Siteseeing Melbourne

Melbourne is the second largest city in Australia. Unlike Sydney which was populated with convicts from the UK, Melbourne's population wanted to be in Australia.....they came seeking gold in the 1850's. The enormous wealth generated by the gold rush led to the construction of grand public buildings...it has the most elaborate Victorian architecture of all Australian cities.

Flinders Street Station (rail terminal)

A drizzling rain greeted us as we headed out the hotel door this morning. We quickly walked the half mile or so to the Queen Victoria Market. This market is open 6 days a week and has about 1,000 stalls that sell fresh fruit and vegetables, fish, meat, and clothing and leather goods as well as a large selection of tourist souvenier type stuff....and the prices are the best we have seen in our travels so far.

Queen Victoria Market

After browsing a bit we headed over to the Old Melbourne Gaol (jail). Between 1845 and 1929 it was the site of 136 executions. We took a self-guided tour of the cells and saw that the conditions of the gaol were pretty grim. There were exhibits that gave accounts of prisioners who were condemned to die at the gaol, accoompanied by their death masks. The most well-known execution was that of Ned Kelly, Australia's most famous bushranger. There was a large crowd present for the execution, most of them to lend their support to a man perceived to be rightfully rebelling against the English-based law and police authorities. The controversy over whether Kelly was hero or villain continues to this day.

Old Melbourne Gaol

Next we participated in the Police Watch House portion of the museum. We got to experience what it is like to be arrested, charged and locked-up inside the City Watch House, which is the holding tank for those charged with a crime until their trial. We had to answer to the Sergeant our name and crime we were charged with (they gave us a profile sheet of a prisoner) and walk through the paces as if we were under arrest, spending a few minutes locked up in a cell. At the end we took our mug shots!

Mug shot while in jail

After our release from jail, we headed over to the Italian Neighborhood to find a place for lunch and then back to the hotel to get ready for our tour of the city. Our travel agents had arranged for a driver to meet us at the airport yesterday and provide us with a city tour. Right on time Rob was waiting outside our hotel door. He drove us around for 3 hours pointing out the highlights of the city...and the drizzling rain had stopped.  An interesting site was at the Brighton Beach, where we saw Brighton Beach Boxes lined up.  These are no more than a garden shed with no electricity or water.  People buy them to use on the beach and to store their beach chairs, etc.  They can cost up to $160,000 each!  I guess that's truly a case of location-location-location.

Brighton Beach Boxes

Dinner tonight was on the Colonial Tramcar Restaurant. The tramcar (old-fashioned streetcar) covers a very scenic route around Central Melbourne while a 5-course dinner is served. This was a fun experience and the food was excellent. One course featured kangaroo, which tastes like beef.

Restaurant inside the Colonial Tramcar

Melbourne and more rain

Up early and out of the hotel by 7 am, we had a flight to catch to Melbourne. Today's airline was JetStar, and not at all like the Quantas experience when we flew from Sydney to Cairns. JetStar allows less baggage weight and we were over the limit by a few kilos. The agent said we could pay $40 extra or take stuff out of a bag and carry on to lighten the suitcases. I had my backpack packed in a suitcase so we took that out and stuffed it full and made the weight limit.

With all the food provided on the earlier Quantas flight, we 'assumed' that would be the case today. WRONG!! Nothing was provided free of charge....well I did get a glass of water from them but they got it from the tap. A cup of coffee would have cost $6.50. Needless to say, we and most everyone on the flight, had nothing.

Speaking of coffee, Australian coffee is a bit confusing. The Aussies love their coffee and they load it with cream and sugar or have cappucinos or lattes. There is also long black and short black and white flat to choose from. After experiencing a long black, which is NOT a large black cup of coffee, I searched on the internet and found this explanation:



"culinary adventures in the city by the bayFeeds:PostsCommentsHow to Order Coffee In Australian

January 21, 2007 by Micki
If you thought Starbucks was a confusing place in which to order coffee, you’ve neve tried in Australia. They don’t seem to call it the way we call it in America, and it took us a few days (and a few misordered products) to work it all out. Of course, once you learn the lingo, it actually makes quite a bit of sense.

Short Black: This is a single shot of espresso.

Long Black: Espresso with water (1/3 espresso 2/3 water). If you want a close approximation of a regular cup ‘o joe, order a long black. It’s equivalent to a Cafe Americano ordered in your local coffeehouse.

Simple, yeah? Well, I hope you didn’t want milk with that. That’s where the confusion starts.

Flat White: This is a popular drink in Australia and New Zealand. As far as I know, it’s not served anywhere else in the world. A flat white is an espresso with steamed milk (about 1/3 espresso, 2/3 milk). The closest approximation in America would be a no foam latte.So, what if you want a regular cup o’ joe with milk?You order a Long Black with Milk on the Side. This gives you cold milk to add to your long black.Thankfully a latte is a latte and a cappaccino is a cappacino."


Well, we landed in Melbourne and it is once again RAINING! The forecast doesn't look good for the next couple days either. We enjoyed wonderful weather in Cairns but found out that 8 days ago, the rain was causing flooding there. We lucked out!

Melbourne has been in a drought the past few years......I think it's over now. This weekend happens to be the Melbourne Cup, a horse racing event that is one of the biggest in the world. Maybe we should have gone to Brisbane, instead.....

Oh well, the city is beautiful and easy to walk around. Hopefully we can do that. We will have a city driving tour tomorrow afternoon so at least we'll be in a car then.

Our hotel is right downtown and is in an historic sandstone building that was formerly a bank. Our room is spacious and beautiful....and it includes a microwave, refrigerator, and a washer/dryer (no cost to use) Yippee!!

Our hotel room

View from our hotel balcony

Rainforest Day

Our last full day in the Cairns area and we take a tour with Daintree Safaris. We were promptly picked up at our hotel at 7 am and then traveled along the coast to the town of Port Douglas where we picked up two sisters who were on holiday from Perth. So there were just 4 of us on this tour today, plus the guide, which was very nice. We travelled in a comfortable vehicle through along fields covered with sugar cane growing in various stages to the Daintree National Park, which is the oldest continuous rainforest in the world. Our very knowledgable guide, Nicholas, led us through the trails of the rainforest and pointed out various birds and plants. He filled us full of information--so glad there was not a test at the end of the tour. Some of the trees in the rainforest are 1200 to 1400 years old. The rainforest meets the sea at Cape Tribulation, which was our next stop.





Rainforest stream



Rainforest



Fields of sugar cane, the #1 industry in Australia.  Tourism is #2.

Trail through rainforest

(Marie A.--this one's for you and your 3rd grade class study of spiders--it's a lichen spider and was almost impossible to see as it blended in with the lichen on the tree trunk.  The flash of the camera made it visible.)

Cape Tribulation was named by Capt. James Cook in 1770 when his ship Endeavor ran aground on a coral reef while he was navigating the Great Barrier Reef. Through an ingenious way of sealing the hole in the hull with a canvas sail which was lined with wool and lanolin from the wool of the sheep on board, covering it all with tar and placing this now waterproof 'bandage' on the outside of the hull, and then tossing overboard canons and anchors to lighten the ship's ballast, he was able to move the ship off the reef during high tide and get it safely to shore for repairs. He wrote about his trials and tribulations sailing in the reef and thus named this particular area Cape Tribulation. We walked the beach and hiked to a lookout. Once again, Grandson Enzo got recognition on the beach.

Cape Tribulation

Driving through the rainforest was beautiful. To get to this area we had to cross the Daintree River on a ferry. There are no bridges--if one didn't want to pay the $21.00 roundtrip fee, it would mean a drive of 500 km roundtrip to find a bridge. The expense of building a bridge wasn't the issue. Roads would have had to been widened and that evidently requires much bureaucratic paperwork/permissions when trying to do so in a World Heritage area--about impossible they say.

Lunch was at the Daintree Tea House where we dined on freshly caught barramundi (ocean perch)...well, Terry had a steak....and an assortment of Australian fruits. The owner of the establishment came over to the table and talked about each of the varieties. Some were good...some not so. One, called jackfruit, had the texture of slime, although the taste was not bad.

After lunch we went on a boat ride on the Daintree River in hopes of spotting some wildlife. We slowly cruised close to the banks of the river looking for crocodile, snakes and birds. Well, we did see a croc--a big one named Scarface, but he kept his distance. We also saw a baby croc sunning on a tree limb just above the water....and hidden from Scarface, who is probably his father. The male crocs seem to like to eat the young ones.

Back on the road, we went to a gorge where a river (not the croc infested one) runs over a rocky area. We were able to take a refreshing swim in the river before calling it a day and heading back to our hotel in Palm Cove.  While we were in the river, a rugby team showed up to swim and jump in the rapids.  One of the guys did a canonball jump right next to Terry.  When the guy surfaced, his teammate yelled that he had 'splashed the old man'.  Ouch!  That hurt, eh Terry?

Swimming hole in the gorge river

Terry about to jump into the rapids

Terry's in there somewhere floating on by....

Flowers seen on our travels today.

Next up is a travel day to Melbourne so it's now time to pack the suitcases again.

Great Barrier Reef

The Great Barrier Reef was WONDERFUL! We had an all day trip with Ocean Spirit cruises to Michaelamas Cay. The GBR is actually about 30 miles out of Cairns where we boarded. It took about 2 hours to reach the Cay, which is like a sandbar in the middle of the water. The only thing on the cay were nesting seagulls. After arriving at the Cay, we first took a submersible ride to see the reef through the glass walls of a submarine-type boat. It was awesome. Marine biologists on board identified what we were seeing and told us all about the reef.

Next a buffet luncheon was served. There was a chef on board that put on quite a display of food. It was very good. After lunch we were transported to the shore of the cay by a little tender boat and then spent some time getting our snorkeling equipment in working order so that we were ready for a guided tour of the reef.

Selena, a marine biologist, took us out on the snorkel tour of the reef. She pointed out different types of coral and animals and would dive down and pick up coral, etc. for us to examine at the surface. That was a great time.

After the guided tour we spent more time going back over the reef until it was time to load up and head back to Cairns. It was a long day but it was an awesome experience.   Here's just a sampling of what we saw...

The submersible

Michaelamas Cay

Our boat for snorkeling.  It held 124 passengers.  Many of the bigger boats hold as many as 300 people!

A banana slug, I think....

Giant clams--they were the most fascinating

Terry examining soft coral

Selena is pointing out a "Nemo" fish

Checking out the mushroom coral

A stingray trying to bury itself in the sand

Best fish picture.....they are hard to capture with a camera

A train ride and much more...

Today was a full day of siteseeing with a company called Down Under Day Tours. We were picked up outside our hotel and brought to the Kuranda Railway Station to board a train that winds its way up the mountain range through 15 tunnels and over 40 bridges clinging to the rock face. There was commentary along the way that informed us about the history of the train and the construction of the rail line.

Our train car for the ride up the mountain

Looking back through the train window as we passed a waterfall.

There was a village at the top of the mountain called Kuranda that was filled with craft shops for the tourists. We opted to take a 3K walk of a loop along the river and into the rainforest.

To get down off the mountain, we boarded the Skyrail for a trip over the rainforest with two stops on the way to take short interpretative walks into the rainforest and snap more photos! It was fun to see the overview of the Cairns area as we traveled down the mountain on top of the trees.

View of Cairns area from the Skyrail

Last stop of the day was at the Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural Center at the base of the Skyrail. Through presentations we learned 40,000 years of aboriginal history and culture in 2.5 hours! Tjapukai is pronounced jeb-a-guy and it is the local tribe of the Kuranda area. The presentations were very good. We watched dances, had a chance to throw a boomarang (neither Terry nor I were successful in our attempt, but several people did a good job at making the boomarang fly and come back toward them. We also learned and had a chance to use a spear thrower. Bush tucker (food) was explained to us and also how to make music on a didgeridoo, a wind instrument made from a tree limb hollowed out.

Didgeridoo

Showing how to make fire

Terry getting ready to throw a boomarang

It was a good day and we are now back at the hotel relaxing on our patio. Need to rest up this evening as tomorrow we snorkle on the Great Barrier Reef.

Travel day to Cairns

Today was a travel day as we left Sydney and headed for the airport to fly to Cairns. Our travel agent had pre-arranged a driver to pick us up at the hotel at 7 am. He was right on time and we arrived at the airport, checked in, and was at the gate by 7:35 am! Security is much more lax than in the US. We had to go through x-ray screening but didn't have to take shoes or coat off and didn't have to show any ID throughout the whole checkin procedure. Once we got the word to board the plane, everyone just got up and very calmly walked on the plane...no calling by rows and we were on the plane in about 2 minutes! We flew in a 767 so it was quite large and full. Qantas was the airline and they kept you comfortable. No sooner did we get up in the air and we had a hot brunch served us(potatoes/beans/sausage/quiche/orange juice/roll) and then they came with coffee and after that a glass of water. Before landing in Cairns they served us a cookie and water. It was like being back on the cruise ship where there is food all the time!

Now we're in Palm Cove, a beach development just 20 minutes north of Cairns. We are 17 degrees below the equator so it is nice and warm....and sunny! It's in the high 80's and humid! :-) The beach area is wonderful; the hotel is great! We have a fresh water and salt water pool to use, and our room has a patio area with nice seating overlooking the fresh water pool. I think we have found paradise again! We are relaxing and walking on the beach this afternoon. Tomorrow is a full day of siteseeing.

Beach in front of our hotel

Our room with a view!

Ahh, relaxing on the patio

The beach!

Monday in Sydney

Rain before 7 quits by 11. That's what my Mom would always say, and today that held true. We awoke to RAIN AGAIN this morning and it actually was raining quite hard the entire time we ventured out of the hotel for some breakfast. By the time we left for our day's activities, the skies still didn't look good but the rain was only a drizzle.

We headed toward downtown Sydney right during the Monday morning rush hour. Australia is a country that drives on the wrong....oops...LEFT side of the road. That also is the way the walking on the sidewalks tends to go. We just keep telling ourselves, keep left, keep left. This should have us well trained by the time we actually have a rental car in Tasmania and have to drive on the left. Very noticeable was the work attire of people rushing to their job. Men wear black or dark grey suits. Women wear black pant suits/dresses/skirts. It was like walking through a sea of black.

Our first stop for the day was to the Sky Tower, which has the typical observation deck on top. While in line for the elevator, in walks Kay & Jack, a couple from the cruise critic group on the ship so we had someone to chat with for a few minutes. The views from the top were great and by this time the rain had stopped! (It was before 11 am!) We noted areas that we have walked and the Darling Harbor area that we were off to next.

View from top of Sky Tower

We had planned on riding the monorail between the Sky Tower and Darling Harbor but after noting how close the harbor actually was, we decided to just walk it. While on the foot bridge that crosses the harbor, we walk right up to Derek and Marj, the Victoria Vancouver Island couple that we chatted with several times on the ship. We compared notes of Sydney sites and talked about the lightening strike
that hit the cruise ship while she was still in port on Saturday afternoon. (No damage reported, probably hit the lightening rod, but it did make the newspaper).

Next stop was a quick visit to the National Maritime Museum where we saw a replica of the ship Captain James Cook sailed in the 1770's when he charted the coastlines of Australia and New Zealand.

Replica ship of Captain James Cook's Endeavor

Our afternoon activity was a 3-hour sail on a yacht around the harbor. Once again we had a tour all to ourselves. It probably is still early in the season and that along with the fact that the weather didn't look good this morning, we were the only 2 on the yacht along with the captain and his crewmate. This was great! Terry got to take the wheel and steer the sailboat for almost 2 hours. The captain and crewmate handled the sails and Joyce snapped photos and held on. We sailed throughout the harbor, alongside the Opera House, and under the bridge. It was a most fun time. By the time we returned to the dock, the sun was shining and we grabbed dinner at a restaurant along the wharf, sitting outside, watching people go by, recounting the wonderful experiences we have had while in Sydney.

Skipper Terry & Joyce is hanging on



Our sailing yacht



Sky Tower and we finally have clear skies!

Tomorrow morning we head to the airport and fly to Cairns--back to the tropics!

Sunday in Sydney

Today we woke up to RAIN. So we rethought our plans for the day (ferry to Manly Beach--the surfing beach in Sydney) and decided to go to the Sydney Opera House for their one-hour guided tour instead. We walked over to it in the RAIN, and found out that the tours were not going to be given today because today is Sydney Opera House's Open Day, and it's FREE! Open Day is the opportunity for the people of Sydney to see the backstage areas, the theaters, and enjoy some great live performances. A giant Open House for everyone in Sydney. We arrived about 9:15 or so and were directed to find "the line" that was forming outside the Opera House. By the time we wound our way through the people barricades zigzagging back and forth we were in a line that had about 75 people ahead of us. At this point we waited until 10 am when they opened the doors and we could take a self-guided tour through the opera theatre, the concert halls, the orchestra assembly room, the green room (where the stars wait before their performance), the opera theatre dressing rooms, the main rehearsal room, the drama theatres, etc. We wandered around for over an hour enjoying the sites and some guest performers and learning a little about each of the different areas. As we left, the line for admission stretched well around the harbor area. There must have been thousands of people in line....in the RAIN!

On stage in the Concert Hall.  That's the organ in the background

This free day in the Opera House saved us $70 AUD. We like that! Now that we're off the ship, we're paying out $$ for every meal, and things aren't cheap here downunder.
By afternoon, the rain stopped and Terry went for another run across the Harbor Bridge. I plugged the computer in for charging and blew the fuse in the hotel room. I think my Belkin surge protector is now fried. Plugging the computer directly into the electrical adapter (Australia has slanted holes for the electrical prongs) and then into the outlet works just fine. Whew!

Time for the Harbor Bridge Climb. We had tickets for the Sunset Tour of the Bridge and were to meet at 5:15 pm. Just as we were about to go up to the meeting area, in walk our England friends from the ship, Phil and Pauline! We knew they were staying in Sydney for a few days but didn't expect to see them since they were to stay with a niece in the Manly Beach area. They were in Sydney to go the the Opera House today and then wanted to stop by the Bridge Climb office to buy tickets for another day. (They didn't think climbing the bridge in the rain was going to be much fun!) Oh, yes, it had started to rain again. We met up with our bridge climb group and started the process of getting ready for the climb. First they give you a breathalizer test to be sure you have no alcohol in your system. Then you sign a health condition statement and waiver and are given a jumpsuit to put on over your clothes. We then go to a changing room where we can lock up everything. Nothing can be taken up on the climb--no watches, no earrings or hair clips, and of course, no cameras. We are given rain gear to put on over the waist harness that attaches to the bridge railings and also headphones so we can hear the instructions and dialog from our bridge climb guide. This all takes just about an hour to get dressed and go through a sample of the steps we will be climbing.

Once the guide has us all checked out, the climb can begin. It was raining but visibility in the harbor was still good. About halfway up the rain slowed up to just a mist. At the top the guide took several pictures of the group and then we had several shots of individuals/couples. We were in a group of 10. At the top the rain had stopped and the skies were starting to break up in the west and we did see a nice sunset. By the time we worked our way down, we were enjoying the lights of the city.
Then we had to take off everything that we had put on. Every item is clipped to you in some fashion and we had to take things off in an organized manner and drop them in chutes. What a process that is very efficient. They have to be. During the summer 'high season' they can take 2,000 people a day up the bridge. It was a most fun experience and the wet weather didn't hinder us at all...just didn't make for very good photos as we all had wet hair/raingear/etc. We were given a certificate and a print of the group photo at the end. We didn't opt to buy the individual photos as they were too scarey looking to dish out another $20 per photo. LOL

In spite of the rainy weather, it was a very good day!