Day Twenty-Five - “Seven miles from Sydney….

…….and a thousand miles from care”, is a saying referring to the 7 mile ferry journey from circular quay to Manly, the trip that most Sydney residents would suggest as the single excursion one should do while in the city. Having tried out Bondi, we decided today to travel to Manly to  compare the two famous beaches of the area. The ferry ride takes about half an hour crossing directly over the mouth of the harbour where the water was particularly choppy. From the wharf at Manly it’s a short walk down a pedestrianised street to the beach, where the waves of the Pacific lap onto the sand. The beach didn’t appear to be very big but the tree lined esplanade gave it a much more up-market look than Bondi. There were many surfers and body boarders and along the top of the beach were laid out around 6 beach volleyball courts.

After a pleasant walk along the beach and back we decided to have a drink and muffin at a street side cafe before ambling through a small market. After purchasing a few presents and some shorts for me , we returned to Sydney for the afternoon. Overall I would have to agree that Manly is a much better beach than Bondi.

The afternoon was spent walking around “The Rocks” district where our hotel is located. This is probably the oldest part of modern day Sydney although few of the original structures survive today. The focal point of the area on a weekend is The Rocks market, which consists of over a hundred stalls selling mostly hand made crafts, closing off the top of George Street. It was an interesting walk through the stalls which built up an appetite for tea which was had at “Pancakes in the Rocks”. Sylvia having pizza while I had a Mexican crepe with chips, excellent.

After tea we had a lovely walk along the back of the Rocks on the road that comes off the bridge. This gave us some different views of the bridge and the opera house.

Day Twenty-Four – Bondi to Bronte and Beyond

Of all the beaches in the Sydney area, the one that comes to mind most readily is Bondi beach. Most of the Australians that we spoke to on the cruise suggested that we avoid it , but we felt that we couldn’t come this far without visiting it for a short while.  We decided to catch the local bus and after meandering our way through the city centre traffic found ourselves on the Pacific coast.The bus got really crowded as we got closer to the beach,filling up with young people ready to spend time at the coast. The beach itself was a little disappointing and was no bigger than Porthcawl town beach and the surf was not as good as Rest Bay.

We had decided to complete the  walk to Bronte, this is around 2km long and follows the coastal path. After first walking across to look at the Bondi Pavilion, we climbed the steps that took us past the Bondi baths and the Bondi Icebergs clubhouse. This is a swimming club where prospective members must swim every Sunday, regardless of weather,50 weeks of the year for four years before being allowed to join. We withdrew our application!

The walk took us along the cliff edge and as we turned each corner another bay came into view. The most difficult part of the walk was avoiding the joggers, in their determined efforts to stay fit they forget that walkers have an equal right on these paths. Thankfully not all the people were quite so rude especially the man who kindly took the picture of both of us.

At the end of the walk we had a nice cool drink in a street side cafe and waited for a bus back to the city.  The weather this morning was excellent for walking, with a slightly overcast sky and a gentle breeze from the sea, but  warm sun on your back.

The bus took a different route back to Sydney and we ended up at the main railway station, a short hop away from Paddy’s Market. This is a large indoor market selling both food and clothes that operates from Thursday to Sunday each week. I had seen this mentioned in the guide books and wanted to see it, but was rather glad that I had not made a special trip as it was no different to any other market. We then made our way to Darling Harbour where we caught a ferry back to Circular Quay.

After a refreshing cup of tea and a biscuit back at the hotel, we decided on another walk, this time across the Sydney Harbour Bridge.  Now before anyone gets too excited this walk involves walking along a path next to the roadway, and certainly does not involve climbing up the arch!! I would recommend this walk to anyone visiting Sydney, the views that you get across the harbour and city are truly magnificent.

After walking back across the bridge we felt that we needed a good meal so called into “The Rocks Cafe” about two blocks down from the hotel. Here Sylvia had a lovely seafood stir-fry and I was tempted to try kangaroo loin, it was scrumptious. We followed the mains with some lovely sweets and for all you foodies all the dishes are pictured below.

And the sweets……..Yesterday’s visit to the Blue Mountains prompted PJ to send me a picture of the Three Sisters. This was not that of the rock formation but of a sculpture that I had decided not to publish in case it offended my more sensitive viewers, however today I have had second thoughts and here they are.

Day Twenty-Three – Another Day, Another Koala

Although we had been advised by several Sydney residents on the cruise to make our own way to the Blue Mountains,we decided to book a tour. After having such an enjoyable day I am glad we did, as I don’t think we would have seen half of what we did. The driver/guide, Terry,was very informative although at times he was full of his own self importance, claiming to have met Peter Sellers, Anthony Hopkins and Beyonce among others. Having said that he knew the area very well and told a good story.

The day started by boarding the bus outside the hotel, with the first stop at the Featherdale Wildlife Park, where we got the chance to get up close to many native Australian animals.  Sylvia with a snake and me a much cuddlier koala.(Sylvia says I’m a wimp but I don’t care) Although not as good as the zoo visit yesterday, we could walk close to the animals and they were all Australian. We even saw some happy kangaroos for Poppy. After leaving the wildlife park we almost immediately started the climb up the mountain. The road still takes the route of the original explorers who found their way through the mountains. In fact the road would take you all the way to Perth if you carried on for about 7 days.

The first stop in the Blue Mountains was at the Wentworth Falls viewing platform , where views could be had over the whole valley. Apparently this is the second biggest natural gorge in the world after the Grand Canyon.  As part of this stop we were invited to take a pre-lunch stroll to a lower viewing platform down 275 steps, and of course, back up again. After going down about half way Sylvia and I decided to return to the top, which judging by the gasping of the rest of the group, was the correct decision.

After a buffet lunch we arrived at Scenic World, the site of the magnificent Three Sisters rock formation. We took a  railway ride down to the valley floor and then took a scenic walk among old mines and through the forest. The idea was to complete a 30 minute circular walk and then return up the hill via a cable car. Unfortunately when we reached the cable car station we discovered it had broken down and therefore returned on the railway.This was no ordinary railway ride as it is the Worlds steepest funicular railway with a gradient of 1 in 1.28 (128%) – quite spectacular.

Another short coach journey took us to Echo Point for even better views of the Three Sisters, after which we were driven to the picturesque town of Leura. Here the highlight was the candy store, which had jars of old fashioned sweets from the UK,USA and Australia. There was something for everyone here and after a small purchase of Sherbet Lemons and Pineapples we returned to the coach for the journey back to Sydney.

As we travelled Terry told us some aboriginal tales including the story of how the Three Sisters had been formed. The last port of call was the site of the Sydney 2000 Olympics, which enabled Terry to tell a few more tales of his involvement in the games. We saw the stadium, the cauldron that contained the flame and the swimming pool. This was the pool that Adam Whitehead fell into to be disqualified from the 100 metres breaststroke, after getting me up at 3.00 in the morning to watch!!!!! 

From the Olympic site we were ferried on the river to Sydney. After a first stop at Darling Harbour we were asked by the boats captain whether we would like to see Queen Mary 2 which had arrived in town in the morning. As it was a universal yes from everyone involved we made a short detour to the military base to see the liner.  The Queen Mary is too big to fit in the passenger terminal but unlike the Rhapsody, it is allowed to berth in the military dockyard(I think it’s something to do with the fact that all Cunard captains are Royal Navy officers). Compared to all the cruise ships I have seen the Queens all look magnificent and this one was no different.

All in all the day was brilliant and so much better than if we had done it on our own. Although I have been putting a few pictures on the blog everyday they are but a fraction of the ones that we have taken. I know that Sylvia’s dad is looking forward to viewing all of them as he remarked to Helena. So ,Lorna when you speak to him next you can tell him we are up to 650 now so should top the thousand easily by the time we get home!!!

Day Twenty-Two – “We’ve been to the zoo,zoo,zoo.”

This holiday has very much had a nautical flavour,with first the river boats in Bangkok,followed by the cruise. Today the theme continued with the ferry boats in Sydney harbour. The first ferry ride took us from Circular Quay across the bay to Taronga Zoo, where after a cable car ride to the top ,we met this giant koala.  

The zoo is set out on a hill over looking Sydney Bay with an impressive display of native Australian animals, including kangaroos, koala and the deadly Tasmanian Devil. I actually thought that this was a made up animal in the cartoons, but it apparently is the largest carnivorous marsupial. Here is a picture of some kangaroos for Poppy. We were able to walk into their enclosure and some people were actually stroking them but they didn’t respond when I did my Skippy noise.

The koalas didn’t do very much just lying around after eating too many eucalyptus leaves, people used to think that they were drunk because of this. The zoo has a breeding programme to preserve the native animals and interestingly the resident stud koala is named Ken. We spent most of the morning at the zoo and then took the ferry back to the quay. As we had purchased day tickets that enabled us to travel on the buses and ferries all day, we immediately jumped on another ferry that took us to Darling Harbour. The journey took us under the Harbour bridge past the Luna Park amusements to the National Maritime Museum. Although we didn’t go in, many of the exhibits including “The Endeavour”, a battleship and a submarine were all located outside. Also in this area of Sydney is the aquarium and another native animal reserve. After walking around for an hour or so we caught another ferry back to Circular Quay. The Rhapsody has been replaced at the overseas passenger terminal by Royal Princess, which is visiting Sydney as part of a World cruise. We met a couple at breakfast this morning who are sailing on her to Japan and Hong Kong. Apparently Queen Mary is arriving soon.

We ate at a Bavarian restaurant in The Rocks this evening, Sylvia having fish and chips  while I had belly pork. It makes a change to have only one meal a day!! The weather has been good all day. Although a storm had been predicted it never came. PJ tells me that it’s 22 degrees in Pittsburgh and I’m sure that’s in Fahrenheit. I’m glad to say that it was 26 degrees here(and yes that’s centigrade).

Day Twenty-One – Back in Sydney

We arrived back in Sydney harbour at around 6.30 this morning. It was dark as we sailed in so we couldn’t get any good pictures. Later on as the sun rose the view from our balcony was amazing as can be seen from the photo. We had an early breakfast but after eating so much over the last two weeks , just had cereal and coffee. The number of photographs that everyone on board took of the bridge and the opera house was staggering, and it makes you wonder how we all managed before digital media. A kind fellow traveller took this picture of both of us just prior to leaving the ship.  The process of disembarkation is quite involved,the previous night our cases are packed and left outside our room. All passengers are given colour coded tags dependent on the time you are due to leave the ship. The process worked very well with our call coming at exactly the predicted time. We were straight off the ship, picked up our cases and walked to our hotel, all in a 15 minute time span. Unfortunately unlike last time our room was not ready, but we were able to store our baggage before exploring Sydney.

We decided that as we had about 2 hours before our room would be ready, that we would walk across to the botanical gardens. From here one gets the iconic view of both the opera house and the bridge from the point known as Mrs Macquarie's Chair. It also gave us our first taste of Australian wildlife with exotic looking birds running on the grass and singing from the trees. The one sight that Sylvia was looking forward to seeing (but not me), was the  Flying Fox bats. We weren’t sure where these would be ,but suddenly came across them (and some were not sleeping!!!).

On our return to the hotel,the room was ready. Unlike last time we were in the newer part of the hotel, where the rooms were better although the views not so good. As we are here for a week we needed to unpack everything, so while Sylvia organised the wardrobes, I caught up with the washing in the launderette.  Later in the afternoon we walked into the city to look at where the main shops were located. Sydney is a very busy city and as it was lunch time the streets were filled with city types rushing around.  After 2.00 the pace slowed and we were able to stop and have a snack to eat. Rhapsody was due to leave the quay at 6.30 and we ,along with hundreds of people, decided to see her off. Unfortunately the sky had begun to cloud over as she pulled out by the opera house.

Tomorrow if it stays fine we will probably visit the zoo or if not we will continue exploring the city.

Day Twenty – Last Day at Sea

It was another beautiful day today and the sun shone brightly onto our balcony all morning.As it is the last day on the ship everything has to packed and the cases left outside before we go to bed tonight, so this afternoon was spent packing.

As the cruise part of our holiday is almost over ,I thought that this would be a good time to give my overall impressions of the ship and the cruise. Firstly let me say that the itinerary was first class and as I said yesterday New Zealand is certainly a great place to visit. The ship is full of brass and wood, and I think that when it was new that it would have looked magnificent. However it is now looking tired in places with carpets being worn,especially around the pool  area.

After 14 days aboard the food tends to get a little repetitive, but there is plenty of it, at any time ,night or day. In comparison with other cruises we have been on, the general quality of the food was definitely poorer, with no lobster or crab claws or gateaux being offered. Talking to other guests who are a lot more travelled than us, this may be a sign of the economic times rather than a reflection on this cruise line. Having said that the presentation of the main meals was poor, with little variation especially when it came to vegetables.

The theatre on board was a delight to sit in and resembled an old fashioned variety theatre. Unfortunately the presentations did not match up to the facilities, with the shows in the main being of poor quality. The “Piano Man” show  last night was a perfect example of this, with the technical facilities being far more professional than previous versions of the show we have seen. But unfortunately the performances on the stage lacked spirit with the dancers particularly looking tired and limp. Apart from the night I saw a magician, I would not have paid for any of the other entertainment.

The people on board were superb, with our waiting staff and the room steward both being first class. I mentioned Benny last night, here are the waiting staff, Colin, Darwin and Johnston. Overall cruising still represents great value for money but I believe that the present economic situation is certainly having an impact, with a definite scaling back on some of the offering. We have enjoyed it but probably not as much as we had hoped.

The last dinner tonight was an opportunity to exchange e-mails and addresses with our fellow diners. It’s been a pleasure to dine with our new found friends and we will keep in contact.

And Benny’s final animal is

a small bird. Tomorrow back to Sydney.

Day Nineteen – At Sea

Today is the first of two sea days returning into Sydney. Although there’s a  swell on the sea the weather is sunny but a little windy. I thought that these quiet days will give a chance to reflect on the trip so far, with today my thoughts on New Zealand.

Rugged mountains, rolling hills ,terrific beaches, a great culture and modern big cities probably sums up what we have seen. The scenery on both islands was stunningly beautiful , from the fjords, plains and mountains in the South to the islands and volcanoes in the North. The people were some of the friendliest that I have meet in my travels with everyone being polite and helpful wherever we went. They are proud of their culture both ancient and modern,with a fervour about rugby almost as much as the Welsh. I would recommend it as a holiday destination as there is something for everyone here. It is difficult to pick out one highlight as all the places were great to visit. The weather in Auckland meant that we did not see that city at it’s best but meeting up with Sally & Barry more than made up for it.

Cruising only ever gives a snapshot of a place as the ship is usually in harbour for  about 10-12 hours at a time, but from what we have seen on this trip we would certainly come back. Next time we would travel by road to see more of the interior and probably stay for longer. I just need my lottery numbers to come up!!

It’s been quiet on board with only trivia and table tennis taking up our time (apart from eating of course).  We won both trivia games in the day but didn’t take part in the evening because we wanted to give some other teams a chance!!! We have formed a team with our dinner table and the combination of British and American brains seems to work. Unfortunately both sets of prizes were photo albums so we gave the second set away.

Tonight was the last formal dinner of the trip, the highlight once again being Larry’s tales. The guy has lead a rich life with my favourite story tonight being about President Carter( to whom he is distantly related). Larry was waiting to take a photo of the then President and decided to ask the secret service agent, “Where’s the best place to get a shot at the President?” How he failed to get arrested I don’t know. Going to dinner has been a pleasure ever since we got the table sorted. After writing this we are off to the theatre to once again see “The Piano Man”. We have seen it three times previously on Princess, so it will be good to compare. And finally ………

…….my favourite mammal, a bat. This is the guy responsible for all the animals featured in this trip. His name is Benny and he comes from the Philippines. Thank you  Benny for all your efforts. Tomorrow I will give my review of the ship.

Day Eighteen – The Bay of Islands

Today we arrived at the beautiful Bay of Islands, one of New Zealand’s most popular holiday resorts. It is made up of around 150 separate islands and a handful of secluded coastal towns. The rain that we had in Auckland had been left behind which was fortunate as today we were tendered to the port. After the long tour in Rotorua, we had cancelled the organised tour we had booked here and had decided to go ashore and look around by ourselves. We were so pleased we had chosen this option. After a leisurely breakfast we took a tender at about 9.00, the journey to shore taking around 15 mins. It was already getting very warm with the sun shining  brightly on the sea. We came ashore at the Waitangi Wharf, where shuttle buses were available to the nearby town of Paihia. We were attracted by a short walk in the opposite direction to the Waitangi treaty house (where we had originally planned to visit on the organised trip).  This took about five minutes, and on entering we were treated once again to a superb Maori show. Here I got a chance to perform a Haka with the warriors!! Unfortunately the photos taken inside this dark building didn’t turn out too well.

In 1840 43 Maori chiefs signed The Treaty of Waitangi, a document that has been described as the Declaration of Independence of New Zealand.  The treaty was signed at the site of the flagpoles shown in the photograph and the grounds have now become a museum celebrating the event. In addition to the colonial home of the British Residency, the grounds also contain a Maori meeting house and a war canoe. A worthwhile trip at a fraction of the cost when compared to the ship’s excursion.

Following a drink at the cafe we then walked to the local town to look at the shops. There was not much here and the place was full of tourists!!!!!! We therefore took the tender back to the ship to enjoy a quiet afternoon on board.

At dinner tonight we had a good discussion about growing up without electricity and using outside toilets. Larry then told us the tale of his brother winning a  real Guernsey cow in a raffle. Yes it was first prize, and it kept the family in milk for 15 years.And finally………….

…….a swan on a nest.