Kangaroo Island, Australia

Hop, hop, hop.  We were hoping to see a bunch of wild hippity hop kangaroos on this island.  They were there, somewhere, hiding in the bush.  Seems as though these roos are nocturnal and generally come out at dawn and dusk. 

 

Kangaroo Island is Australia’s third largest island after Tasmania and Melville Island, and lies 70 miles southwest of Adelaide.  Some 4,600 folks live here, most of them descendents from islanders who have farmed the land and fished the seas for generations.  Wine, gourmet cheese, and honey are produced here.  Kangaroo Island is a pristine wilderness that is home to many of Australia’s native animals.  Here you will find koalas, penguins, wallabies, and New Zealand fur seals as well as many species of birds. 

 

We happen to visit on race day.  This event is spread over two days and attracts people from all across Australia.  This is a BIG happening and the entire island is in party mode. We tendered into the port area that is being revitalized and were greeted by the locals.  At the same time, the ferry from the mainland arrived and people streamed off the ship wearing racing day finery with dresses and hats.  Those that drove on paid a steep price for the transport: something like $195 round trip for the 45 minute ride.

 

The locals provide a 45 minute bus tour of part of the island for free.  Since we didn’t have a ship’s tour, we took advantage of this offer and got to see at least a small part of the island.  We then went back to the ship in time for my acupuncture/massage appointment.   I think these sessions are starting to help and give me some relief from the nagging pain in my knees.

Geelong, Australia

Okay guys, I am really losing it. I am having trouble remembering what we did and where since we've had so many port days in a row in tiny villages and towns.  Geelong, pronounced with a hard G sound, is another super friendly city with a small town feel.  Geelong was named in 1827, with the name derived from the local aborginal name for the region, Jillong, thought to mean "land" or "cliffs."  The first wool store was erected in this period and it became the port for the wool industry of the Western District.  The city then diversified into manufacturing and during the 1860s it became one of the largest manufacturing centers in Australia with its wool mills, ropeworks, and paper mills.  I don't have a lot of information on the city as we did not take a tour and Google has not provided a whole lot information that is useful.

The ship was at anchor and we tendered to shore, and docked at the yacht club. Representatives from the town were giving out nice tote bags as well as directions to the towns attractions.  Everything was within walking distance, so we took off along the waterfront our way to the Wool Museum.

The waterfront was nicely developed with a trail along the water’s edge.  Athletic fields were in use with kids playing “football” or what we call soccer.  Colorful playgrounds for the kids were scattered about.  There was an enclosed carousel there, too.  

But I was on a mission:  I wanted to go to the Wool Museum.  Those that have read my past blogs know that I am not a fan of museums; they have to be really great for me to even consider crossing the threshold.  But anything to do with wool, yarn, or knitting I’m there.  Michael had no desire to go with me, so he went to the Westfield Mall (my goodness, you can’t escape them, can you?) to have some keys made for the cabinets on the ship that hold the bridge supplies. 

This museum detailed the wool industry, showing the steps it takes to get the wool from the sheep to the retail yarn store.  Actual machines were on display as well as the wool as it is processed.  Wool from the different breeds of sheep were also on display.  There was also a huge weaving machine that was used for making rugs, which you can buy. 

The best part of any tour for me is talking to the locals. There was a man sitting on the ground sharpening a blade with what looked like sandpaper.  I inquired, as inquiring minds want to know, what he was doing.  This fellow was the sheep shearer!  He would be giving a sheep shearing demonstration in a little while.  Since I didn’t get to see this process while at the sheep farm in Nelson, I now had a chance to see it live and just a few feet away.  While waiting for the demo, we passed the time talking about fibers and their characteristics.  He was quite impressed with my knowledge about the subject, but with a fiberholic, what would you expect? 

I saw the demo and I could not believe how docile the sheep was.  She just laid there while he did his thing.  She didn’t bite, didn’t make a sound.  I think she was glad to get that warm coat off of her body.  A shearer averages about 150 sheep per day at a price of $2.70/sheep, but really good ones can shear up to 300 per day.  They work eight hours a day and must be physically strong to control the 200 pound animal. 

I then joined Michael at the mall and we had lunch in the food court.  We had a Subway sandwich.  Not my favorite, but Michael was treating so I just sat down and took a load off my knees.  We walked through the mall and with nothing else to do, went back to the ship. 

Tonight was Valentine’s Day.  We hosted a dinner table. Each lady received a red rose.  After dinner, we returned to our cabin and found the following on the bed.  Nice touch, Seabourn stewardesses.

Melbourne, Australia

I just reread my blog post from 2011 when we were last in Melbourne, and it was déjà vu all over again. I received an escort assignment to go do the all day Puffin Billy steam railroad and wildlife sanctuary tour, which I have done twice. What I wanted to do was go to the Queen Victoria market so I asked Michael, who has also done this tour twice, to take it so I could go to the market (he did not want to go to the market).  Thank you, Michael.

I had made arrangements to go to the market (by shuttle to city center and then transfer to the trolley) with Eli and Marge, but since my knees were not feeling that great this morning I decided to cab over to the market with Lillian and Adrian.  We arrived at the market around 10:30 AM and the goal was to go up and down every aisle and see what treasures we could find.  But mostly, I helped Lillian shop.  It is amazing when someone doesn't know that they need something.  Lillian's iPhone case was a wreck so I took her over to the iPhone case display to pick out a new one.  It was really fun watching her eyes bug out at the incredible selection of cases with pretty colors and jewels and such. I told her she could accessorize the cases depending on what color outfit she was wearing that day.  She was like a kid in a candy store, clapping her hands, excited just like a kid would be on Christmas morning.  She couldn't make up her mind which one to get; so I helped her choose -- two of them. 

I bought a couple of items for gifts plus a decorative red hair comb for myself (now that I have long hair and can actually twisted up).  At this point, all three of us were walking up and down the aisles together. Adrian excused himself to go to the bathroom and he said he would come right back to the aisle that we were in.  Well, that never happened. I waited and waited at the head of the aisle while Lillian went up and down a few aisles. Oh well, our plan was to meet at the taxi stop at 12:30 pm, so we continued shopping. We finished walking the entire market and made it back to the taxi stop at 12:20 pm, and no Adrian.  We gave up waiting and Lillian decided he was already back at the ship, so we hailed a taxi and we went back to the ship.  Of course, Adrian was there waiting for us. 

After a bit of lunch and a rest, I got ready for a ship-wide excursion to a theater to see an aboriginal show.  Michael had not yet returned from his tour and Adrian did not want to go, so Lillian was my date.  Lillian has taken to mothering me, making sure I sit down and rest, and getting people out of the way so that I can come through and get on an elevator.  It is really very endearing, and I appreciate her concern for me.  I am very fond of both Lillian and Adrian and I feel like they are part of my family. 

So back to the show. We entered a very old and historic theater with ornate chandeliers and fancy red velvet curtains.  The chairs were set up around a stage that jutted out in to the center of the room.  We snagged first row seats.  Waiters walked around serving hors d'oeuvres and drinks. Most of the hors d'oeuvres were not very good, but the bruschetta was outstanding.  I could make a meal out of those. A wildlife expert came onstage, booming voice, telling us about animals that are native to Australia.  He brought out a small alligator, some snakes, a koala, and a baby kangaroo.  Awwww, they were all so cute except the snakes. People were able to touch them, hold them, and take pictures with them.  I did touch the alligator's back and was surprised to feel how hard the scales were.  I even petted the koala.  It was very interesting to smell a koala; it smelled like eucalyptus tree leaves because that's all they eat.  I was not impressed with this display of wildlife because this presentation was geared to grade school kids.

After the wildlife show, the aboriginals took the stage.  The elder of the trio was the moderator/narrator and things would've been very very good if he'd just kept his mouth shut. He tried to be funny but when you're dressed in a loincloth and covered with paint, funny just doesn't work. The two young men with him who danced were quite good.  All in all, it was a really lame evening and most people were not impressed.

The last few days have been very port intensive and very busy with social activities. Oh, I know you feel so sorry for me, but sometimes it is really work.  One day seems to be very much like the other days, and is so easy to get things mixed up.  I try really hard to keep up to date with the blog, but sometimes there just doesn't seem to be enough hours in the day.  

MICHAEL

I was tasked today to escort a three-part excursion:  (1) the Puffing Billing train in the Dandenong Range; (2) wine tasting in the Yarra Valley; and (3) the Healesville Wildlife Sanctuary.  It sounds good, and it was good (mostly) but unfortunately, I had done it all before.  Too much driving around in the bus actually!

We left the ship and drove along the waterfront for awhile. This is really pretty and reminds one of New Orleans.  This is because when the freighters came here in the 1800’s to take the newly discovered gold back to Europe, they brought over wrought iron and slate as ballast. Consequently, most of the older homes have gorgeous wrought iron work, and of course slate roofs.  Melbourne, by the way, is home to 4.5 million people today.  And much like Manhattan was purchased from the Indians, the Victoria Region, with 600,000 acres, was purchased from the Aboriginals for $200.  Almost immediately thereafter, gold was discovered, and to put that find in perspective, there were eleven gold fields discovered, each one bigger than all of the California fields combined.

We drove first up to the Dandenong Mountains where it was quite hazy as a result of all the recent bush fires.  Our first stop was Grant’s Reserve where the rather tame parrots and other birds, including Rosellas, kookaburras, bellbirds and lyrebirds, would fly out of the trees and land on your arm (not my arm).  

We then went to the Puffing Billy steam locomotive for a 30 minute ride through the mountains. Fortunately, the weather conditions allowed for Puffing Billy to work, rather than having to substitute a diesel engine. We got off at the Menzies Creek station and were reunited with our tour bus.  After another 30 minutes, and passing by the Chandon Winery (too bad as that would have been very cool), we arrived at the Rochford Winery, in the Yerra Valley.   Wine is now a $5.5 billion industry in Australia. 

We had a brief but pleasant tasting (but very ordinary chardonnays and Pinot Noirs) and then a very nice lunch.  I thought I would be brave and try the beef cheeks, which were ok for beef cheeks!  They were setting up in the winery for an upcoming concert and I took a picture of the biggest lineup of porta-potties I have ever seen.  

We next traveled another hour and a half to the wildlife sanctuary to see kangaroos, koalas, platypus, dingoes, and so forth.  This was very nice, but again not anything new.  Since I knew I was coming here, I was prepared with insect repellant which I absolutely needed. Now comes the worst part – a nearly two hour return trip to the ship.  We got back around 5PM, which meant I was too late to join most of my shipmates at a concert in the city.  I learned the next day that I did not miss much!

Burnie, Tasmania

Burnie is a port city on the north-west coast of Tasmania founded in 1827.  The city is the base for an important paper manufacturing facility, serves west-coast mining operations and is famous for its fine cheeses and other dairy products.

To get off the island, it is very expensive to get to the mainland, either by air or ferry. A round-trip ferry ride with two people and one car and a nondescript bunk bed state room costs $900.  The ferry leaves at 8 PM and doesn't arrive in Melbourne until 7AM the next morning. 

After a relatively flat crossing of the nasty Bass Straits, we arrived in Burnie.  We did not have any excursions on this overcast day. And that was just fine because Lillian went on one and saw the same things we did, only she paid $129 and we paid zilch. She was not very happy about that.  The folks in the small towns we visit are among the friendliest and helpful people one could  ever encounter. They greet us as we step onto the pier with a shopping bag, a map and a souvenir pin. Some places have a choir singing or aboriginals with their didgeridoo.  The town organized shuttle buses to take us around to the sites; it was like a hop-on-hop-off bus.  We went to the Makers Mark craft center where they sold handmade items.  This is where you can make poo paper, paper made from kangaroo droppings (that has been cleaned up a bit). Last time we were in Burnie, I did make some poo paper and brought it home. I have not used it. I was able to make a FaceTime call to Deborah and Isabelle, and it worked like a charm. It's amazing, to have a video call with someone halfway around the world.  

Michael walked down to the waters edge looking for penguins, which we were told nested here. Upon not finding any, he came back and asked the local ladies where were the penguins.  They told him that they don't return until 9:20 PM, which Michael thought was hilarious. Being a smart ass he asked, "How come they don't come at 9:25 PM or 9:30 PM?"  They replied, they come exactly at sunset which happens to be at 9:20 PM tonight. So the last laugh is on Michael.

We reboarding the shuttle and then headed toward the museum stop. I was not interested in going to a museum and I wanted to save my knees for walking around town.  Friends got on the shuttle who had been at the museum and described it this way:  "a five minute visit for five dollars."  We stayed on the shuttle and proceeded to stop number three, which was the center of town.  We walked around and came across this fish shop.  Here in Australia they call this humongous crustacean a crayfish.  In our country, it crayfish is generally about five or six inches long; these behemoths weigh in at about 5+ pounds or more.  These are really in the lobster family but they have no claws. 

Next, we wandered up the street and found a Kmart. Michael needed some sore throat lozenges and I was looking for an appliance to straighten my goddamn permed hair which looks like a big frizz ball when it gets humid.  I found one but paid a shockingly high price from what I'm used to paying at home.  We boarded the shuttle and returned to the ship because there was nothing else to see and nothing else to do.

    You can see the ships smokestacks in the background from the downtown area

We ended the day with dinner, a short bridge game to pass the time until the Beatles show began.  And then we rocked the boat. 

Eden, Australia

Eden is a very small town (population 4,000), located approximately halfway between Sydney and Melbourne.  It is located on a beautiful bay called Twofold Bay.  It was settled by Europeans less than 200 years ago, but has had a colorful history.  At one time, it was actually in the running to be the capital of Australia, but eventually became just another whaling town.

MICHAEL

It was actually here that the Orca whale, which we know and love so much in the Northwest, got it's nickname - killer whale.  It would appear that the Orcas worked hand-in-hand with the human whalers to capture and kill the much larger humpback whales.  They would lure the humpbacks into the bay and then they would separate one from the pack.  One Orca would seal off the unfortunate humpback's blowhole so it couldn't breathe while the others would drag it down to the bottom of the ocean by its lips, where it would drown.  The whale would stay at the bottom for approximately 24 hours and the Orcas would circle it to protect the carcass from the sharks.  When the whale surfaced they would drag it to the shore and into the hands of the human whalers.  As a reward for their labor, the human whalers would give the Orcas the humpback's lips and tongue.  The whalers knew each Orca by name, and one in particular, called Tom, performed in this fashion for over 50 years.  When he died they preserved his skeleton and it can be seen to this day in the Maritime Museum here in Eden.

The tour of the bay was interesting, though not particularly exciting.  We got to see some settlements, some famous structures, and an outcropping that looks exactly like an Indian's head.  One thing that did strike me was the number of hazards to navigation that were unmarked. They were all over the place and if you didn't have local knowledge you wouldn't stand a chance here.  Anyway, we returned to shore, and we proceeded on to the little town of Eden.

    Indian's Head

    Boyd Tower that was used to watch for whales

BEVERLY

I did not have an excursion today, so I spent a relaxing morning taking my time to get ready for the day. I spent part of the morning in Seabourn Square (the ship's living room) helping a few people with their iPad problems.  I also met a friend of a friend, who is also named Beverly.  I got a little bored, so I decided to go ashore to wait for Michael. It was a short tender ride to the pier, which turned out to be a  a concrete float that was attached to the pier. Frankly, it looked like the hull of an old ship. 

There wasn't much going on on shore.  There was another ship anchored in the harbor full of Australians who were circumnavigating the continent. There was a shuttle bus to town and it cost $10 if you were on the other ship, but free for us. I had an hour to kill and I smoozed with fellow passengers who were waiting to go on tour.  There were a few booths set up by the locals, who were very welcoming.  They were all wearing red hats and red/white shirts. There were banners greeting cruisers. The locals were very excited because two ships were in at the same time. This tiny community, that doesn't have a lot going for it tourist wise, was eager to show off what they did have. It is amazing that when you get out of the big city, the people are just so friendly and welcoming.  This is the charm of cruising to some of the out-of-the-way places that we have on this itinerary. 

I was intrigued with an aboriginal man playing the didgeridoo.  I watched and listened for awhile as he told the story that was represented by intricately painted designs on the hollow tube. This tube was once a tree branch that had been hollowed out by ants. It was about four feet long and had a diameter of about five inches. He would sell it for around $10,000!  As the other people drifted off, I sat and talked with him for about 20 minutes.  His story is very much like our Native Americans. He belongs to the Yuin tribe.  While they don't have reservations per se, each tribe has their own territory. There is still a lot of discrimination against the aboriginal people, but the government is trying to make things better for them. I so enjoy talking to the local people as this is where you get a feel for the culture.  When asked, I did offer my opinion of what is happening in the United States. 

When Michael returned from his excursion, we took the bus up heart attack hill to get to town. It was a short ride and we passed by the whaling museum and drove through some pleasant and very clean neighborhoods. The main town square was festooned with red flag banners welcoming cruisers. Town was about five blocks long. We decided to have lunch out and wandered around until I spotted a chicken take away shop. I have had a craving for fried chicken; I know, not heart healthy, but at least it is something like plain normal type food.  Terry, the shop owner, couldn't do enough for us. We ordered our chicken and chips (French fries in this part of the world) and got some interesting packets of ketchup. The chicken was great although I did miss the KFC coleslaw.  I was fascinated with the ketchup packets. I could not figure out how to open them!  Terry had to show us how to open them.  You don't pull off the top, you don't tear it apart, you pinch the two parts with the catchup together and it automatically squirts out the top!  When somebody builds a better mouse trap, I tend to get a bit excited about it!  We even have a couple of pieces of chicken left over for a nice lunch or dinner tomorrow. 

Continuing our stroll through town, Michael was able to pick up some swim goggles that he was looking for.  We stopped in a local store that had just about everything one needs in one small place. It would be the equivalent of a Target or Walmart store but on a much much smaller scale.  We passed the drugstore and the display window caught our eye. There was a huge display for products to get rid of lice.  Weird. 

We then returned to the ship and had a pleasant dinner with Marge and Eli. 

Sydney, Australia

DAY 1

Sailing into Sydney Harbour is one of the most beautiful sites you will ever see. However, I did not see it since I was still asleep.  I'll make up for that by attending the sailaway, which is at a more reasonable hour. 

This is our fourth trip to Sydney. For those of you that would like background information, please refer to my previous blogs. I do not want to be redundant and repeat the same old stuff.  My alarm clock came to life right on time -- at 6am. And this was one morning when I could actually sleep. Drat. We docked in the primo spot in Circular Key, where all the happening action is going on.  After breakfast, the entire complement of passengers had to disembark for customs. No one was allowed back on until the ship had been declared...declared, I'm not sure of why they need to do it this way, but many people who didn't want to go to shore were sitting in the lobby of the cruise ship terminal on wobbly plastic chairs waiting to get back on.  The weather was pleasant, with lots of sun and temps in the 80s. 

One of our favorite things to do in Sydney, is go to Paddy's Market and Chinatown. We have done most of the touristy things on previous trips; we talked about going to the zoo, which I understand is excellent, but my knees said no. There is no tram. So you have to walk it. I love seeing animals, but not at the current price. As it turns out, I did myself no favors today as far as stress on the knees.   Marge and Eli joined us as we headed out to the free bus that would take us up George Street (the main shopping street) to the market. 

Paddy's Market is an institution. I would call it an upscale flea market, where they sell just about anything at inexpensive prices. Naturally, I HAD to go up and down each and every aisle looking for treasures. I found some hair combs and clips, and a tote bag.  I am really going to be careful about my souvenir purchases this year as I did enough damage last year. Besides, some really good markets are coming up in future stops!  We then went to Chinatown for lunch at Emperors Garden, a dim sum restaurant, Michael's favorite.  Yum Yum, it was delicious and we enjoyed having a meal off the ship.  We then returned to the ship, and Marge and Eli went to Darling Harbor since they had never been there before and we had. I spent the rest of the afternoon icing my knees and dreading the upcoming evening.

And why would I dread the upcoming evening?  I was going to my first real opera performance at the famous Sydney Opera House.  Oh joy, whoopee [groaning].  I was also dreading the long walk, which under normal circumstances would not have been a problem.  We met Lillian and Adrian in Seabourn Square all dressed in our opera clothes – and no, we did not go formal in tuxes and gowns.  We were walking from the ship, all around the harbor to the opera house and that called for comfortable shoes.  The evening was still plenty warm and the guys shucked off their sport coats; I wanted to shuck something off, too, but there wasn’t an available layer to shuck.  We had dinner at an Italian restaurant and had the prix fixe dinner.  Michael and Lillian had a pizza, Adrian had a pasta dish, and I had fish and chips!  I know, crazy, huh?  It was good, so what can I say.  The pizza was also good.

 

This was Saturday night and the promenade around the harbor was very busy.  The ship was docked on one side of the harbor, right next to the famous Rocks area, the area where Sydney was originally settled.  Along the promenade where the ship was berthed, there were musicians playing everything from guitars to aboriginal didgeridoos.   People were dining at a restaurant right next to the ship.  At the head of the harbor are some gift shops and fast food establishments, plus the ticket booths and piers for the ferries and sight seeing boats.  On the third side of the harbor, across from the ship, there are large condo buildings with restaurants on the first and second floors with magnificent views of the Sydney Harbor Bridge.  One can see people climbing along the top of the bridge, all for the paltry sum of around $250 each.

 

There was an outdoor concert on the steps of the Opera House, and a second concert going on inside in addition to the opera.  Throngs of people were moving about, and those that weren’t moving were eating or drinking.  There must have been several thousand people out and about. We finally reached the Opera House, and located our seats.  They were very nice, third row from the back but on the lower level center.  I could read the display board that would tell you in English what was happening on stage. The opera was Michael’s favorite, Carmen.  He told me this was the most unopera opera for a beginner and that I would like it.  And here’s my assessment of the performance: there were two catchy tunes that we have all heard before (The Toreador Song and The Habanera), and they were wonderful.  It was quite a spectacle, with lots of actors and even a horse.  And it was toooo long.  I couldn’t wait for intermission.  My leg was hurting so bad that I popped a pain pill, but could not sit still as I was trying to find a position that would relieve the pain.  I do admit that the pain colored by perception of the opera, but not by much.  I tried it; I didn’t really care for it.  It was not my cup of tea. Michael and Lillian said it was wonderful and really thought the actors were marvelous.  So to each his own. 

 

We strolled back to the ship around 11pm and the promenades were jammed full of people.  The bars and restaurants were still packed.  It was a lovely night, but a tiring day, so it was time to hit the sack.

 

DAY 2

 

I decided to stay on board the ship today.  My knee was killing me.  I had walked almost 4 miles yesterday and figured, if you play you pay.  Today was payday.  Michael decided to go to the botanical gardens.  They were located behind the Opera House, so it was another long walk just to get there, and then the walk through the gardens.   I thought pictures would be just fine for me.

 

So while Michael was off the ship, I decided to do laundry. Now laundry on the ship is an art, the art of when to get as many machines as you can at one time so you can get all the laundry done at once.  When folks are off the ship on tours is a good time, so off I went to deck 5.  There is a laundry room on both the starboard side and the port side. Each has two washers and dryers for a total of four machines.  The machines are not very large, so if you have accumulated a lot of laundry, you need a lot of machines. Well lucky me, there were four available.  The laundry was washed, dried and put away by 11am, so that gave me free time to lay out on the pool deck reading and surfing the net, and giving iPad lessons. 

 

One of the spa staff was on the pool deck with a massage chair that was empty.  I inquired and found that they were giving a complementary 10 minute chair massage.  I am not one to turn down a complementary massage, and mentioned my aching knee.  He suggested I see the acupuncturist, and took me up to the spa to get a complementary evaluation.  Hum, not bad so far.  I gave him the history about my knee, and he said he had had much success helping people like me.  I had nothing to lose, so I agreed to an appointment that day.  He did a lot of deep massage on the knee and leg, and then put in the needles.  I swear I did not feel them go in.  I felt a touch, and that was all.  I laid there for 20 minutes with the needles in and almost fell asleep.  He did say that my leg muscles felt like ”concrete.”   I am going to see him for a few more sessions and hope like hell he can at least keep the pain to a minimum. 

 

Michael returned from his journey to the gardens all worn out.  

He wanted to go to the Rocks to walk around, but I suggested he was crazy as he did a hell of a lot of walking the past two days and even his knees hurt.  He actually listened to me, and we both we went in the pool and hottub (this was medicinal for me).

 

It was then time for the sailaway party.  It was such a beautiful evening.  The crew was serving caviar and champagne, and the band played some lively tunes.  

    Circular Quay as we departed

We hosted a dinner table, but the best part of the evening was the entertainment.  This was something just up my alley:  a Beatles show, celebrating 50 years since they were first on American TV on the Ed Sullivan Show.  These guys had the place rockin’ and we did not want them to stop playing. They were faithful to the original Fab 5.  They used instruments identical to those used by the real Beatles, and have all of their clothes made by the Beatles own tailor. They have another show scheduled in a few days!!!

 

Sailing the Tasman Sea

I HATE THE TASMAN SEA!

That pretty much sums up my experience on this body of water located between New Zealand and Australia. It is always rough. Last night was another roller coaster ride. It was so bouncy that my UP Band refused to register my sleep patterns. It was so rough, a drunk looked like he was walking sober. It was so rough, that the only safe place was tucked into bed. But the good news is that I was not seasick!

Michael got up real early this morning and left me trying to slumber in the dark room. I finally gave up and between bouts of bumpy patches, I managed to shower. I cannot do my hair because I need two hands and you can't do that when you have to hold on to keep from losing your balance. You cannot fall over in the shower because there is no room.  If you did manage to fall down, not over, you would have to crawl out of the shower and then get up. 

I met Michael for breakfast and he was looking a little green. So much for him accusing me of being a wuss!  I did another iPad lecture and managed to stay on my feet. I will do one more tomorrow. I am getting bigger crowds than some of the lecturers brought on by Seabourn. 

We have another sea day before reaching Sydney. The captain says things should calm down by this evening. We will see what the Tasman has in store for us.