Our port of call for the next two days is Sydney, Australia. We switch from the New Zealand Maoris to Australian Aboriginals now. This hardy group of natives survived in Australia over 50,000 years ago. Then 759 British convicts, their jailors, and the Rum Corp settlers arrived to the Rocks in 1778, a historic enclave of Sydney. History was changed forever.
Sydney is hands down the largest and oldest city on all of Australia, and one of the world's most scenic and livable cities. Just ask our tablemates, Greg and Heo, who proudly call it home. All of us have had an education of what is like living here, as far as the culture and expense that is involved. And we have heard firsthand about the recent bush fires that devastated so much of the countrysides.
Tours offered through shore excursions are limited for city site-seeing. A few of the tours will take people to see the Rocks District, the Sydney Opera House, and Bondi Beach. There are two tours to see the Taranga Zoo, or have dinner at two different venues. There was a Bennelong Opera House restaurant tour for $260.
Out of town, there were trips to see the Blue Mountains, or an extravagant seaplane flight over the Hawksbury River and National Park with a lunch. Wonder if there will be any takers at $800 per person.
Then if you have your heart set on climbing the Sydney Harbor Bridge, it will set you back $600 a piece, but it also includes a walking tour the Rocks. First of all, you must be in good condition, and have no fear of heights. No loose items of clothing are allowed to be worn, as well as no cameras, cell phones, or video equipment. And all of the participants are required to have a breath test, and if you fail, you will be banned from going on the 3 ½ hour climb. We have friends who rave about accomplishing the feat, but then they did the climb when it was still affordable. And we are most happy for them, but it has never been on or bucket list, since there are so many more things to see and do, and so little time. And yes, one of us has problems with heights.
We woke up in the wee hours of the morning to see the ship enter between the Heads of the bay, even though it was barely daylight. There was narration of the scenic sail in, but it began at 6am. The outside decks, Crow's Nest, and channel 41 on our TV's had the live narration. At one point, Glenn-Michael had to cease speaking due "noise pollution" for the locals. We have sailed into Sydney many times in the past, but it was later in the morning, and we did get some fantastic photos. But in the dark? Not us.
But at breakfast we had a nice surprise with two Opera Rolls served to us. Of course, these are the familiar Panama Rolls, and baked to perfection. Then around 8:30am, they began to call the numbers for the groups to present themselves onshore for the mandatory Australian Immigration Inspection. The number "S" was called first, which was our letter for President's Club and deck seven members. We also had the choice to leave at any time we wished, so we did not leave until closer to 9:30am.
It was not so crowded as last year's check. The line moved quickly with plenty of officials scanning our passports and collecting the declaration forms we signed. Once that was completed, we handed our passports back to our front desk staff for safe-keeping on the ship. From there, we left the building, and lined up for the shuttle to Darling Harbor, at the most, a 25 minute ride. Since the Amsterdam is among the average size ship these days, we can fit under the Sydney Harbor Bridge, and dock at White Bay. We have done this for more than a few years now, and have gotten used to it. There were three coaches parked there, but they filled quickly, and we had to wait, but not too long. It was still early, and we were in no big hurry.
Once we got dropped off near the Aquarium at Darling Harbor, our serious walk about began. The skies were heavily overcast, but we figured it was still warm, and perhaps the sun would come out. The first job of the day was to exchange some NZ and US dollars at a money exchange. We ended up getting a better rate than doing this on the ship.
Sydney's Light Rail system is finally completed. For several years, we have had to negotiate torn up streets and detours. Now these new trains connect the Central Station to the Haymarket, Darling Harbor, The Star, Sydney Fish Market, and the Inner suburbs. It is as easy as tapping the Opal Cards, which are sold almost everywhere.
From there, we took in Circular Quay, which was full of people as well as passengers from a cruise ship docked there. This one was the Voyager of the Seas, and appeared to be at their turn-around point. Always present in the ferry terminals are street artists. Among them were musicians, one playing sticks covered with beer bottle caps, something we have seen while in Portugal. Then there was a gold-painted character enticing little kids to come forward for a sweet treat. Dozens of tourists and locals were enjoying breakfast at the many cafes along the waterfront.
We made it to the Opera House, where part of it had been under construction. Now it is complete, and as expected, tons of people were touring it. At the Man O' War Jetty, another RCI ship, the Spectrum of the Seas, was tendering their folks to shore. Obviously, there is little concern about the virus here.
We entered the Queen Elizabeth Gate that brought us into the Royal Botanic Gardens. Besides the 9000 plant species, we were happy to see the ibis, assorted ducks, sulfur-crested cockatoos, and even one kookaburra. We did not see one fruit bat anywhere, since they have been removed a few years back.
There were two wedding parties in progress in the Farm Cove Eatery and the Lion Gate Lodge, as well as brides and grooms out for photo shoots. After covering the entire garden grounds (30 hectares), we made our way to Mrs. Macquarie's Chair, passing the staging area where spring and summer theater is shown right off of Farm Cove. It is called Handa Opera on Sydney Harbor. Even this area is getting a facelift. Music was blasting in Farm Cove from a number of catamarans that congregated in a circle to have fun in the sun. We think there may have been some alcohol involved as well.
The Main and Waterlily Ponds are near to here, so we walked around them to see the two different varieties of cormorants busy making nests in the grove of trees in the center. Some different types of ducks were grazing nearby, and the ibis were rooting everywhere for worms and insects. Up in the tallest of the trees, were more cockatoos climbing on the branches. They sure do make a lot of noise at times. The Choo Choo Express, the little train that takes the folks around the park was re-filling the cars and ready to resume the tour.
We back-tracked to the Opera House and Circular Quay to the Rocks area. Every single café and restaurant was full to the max now. Our destination was a well-earned lunch at Caminetto's, where we ordered a Hawaiian pizza, two Victoria Bitters beers, and a shared dessert of strawberry cheesecake. We were most lucky to find a table for two, since the entire area of cafes and restaurants were busting at the seams. With two large Royal Caribbean ships in port, the Voyager and Spectrum of the Seas, we estimated that at least 12,000 guests and crew could be exploring the city today. One thing for sure, the government of Australia is not turning away any cruise ships, so we do expect to see our upcoming Aussie ports busy with other ships in those ports.
On weekends, there is an arts and crafts market, which further attracted a large number of the tourists, including us. Numerous tents went up and down several of the streets in the Rocks. The items sold were clothing, jewelry, soap, leather products, and tons of Aussie souvenirs. Food products were available, with jars of Manuka and local honey for sale, as well as jerkies and cheeses. Some of the nicer handmade jewelry was rather pricey. So we took a lot of pictures, then headed for our last destination of the day.
The Queen Victoria Building, built in 1898 as a monument to Queen Victoria, this colonial marvel was used as a fish and produce market. These days, it has been converted to high end shopping and cafes. Across the street at one end of the QVB, is a Woolworth's, where we had fun shopping for some much needed items, which included the Aussie sweet treat – Tim Tams.
Following Market Street brought us back across to Darling Harbor, and a waiting coach for the ride back to White Harbor. Lugging our purchases, we were back to our room by 5pm. Needless to say, we stayed and worked on photos and reports.
Shortly after 6pm, the Amsterdam was re-located, moving one berth backwards to make room for another ship. The gangway went back at the tented area after 7pm.
By the time dinnertime arrived, it had begun raining. A number of folks had booked the ship's tour to the Opera House, and many went out for the evening to dine in the fine restaurants. Greg and Heo had gone home to spend the evening with family, so there were only five of us. Although all of us were tired, we still had energy to share the day's adventures. Then out of the blue, Presty, the dining room manager, came to us and Barb and said there were two people visiting onboard that knew us. We all drew a blank, until he pointed out former tablemates Stuart and Pamela, from Adelaide. They had joined our table in 2015 for ½ of the world cruise. And we have kept in touch ever since then. What a nice surprise. They had been invited by a Canadian couple they knew, and were dining with them this evening. Instead of going on long voyages like this one, they have been doing some of the exploration type trips in Greenland and Iceland. Zodiac boat outings replaced the bus excursions, and they seemed happy with the change. Sure was nice to see them, and we hope they change their minds and try another world cruise someday.
There was no entertainment this evening, but there was a big screen movie, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood. Best to get some rest before another full day in town tomorrow.
Bill & Mary Ann
Sunday, March 8, 2020
Report #121 Sydney, Australia March 7, 2020 Saturday Scattered showers & 71 degrees
