”

Cheers    

February 12, 2023

Today’s visit, Port Arthur on the island of Tasmania as the Aussies say Tassie. Port Arthur was established in 1830 as a prison for repeat offenders from all Australian Colonies. By 1840 more than 2000 convicts an soldiers lived here. The penal settlement closed in 1877. Today, there still are the remains of the old prison. on a sad note, this was also the site of Australians worst massacre. On Sunday April 28 1996 a Gunman opened fire and killed 35 and wounded 19 others. A memorial garden has been created to remember the victims.

We went over to shore in one of the first tenders. This gave us time to explore the remains of the old prison before our excursion tour. A great deal of the prison buildings were still intact. Lots of history here.

Today, we went on a tour to meet up with Kangaroos and Tasmania Devils .We were able to feed the Roo’s, but I wouldn’t feed the Devil’s, they looked to scary with their big teeth. After this visit we also stopped at a small chocolate factory. Lots of yummy chocolates and icecream here. The highlight of today was seeing the animals from close by. By the time we made it back to the pier the wind had picked up considerably, and it made for a wobble ride back on the life boats to the ship. We left the Port Arthur Bay around 5 and arrived in the next stop Hobart around 8:30 that same night. Around 9:30 we watched a colourful fireworks display over the bay. We followed this up by listening to a local music group who were performing on the ship.

Cheers

February 5, 2023

Hi Folks, Today is going to be a very important day for Carol, as we are planning to hook up with her brother Brian. The last time she met him was 6 years ago.The ship docked at the pier at around 7 AM . We were one of the first off the ship. The pier where we were docked is a secured area, therefore shuttle buses were available to drop us off in downtown Wellington. The shuttle bus dropped us off at the downtown location. Before we came to a stop, we already spotted Brian sitting on a bench waiting for us. After meeting and greeting Brian we walked over to his car. The plan was to experience a day in the life of Brian. After boarding the car we headed for the highway to take us out of town. The first town we past through was Featherston.We didn’t stop here but continued on towards Greytown. The road was rising rapidly as we were crossing a mountain range. I lost count on the amount of switch back corners we encountered. This made me think of the road into Tortilla Flats in Arizona with its 144 switch back corners.  One of the first things we did in Greytown, was a visit to Brian’s favorite bakery Cafe/coffee shop.After having our coffees with some tasty pastries, we continued on to the airfield where Brian spends a great deal of his time. Brian is a caretaker at the local gliding club and the associated airfield. After showing us around , we were lucky enough to witness a couple of glider planes being pulled up into the air. Meanwhile,it was getting close to lunchtime, and we drove out to one of the wineries for lunch. The winery was named Pallister winery estate. We had a very nice lunch on the patio and obviously accompanied by some local wine. After this lunch we headed back towards Wellington.When we arrived back in Wellington, we decided to drive along the beach, till we ended up at Owhiro Bay. This was basically the end of the road and also the trailhead of a hiking trail following the shoreline. At the parking area of this trailhead we purchased coffees at a coffee truck which was set up in the parking lot We drunk our coffees sitting on a log by the beach. By the time we finished our coffees, it was nearly time to get back to our shuttle bus pickup point. After an emotional farewell to Brian and thanking him for being such a wonderful guide for the day, we boarded the shuttle bus back to the ship. Meanwhile it had become super windy outside. For the rest of the night we kept a low profile, also because the ship was swaying quite a bit.

“Every hundred feet the world changes” By – Roberto Bolanos.

Cheers

February 4, 2023

Hi All, Today we spend the day in Gisborne NZ. Gisborne has a population of about 40,000 . Farming and logging are the main industries. Gisborne is also known for its wineries and it’s surf beaches. Today’s port was a tender port, that meant we had to ride the lifeboats over from the main ship to the pier on shore, this was about a 20 min boat ride. After arriving on shore, we set off on foot exploring the town. A lot of older buildings were lining the street, I would say 1800 era. We stopped in a nice little coffee place and had our flat white and long black. we heard that there was a farmers market going on. After we left our coffee place, I spotted the farmers market along the banks of the river. A lot of local people were buying their fruits and vegetables for the week. Further there were venders selling soaps and clothing. A few foodtrucks were selling local and ethnic foods.The biggest surprise was, there were 2 ladies baking and selling oliebollen. What a treat that was. The locals called them dutch donuts. People were lined up for these yummy treats. After our stop at the market, we continued on our walk and we ended up following a dirt path along the river what brought us back to the harbour. To early to go back to the ship, we sat down on the patio of a local pub right by the walkway along the water.  Here we had a couple of locally brewed IPA’s and enjoyed the view across the water. After we finished our beers, we boarded the tender boat for our boat ride back to the ship. Gisborne ended up being a very pleasant City to visit. As a city it managed to keep its rural small town feeling. The rest of the day, we filled with a music trivia and listening to some live music.

” I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel’s sake. The great affair is to move. – By Louis Stevenson

“Cheers