Australia

Travel Journal – 9 Apr – on the Tasman Sea and more from Australia

April 9, 2019 By Terry 1 Comment

The ship’s time advanced an hour again last night, which put us on New Caledonia Standard Time. I never thought about it before, but if you don’t like Daylight Savings Time and the changing of the clocks twice a year, think about doing that nearly every day! When I got up this morning to start working, I found that the crew members were out washing off the Promenade Deck. I was going to take a picture, but realized I’d left my phone in the room. Maybe another time.

For now, since it’s a day at sea, I’m going to share some of the photos from our days in Sydney. Hope you enjoy!

More photos from Sydney

The Harbor Bridge shot from the Sydney Opera House — One of the attractions in Sydney is the ability to climb over the Harbor Bridge. I heard the cost was $15, but we had no time to climb!

Long stairway leads to another street — This set of stairs was not well-traveled, so it was definitely something I wanted to check out. The reward was a fab photo of the opera house.

Three ferries making their rounds — The ferry on the left is just going out, the middle one is unloading, and the one on the right is about to dock. This is a busy harbor!

The Alexander, one of the ferrys in the harbor — Ferrys traverse the bay constantly during the day..

The White Bay Cruise Terminal as seen from the deck of the MS Noordam

White Bay Cruise Terminal signage — A cool idea - just in case you forget which terminal you're at when you're leaving port!

Bridge crossing one of the Sydney waterways — From the MS Noordam, here's a view of downtown Sydney and one of the bridges crossing the Sydney waterways.

Sunset looking toward the rear of the MS Noordam as we leave Sydney behind — Everyone gathered to watch us leave port as the Noordam set sail.

Approaching the Harbor Bridge — Aboard the MS Noordam, as we set sail and get ready to pass under the Harbor Bridge

People watching us approach the Harbor Bridge — Those little dots on top of the Harbor Bridge are people watching us prepare to pass under the bridge.

Luna Park from the MS Noordam — Sydney's iconic amusement park, Luna Park, as seen from the deck of the MS Noordam.

This one's gonna be a squeaker! — We did make it under the bridge and afterward the captain came on and gave us the numbers. It's always a close call, but there's room.

Underneath the Harbor Bridge — If you've ever wondered what the underside of a massive bridge looks like, here's one!

On the far side of the Harbor Bridge — After passing beneath the Harbor Bridge, we had a beautiful sunset!

Promenade Deck empty on the MS Noordam. — At odd hours, the Promenade Deck is actually empty.

Promenade deck nearly deserted — Early in the morning, the Promenade deck is wide open for walking because most passengers are not yet moving about.

Early morning at the pool — The Lido Deck includes the pool, which was not yet popular. Later in the day, that changed.

Our towel animal ocotpus — Just as we were wondering why there were no towel animals on this ship, one showed up!

The crab has eyes! — Our room steward left us a towel crab!

Travel Journal – 8 Apr – first full day sailing on the Tasman Sea

April 9, 2019 By Terry Leave a Comment

I was up early yesterday, just as the sun was rising over the Tasman Sea and the ship was coming alive. People drifted slowly into the Lido Deck dining room and the hum level in the room rose steadily. It was our first full day at sea and the ship was rolling more than either of us expected. So far, I’m not having any ill effects other than the inability to walk a straight line. At least there are no DUI checks onboard.

The travel journal is going to look a little different as we try to conserve bandwidth. We’re on a strict 300 mb limit each day and we have no idea how far that will go. So, at least for now, I’m switching things up a bit.

Today was a tough day for Kathy because she suffered from a bit of motion sickness. This has never happened before so we’re not sure what caused it, but a day lost at sea (so to speak). Here are a few photos, including some from last night’s departure from Sydney.

Photos from the MS Noordam

Travel Journal – 6 Apr – touring Sydney and the museums

April 8, 2019 By Terry Leave a Comment

Our hotel, Mantra 2 Bond Street, was a good news/bad news story. The location couldn’t have been better, but there were a few things that can best be described as “quirky.” The photos will give some insight as to what we mean. On the night we arrived, we noticed our driver took a roundabout way to get to the hotel, but we were so tired (and it was dark), so we didn’t realize what was going on. As you can see, they are installing a light rail system immediately in front of the hotel. While eventually very convenient, the potential for increased noise (already a problem at the hotel) could be significant.

Last chance to explore

We had a very good day with plenty of sunshine and a high of 80 degrees. Spent most of the day exploring 2 museums, walking through and having lunch in “The Rocks”. On our way back to the hotel we took Ariel to see the Sydney Customs House. It’s suppose to be a museum, but is really a public library on 2 of the upper floors. Ariel felt right at home. I think she is missing her library in Carlsbad.

We walked from the hotel to the Sydney Observatory, which is located on the highest hill in South Sydney. The views were spectacular. From that point it was (geographically speaking) all downhill. The Discovery Museum at The Rocks is amazing. And the Customs House, which now houses a library and a restaurant, was interesting for one simple reason—they have a relief map of Sydney under glass. The cool thing is that you walk over the city on the glass and can see where everything is located! Fun!

Photos from Sydney

Sydney Harbor with Opera House — It was a long walk to the lookout, but from this vantage point it was possible to get a photo of the Opera House as well as the bridge and, of course, that massive cruise ship in port for the day.

Friday Fotos – the iconic Sydney Opera House

April 5, 2019 By Terry Leave a Comment

On our first day in Sydney, we took a tour of the iconic Sydney Opera House. The original budget of this majestic building was seven million dollars, and the projected timeline was three years. Instead, it took 15 years to build the Sydney Opera House at a cost of $105 million. All of that money came from private donations. The sad part is that due to a change in government, the architect never even saw his final creation in person. The tour was very well done and we loved it.

Check out more photos from our travel journal. See all the posts at 40th Anniversary Trip – Auckland to Honolulu and beyond!