We fly to Brisbane to begin a cruise around Australia

START HERE for our Round Australia and New Zealand Adventure

About 2 years ago, friends we met on one of our travels contacted us about booking a cruise that would circumnavigate Australia.  We said, "Yes, let's do it!"  We have previously visited the eastern side of the continent but have always said it would be great to cruise all the way around some day.

Well, fast forward 2 years to March, 2019 and here we go!

We left the USA on a Wednesday and arrived in Brisbane, Australia on Friday.  It was a 14-hour flight from LAX, but we crossed the International Dateline and lost Thursday!

Brisbane is a beautiful cosmopolitan city with a river that meanders right through it.  It is the capital city of Queensland and home to approximately 1.6 million people.

There are lots of tall skyscrapers and many bridges over the Brisbane River.

We arrive in the morning and to fight jet lag after checking into our hotel, we stay awake by riding the local ferry on the Brisbane River that flows right through the CBD...the central business district.

The ferry ride was a great way to see the beautiful architecture of the city...and stay awake.

Joyce - Terry - Jerry -Gwen

The next morning we head out on the river via Miramar Cruises to the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary.  

The sanctuary was founded in 1927 on 5 acres and is the world's first and largest koala sanctuary with over 130 koalas.

We see lots of koalas in the trees...

 

Hey guys, wake up!!

Many were sound asleep!  They eat eucalyptus 4 hours a day and sleep for 20 hours.

We did get up close to one for a photo op in between its eating and feeding schedule.

We wandered around the grounds of the sanctuary for a few hours.  Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary is home to 100 species of Australian native wildlife.  Here are just a few more photos of the wildlife we saw.

An Emu...the world's second largest bird...it can run very fast.

 The Kangaroo...with its powerful hind legs that act like springs and a long tail to provide balance.

 We could walk among the kangaroos.

The Tasmanian Devil...

 As a top predator in Australia, the Tasmanian devil helps maintain small animal populations and assists in removing carcasses. They act like natural vacuum cleaners, keeping the bush healthy and reducing maggots.  When they feed, they consume the entire animal--flesh, fur, bones and all.

The Dingo...a medium-size dog.  But unlike a domestic dog, dingos don't bark, although they whine and growl and have a bad reputation.

Several iguanas roam free around the grounds.

And a very active platypus.  It was hard to capture a photo as he moved so fast in the water.

Soon it was time to take the boat back to Brisbane.

We enjoyed every moment of our time in Brisbane, but now it's time to start the cruise.

The next day we boarded the Sun Princess cruise ship and started the circumnavigation of the continent.  It will take 28 days and we visit 12 ports before returning to Brisbane.

Our first port is Sydney. We sailed into Sydney about 5:30 in the morning.

The city's harbor is instantly recognizable, not simply for its beauty, but for two of the most famous landmarks in the world--we sail by the Opera House and under the Harbor Bridge.

Back in 1788 upon its discovery, British Captain Arthur Phillip labeled it "the finest harbor in the world."

Today Sydney is the capital of New South Wales and home to almost 4 million residents.  Sydney is the oldest city in Australia and was the site of the first British penal colony on the continent.

We spent several days in Sydney back in 2010 so this is a repeat city for us.  We enjoyed just walking around Circular Quay and revisiting some of the sites that make this city so special.

Our ship...the Sea Princess.

 We take a ferry across the harbor to Circular Quay, where the opera house is located.

We walk the path around the harbor.

Lots of blooms yet in the Botanical Gardens.  Since we are below the equator, the month of March is actually the start of autumn here down under.

 The Sydney Opera House.

We walk half way across the Harbor Bridge on the pedestrian level.  In 2010 we did the Bridge Climb to the top of the bridge.  In this photo you can faintly see the line of people making their climb to the top. A great experience.

A zoomed in shot..

 The bridge offers a wonderful view of the Opera House.

 Our day ends with the sail away taking us under the bridge and past the opera house

 Our friend, Gwen, joins us on deck for a last view of Sydney as we sail away.

Sadly, a day in port is just too short to experience all that Sydney has to offer.  We saw a lot more of Sydney back in 2010 when we spent several days here. To read about it, click here

 The end of a beautiful day in a beautiful city.

Our next port is Melbourne at the bottom of the continent.

Melbourne is the city that was built due to the gold discovery here. Again, this is a repeat city for us as we spent a few days here in 2010. Today we just venture out on our own and explore.

We headed into the city on the 109 bus that we picked up right outside the ship and then walked and utilized the free Circle Tram around the central business district.

It was about a 20 minute ride on the bus from the port to the city.  Before taking the City Tram, we walked to the Fitzroy Gardens.

On our way we pass by the magnificent Flinders Street Railway Station, busy with the morning commuters arriving into the city.

Built in 1854, Flinders Street Station was the first railway station built in any Australian city.  Rumor has it that it is haunted by a ghost named George as commuters have reported seeing a man on platform 10 holding fishing gear.  They say he appears somewhat disoriented as he gazes out at the Yarra River and then he vanishes into thin air.  No sighting today...he must have gone fishing.

We entered the Fitzroy Gardens and followed the tree-lined paths.

The gardens are beautiful

The gardens are one of the major Victorian era landscaped gardens in Australia and add to Melbourne's claim to being the garden city of Australia.

 The Conservatory.

Cook's Cottage, where Captain James Cook's parents lived.  It was built in 1755 in England and brought to Melbourne in the 1930s.

 A statue of Captain James Cook, the British explorer, navigator, and cartographer in the Royal Navy.

 The staff at the cottage appear in Victorian costume to greet the tourists.

The Scarred Tree.  A plaque by the preserved tree reads:

The scar on this tree was created when Aboriginal people removed bark to make canoes, shields, food and water containers, string, baby carriers and other items.

Please respect this site. It is important to the Wurundjeri people as traditional custodians of the land and is part of the heritage of all Australians.

All Aboriginal cultural sites are protected by law.

The garden is filled with tree-lined avenues.  There is a protective metal band around the trees to keep the possums from eating the leaves.  Possums are a nuisance but protected by law in Melbourne.

After about an hour of strolling through the gardens, we made our way back to the City Tram, which takes us into the heart of the city.

We exit the tram at the State Library, a new site for us. 

It was established in 1854 as the Melbourne Public Library, making it Australia's oldest public library and one of the first free libraries in the world.

  

The foundation stones were laid in 1854 and has been added onto many times.  Today the Library is actually made up of 23 individual buildings.

There are many exhibits through the halls.

An exhibition of the World of Books included this miniature book set. They were a novelty in 1895.

Our last stop of the day was to walk to the Queen Victoria Market.

The market has been here for 140 years and now covers a huge area. Lotsa stuff for sale here.

We walked through only a fraction of it.

 The Aboriginal musical instrument...the didgeridoo.

 

It was then time to return to the ship and say goodbye to Melbourne.

We explored Melbourne in greater depth in 2010 when we stayed here for several days.  To read about it click  here.

Since we are at the bottom of Australia, the ship will head to Tasmania for the next two days.

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