Some Pictures

Here are a few photos for you to enjoy.

The Australian Adventure Ends

G’day Mate

Aussie Expressions

We certainly have been having fun learning some Aussie Expressions. So I will finish this adventure by trying to tell you just a few of them.

If someone says they are going to shout next, it means they are going to pay for the next round of drinks.

If they tell you they are “ not up to putty”

It means they are not feeling well.

“Don’t call me a dsongo,”  means don’t call me an idiot.

“ a few stubbies short of a slab” means the same as “ a few bricks short of a full load”

“It’s gone walkabout”

That means that the person has gone for a walk without telling where.

If someone says

“Struth mate, don’t come the raw prawn with me!’ it means don’t tell them a lie or  exaggerate

“Stone the crows mate” and” Starve the lizards” both mean about the same as “I’ll be darned’

“A Bonsa Yarn”, is a great story.

“Flat out like a lizard drinking” is the same as running around like a chicken with its head cut off.

“Game as Ned Kelly” means you are ready and willing to try anything.

“Cunning as a Dunny rat” means sly as a fox.

“How much can a Koala bear?” means  just how much can anyone take?

No Worries!!

Be Happy!!

G’Day ….a greeting for all

April 28th, the first time

April 28^th the first time

Today is Sunday April 28 and the ship docked in Sydney at around seven o’clock.

Our plane doesn’t leave until 9:20 tonight.

So we booked a transfer package with Princess .They took us on a three hour tour and then delivered us to the Airport.

The tour was in a nice big air conditioned bus. The driver, Malcolm was very well informed about the city and its history.

We had a quick stop at Bond Beach. It is beautiful and we would have loved to spend a few hours there.

We learned some interesting facts about the metropolitan area of Sydney.

For example it has 54 surfing beaches and 73 golf courses, it was founded as a penal colony over 200 years ago and it has a population of approx 4 million people.

It is a beautiful city and it seems to be very livable.

We arrived at the airport around one o’clock so it has been a very long day. But finally we are at the gate and the plane is supposed to board within the hour.

But this vacation is still not over we do have three glorious days to spend in Honolulu.

Hobart

Hobart, Tasmania, April 25 and 26,

Because this is Anzac day there is a sunrise service of remembrance at Dawn. It is conducted by the captain.

The ship pulls into Hobart at noon and we have a tour. We grab a quick bite of lunch and then head for the Wharf. We are supposed to meet at 12:50 so we go at 12:30. Better early than late we say. Well when we get to the dockside there is our bus and it is already half loaded and it is full and pulls away at 12;45.

It is a nice modern bus. Our driver is Adrian and out tour guide is named Dianne.

We are given a short tour of the city and then we head for the gardens

The Royal Tasmanian Botanical gardens were established in 1818 and so they are the second oldest in Australia.

There is a diverse collection of temperate climate plants, including the largest conifer collection in the southern hemisphere. There is a Japanese garden, a sub aortic house, a rose garden and many more collections.

We are treated to a guided tour by a passionate volunteer named Pat. She obviously loved what she did and her enthusiasm showed.

We left the gardens around three and we were driven to battery Point and Mount Nelson. The history of the area with its ups and downs was told to us.

We arrived back at the ship in lots of time for dinner. It was a good day. The ship will overnight in Hobart as scheduled.

The next morning we decided to explore after breakfast.

We ended up at the maritime museum.

It was a trade off. Yesterday ken spent time looking at flowers because I wanted to and today I visited the museum because he wanted to.

But all in all it was a great port of call. There was so much to see and do. The city is about the size of Abbotsford and like Abby the homes are climbing higher and higher on the hill side.

This is our last port

Tomorrow we pack.

April 24,2013

Burnie Tasmania.

Well this was certainly a great day.

It began early with a 6:30 wake up. By the time I had my shower breakfast arrived. It was cool and dreary and actually there was a little rain.

But we had a tour scheduled so away we went.

Because this is a very busy working port we are prohibited from walking on the dock, so the city provided us we a free shuttle bus to the town. Mush to our delight and surprise we were greeted by the mayor. He was dressed in his robe and his golden chain of office. There were volunteers passing out maps and tourist information. We were each given an I love Burnie pin. I learned later that the same pin sold for four dollars in town. So a free bus and a free pin was much better than no pin and a fourteen dollar charge to get into town when we were in Melbourne yesterday.

The first stop was at the Makers workshop. This is where we were to meet our guide for the light house tour and we found him right away. Much to my relief Steve had our name and a record that we had paid for the tour.

This Makers Workshop turned out to be quite an amazing place. There were artisans demonstrating their craft. It was very very interesting. They also had goods for sale.  We had an hour and a half before our tour was to begin and we spent it very happily watching the craftsmen and viewing the exhibits. We found some chocolate coated ginger which pleased Ken.

A very pleasant surprise was the greeting extended by 2 red hat ladies in full dress. I was so sorry that I had taken my Red Hat card out of my case. Anyway they were very nice, they gave me their card and a book mark and posed for a picture with me.

Soon Steve announced that it was time to go. This was to be a three hour tour of the area and it would include a trip to the top of the Table Cape Lighthouse.

There were eight of us taking the tour and we travelled in a small 12 passenger van so it was perfect. Soon after we left the skies cleared and we had a sunny day. The wind was cool but the sun made it feel much warmer.

 We were given a short tour on our way to the light house. The guide was Carl and he was a light house keeper early in his working career. It was a wonderful tour and Carl knew everything about the light and its history. It turned out that this was the last ever tour of the light. Carl  is retirering and there is no one to take his place. The owners of the property on which the light stands have decided not to bother with tours anymore. So we were on the last tour, I guess we were meant to see this one.

It is a beautiful well maintained  brick light covered with white cement.

The view from the top was spectacular.standing on the180 meter  high windswept plateau we know why it was called Table Cape, the land was as flat as a tabletop.

We were able to purchase a model of the light house and a fridge magnet. Carl happily posed for pictures and we gave him our card.

Steven drove us around and pointed out features of note along the way. We watch out for wildlife but they did not honour us with their presence.

We stopped for coffee at a lovely little place but soon we had to head back. The tour was supposed to be 3 hours long but we were treated to almost 4 hours of exploring this lovely countryside.

Tasmania really impressed us with its wonderful scenery and its friendly people.

We would readily return here because there was so much more to see and not enough time.

Another unexpected report!

Sunday April 21st dawned cloudy and rainy and windy. I stepped out on the balcony at 6:15 and could barely keep my feet. When I stepped out again at 6:30 the windy was noticeably less ferocious. Ken turned on the TV to channel 43 and to our surprise the ship had turned around.

 (For those who don’t know channel 43 tracks the ship, showing longitude and latitude and wind speed and direction etc.)

The wind was blowing a gale and the arrow marking the ship’s position was heading south. The cut the drama and make a long story short Captain Pickford , on the advice of the pilot and the harbor master had turned the ship around and we would not be visiting Adelaide today.

Fortunately Ken was able to reach Kim and let him know that we would not be meeting him as planned.

So much for our visit to Adelaide.

We learned later that the storm was rather ferocious and there was flooding and loss of power. It would not have been a nice day if we had been able to make port.

But now what??

In the afternoon the Captain announced that he had been in touch with Melbourne. Our birth was available and we were going to be able to arrive in Melbourne the day before scheduled and we would have an overnight there.

Our day one in Melbourne began a little after three in the afternoon. We decided not to go into the city. Docking was after three, dinner was at 5:45, It was quite a walk into town and there was not too much that was close to the dock and the cost of taking the shuttle into town was 14.00 AU each. Well spending that much to visit for an hour or so seemed foolhardy so we stayed on board The Dawn.

The city lights were beautiful and we enjoyed the view from our balcony.

Melbourne is pronounced “Mel Bun” by the locals and it is in the state of New South Wales.. For a short time it was the capital city of Australia, and they are quick to tell you that the city was founded by free settlers and not by convicts. It received a real boost by the gold rush of the 1800’s.

With a population of almost 4 million this lively center is home to almost 70% of the state’s population. Myriad ethnic communities are found here and in fact it has the largest Greek community in the world outside of Greece.

Our scheduled shore excursion in Melbourne was a ride on the Puffin Billy steam train and a visit to Warrock Homestead.

We met our tour in the Princess Theatre as usual and when called we proceeded to our waiting bus. The bus was new and modern complete with a washroom. Our guide was Diane and our driver was Don. Diane told us all about the area and its history while we travelled the scenic hour and a half to get to Warrock.

This is a working ranch and there was much to see. There were bottle fed baby lambs waiting for lunch, calfs were waiting as well. We obliged both groups and head all about the operation of the ranch. Next we were able to feed kangaroos who were really not very hungry.

Next we got a tour of the homestead home and we were treated to a wonderful meal. It was enough to feed a real ranch hand and far too much for a tourist but it was so very tasty that most of us ate it all.

They had a great little gift shop and I bought myself a new wallet.

Next we all climbed on board the bus and headed for the train station. We had a wonderful half hour ride on the train. Because there were so many visitors the train had extra cars. The extra cars made it too heavy for the little steam engine so we were pulled by a diesel engine instead. Ken was able to get many pictures of the steam engine so he was pleased.

After the train ride we headed back to the city and we were given a short tour of the CBD. I was so impressed by the architecture. There are many wonderful old buildings as well as lots of new ones. There are many parks and they even have an old tram for tourists to circle the city.

The day was cool but it became sunny and we were able to enjoy the sights and the sounds of the city.

Melbourne has been voted the most livable city in the world and we could see why.

Good Sunday Morning

Good Morning Everyone,

It is Sunday morning here and our plans for the day have changed. This is the day we were supposed to be in Adelaide and Ken had arranged to meet his old scouter friend Kim Brown. We were going to spend the day with Kim and he was going to show us around his beautiful city,

However, the best laid plans of mice and men…

The weather is such that gale force winds right now and winds expected to increase as the day progresses meant that we could not enter the harbor. This is a sea day and we are on our way to Melbourne. They have not said if that means we will have an extra day in Melbourne or if we will just sail around for awhile.

Anyway Ken has gone to place a call to Kim to let him know we are not going to be able to meet him. Unfortunately we had a wakeup call set for 6:15 and had breakfast delivered to our room at 6:30 so we could be ready to dash away as soon as the gangway was in position.  I think nap will be part of the day.

The past few days have been very busy; we had wonderful stops in Fremantle and Albany. I much prefer this part of Australia. The temperatures are a lot more to my liking. It is not as hot and not as humid which suits me just fine.

Tuesday of this past week was interesting for me. First of all it was supposed to be a cool day and we were going to be in Fremantle stomping around all day so I decided it was a jeans day. With a bit of trepidation I got them out of the closet and took a deep breath. Much to my surprise I was able to zipper then quite easily. I didn’t have to struggle or lie down on the bed or anything… a triumph for sure, especially after almost 2 months of cruising and eating holiday food.

So I felt very good, great start to the day!!!

If you follow the blog you know we had a very busy day and part of it involved a trip on the commuter train. Well this didn’t go so well. For the first time ever a young girl offered me her seat on the train. I declined and a few minutes later a young man offered me his seat. Now does this mean that the people in Australia are especially polite or does it mean that I am looking like a little old lady who needs a seat???

Not a very good end to my day L

Well that was not all there was to my ageing adventure. Wednesday was our second day in Fremantle and we were in a local mall browsing around. After a nice long chat with a clerk in a small store the young clerk asked for a hug when we said goodbye. As strange as this was we agreed and as she hugged me she said, and I quote… “I don’t have a Grandma to hug”.

Was I impressed??? I don’t think so.

My jeans might fit but I still look like I need a seat on the train and I am someone’s grandma.:-(

In Melbourne we are scheduled to take a ride on an old steam train so that should be a lot of fun.

This has been a fabulous holiday and it is hard to believe that one week from today we disembark and fly to Honolulu.

We have been having a grand time but it will be nice to see our friends again. Ken is suffering hockey and golf withdrawal but I am not missing cooking or cleaning or any of the household chores.

I wonder if I can take Adonis with me???

Till next report

Carolyn and Ken

I am having technical troubles and may have to post without pictures until we get back home.
Sorry about that...:-(

Fremantle, April 16/2013

This was supposed to be a 12 hour stop and then on to Bunbury but things have changed. Because of drought and low water levels and the draught of The Dawn Princess we have been banned from entering the harbour at Bunbury, The stop in Fremantle has been changed to an overnight, we leave at one o’clock in the afternoon of April 17^th.

We had arranged to go on a private tour with BJ and Henry Miller and initially the concern was getting back to the ship on time but that would no longer be a concern. However getting started on time became a concern. Because we were away from Australia on our last port (Lombok Indonesia) we would be subjected to another customs and immigration inspection. Those always take time. Initially we were in group three and so BJ and I went to see if we could be changed to group one. It was so very easy for us, because we both have BLACK cards. Those do come in handy some times.

We were changed to group one and we arranged a meeting time for the morning.

Well even with being in the first group it appeared as if we were going to miss our connection.

Much to our pleasure and surprise the Trolley was waiting for us just outside the terminal, we did not have to walk to the first stop, which was the town hall.

Our plans were for a Triple tour and the first leg was on a replica of an old fashioned Tram. This Tram  would drive us all around Fremantle.

Fremantle was established in May of 1829 when Captain Charles Howe Fremantle formally took possession of the whole west coast of New Holland .In June of that year , Lieutenant Governor James Stirling arrived and decided that Fremantle would become the port and the new colony ( today known as Perth ) would be developed approximately 20 kilometers up the Swan River on good soil which would allow for the development of agriculture.

Part of the problem with the development of Fremantle was the shortage of lobour- a problem that was solved by the establishment of the Imperial Convict Depot.

The famous Fremantle Prison was built by convict labour  The influence of convicts on the architecture of Fremantle can never be overstated.

So many of the buildings are beautiful limestone structure, still beautifully maintained.

Along side are the modern structures of today. The tram driver and guide Neville enthralled us with stories of the city and its history.

We had a stop at the Fremantle prison for a photo op.

We viewed the site of the 1983 victory of Australia II in the America’s cup competition.

Neville pointed out the examples of the architecture of the area.

After an hour and a half we were delivered to the  dock where we said good bye and thank you to Neville and we  boarded  A Captain Cook catamaran for a cruise up the Swan River to Perth. There was excellent commentary and the sites we passed were identified and reported about. It was beautiful and fascinating and informative.

This cruise lasted an hour and a half and the day was beautiful and the water was calm. Bj and Henry and Ken and I sat upstairs where we had lots of room to take photos. We passed multi million dollar homes, the Old Swan Brewery, the Royal Perth Yacht Club and Kings Park. Much to our surprise they had free wine tasting and well as free coffee and tea.

We arrived in Perth at  the Barrack Street Jetty at 12:30

It was lunch time and we decided to have a lunch of fish and chips at a place called The Lucky Shag. It was really nice and we ate outside at a lovely table in the shade. The others tried a local beer. We each ordered one dish for two to share and we had lots of food .

After that delicious lunch we shopped at a near by souvenir  shop while we waited to begin the third part of our Triple Tour, our ride on the Hop On Hop Off bus.This offered us a bird’s eye view of King’s Park and Perth’s top attractions. We boarded the bus at 2:15 at the Barrack Street jetty  which was stop number one. We rode up top and without thinking we all sat on the left side. We forgot about the bus driving on the left and so  we spent some time ducking tree branches. There was excellent commentary as we passed  the cultural center, the mint, Roe Gardens , and we had a tour of Kings Park.

If it were earlier in the day we would have Hopped off and on a few times but it was almost the end of the day for the bus. We disembarked at stop number 10 which was the Moon and Sixpence Pub. This was a wonderful quaint English Pub with so much atmosphere. We enjoyed English Beer and “crisps”

Soon we made our way to the train station where we were helped by staff to get our tickets to travel back to Fremantle. This trip took us less than a half hour. The train was crowded because it was rush hour  but the people we very friendly and kind and considerate of each other. BJ was offered a seat right away and I was offered a seat which I declined.

When the train reached the end of the line which was near to the ship we learned that there was a free city  bus called The Red Cat which would take us even closer so we made our way to the bus stop and waited for The Red Cat. Within 15 minutes we were on the bus.

. At this stop we merely had to cross the street and then make our way over the bridge to the awaiting Dawn Princess.

What a day this has been! We travelled on old fashioned tram or trolley car, catamaran, double decker bus, commuter train, city bus and shanks pony.

We have another half day in this city!

Fremantle day 2,

We had such a full first day that we had little we wanted to do today.

But the one errant left to do was shop for Tim Tams. We have been told that everyone in Australia loves and eats Tim Tams, so we just had to get some to bring home.

So the hunt was on. We walked into the down town area and quickly found a small mall. In there was a Coles store.( Coles is the big grocery chain here). We found and purchased Tim Tams to bring home to the Harmony ladies.

We enjoyed walking around and visiting with the locals. We saw many from the ship doing the same thing.

Our second visit  in Fremantle soon came to an end and we headed back to the Dawn Princess.

Albany, April 18/2013

This was another sunny day for us to enjoy beautiful Australia.

This was a docking port and it dawn very foggy with the fog horns blowing. The fog was so thick that we wondered if it was going to be possible to get into port. This is a very tight entrance with islands on either side. When the captain cleared the obstacles he began to do a complete 360 , the fog had lifted, the sun was shinning but I was very unsure that a complete turn was possible. We were amazed by his skill.

Next we gathered our things and headed into town. There was a free shuttle to take us into town. When we arrived at the stop there were  a number of stalls of crafters in the park. We browsed and Ken found a toast rack which he purchased.

There was a display about an animal called Gilbert’s Potoroo. It is a small marsupial which was thought to be extinct

but was rediscovered in 1994. It is the smallest of the kangaroo family and is about the size of a rabbit. We had our picture taken with a costumed character representing the Potoroo.

I made a quick visit to Scots “Uniting Church, “ it is a beautiful sandstone structure and services have been held there since March of 1892.

We strolled around the town and headed for the Albany Residency  Museum. Here we viewed the Brig Amity and of special interest to us was a lighthouse exhibit.

There was an amazing meteorite  there in the courtyard. I was shocked by the size and the weight of it. It weighed 3.5 tons and was about the size of a basenette. It is  4,600 million years old and is believed to have come to earth about a thousand years ago.

By now it was time to head back to the Dawn Princess.

Lombok

Lombok Indonesia, This turned out to be a different day than the one we planned three months ago. When we were in Darwin a few days ago I really minded the heat, Even with wearing a hat and drinking lots of water I was really suffering from the heat and my blood sugar went too low. Keeping that in mind we began to wonder about the stop in Lombok. Everyone kept telling us that it would be even hotter and more humid. I checked our tour ticket and it was marked as ” Strenuous”. Well I don’t feel that I am up to strenuous ever let alone strenuous in extreme heat and humidity. With that in mind we decided to cancel our excursion. It was not too late to cancel and not be financially penalized. The cancellation was on Wednesday. Well last evening we received a letter from the captain informing us of the details for the tendering process today. The letter contained phrases like Waiting in the heat can be frustrating and unpleasant There will be no shade in the waiting area Long line ups We kindly ask that you respect your fellow passengers and our crew by remaining calm and patient Tendering will be much slower The ride ashore will be approximately 30 minutes each way. (tenders are not air conditioned) At times there will be long lines of passengers waiting to return to the ship. I f you are planning a visit to a temple be aware than shorts are not acceptable attire for either men or women. Be aware that using your left hand to eat or give or receive items is taboo. (Ken is left handed) We put all of those phrases together and decided to take advantage of the many amenities that the Dawn Princess has to offer. We did not be visiting Lombok, Indonesia. The sunrise was beautiful and we took many pictures while enjoying our coffee on the balcony. The sun rose around 6:20 and it was a perfect temperature up until that point. It is an hour later and already the temperature has risen to an unbearable Thirty degrees Celsius in the shade. The harbor seemed to be very busy with many craft coming and going. After cancelling the tour I thought I would like to go ashore for about an hour just to say that we did and to spend the 410,000 Rupiah that we purchased. I planned to take a picture of at least one price tag so I could put it in my photo book. ( one dollar Canadian equals 9500 Rupiah) But we scrapped that idea right after having read the letter from the Captain. Waiting in the heat in that line up would not be worth it. There is a wonderful small pool up on deck 14. It is about 25 feet in diameter and is only about 5 feet deep with a flat bottom. It has a roof so the sun does not beat down on you and there is a bar right there. So we spent a good part of our day there. We went back to the balcony for sail away. The view of the harbor was great. Young boys in outrigger canoes were in the water near to the ship, waving to and greeting the passengers on their balconies. As we sailed out of Lombok we could just see Bali in the distance. At dinner we got reports from our table mates. They said it was not quite as hot as Darwin but it was hot. The area is very poor and the level of sanitation is deplorable. There were many begging children and the sellers were very pushy making it hard to even look at what was available. The markets where foods were being sold were very different from what we would have considered safe. The food was in the open with no refrigeration or even ice to keep things chilled and flies abounded. The temples visited were very run down and not architecturally exceptional. The traffic seems to have been a nightmare with scooters and horse and wagons everywhere. Lunch at the Sheraton was a bright spot in that it was very good and there were better sanitation facilities. So all in all it appears as if we made a right decision to stay on board the Dawn Princess.

Darwin

Darwin Australia, April 9/2013 Closer to Indonesia than any other Australian city Darwin is the capital of the “Top End”, the remote vast Northern Territory home to more than half of the territories population, the city reflects the rugged endurance and individualism required to survive the Outback. Darwin has a colorful history in that it was bombed 64 times during world War 11 and it has survived many cyclones, the worst of which was on Xmas day, 1974. Man eating crocodiles, tropical monsoons, searing heat and bush fires that burn for weeks are part of everyday life. The ship docks to a beautiful sunrise and it is is already very hot. The air feels like you have just stepped into a sauna. I am not going to like this, not one bit is my first thought. It is a bigger more modern bustling city than I expected. At the dock there are several very nice shops. I am still trying without success to get Ken to buy an Aussie hat and they have some nice ones here. We are met by ladies selling shuttle bus tickets. The cost is $14.00 AU per person return. This is a lot for a trip of approximately a kilometer but in this searing heat we feel we have no choice. The shuttle drops us at the tourist bureau which we were told was right in the mall. I figured that would be fine… a nice air conditioned mall!! The tourist bureau was very nice with a wealth of information and very helpful people. There are lots of tour and excursions available. We find the prices are high, for example a one hour driving tour would cost us thirty dollars each. We roamed around the area for awhile. Their definition of a mall is an open area with lots of shops. It is not an enclosed mall like those in Canada. I am shocked that some of the shops are air conditioned and they leave the doors wide open. I am thinking… no wonder the prices are high!! You need high prices to pay the power bill. It is very interesting, with many different shops. At one point there is a man with a huge snake, actually 2 snakes and you could get your picture taken holding the snake for a cost of 10 dollars. We passed. There is a nice fountain in the middle of the area and several cafes. After a couple of hours the heat is taking its toll on me and I can feel my blood sugar heading low so we head back to the tourist bureau and the shuttle. I am so happy to return to our air conditioned stateroom. Ken put a thermometer in the shade on our terrace and it reads 40 C or 100 F This will not be on my list of places I would like to live. TOO HOT!!!

Port Douglas

Port Douglas, April 6/2013 What a day this has been!! First of all we had to be in the Princess Theatre at 6:45 am, so we were up at 5:30am. Our tour will be nine hours long and it will begin at 7:30 and end at 4:30. After a quick breakfast we hurry to the Princess Theatre to wait for the signal that the tenders are ready. The trip to Port Douglas is about 20 minutes long. We have to maneuver our way around million dollar yachts but before we know it we are safely tied up along side the warf and we are on our way. There are some lovely shops but there is no time to stop because our tour bus awaits. The bus is modern and new and air conditioned. Our driver is Fiona and our guide is Grace. The bus is seat belt equipped and we are instructed to buckle up. As we travel along the beautiful countryside Grace points out sugar cane fields and beaches. At one point she points out a field of kangaroos. There must have been about a hundred of them. They use a lot of round-abouts here and so we are forever turning. For me it is quite nerve wracking because I can’t get used to seeing vehicles on what I consider to be our side of the road. The trip past lovely middle class homes with manicured lawns and shopping areas and other amenities of this beautiful little city takes about 40 minutes. Our destination is the Tjapukai ( pronounced ”jab-uh-kai”) Cultural park. It is a beautiful area and our first stop was to the theatre where we were treated to a drama presentation where the history and beliefs of the Tjapukai people were explained to us. We were struck by the similar legends and stories of all peoples. The presentation involved acting and media and we were all supplied with air phones where a translation from the Tjapukai language to English was provided. Many other languages were available as well. This was very well done indeed. Our next display was all about the didgeridoo, how it was made and how it was played.It is made from a tree that has been hollowed out by termites. A member of the tribe, in his native dress played for us. What an amazing instrument and the sound is truly beautiful if it is played well. The third display was one of dancing. The moves and the imitation are of the native animals and many told a story of the hunting and the skills required. As part of the display we were shown how they make fire. Their method is similar to that of other native cultures. Next we were ushered into a dining room, restaurant actually where we were treated to a buffet. It had many different dishes but all were foods we were familiar with. I was secretly wishing that they were serving something native like crocodile or kangaroo. While we were having our lunch we were told about their weapons(spears and boomerangs) and how they were made. A young lady explained about various medicines and how plants and roots were used for different cures. We had a few minutes to shop for aboriginal art and soon it was time to board our buses. This trip was VERY short. We disembarked at Caravonica and Gail retrieved our tickets for the cable car ride through the wet tropical forests of Far North Queensland. These are among the oldest rainforests on earth and they are home to an incredible array of plants and animals.Twelve hundred species of flowering plants, eight hundred different rainforest trees, spectacular orchids, strangler figs, exotic palms and hundreds of unique creatures inhabit this lush green world. I was so impressed when I saw the Skyride Cableway. I expected crowded cars instead each little green car held six people and we were all able to see and enjoy the view. We travelled above the treetops and the rainforest lay below us. The windows were opened and we could see hear and smell the forest. We passed 14 towers and then came to a location they called Red Peak Station. Here we got out of the cable car and we walked through the rain forest for a short distance. This gave us a chance for an up close look at what we had just been soaring over. We view the Barron Gorge and Falls and the other amazing sights of this place. Unbelievably our 4 and ½ mile journey comes to an end and we are at the Kuranda Station. We have some free time in Kuranda and we are able to explore this scenic little village. Shops selling native art abound. The items are so beautifully made. There were many more things to do here such as visit the Jamieson Creek Conservation Park, or the Australian Butterfly Santuary but time was speeding by and we still had not travelled on the Karunda Scenic Railway. The railway began construction in 1886 and was completed in 1891. Its purpose was to supply transportation for the need of the gold fields of Queensland. The train ran from Karunda all of the way to Cairns. We boarded at the station in Karunda. The car is a vintage car with benches and no air conditioning. It is a beautiful old car, which is very well maintained. We wind our way through a tropical paradise , through 15 tunnels ,over 55 bridges and around 98 curves. One of the most magical views is at Barron Falls . The train stops for a photo opportunity here. There are 37 kilometers of track in all but we disembark at Freshwater station, shortening the trip by 25 minutes. It is now 3:30 and we must make our way back to Fort Douglas and the awaiting tenders. What a full day this was!~!!

Airlie Beach

Airlie Beach, April 4th/2013 We did not have a tour booked for today so there was no need to hurry. We had a leisurely breakfast and then headed ashore. This is a tender port so we had a short wait. The trip on the tender was about 29 minutes and the seas were calm. We are actually in the Coral Sea and hours of the Great Barrier Reef. The water is an amazing soft aqua color and the sun is shining and there are just a few big white fluffy clouds above. This is the area known as Whitsunday and it is composed of 74 islands. The islands are small and some of them have resorts, play grounds for the very rich. The community has arranged for a shuttle bus so we can get a drive from the pier and into the village. The Airlie Beach area is interesting in that there is a problem with jelly fish in the surrounding waters. These jelly fish can sometimes be deadly, making swimming in the sea a risky activity. To get around this the community has constructed a wonderful salt water lagoon complete with a sand beach. We disembark the tender here in Airlie Beach and we head for the lagoon. On the way we come to a craft market and it is really great. The first thing we see is a sand sculpture and of course it reminds us of Harrison at home. We browse along the way and soon we are at the lagoon. It was a wonderful walk under palm trees and next to beautiful flowering shrubs. The water looks inviting and we manage to find a shady spot to put out towel. There are many people from the cruise ship doing the same thing. Soon it is time for lunch and we opt to have some of the local fish and chips which came highly recommended. It did not disappoint. This is the first time my dinner has arrived wrapped in paper. I have had left overs wrapped in paper but this is the first time it has been served that way. Soon we head for the return bus and then the tender dock. The Dawn Princess is waiting for us. Our wonderful day at Airlie Beach has come to an end.