Sunday, 4^th March, 2018 En route to Papua New Guinea

Sunny skies and smooth seas!

I hope I still have some loyal followers of this blog, because it has been too busy to post since we left Bay of Islands.

What can I say about New Zealand: incredibly gorgeous natural scenery, kind people, a diversity of cultures—all things that make it a place to return to. Surprisingly to me, it was a two day sea journey from BOI to Sydney, and a time difference. I really thought New Zealand was closer to Australia than it is. As we crossed the Tasman Sea, the first day was blissfully calm, the second lived up to the title of one of the roughest passages. It is a fairly shallow sea, and when the wind is high, the seas are very rough! I was glad to see Sydney on the horizon and recognize the iconic Sydney Opera House.

Arrival in Sydney found David decidedly under the weather. He had had a cough the day before, but felt OK. However, 27 February when we arrived in Sydney, he had been hit hard, so hard that he agreed to go to the Medical Center, where he was diagnosed with flu—THE flu! He was placed in isolation and given Tamiflu (fantastic drug!) and I was not in isolation, but given Tamiflu to take prophetically to prevent it—one capsule for 10 days instead of 2 for 5 days like David. We had plans to meet our good friends, Terry and Kerry, in Sydney for two days of touring. Of course, David was unable, but I went along. Terry and Kerry were not worried that I would spread it to them, and I suppose the ship's doctor was not either since I was free to go where I wished. I felt badly about leaving David, but all he wanted to do was sleep. I called him every 2 hours, which did not make him happy, but reassured me, and woke him up. I had a lovely day with Terry and Kerry!

Our friends picked me up in front of the Oversea Passenger Terminal—a terrific location at Circular Quay, walking difference to so much! We were really fortunate to dock there, right by The Rocks. Since I had been to Sydney before, Terry planned a trip 2 hours south of Sydney to Illawarra Rain Forest. It was so good to see them and to give hugs all around! We drove South, past the Sydney Airport, which is one of the easiest airports in the world to navigate. We caught up on Terry and Kerry's experience on their crossing from Los Angeles to Sydney on Crystal Serenity on the first segment of the World Cruise. It was great to hear about friends doing the World Cruise and staff and crew onboard.

As we continued south, we saw all the new building of areas stretching far from Sydney. The population of Sydney has grown exponentially as immigration to Australia increases. We drove through the Royal National Park and saw examples of the Australian bush. Terry explained how lightening fires help bring healthy new growth to the bush, and we saw the results of those fires. As we drove further south, we stopped at Bald Hill Headland Reserve—a gathering place for hang gliders, para sailors, and people with motorized flying using a strip of parachute! The setting was a cliff over a gorgeous beach. Wow!! The sky was filled with them! It was hard to tear ourselves away from watching them take off and soar! They made it look so easy! We passed through the charming little town of Thirroul, and then stopped for lunch in another little town, Kiama. I learned that Turkish bread on the menu, is sort of like the bottom half of a piece of panini bread, and I had a cheese and avocado melt on the Turkish bread, which was delicious! It was accompanied by a bowl of fries that we shared, perhaps the best fries I have ever had. Crispy and probably double fried!

Finally, we arrived at the Illawara Rain Forest at Knights Hill. There was the option to zipline or to walk on the tops of the trees on suspension bridges. Can you guess what we opted for? We had the place to ourselves and it was amazing to be 35 meters above the forest floor! The bridges were on cables and there was definite movement as we crossed! Kerry was the only brave one among us to climb up a tower that was 45 meters above the forest floor. The views were stupendous! We saw only birds, but there were signs about snakes on the path. This gave me some trepidation, but the manager assured us that the day was too cold for snakes. We didn't get to see Dozer the wombat, but did see his burrow and his mailbox. It was a great experience! Thank you, Terry, for planning it and hosting me!

We took back roads to a slightly larger town on our way back to Sydney, in order to stop at a Woolworth's (supermarket). As we drove, the road had signs about possible koala sightings and a number to report them. There were also signs about kangaroos, who, evidently, like the open fields from the farms and often appear at dusk.

Purchases in hand, we made our way back to the city and Terry and Kerry dropped me off in front of the cruise terminal with plans for the next day. Unfortunately, David had a very rough night, and neither of us got much sleep. Our plans had been to take a boat up river to another small town, and while I wanted to spend more time with Kerry and Terry, I was worried about leaving David. I emailed Terry about 6 am and sadly canceled our day together. David slept and woke up mid-morning feeling better and ready to “sit up and take nourishment.” He had tea and toast, slept some more and then felt he could eat a small lunch from room service. Meanwhile, the hazmat team from the ship came to clean and sanitize our cabin. They did this three times while David was in isolation. When he napped, I walked literally across the street to the Australian Museum of Contemporary Art. Great venue—and free! Australia believes that everyone should have free access to art. David continued to feel better and better on our second day in Sydney and by the next day, his temperature was normal for 24 hours and he was allowed out of isolation! Thank God for Tamiflu!! Sail away from Sydney was amazing, with the bridge and the Opera House lit up. Good bye, Sydney.

We arrived in Newcastle after only an overnight passage from Sydney. While we went ashore, the hazmat team did a 45 minute deep clean of our cabin. I had no idea what to expect about Newcastle, since it is known as a huge coal distribution area. However, it was a charming, clean and delightful town. It is close to the Hunter Valley wine area and the largest salt water lake in Australia. There are both swimming and surfing beaches, including Ocean Baths, with a fenced off area to prevent interference of Great White Sharks and jellyfish. The town itself is filled with re-purposed vintage buildings, and they have an ethos of preserving the old. We took a shuttle bus into town and were greeted by volunteers, both as we disembarked the ship and at the shuttle site in town. They were very friendly and helpful and handed out very well done, compact guides and maps to the city. Since it was David's first day out, we didn't want to do too much, so elected to take a free bus that ran a 20 minute loop around the town. Fortunately, a lady who lived in the area and who came in to see the Queen Elizabeth berthed, was in the seat in front of us and she gave us a personal guided tour as we drove by the sights. Newcastle has made the most of the sea front, with striking restaurant complexes. Sail way was particularly spectacular. As we sailed by the Fort Scratchly Historic Site, we were saluted with 3 shots (of blanks) by the cannon. The Queen Elizabeth responded by sounding her horn. Hundreds of people lined the causeway out to the fort and waved goodbye to us. It was reminiscent of our amazing sail away in Hamburg on the Queen Mary 2. Tonight's entertainment was comic ventriloquist, Dean Atkinson, who actually was quite funny. Today was also St. David's Day, the patron saint of Wales, and Welsh cakes and singing were offered in the pub.

David was glad that we had a sea day before docking in Brisbane, so he took at easy most of the day. Speakers were Dr. Maggie Aderin-Pocok MBE, a space scientist and science communicator, who spoke, oddly enough, about following our dreams. The other speaker was Richard Atkins, who spoke on “Fast Ladies in a Man's World—Lady Race Drivers 1900-1939. Trivia Team, A Wing and a Prayer, now has two more members to bring our team up to 6. Michael, a chef and his wife, Pat, a hotel manager from the UK have joined our team. We came in third today. A highlight of today was the showing of the film “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.” It's an excellent film and, hopefully, will garner lots of awards at the Academy Awards.

Saturday, 3^rd March, we docked in Brisbane, at the Port of Brisbane, about 45 minutes outside of town. Cunard offered shuttles between the ship and the Anzac Memorial in the city center. We took a fairly early shuttle into town, and walked south on Queen Street with the goal of getting on a ferry. Brisbane has several ferry systems that traverse the river, one of which, the City Hopper, offers a free loop. Queen's Street and the Queen's Street Mall are one store after another, and all the big name brands are represented: Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Tiffany, Hermes, etc. In the pedestrian street, the Queensland Symphony Orchestra was performing! As we headed to the river, we were treated to a parade in honor of the Chinese New Year. Groups representative of all the Chinese social and service organizations in Brisbane marched in colorful native outfits. What a treat! We left the parade at its end and walked down the riverbank to the river and the ferry dock. After about a 10 minute wait, the City Hopper pulled in and we were able to get seats on the back deck. At the next stop, lots left the ferry and we were able to move up to the top deck, which was sheltered under an awning, just in time to be protected from the rain that began. Brisbane certain knows how to make the most of its riverfront. In addition to the South Bank Parkland, which we later visited, there are recreation area, parks, apartment complexes and dining venues lining the banks. We took the ferry back to the South Bank Parkland, and were dropped off at the bottom end. The last time we were in Brisbane, I had seen the Bougainvillea Arches that extended for one kilometer within the park. Before we got to the beginning of the arches, we past a beach in the middle of the city and paddling pools created out of rock, so that it looked like a natural pool.. There was a Saturday market set up, and many restaurants, bars and fast food places, not our favorite part. We walked under the arbors, but, unfortunately, the bougainvillea were not in full bloom, so there was just a smattering of them. The Queensland Performing Arts Center was at the end of the arbors, and several museums are located here, too. We ubered over to the other side of the river to our favorite store, Woolworth's, to replenish our supply of bottled water, and then walked several blocks to the Anzac Memorial again to pick up the shuttle bus back to the ship. Unfortunately, they had to re position the gangways, so our arrival onboard was delayed about an hour. We were glad to get back on board, because even though we thoroughly enjoyed Brisbane, it was about 90 degrees and very, very humid!!

After showers and shampoos, we felt human again. Tonight was the Australian Ball, so we took our new friend “Skippy” to drinks and dinner. Skippy is an inflatable kangaroo, about 4 feet tall. He garnered second takes and lots of smiles and comments. We were going to wear our Australian hats with the dangling corks to keep away the flies, but hats are not allowed in the dining room, so Skippy came instead. (Thank you, Terry and Kerry!!!) Skippy had a seat of his own at the head of the table and many people came over to chuckle. Our wine Steward brought him several empty glasses of wine, and many people came by the table to chuckle or give him a hug. His name “Skippy,” courtesy of our dear friend Lin, came from the children's TV series in the 1950's “Skippy the Bush Kangaroo.” Evidently, it was very similar to the US series “Lassie,” with the same ability of the animal to communicate with humans: “What, Lassie? Timmy's stuck in the well???” and “What Skippy, Timmy's stuck in the well???”

This morning we are on our way to Rabaul, Papua New Guinea. This will be our first visit at this port, on the second largest island in the world—second only to Greenland. Cannibalism only officially ended several years ago, and I'm afraid I will look like a plump, tasty meal to them! This is the only port on our journey where malaria is endemic. For this reason, we must begin taking Malarone as protection against Malaria two days before we arrive and 10 days after. I went to a lecture on Papua New Guinea, by John Hocknull, who worked for the Australian government as a sort of manager in the undeveloped area of Papua New Guinea in the 1970's and 80's. The talk was interrupted by the Captain announcing that we have changed course and were now heading closer to land, because we are to have a helicopter evacuation in about 3-4 hours. That should be happening soon. They are removing all the chairs from the aft pool deck and clearing the area of any guests. Our thoughts and prayers are for the person whose condition is so urgent to require this evacuation.

We will be heading to Trivia soon, so stay tuned!