Australia/New Zealand: Part Two

Melbourne, Australia

As anticipated, we didn’t arrive back in Melbourne until after 5:00pm, so by the time we received clearance to leave the ship it was after 6pm.  When we were here the first time Mike took photos of the solar system that is on display along the waterfront, but we missed Pluto, so our first stop was the missing planet.  From here we went in search of food, and we ended up having pizza and gelato before heading back to the ship.  It was a little strange to be out after dark, but we had a great evening. The last two photos that show the light houses tell an interesting story. Before modern navigation they used them to navigate the narrow channel into Melbourne. If the two lighthouses were in line then you were safely in the channel.

The next morning, we headed out to conquer the parks.  Our first stop was the Gasworks Creative Precinct where we ran into a Saturday Farmer’s Market.  I’m pretty sure there were more dogs than people there, but it was neat to see.  We then walked through St. Vincent Gardens on our way to the Garden of Remembrance and the Royal Botanic Gardens.  The Shrine of Remembrance was very impressive, and the botanic gardens went on for days.  We saw several bridal parties taking photos and one full on wedding ceremony.

We crossed over the river into the CBD to check out St. Paul’s Cathedral, Hosier Lane, Fitzroy Gardens, and the grounds surrounding the Melbourne Museum.  Carlton Garden across from the museum was blocked off for an upcoming garden festival.  We wandered through the CBD and hit up a few shops before walking back to the ship via the tram line.  It ended up being a 38 000-step day and we covered over 26 kilometres.

On our third and final day we walked back to the CBD and this time we spent some time on the Yarra River waterfront.  When we crossed over, we headed for the Queen Victoria Market and Flagstaff Gardens.  Despite our sore and tired feet, we decided to walk back to the ship again.  Melbourne is a beautiful city with lots to see and do; my only complaint is that there seemed to be a ton of people.  It could have been because it was the weekend, but it seemed like there were even more people out and about than in Sydney.

Our next stop is Adelaide and then we were meant to be stopping in Esperance, Australia; however, it is an anchorage port and Mother Nature has other plans.  Cyclone Narelle appeared on the radar and is on the move in our direction, so Esperance was cancelled before we even reached Adelaide.

Adelaide, Australia

Our original itinerary had us stopping in Adelaide for one day, so were up early and ready to catch the train into the city.  Adelaide is laid out really interestingly with the city center surrounded by green space.  We hopped off the train and crossed the river to check out the Adelaide Oval and St. Peter’s Cathedral.  We then walked past the Zoo to reach the Adelaide Botanic Garden.  We've been to multiple botanic gardens at this point, but they all seem to have something unique. This one had a wetlands section which we hadn't seen before.

After exploring the garden, we stopped for lunch and then wandered around the city center.  There are several interesting buildings and most of the parks were still set up for various festivals and events; although, they looked to be tearing down the infrastructure.  We wrapped up the day with Adelaide Central Market and a quick walk through Chinatown before catching the train back to Outer Harbor where the ship is actually docked.  Midday we'd found out that we would be staying in Adelaide another day.  With Cyclone Narelle enroute and a low-pressure system coming up from the south our Captain had to make some quick decisions.  It was deemed safest to stay put, but we have to leave around 4pm the next day because another ship is scheduled to dock in Adelaide. 

On the train journey home, a lovely local woman was chatting us up and telling us all about the area and what to see and do. She told us we should check out an animal sanctuary where we could get up close and personal with the critters; however, she warned us not to squeeze the wombats because apparently, they pee fluorescent green.  She also said not to touch the kangaroo’s paws because they will start trying to box with you.  If we were planning to explore Outer Harbor, she warned us not to walk on the dunes because there are brown snakes which are venomous and aggressive.  From here her warnings took a darker turn as she told us about the brown snake that followed her chihuahua into her house through the dog door and proceeded to brutally murder it in front of her and then drink its blood…she was also unsure if the snake actually left the house.  It was a memorable and traumatizing conversation.

The following day with all aboard being 3pm we chose to explore the Port Adelaide area instead of returning to the city center.  It’s about halfway between Outer Harbor and Adelaide and there is a shopping mall right next to the train station.  Port Adelaide is the original port town and is a rejuvenated industrial district with restored buildings, murals, shops and restaurants.  It’s also home to the South Australian Maritime Museum, the South Australian Aviation Museum, and the National Railway Museum.  While we weren’t in the mood for museums, we did enjoy just wandering around the area and checking out the murals and old buildings.  We also got to pet a really friendly kitty who came running over to see us as we were walking.

We were going to head out to open water for environmental discharge while the other ship was in port, but the water was looking really rough, so we ended up anchored in Hallett Cove overnight and all the next day.  Late in the evening we returned to the dock in Adelaide, and we had one more full day to explore.  This was one of the few days we chose to divide and conquer.  Mike and our friend Ed went into Adelaide early to do the roof climb at the Adelaide Oval, and Sue and I headed in a bit later to check out the Adelaide Zoo.  The boys got to traipse over the roof of the stadium and climb around on scaffold up inside.  Unfortunately, you aren’t allowed to have anything loose, so Mike wasn’t able to take a camera and he was too cheap to pay for the pictures they take for you (the group photo was included).  He got a few shots from the ground with the GoPro, but he said the views of the city from the top were pretty epic.

Meanwhile, Sue and I were taking in all the cute critters at the Zoo.  I finally got to see a Tasmanian Devil; unfortunately, I was a bit disappointed.  They aren’t nearly as cute in person as they are in stuffed animal form.  Basically, they are just a giant rodent, and this one’s fur was quite patchy as well.  We also saw leaf insects which were interesting, but slightly terrifying.  While we were in the Minibeasts house with the leaf insects, stick insects, frogs, spiders and more we found a large spider that was on the wrong side of the glass…

The four of us reconvened and met up with another couple for lunch at a great little Mexican place.  Afterwards we just wandered around the CBD before returning to Outer Harbor once more.  Mike wanted a few more steps, since we had many sea days coming up, so we hopped off the train a few stops from the ship and walked back along a bike path that runs along the coast.

We are now looking forward to at least six full sea days as we make our way slowly towards Perth.  The captain is doing is best to keep us out of bad weather, so we are sticking close to the coast and taking our time. 

Fremantle (Perth), Australia

After several long rolling days at sea, we finally arrived in Fremantle.  We managed to avoid the worst of the bad weather and still arrive in port around noon.  Since it was a half day, we decided to explore Fremantle and head into Perth the following day when we have more time.  The Fremantle International Street Arts Festival is happening while we are in town, so there were tons of people and performers around town.  We wandered over to the Fremantle Markets, past the Fremantle Prison (which is on the UNESCO World Heritage List), and up to the Fremantle War Memorial.  I really wish we were here for longer because I would have loved to tour the prison, but we just didn’t have enough time to do it justice. 

At this point we decided the arts festival crowds were just too much for us, so we walked across town to the Big W to look for a book I was searching for.  Afterwards we walked back along the coast past beach parks and quays with restaurants and bars.  We walked way too far, but it was much needed after so many sea days.

The next day we took the train into Perth.  Mike really wanted to check out the Perth Mint, so we started in that direction.  We got distracted by an adorable street that was built to look like old London.  We also walked around Saint Mary’s Cathedral on the way.  The mint does tours hourly, but we didn’t prebook because we weren’t sure when we would arrive.  We ended up showing up shortly after a tour had started, so we signed up for the next one and just waited in the courtyard.

The Perth Mint tour was actually really interesting.  They explained the history of the mint and some of the large gold nuggets that they handled back in the day.  We got to see a one tonne gold coin; the largest gold coin in the world. Canada used to hold the record with a 100 kilogram coin, but Australia destroyed that record.  In the museum section they had gold bar that you could pick up which was worth about three million dollars.  I couldn’t lift it with one hand. The tour wrapped up with a demonstration where they poured a gold bar. Mike took a video of it and posted it on Instagram if you'd like to see it.

After the tour we headed to Heirisson Island Kangaroo Sanctuary where we saw one kangaroo lounging.  We would have spent more time looking for the others, but we still had more to see.  We walked along the Swan River to Elizabeth Quay and then climbed Jacob’s ladder to reach Kings Park.  The views of the city from the park were incredible and there were lookouts all along the park.  Kings Park and Botanic Garden is massive, and we only managed to see a small piece of it.  From here we walked back to the train station and took the train back to Fremantle.  Once again, I wish we had more time because we barely scratched the surface on Perth, but we had a great day.

Now we have a five-day sail to Bali where we are planning to get off the ship.  Originally, the ship had five more stops in Australia before crossing over to Indonesia, but the global fuel shortage has forced us to change our plans yet again.  Australia is rightfully prioritizing domestic use for their fuel, so they are giving us enough to leave and that’s it.  We had to drop the rest of our ports and head out.  Our first stop is now Bali and since we had made plans to leave from Bali on the 29th of April anyway, we are going to get off early and spend a bit of time in Bali.  We will be flying home to Calgary to spend some time with family and then return to the ship in June when it reaches the Philippines again. I'll post about our Bali adventures before we head home.