I have no excuses for the long time between postings. We have had a few ports in rapid fire order but mostly it is just not making the time. I have looked back and see that I haven't sent any news after Auckland so I am 5 ports behind. Shameful!!



Sydney was our first stop in Australia and it was wonderful on a number of fronts. The weather was glorious both days we were there. We walked through the Botanic Gardens and as in every British settlement they were wonderful. The number of species is unbelievable as well as the acreage. We had lunch near the shop under the trees occupied by the fruit bats. We positioned ourselves out of reach of their "droppings" by a pool of water with the largest water lilies I have ever seen and fended off the storks that were begging for food. They were not at all timid and would grab for food if one was not attentive. The fruit bats for the most part just hung upside down in the trees although they did fly from time to time and looked like very large crows at first glance and they screech a lot.



After lunch we continued our walkthrough the gardens and visited the famous Sydney Opera House. We took a tour and saw several of the theaters included in this iconic structure that everyone in the world recognizes immediately. Among the things I never knew was it was designed by a Dane who quit part way through the project because he wasn't being paid. He has in fact never seen the finished building The other revelation was that the roof is comprised of quite small individual ceramic tiles that take on the hue of the sky at various times of the day.

At six o'clock our ship changed docks. The Queen Victoria, Cunards newest ship, had been docked in of Circle Quay by the opera house. We had been in the navy yard the first night. The "Vic" was leaving a day ahead of us so there was a much touted passing of the two ships in the harbour. There was fire Boat spewing water and literally thousands of people lined up on every available piece of the waterfront to watch the crossing of the two ships. The spectator fleet was something like Tall Ships or the start of The Bermuda Race in Newport and the police boats and harbor patrol had their work cut out for them keeping the area free from small craft. The QE2 has a horn that is deep and very loud. The "Vic" horn, by contrast, is much less impressive so there was great delight on the part of the QE2, both crew and passengers as we answered each of her blasts with our own. It was quite moving to think that we were part of history since the QE2 will never be back in Sydney



The next day we went to the zoo via a ferry that allowed hop on / hop off. It gave us a daytime view of Sydney and neighboring areas. The zoo was very nice. We entered by taking a cable car up to the top and then walked through the exhibits that were spread down the side of the hill. The Australian exhibits were the most interesting to us and we saw lots of kangaroos, wallabies, emus, koalas, and colorful birds. There were many zoo keepers throughout who were happy to talk about the animals and the exhibits were very well done for the most part. After the zoo we got back on the ferry and traveled about until we reached Darling Harbour where we had lunch and watched the world go by. I walked back to the boat and Charlie wandered else where arriving back with a beautiful arrangement of orchids to brighten our stateroom. That evening we experienced yet another amazing send off by the people of Sydney as we sailed off for Hobart, Tasmania.



Hobart was a change from the metropolis that Sydney is. We actually found it was as we expected much of Australia to be though I shouldn't admit it. It was built to a great degree by convicts sent there by Great Britain in the mid to late 1700's. Our tour bus driver said that he was a fifth generation convict and if America had not been engaged in a civil war at the time, he might have been an American. It took me some minutes to figure about the war he was speaking of since our Civil War was fought in the mid 1860's. How long did it take to you figure it out? The highlight of the day was a visit to an animal park where we were surrounded by kangaroos and wallabies and saw wombats, koalas, and Tasmanian devils as close quarters. We fed the kangaroos and scratched and petted them as well. Most were there because their mothers had been killed and they were of all varieties including a young albino who caused the older animals to growl like dogs if it came near them. There was also a pretty old joey in his mother's pouch. One hind leg didn't quite fit in and occasionally it would stick its head out as well. I'll try to send some photos separately. The country side was very dry as most of Australia is experiencing a drought but it was very pretty with rolling hills and mountains in the distance. The eucalyptus trees are varied in species and are like nothing we have at home and there were pepperberry trees whose fruit we find at Christmas time for arrangements in great abundance. It is a bit late for flowers apparently but in the villages we saw garden abloom with very colorful flowers and trees. The tour also included a winery where I tasted some very nice wines. Charlie went his own way that day and bicycled from the summit of Mt. Wellington and kayaked around the harbor for a different view of Hobart.



From Hobart we sailed to Melbourne, a large city in the State of Victoria. We didn't do justice to the city as we chose to wander on our own. There was a street car and a bus line on circle routes that were free and that did give us a nice view of the city and some bits outside the city. The only real stop we made was at the Victoria Market. It is a very old outdoor market with both food and dry goods. Prices were reasonable but aside from a Kangaroo skin that I wanted but passed by I resisted buying anything. Just the experience was fun.



Adelaide was the next city. We took a tour of a dolphin sanctuary by kayak there. It was nice to get out enjoy being on the water at closer range but of the 30 to 40 dolphins supposedly in the sanctuary we only saw 3 and 2 more after we finished. A bit disappointing but nature doesn't run on schedule as we are often reminded and it was a different kind of exercise. My upper arms knew I had done something different by the next day!



Our next Port was Albany. The QE2 had never been there so there was great interest once again by the locals and even our arrival at about 6 AM didn't deter them from lining the shore and every road within sight. Here we had a wonderful tour that took us to 2 wineries, up to a wind farm that supplies the city with 70% of it energy and offers spectacular views of the surrounding area and then to another lookout with a 360 degree views. And those views were incredible. A camera could not due them justice so we will just have to hold them in our memories along with another marvelous send off from the local populace. One begins to wonder how we have been so lucky to have had all these experiences,



Fremantle and Perth were yesterday, the 5th of March. Again we were welcomed by lots of people on the roads and near the docks. We experienced a delay in docking because "a container ship" managed to put in ahead of us so every tour and disembarking were delayed about 90 minutes. Unfortunately we were already up and had had breakfast by the time this announcement was made. It is not only nature that affects out schedule. We finally departed on our tour which turned out to be a 9 hour journey. A bit long as it turned out but we did enjoy 2 wineries with lunch at one of them as well as a boat trip down the Swan River which runs from Perth to Fremantle. The weather was quite warm, about 82 degrees, but the bus was air-conditioned and by the afternoon the Fremantle Doctor had come in. This is like the Southerly that cools us off in Bristol many afternoons during the hot days of summer and it was very pleasant. It helped revive us enough that we were able to enjoy yet another send off from the harbor with bands and crowds of people on every inch of the roads and shoreline. Even the jetties on either side were filled with spectators. It was a truly glorious site for the ships last sail away from Australia. Once again we were struck by how fortunate we are to be a part of this historic farewell voyage of the QE2. I hope we can get some coverage of her sail into Southampton, England at the end of the cruise. It will no doubt only be equaled by her last departure when she sets sail for Dubai.



On to Singapore which is 4 days sail!!!