Back in 2011 I met a lovely lady named Lisa.  Lisa liked to sit by herself or one on one.  She is onboard again this year and we renewed our casual friendship. Early on she mentioned she would  turn 99 years young.  This lady  does not look over 80 and she is so gracious.  The captain made an announcement of her birthday  and  there was quite a party for her.  Lisa is the lady who wrote the book Table for One.  She decided to keep traveling after her husband died and that was the inspiration for the book   I don’t have a photo of her but if I can get one I will post it.

Albany is just as I remembered.  A small town on  a gentle sloping hill with a small park off to the side and a bandstand in the middle of York Street.  The people had set up tents with arts and crafts and reasonable prices.  Unfortunately it did rain which put a slight crimp in everyone’s day including the hometown people.  These people are the friendliest.  When it rained hard we all found a pub to wait it out.

While I was standing under my umbrella  a nice gentleman came over and said how sorry he was that it was raining.  I mentioned I was here before on the QE2’s last world cruise and her last time to Albany.  He proceeded to tell me what happen after we left.  In his words he said history was made in Albany.  As the QE2 was leaving the entire town stopped everything to wave goodbye.  Including their cars.  It took three hours to clean up the ensuing traffic jam.  This is a little town with few people and I can imagine their surprise to see a traffic jam.

We docked in Fremantle which is really a suburb area of Perth.  The ship docked at 4:00 pm  on Monday and left at 4:00 pm on Tuesday.  When we pulled into port this funny looking ship was in port.  It is a livestock ship and can hold up to 10,000 sheep or 400 cows.  Most of the time they are taken to Saudi Arabia to be slain under Islamic law.

Fran and I went out the first day and took the free bus around two different routes.  It gave us an overview of Fremantle.  I have been here before and had toured Perth which included Kings Park and the Swan River.
We then walked and found a pub to have a beer.  It was about 94 degrees and the beer was appreciated.  When we stop at these pubs to have a beer it is a great place to learn about and watch the people coming and going so there is a second reason for making these stops.

We then went back to the ship and ate outside on the ocean deck.  By that time the air had cooled and it was a glorious evening.  Perfect temperature.  The folkloric show was a hoot.  I managed to stay for one number but when they started to  talk I left.  Fran stayed for the next number and when back at her cabin called me and was hysterical with laughter.  These fat and quite ugly old men did a number called the red kangaroo and hopped all over the stage.  These men were nothing like the good looking Polynesian dancers with their rippling muscles.

The next day I enjoyed an empty ship and didn’t go any where.  It was 100 degrees outside.

The evening after sailing away from Adelaide we had a big Aussie barbeque up at the Lido.  AA bush band played typical Australian songs and of course Pat was in his league.  A couple of the gals at our table sat with us and there was much laughter and fun.

Our next port was Kangaroo Island.  It is my understanding that there are no kangaroos on the island, only Wallabies and Wallaroos  However, someone claimed that there was a small specie of hairy kangaroos that was native to Kangaroo Island but I have a feeling that was information for tourists only.  Maybe someone can look it up on the internet and let me know.  Most of us didn’t see any type of kangaroo but a few did see road kill.

The island is quite barren and there wasn’t much to do.  Fran, Barbie, Pat, Joan and I stopped for a beer and Joan’s Pete joined us.  Joan and Pete have become good friends.

Our last formal night had a Medieval theme and the Crow’s Nest was very busy that evening.  It seems formals do bring more people out to the various venues for drinks.

Grace, you don’t know how bad this one mean old lady is.  I overheard her say something along these lines on her way  to dinner:  I am going to go as fast as I can and mow them over if they don’t get out of my way.
This is one mean and nasty lady.  You have to wonder where this unhappiness comes from or whether she was born that way.

I have been typing this waiting for the crew to come to my cabin so we can visit Albany (pronounced Elbany) and I will do a separate post on Albany..  The last time I was here was in 2008 when the QE2 docked here.  It will be interesting to see the changes.

First, I have to say that I received these beautiful roses for Valentine Day from the ship ordered from home.  I also received candy from both CSI and HAL.

Our next port was Hobart.  This was my second time in Hobart but my third time to Tasmania.  Sir Pat and his Ladies in Waiting (Fran, Barbie, Joan and myself) decided to do the hop on hop off bus.  It became very hot so this was the ideal way to see Hobart. Actually  we never hopped off but had a good tour of the city.  Then we headed for the Hadly Hotel for a beer and lunch.  Unfortunately, the bar was closed but the Hotel Clerk opened up and got us a beer even though we had no food.  This hotel is a beautiful old hotel with great features and we had been there in 2011.

I had a lovely dinner at the Pinnacle with Peggy.  HAL gave me a dinner for two as compensation for being flooded out.  Peggy was also flooded out of her cabin so I invited her to join me and we laughed a lot through the dinner.

CSI had another cocktail party and it gives us an opportunity to see early eaters.  So often you only see those who eat at the late seating if you eat at that time too or visa versa.   That night the Aussie Boys gave a performance and it was one of the better acts and I thoroughly enjoyed the show.

I have become the de facto tour director but I really screwed up in Adelaide.  I was here in 2008 but because we were at a new outer port I really blew my tour duties.

In 2008 I went to a cultural center which included shops, outdoor cafes, music. Etc.  I wanted to return to this and I kept looking at the Adelaide map but finally decided it must be the Festival Center.  Wrong.  Wrong city.  The city I wanted to be in was Port Adelaide where we had docked when I was on our QE2.  It was necessary to be shuttled to Adelaide.  Adelaide is a large city and we did walk down to the Festival Center which is by  the River.  It really turned out to be a lovely time in spite of my screw up.  Many black
swans were in the river.  Unfortunately I have not  been fired as tour director.

I had been to Adelaide in 2008 but that was on a tour where we went to a winery and then to a marvelous wine center run by  the City and a quick tour of the city.  This added to my confusion.

We had a couple of special evenings and the decorations and costumes are always amazing so I have included a couple of photos which gives a feel for the efforts of the crew.

After having lunch and a walk about at the Sydney Quay  we returned to the ship but from there, Fran and I walked Darling Harbor from the ship to the end and then back.  One of the attractions had this cute Koala outside its doors in a small compound.  He was very active and seemed to pose for our cameras. 

For those of you who have been to Sydney on a ship we were not docked at The Quay as in the past.  We were docked at the top of Darling Harbor. 

Sir Pat from Cairnes boarded the first day in Sydney.  He had emailed me in advance his Cabin number so I left a welcome on board message and indicated I would see him after my day in Sydney.  When we returned I had no return message so I called his cabin and a woman answered.  It appeared his luggage was there and my message was there but no Pat.  I, of course, knew where he would be at 4:30 so I headed for the Crows Nest and Happy Hour.  Apparently, he was upgraded to a veranda suite at check in.  He looks great as he has lost a lot of weight and is quite fit.

The second day in Sydney Fran and I decided to take the ferry to Manly.  This is a nice beach town just a short distance from Sydney.  It turned out Pat was also going to Manly to meet friends who were coming South to visit their son who lives in Manly.  They made the same ferry and we had a great time and some good fish and chips, calamari and beer.

The name Manly lends itself to some interesting signs such as Manly Grill, Manly Food, Manly Stuff, etc.  We did have fun taking photos of some of those signs.

Wellington is a fairly large city with lots of shops, outdoor cafes, etc.
The four Musketeers started out together and sauntered along the streets looking at shops and other sights.  We ended up for the obligatory beer and, of course, lunch at  an outdoor café by the water.  Then Barbie had to find free wi fi, Joan was tired and went to the ship so it left Fran and I to tackle the botanic Gardens and cemetery.   We took the cable car up and walked down through the gardens and the old cemetery. 

This ugly building is their new parliament building and everyone calls it the beehive.  This term is not meant to be complimentary as used by the locals.

Our next port was Picton and it was a new port for me.  The town is small and not much there.  The reason the ship stopped there was so they could offer wine tours as Picton is close to the big wine area of New Zealand.  This photo kind of gives you the flavor of the small town.

The port of Tauranga presented us with another perfect day.  Never got above 75 degrees and it was  a perfect sauntering day.  Barbie, Joan, Fran and I spent the day browsing and then ended up having lunch and our usual libations. 

One of the specialties of this area is green lip mussels and we had them that night on the ship.  I don’t eat mussels but those of you that do, I took this photo.  Most say that these mussels are by far the best.

I previously mentioned this particularly discourteous and despicable person who mows down people up in the Lido.  I did manage to get a photo of her while we were in Napier. 

The town of Napier is delightful.  The last time I was here I took a tour to the Gannet colony and didn’t spend time downtown.  I love it.  Barbie and I browsed the shops and also listened to the Scottish bagpipe bands who were having a battle of the bagpipe bands.   What a treat to be there during their performances.

The town really plays up the art deco theme of the city. The city was rebuilt after a devastating earthquake in 193l.  It was built in both art deco and Spanish Mission Style.

Seas have been quite high and because of this we were unable to tender to
Roratonga.  I have been there before so this is not a big loss for me.  I do recall the island after I looked at my photos from the 2011 world cruise.  Because of this we will be getting into  Aukland on Monday, February 5th at about 5:00 pm which will give us three nights in Aukland.

When we were tendering back to the ship from Bora Bora these kids in these canoe like boats (I have no idea what they are called.) were having a blast getting a ride in the wake of our tenders.

We did watch the Super Bowl in the Queens’s Lounge with hotdogs, buffalo wings, etc.  The usual football fare.  It was actually a lot of fun and everyone was in the true Super Bowl mood.

I sat at Barbie’s table for her Birthday with Bill, Maryann, Joan, Ellen, Art, Helen, Van and his wife.  This photo of Barbie shows she got a belly dancer’s outfit and video.  We all expect a demonstration before the cruise is over.

I am just making a couple of notes here since I don’t know if I will have enough time to post once we get to New Zealand.  We have one port after another  six days in a row.

Tomorrow, February 2, does not exist as we cross the International Date Line.  Tomorrow will be February 3.

The first day in Aukland, Joan, Barbie, Fran and  I took the ferry to Devenport, a small village on Wiheke  Island.  The weather couldn’t be better.  No more than 72 degrees.  We just sauntered around the island then stopped and had fish and chips at an outside café.  There was a terrific view of Aukland from the island.

The second day in Aukland was spent  walking down the hill from Parnell Village which is an area that has lots of outside cafes, art galleries and little shops.  We walked down the hill all the way to the ship.  Again, the weather couldn’t have been better.  I have never enjoyed Aukland as much  and that is because of the weather.  In the past the temperature was about 85 degrees or more..  Tomorrow we go to Tauranga.