AT SEA ON THE DIAMOND PRINCESS

Sydney Harbour Bridge

I have my camera back.  So very glad to have it with me again. 
 

We made our way down to Circular Quay by taxi to get about the Diamond Princess – how lovely to be looking out at the Harbour Bridge and the Sydney Opera House.  If one desires, you can do a bridge climb on the stop of the Harbour Bridge.  Just seeing the people as they climb looking like small insects on a walk in the clouds is enough reason for me NEVER to consider that.  It is a system of ramps, stairs and ladders as you make your way up and over the top of this Sydney Monument for spectacular harbour and city views…but certainly one I will not be doing. 
 

We set out from Sydney on the 29^th of September and now we won’t see land until the 3^rd of October.  We were supposed to be cruising the fjords of New Zealand in the spectacular Milford Sound on the 2^nd of October, but inclement weather has forced the ship to take different route.  So now we have skirted the storm and will arrive in Wellington on the 3^rd.
 

Yesterday we were in the middle of lots of lightning and thunder and pouring rain.  It was rather spectacular and very noisy when you are the only thing around floating on open water.  The seas were calm, but the storm was still raging.  There was a very lucky lady who managed to photograph a waterspout that actually touched the water.  I stayed inside while it was so stormy, but had I ventured out, perhaps I might have been that lucky too. 
 

This ship just came off of an adventure from Japan, so some of the passengers have stayed on board since Sydney to continue the travel around New Zealand.  They will have been aboard for 6 weeks by the time we dock again in Sydney.  I am really enjoying this princess cruise.  There are certainly lots of activities at all times if you want to participate.  One of the things I want to do is the theatre under the stars – they have a movie size screen on the deck and they hand out blankets and popcorn for show that starts at 10:00 (also one at 7:00 for the families with younger children) – that sounds like fun.  The food is delicious and of course there are lots of staff to take care of your every need.  My last cruise was Costa – so of course I am impressed by everything like service, food, activities and well – everything!!   
 

This ship was outfitted to cater to Asian tourists (so I was told)...so there are bidets in every bathroom, both stateroom and public areas.  There is a menu card that indicates which buttons to push for what service.  So far after I push any button…..the next button I hammer away on is the STOP!!!  I don’t think my nether regions have ever been so clean!  There is even a warm dry!  Just like laundry!   It’s another adventure for sure.  I don’t feel the need to install one in the bathroom when I get home…just sayin…

 

 

 

 

 

OUR LAST DAY IN FREMANTLE

We had a wonderful day on Sunday.  Diana took us for a drive around to look at some of the old neigbourhoods with their lovely old colonial homes. The iron filigree work is lovely and for the most part the homes have been restored to their original condition.  The Aussies love their gardens and with the vast array of beautiful flowering plants that grow in this climate, they add a lot of decoration to the yards.

Moreton Bay Fig

We drove down by the Swan River and had a lovely walk around the University of Western Australia.  There are plaques in the pathway with John and Diana’s degrees and the dates they attended.   We stood beneath the spreading branches of an enormous Moreton Bay Fig tree.  Don’t recall ever seeing a tree with such a spread.  There are peacocks living on the grounds and we were lucky to find them and take a few photos.  Even saw my first Kookaburra, but was unable to get to the camera fast enough to take a photo and I have not heard one “laugh” yet.  It was a lovely walk on the beautiful grounds. 

We got back in the car to take in some more of the streets and views that make up this part of the state.  So glad to have come to Western Australia – it is certainly worth the extra travel to get here.  With all the public parks and beaches it is a great place to raise a family. 

We returned home to finish the mundane things like laundry and packing and then we went to a great spot for coffee – again on the Swan River.  The river is busy with pleasure boats coming and going on these beautiful sunny breezy days.  There are many wonderful spots to just sit and gaze and perhaps dream a little.  Laureen was in her element perched on the rocks looking out while Diana and I enjoyed our lattes at a table in the restaurant nearby

Oyster Catcher

Pelicans

We found our way down to Point Walter Reserve to get out for a walk – how lucky we did.  There was a sand spit in the river that went out for quite a ways.  I was able to get a great photo of some pelicans, a pair of black swans and an oyster catcher.  I forgot to bring Diana’s camera along so had to rely on my phone for the pics.  Glad I had the cords with me to upload the photos to my computer so that I can add them to the blog. 



Point Walter sand spit
 

black swans if you look hard

We returned home to watch the last two episodes of the first season of SILK with Diana – we have really enjoyed this show in the evenings when not much else was on – other than the football games that is…Go Eagles!! The grand final is this weekend, I will be trying to find it on TV on the ship I think!  So we are at the end of a great week with such a wonderful friend.  Diana has been the most thoughtful and caring host for the first leg of the adventure.  She gave us a lovely little book to remember our visit to Perth.  It contains lots of pictures of the places we saw and some that we didn’t but will save for another visit.  I would love to get back here one day!  So after bidding a fond farewell to Diana and this part of our travels, we are off to Sydney and our cruise around New Zealand. 

OUR DAY IN PERTH

 

Today we took the train to Perth.  Like our LRT, this fast service took about 30 minutes to get us to the main part of the city.  It was another great day for walking.  We looked around in some shops, had breakfast and looked around some more.  The city isn’t as big nor as bustling as Vancouver – but then it was Saturday.   I am still enjoying all the old architecture of clocks and towers and balustrades .  Down the main pedestrian street called Hay Street, there are lanes of shops on each side.  For Laureen and me it was almost like a labyrinth trying to get from one mall to another and back again for a lunch that looked particularly inviting.   We had lots of time to explore.
 

We happened across a popular area called London Court.  At first glance, it was very European with lots of quaint shop fronts and patios for having coffee or a light meal.  We were invited to share a table with two lovely ladies from Mandurah who were having coffee before going to the ballet for an afternoon performance.  It was so nice to have a chat and drink my latte.  I have enjoyed a few Latte’s here which can also be called a flat white.  They always taste delicious and for the most part are the same price at home but for a drink half the size.  More often than not each cup has a leaf or a heart design in the crema – such talented baristas.

There are many bronze statues around the cities that we have seen.  I have taken a few pictures here and there.  My favourite ones so far are the kangaroos outside of the Law Courts Building.  They are very large - to date these are the only ones we have seen.  No real ones yet.  If they are as big as the statues, I am glad I haven't run into one yet!  We will definitely see them on our visit to the Taronga Zoo, but that is still several days away. 

So today as I write this – we are now at our final day in Fremantle before getting on the plane tomorrow to make our way to Sydney and then on the ship on Tuesday.  We were very fortunate to have had lovely sunny days here.  It can often be a bit mixed with showers at this time of the year, but there were none to be seen for our visit.  Perth is in desperate need of rain – so I am wishing lots of it for them after our departure.  They are just heading into summer and their reservoirs are only 1/3 full.  So I really wish them some cooler wetter weather before the 40 C and higher temperatures are upon them! 

FREEMANTLE MARKET AND FOOTBALL

We took a lovely ride up the coast to Hillary’s Boathouse.  The skies were clear and the roads were quite empty – so driving all the way up with a continuous view of the ocean was a treat.  We arrived at the Boathouse and went through the many shops and then stopped for lunch at a fabulous fish and chip shop.  The choices of fish here are hake and barramundi.  It was all very tasty, lightly battered and delicious. 
 

After lunch we returned to Fremantle where Laureen and I went walking through the old Fremantle Market that dated back to 1897.  There were many kiosks filled with beautiful fruits and vegetables and stalls with the work of local artists, handcrafters, some antiques and even a tarot card reader or two.  Laureen tried on a $16,000 diamond and sapphire ring in one of the antique jewelry stalls.  I tried on a $3500 ring.  In each case the ring fit beautifully, but we left them both behind.  

Eucalypts in the distance

Ocean view
 

We drove up to the war memorial near Diana’s house.  It is a lovely high point in the city with ocean views on one side and the eucalypts bush on the other with the distinctive blue hues.  It was so lovely to look out and over the surrounding cityscape.  So rather a quiet day today. 
 

War Memorial

Since we arrived, there have been purple banners, signs, flags, balloons all in preparation for an exciting Aussie rules football game that took place near Perth last night.  Diana isn’t a fan every day, but like our Stanley Cup, she was a fan that night.  We gathered in the living room to watch this fast and furious game that is Aussie rules football!   At first observation, it is a cross between volleyball, basketball, football (as we know) maybe even rugby – looked more like no rules.  There is a lot of whistle blowing that doesn’t mean penalties – seems that every time a ball is caught a whistle blows. 18 men form a team and are all moving in every direction for the whole of the game.  The field is larger than our football or soccer fields and no visible protective gear.  So a bit of blood here and there now and then – but up they get and continue to play!  Wow – I think I enjoyed it…but alas, the Fremantle Dockers went down in flames to the Hawks from Melbourne.  So it was a sad day in Mudville.  News flash....The West Coast Eagles won the game on Saturday - so once again there are smiles all around!  Go Eagles - they are now in the final.


 

FREMANTLE WALKABOUT

So today I thought I would sit outside to write the blog.  What a beautiful morning sitting on Di’s verandah looking out on her garden.  The hibiscus is throwing out daily blooms and the colour is my favourite for a plant – peachy pink.  The scent of the brunfelsia is so beautiful morning right through to night.  It has a three day bloom which is blue on the first day, second day it fades to mauve and on the third day shows as white.  So with coffee in hand, sounds, smells and my computer at the ready, I am off.

We had a lovely walkabout in Fremantle (notice I am correctly spelling Fremantle – only 1 e…well actually 2 e’s but not the 3 I was previously using).  Weather continues to cooperate and we had fun poking in and out of the shops.  People are very approachable, helpful and friendly proffering wonderful smiles.  We went on the free CAT bus that stops at interesting places, runs by every 5 minutes and is free!  Wonderful service!  We stopped at a Coles, not a book store here, but a grocery store and picked up supplies so that Laureen and I can make a few dinners for us. 

Around Fremantle, there are lots of murals – all very different from each another.  I really enjoy seeking them out and taking pictures.  You never have to go off the beaten path, perhaps down an alley, but they are everywhere.  Some are hard to photograph i.e., the octopus.  I got his middle, but am missing the tentacles on each side as it is on a wall in the middle of a roundabout.  There was a lovely intricate mural on the outside of a coffee shop – that is proving to be one of my favourites.

The architecture is old – using lots of brick and limestone dating back to 1829.  The buildings have been loving restored to the quaint and lovely city that is Fremantle today.  The downtown area is vibrant with lots of coffee shops, restaurants and people strolling about – not like our downtown area midweek where people are busy rushing about. 

So that was our day in the city.  What a great place to be!

 

OFF TO ROTTO!

 
Today I actually slept until 8:30 – I think I finally am on Australian time!  Hurray!  Then it was a mad rush to get ready to go to the ferry for our Rottnest Island excursion.  We made the ferry on time only to find out it had a 30 minute delay in leaving – so there really was no rush.  Lovely sunny day and a beautiful 30 minute ride over to the island.  When we arrived on the island – I must admit I was a little bit dismayed when I didn’t see quokkas immediately, but  It was only a few steps up the pathway and there they were.  Quokkas are small rodent like marsupials.  I was lucky to get a picture of a mother with a baby in her pouch.  My goodness, they are so much cuter when you see them in person than they are in pictures.

 

I picked up some berries the little quokkas were eating off the ground and then had them eating out of my hand.  I have to admit it was quite thrilling and I even managed to give one a little pat or two.  While I was revelling in my quokka experience reaching out – patting them, feeding them, kneeling in their deposits – a horrified naturalist leading her gaggle of tourists gasped and pointed at me saying (or almost shrieking) No! Don’t touch them!  You will get salmonella!  Go wash your hands!  So much for my perfect quokka moment and in the true Canadian way, I leapt up apologizing all over the place and headed straight for the closest washroom to sanitize my hands….but it was really neat while it lasted.

 

Laureen and I walked to the lighthouse and back and managed another day of fitbit steps over 10,000.  We walked part way along the beach and then relieving ourselves of socks and shoes, waded in the waters of the Indian Ocean.  It was a beautiful day and a lovely stroll.  I was quite glad of sunscreen and a hat as the sun really does feel quite different on my skin here.  The abundance of large leafy trees help with their offering of cooling shade while providing much needed relief from the strong rays of the sun.

I was able to add a couple more sightings to my life list of birds.  I was lucky to see an oyster catcher with her 2 chicks, a White Breasted Cormorant and a Western Australia Raven.  The oyster catcher was a real treat.  I didn’t get a great picture, but I tried – perhaps with her two little chicks she was more cautious as she moved quickly away even though I was barely moving forward. 



Oyster Catcher and Baby

 

WALKING IN SUNSHINE

What a lovely day we had today!  Diana drove us to downtown Freemantle to see the old part of the city where we saw some beautiful old architecture.  We had a little walkabout – enough to almost lose track of where we parked the car – but being a rather small central city – we soon came across it again.  Then we were off to Di’s friend Julie’s house where we would change to her car and go for a drive to the Swan Valley.

Wouldn’t you know?  Two quilt stores were right on the route!  We found both of them with all our eyes searching, the map book out and Julie’s innate sense of “I think we’re close”.  They were amazing finds and we each bought a meter or two of Australian print fabric and at the second store – we found a kit with fabrics and pattern to do a quilt top with native plant, animal and aboriginal print fabrics.  When completed it will be a wonderful remembrance of our time here.

Part of Rosemary Hedge

In the Swan Valley, we stopped at Julie’s daughter’s farm to water her

Pink Grapefruit

garden and feed the chooks.  After our chores were completed we took a walk in her small orchard.  I had no idea what a treat that would be.  We walked amongst lemon, pink grapefruit, mandarin orange, navel orange, loquat, almond, mulberry and mango trees.  Most were in bloom and the fragrance….oh if only it could be bottled.  The bees were busy pollinating, butterflies were sipping nectar and the honey eater birds were darting about enjoying the flowers as well.  It was such a terrific experience. 



Lemon



 

We had mandarins right off the tree and tried some loquats for the first time ever (a little plum sized fruit that is tasty and juicy).  These little snippets when you are fortunate enough to be able to go off the beaten path of a tourist and see how life is for residents is such a treat!  One side of the orchard was a 4 foot high rosemary hedge...can you imagine?  It was well over 100 feet long.  Laureen picked some to take back to Diana’s house to have with our lamb dinner later this week. 



Loquats



Back in the car for a drive to Taylor’s café for some lunch.  We were able to enjoy our repast outside under the shade of a beautiful white gum tree.  It was quite lovely and the day was the perfect temperature – so very warm and pleasant. We stopped at a very old church with a very old cemetery and there we saw some wagtails.  This bird is quite a novelty for me.  Each step they take and even when they stop, their tails wag from side to side – I just loved it.  They weren’t terribly shy, but it was hard to get a good picture of them as they are always on the move!  Back in the car and we were off on our trip home.  It was such a lovely day.

 

 

WAKING UP IN PERTH

Well – we got to the airport to find out that our plane to Perth had been changed to a smaller one and we were bumped so a delay of 2.5 hours for the next flight from Sydney.  When travelling you have to flexible (not talking about Skycouch flexible) things happen that are out of your control.  So my dictum is to smile and go with the flow and you are much happier. (Colleen you must be laughing at how calm I can be when I’m not at home.)  We were each given a $20 food voucher and I could call Diana in Perth for free from the desk telephone.  After all, our flight was never cancelled so she would have had a terrible shock if we weren’t on board. 

Some good news - after our almost lost bag yesterday, my came­­ra was found at the pub and is safe and sound.  I couldn’t check this morning before we left as being Sunday they didn’t open until 11:00.  Thanks to Qantas, another free phone call to them from the desk and they will fedex it overnight to me in Perth.  Cheaper by far than a new camera and I get to keep my new spare battery and my 16 gig and 8 gig sd cards.  Wasn’t concerned about the pics as I had only taken 3 – but for sure I will be uploading to the little puter each evening and never fear losing holiday photos.  I will be sure to write a most wonderful review of this pub on facebook and on Trip Advisor - as soon as my camera arrives that is. 

Diana took us on a lovely long ride to her home in Freemantle.  How beautiful to drive through Kings Park and alongside the Swan River.  We saw Captain Cook Bottle Brush Trees, a cormorant, gulls, other flowering shrubs and lots of beautiful white gum trees.  They are spectacular!  When we arrived at her house we were greeted with freesia growing quite wild in amongst the shrubs by the carpark.  Imagine a small child bringing you a fist full of freesia instead of a bunch of dandelions in their tiny hand.  The same meaning in their heartwarming wonderful bouquet – but still know which ones I would prefer in the windowsill. 

Galah

So waking up our first morning here – I am assaulted (in a good way) by the amazing bird calls.  I can’t wipe the smile from my face.  I hear pigeons, magpies, mourning doves, a pair of cockatoos, a bird they call the twenty eight parrot, galahs, rainbow corellas, wattle birds, other “parrot sounds” and a crow (is there anywhere in the world that doesn’t have crows or pigeons).  But for the most part, how different…how lovely…how noisy!  The word cacophony comes to mind – although never used that to describe the birds in my backyard before – but it works very well here!  And all of this on our first morning!

First stop of the day was for a coffee at Jeff’s coffee truck – Diana’s son – called Heavenly Brew.  It was delicious and a nice start to our day.  We then had a walk along the bank of the Swan River down in East Freemantle.  Although the day started out very cool, it warmed up nicely during our beach walk and then was quite hot by the time we went to King’s Park.

 

Boab



We spent a lot of time walking amongst the beautiful native plants of Western Australia.  How lovely and how very different – the Boab tree was quite unique – it had very fat trunk and then slender branches and the specimen we saw was 750 years old.  I was especially attracted to the Kangaroo Paw, the state floral emblem of Western Australia.  It was so intricate and well named as you can see in the picture.  We were surrounded by lots of spring colour and beauty!

 

Kangaroo Paw

 

 

 

We arrived back at Diana’s around 2:30 after 11,200 fitbit steps!  Glad to enjoy a late lunch and a chance to sit and enjoy Diana’s garden and a lovely cup of tea.  Thanks to Diana today for the loan of her camera....still waiting for mine to arrive.

 

 

Tomorrow a trip to the Swan Valley has been planned and a possible visit to a quilt shop.  We are excited to see what is in "store" both figuratively and literally!

 

 

 

ON OUR WAY TO THE GREAT DOWN UNDER

Well after a gruelling 29 hours of airports and planes we have arrived in Sydney.  We had to wait for Laureen’s bag to come in on a later flight – but the good news is it came in.  So thankful for all the new scanning (not really new anymore) but they could track her bag from the little baggage tag they stick to the back of your boarding pass.  They knew exactly where that bag was – all this new fangled electronics stuff really impresses seniors like us.  So rather than wait who knows how long for delivery  to the hotel, we waited only about 40 minutes for it to arrive and then quickly made our way to the shuttle to the hotel.

A bit about the skycouch we had on Air New Zealand…unless you are two small children or 2 very thin and flexible adults…save your money!  We laughed so hard trying to figure out how it was you were supposed to get comfortable on this thing.  If you put the foot rests completely up, they you couldn’t get off the damn thing to get to the bathroom and if you did get them up and wanted to get them down, you needed to bend yourself into a pretzel and still have the strength to pull leg rest up and then quickly push it down while pressing a button on the arm rest … believe me the video wasn’t very helpful in telling you just how to do this – it all looked to be so simple.  At one point, Laureen wanted to go to the lav.. and then walk around – so I took this opportunity of 10 minutes alone to try and get comfortable – I ended up going in head first and on my stomach with my legs in the aisle and couldn't get out.  I had to wait for her to come back to help me out of the predicament I found myself in.  I did have 5 glorious minutes of sleep as it was the most comfortable I had been throughout the 12 hour flight. 

Once we had landed and made our way to the Great Southern Hotel, we dropped our bags and headed for the closest bar.  Yep we did – and it was right across the street.  They offered cold beer, a bite to eat and free wifi – exactly what we were looking for.  So although not quite organized or clear thinking enough to write the blog, I at least was able to get mail, check facebook and have a bit of a chat here and there.

So after 13 hours or rest and sleep it is now 4:00 am and we find ourselves up, showered and ready to start first day in Australia.  But of course at 4:00 in the morning we are alone and it is dark and we can’t get outside to get a muffin and coffee for 3 or 4 more hours.  Just in time for us to head to the Sydney airport to continue on our 5 hour flight to Perth – ahhh home for 8 days. 

Had a picture to post with this entry - but I may have "lost" my camera....at least it is the beginning of the trip and not the end.  I think I might have left it at the pub where we had our lunch yesterday so because they don't open until after we have left Sydney, I will contact them later today from Perth to see if they have it - if so, I can pick it up in a week - if not - then I will be shopping in Perth for a new Sony Cybershot....sigh*...thank goodness we were at the beginning of the trip and not the end.