One's destination is never a place but rather a new way of looking at things - Henry Miller

Friday, September 3, 2010

Sydney




3/09/2010 5:53:54 AM
As I write day is breaking to the east and the glow of Sydney lies ahead to the west...our wonderful world tour is rapidly drawing to a close...Our ports have vanished to the bowels of the ship during the night and our home for the last three months is bare.
What a wonderful experience...This is something everyone should do...cruising is a wonderful way to travel.
The question everyone keeps asking is, “What has been the highlight of the trip?”
This is so difficult to answer. To me it is the whole package...the peaceful, relaxed, friendly atmosphere of cruising where you have the freedom to choose the degree of solitude or crowds that best suits you...the ability to “come home” everyday ...(unpacking and packing only once is a real bonus!!!)...the conversations ...Dave, our Excursions Manager, keeps telling us cruising is about making links and this has been one of the highlights...the links made around the world such as standing on the hills of Barbados and looking out across the Atlantic to Africa and hearing of a rowing race across this vast expanse of water...hearing of the Barbados crew who came second and then in Auckland, quite unexpectedly, you are shown the rowing boat that carried the New Zealand team to victory in the race...or during a Scholarship at Sea lecture hearing of the Spanish trips to Australia and the artefacts that have been found and lost from this period...to have asked about our “cannon ball” and been told, “Yes they were made from stone.” Then to again, quite accidently, see granite cannon balls identical to ours in a fort in Acapulco...to have experienced India... to have walked down the streets of Ephesus ... a city so ancient, that silting of the valley over the thousands of years that it has existed, now has the coastline 8 km away from where it was when the city began...Santorini perched on the top of the caldera cliffs where circumstances forced escaped slaves and pirates to establish homes... compared to the caldera walls in Papeete...Yes it has been a wonderful experience...
Our “Sail In calls but more precisely, Hobo 1 is perched on the edge of the bed breathing down my neck constantly checking his watch and questioning how long I’ll be...So ...see you soon. Over and out!




Do you like the farewell cake that greeted us on the sweets table at lunch time yesterday?

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Tasman Sea
















Our trip is all but over and we are now heading west to Sydney.





We had our final tour yesterday and consider it one of our best. Auckland is such a beautiful city and its beauty was enhanced by early morning sunshine. We left the ship at 8:15 and drove straight up onto the dormant volcano, Mt Eden. It had rained the previous night and you know how beautiful the world looks bathed in sunshine the morning after rain. Auckland looked a picture.





Later we went into the maritime museum and saw a replica of the America’s Cup and the yacht “New Zealand” which won the cup for New Zealand. Its keel and mast are incredibly large and we were able to see it from underneath and then when we were up on the second floor look across its deck to see where the 17 crew members worked.





Our museum visit was followed by a sail in Auckland harbour...a great day!
But we have made our final return to the ship, entered our cruise card into the security check point for the last time and are now packing for our arrival home Friday.





We’ll be back in Gladstone at 7:20pm Friday night...By then Number 1 daughter will know if she is talented enough to maintain the reputation established by her mother many years ago!!! Good luck!