Australia and New Zealand - 2014
In February of 2014, I took a cruise from Auckland, New Zealand, to Sydney, Australia. I flew to Auckland and spent 3 days there before the cruise. I took the airport bus to a street very close to my hotel and was able to walk the short distance to my hotel. I went to the Sky City Casino that evening. The next day I took the hop-on-hop-off bus around Auckland. The ticket covered two different bus loops. I thought Auckland was nice but not spectacular and not worth a second visit. I saw a street called Omana Avenue. I thought that was interesting, because my mom's name is Omana, and I have never seen that name outside southern India. The third day, I walked to the wharf and boarded the Diamond Princess.
Our first stop was at Tauranga. I visited a Maori village in the morning. We were given a traditional Maori welcome, and saw a cultural program. In the afternoon, I walked around Tauranga. There were 3 ships docked there, the Diamond Princess, the Dawn Princess, and the Seabourn Odyssey.
Our next stop was Akaroa. I took a coach ride through the beautiful New Zealand countryside to Arthur's Pass, where we then took the TranzAlpine train back to Akaroa. It was overcast, but the scenery was very green and beautiful. The movie Lord of the Rings was filmed in New Zealand.
Third stop was at Dunedin. This was a really quaint city. I wish I could have seen more of this. The Dunedin railway station is really beautiful. I took the train to Taieri Gorge. It was raining and really cold, but the views were still stunning, even in the rain. I spent most of the time on the outdoor viewing platform, despite the cold and wind and rain. Afterwards, we visited Larnach Castle and grounds. On the way back to the ship, we passed a really steep street, that is supposed to be the steepest street in the world.
The ship then cruised slowly through several fjords of Fjordland National Park. It did not rain, but is was cold. New Zealand in summer was a lot colder than I expected. That was the last of New Zealand, and we cruised on to Australia. Customs officers boarded the ship and stamped our passports on the ship.
The cruise then went to Hobart, Tasmania. I visited the little town of Richmond and Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary. At Bonorong, we were able to walk in the middle of a large number of kangaroos, and feed them. At one point, I asked someone to take a picture of me, and I waited for him to get ready before moving my hand with the food pellets close to the kangaroo. It however, got impatient, stood up on it's hind legs, put it's front legs on my arm, and started yanking my arm down so it could get the food. It's claws were on my arm. It didn't break the skin, but did leave bruises. When I tried taking selfies with my phone, they would try to eat the phone. We saw emu, wombats, tasmanian devils and koalas. They would not let us get close to the koalas or touch them, I was really disappointed. The main reason I went to Bonorong was because I thought I would be able to hold a koala.
The next stop was Melbourne. I had a friend in Melbourne, I hadn't seen in years. He met me at the port and spent some time with me. It was a week day, and he had just started a new job, so he couldn't take the whole day off. It was really nice to catch up. Melbourne is probably the most European of all Australian cities. Many of the buildings are really beautiful. I went to the top of the Eureka Tower, and went around the city using the circle tram. I found one little alley that was filled with graffiti. It appeared to have been set aside just for taggers. There is a lot of green space in the middle of Melbourne, making it a nice mix of open space and tall buildings.
The cruise ended in Sydney. We docked at Circular Quay, between Sydney Harbor Bridge and Sydney Opera House. It was so incredible to be in the middle of what is probably the most iconic harbor in the world.
I flew to Cairns the same day and spent 3 days there. I walked around the city a little the first evening. The next day I went to the Outer Great Barrier Reef, on Reef Magic Cruises. They took us to a floating pontoon called Marine World, in the outer Great Barrier Reef. We had about 5 hours at the pontoon, and lunch was included. We could snorkel, dive, take a glass bottom boat, or a semi-submersible boat and see the reef. The Great Barrier Reef is truly amazing and something everyone should see.
I then flew to Uluru, where I stayed for 3 days, to see Ayers Rock and Kata Tjuta. There is free transportation from the airport to all the area hotels. Uluru is a little expensive. There were flies everywhere. I should have taken a head net to keep the flies away. I took the Uluru Express bus to watch the sun rise over Ayers Rock. I then stayed on and walked around the base of Uluru. The rock looks different when you get up close. There were aboriginal rock art paintings at one part of the rock. I took the Uluru Express bus back to the hotel. In the afternoon, I again took the Uluru Express bus to Kata Tjuta, also know as 'The Olgas'. I walked to the Walpa Gorge and then came back to watch sunset over the rock. The sky was overcast, so the sunset wasn't worth seeing.
The next day, I flew to Sydney. I had 5 days in Sydney. I took the train to my hotel, which was in the CBD (downtown). Finding the hotel was really easy. Getting around Sydney is also really easy. They have a really good train system.
I toured the Opera House, walked through the Botanical Gardens, took numerous pictures of the bridge and the opera house. I went to the CBD (downtown area) and saw all the typical things that tourists see. I went to the top of Sydney Tower, saw many lovely buildings, including the QVB (Queen Victoria Building), which is a lovely mall. I took the ferry to Manly. It was interesting to see a city that has a harbor on one side and the ocean on the other. At night, I went to Darling Harbor, which was had a lot of entertainment options, and all the lights from the buildings reflected in the waters.
I did the Sydney Bridge Climb the next day. This is a really exciting experience, as long as you are not afraid of heights. You are part of a group of 10-15 people, with a climb leader. They gave us jumpsuits to wear. The jumpsuits are in a pale blue color, so it doesn't distract drivers crossing the bridge. They also have D-rings all over the jumpsuits, and everything you wear, caps, rain jackets, sunglasses etc is all clipped on, so nothing can fall onto the bridge. They make you leave watches, cameras etc behind. You have to pass through a metal detector and take a breathalyzer before the climb. The whole thing takes about 3 hours, and the actual climb is about 2 hours. The climb is not really strenuous. It has about 1000+ steps and a few ladders. It goes up the outside edge, all the way to the to the very top where the flag flies, then across to the other edge and back down along the other edge. They take several pictures, which you can buy if you like. Later, I climbed to the top of one of the pylons, but by then it was drizzling, so the pictures did not come out very well.
I visited the Carnival Australia, office, so I could meet some of my Aussie co-workers. It was fun to meet them and see where they work, and to be able to put a face to name.
The next day I took a local train and bus to Koala Park, which is just outside Sydney. Here I saw a sheep shearing exhibition. The sheep just stand there while they get sheared. Their fur gets removed as one single long piece. I also saw emu, kangaroo, wombats, Tasmanian devils, and several koalas. The koalas get fed at different times. The one getting fed sits on a railing while it eats the eucalyptus leaves. You still can't hold the koala, but you can stand right next to one and pet it, or put you arm around it. I have pictures with my arm around Mudgee, a female koala. They are so incredibly cute and cuddly. They look stoned and all they seem to do is eat and sleep.
All in all, I loved Sydney and I would love to go back there again.
Click on the picture below and you can view the photos.
Australia
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| Australia 2014 |
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| New Zealand 2014 |
