Well, it appears we have almost completed another segment of the Grand World Voyage. This segment began in Papeete, Tahiti and will end in Sydney, Australia tomorrow morning. The distance traveled will be 4,463 nautical miles or 5,133 statute miles. We also had 17 fewer crew members than the first segment out of Ft. Lauderdale.
Our third day of crossing the Tasman Sea has found less wind and 9 foot swells. The skies were mostly sunny and the temperature remained a steady 75 degrees. Sure doesn't look like rain, but that's what we have found in the forecast for tomorrow. Hope it's wrong.
So here is some info on Australia. The population is 23.7 million mostly English-speaking citizens who for the most part (89%), live on the coastlines and in big cities. The country consists of 7.7 million square miles and is as diverse in terrain as can possibly be. Their capital is Canberra. The animal life is also diverse beginning with the furry and cuddly ones such as the koala, kangaroos, wallabies, wombats, or platypuses. The wombats are furry, but not necessarily cuddly. We have seen one almost bite a lady who did not listen to directions on how to pet a wombat. The ferocious ones are crocodiles, sharks, poisonous snakes, spiders, and Tasmanian devils. The oceans and sea sides are full of whales, fur seals, sea turtles, and jackass penguins. Birds found here are emus, ostrich, and cassowaries and many more. The smaller ones are parrots, parakeets, and pretty cockatiels and cockatoos.
Must see places are Kakadu National Park, Ulura or Ayres Rock, or the Great Barrier Reef. Since we will be sailing down under Southern Australia, we will not be visiting these areas. But the Blue Mountains and the many vineyards in the Barossa Valley are a possibility. And an interesting fact, according to the University of Sydney, reports that there are 10,685 beaches in all of Australia.
Today was a lazy one for us, with the exception of taking several walks. We had the promenade deck almost to ourselves during the second Seaday Brunch in the dining room at 11am. It's not our cup of tea, and it may have been not as crowded at the first one. We heard there were over 600 guests the first brunch, but today's was 300.
There was a Q&A session about the upcoming ports with Ian and Nyron in the newly-named "World Stage", no longer the Mainstage. Now all of the ships will have a common name for their show lounge, although the ones on the newer ships like the Koningsdam have a round-walled stage, and allows for a whole different entertainment experience.
Sign ups for the upcoming On Deck for a Cause were held in the Ocean Bar for a $25 donation. These days the charity is the Ukraine instead of breast cancer. Recently we read that guests had contributed $450K between all of the HAL ships. We suspect this will be repeated during the rest of this long trip. In addition to this event, another Charitable Cause & Silent Auction Announcement arrived in or mail slots. As well as a money donation, guests are invited to donate goods for the silent auction. The proceeds will go to the Bernard Nordkamp Centre in Namibia and will take place March 18th in Walvis Bay. Then there will be the donations from Project Linus, making this the most charities we have ever seen on one cruise. All for good causes.
The biggest job of the day was filling out the Australian incoming passenger cards we need to hand over at tomorrow's inspection. We were given detailed directions on how to fill it out correctly. We were also given Group # 7, which debarks by 9am. However, that is too early for us, and we plan to go off by 10am. We have that option being members of President's Club. This is a zero count port, so no one will be allowed back on the ship until everyone has attended the inspection. They estimate that will be about 10:30am, but that depends on how things go. It could be later.
The Australian currency was available at the front desk, so we got some, even though it may be easier to use our credit card. Always good to have both options.
All were present for dinner where most of us ordered the Australian chicken parmigiana. We asked Greg and Heo who are from Sydney, what was different about that entrée. They described the breaded chicken as having a slice of cheese on the top, then broiled. That would be placed on a bed of spaghetti covered with a tomato sauce. When the plates arrived, they looked the same as always…..nothing Aussie about it, but very tasty. The everyday salmon was really good again. They do a varied version of the alternate every evening. The chocolate stacked brownie dessert was the most popular.
Since we will have two days in Sydney, we expect the dining room to be rather empty tomorrow. Looking forward to a quieter dinner where we can all hear each other talk.
Bill & Mary Ann
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