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Australia, NZ + Tahiti
  • Kadi Kaljuste
  • Brad Ciccarelli
Jan – Mar 2024

Australia, NZ + Tahiti

Exploring our final continent Read more
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  • Trip start
    January 21, 2024
    Australia, NZ + Tahiti

    And we’re off!

    January 21, 2024 in Canada ⋅ ☁️ -2 °C

    We’re now off to visit our final continent, Oceania. Huge tick on our travel wish list ✅

    Flying from Toronto Pearson to San Francisco this afternoon and then on to Brisbane, Australia. Our first flight is five and a bit hours. The second flight is 14 hours.

    Great opportunity to catch up watching movies that are potential Oscar nominees.    Read more

  • Australia, NZ + Tahiti
    Dinner at the airport

    SFO to BNE

    January 21, 2024 in the United States ⋅ 🌧 14 °C

    Arrived in San Francisco on schedule and now have a four hour wait until we board a 14-hour flight to Brisbane. Next footprint, we’ll be in Oz!

  • Australia, NZ + Tahiti
    Queen Street Mall
    Kangaroo buddyNew pals for me too2Anzac squareShrine of Remembrance and Eternal Flame burning at its heartCity botanical gardens4The gardensSkyline11A pool unlike any we've seen before

    Hello, Australia! (Brisbane)

    January 23, 2024 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C

    After a 14-hour flight from San Francisco, we arrived to an overcast Brisbane. But that didn’t dampen our excitement at having now stepped foot on all seven continents. We can now consider ourselves members of the Seven Continents Club!

    We planned this as our recovery/“get on their clock” day so had no firm plans. Brisbane is the third largest city in Australia with a population of about 2.6 million. Our hotel is in the city centre so it’s easy to walk to a number of sites. In the morning, we walked around Queen Street Mall, a pedestrian promenade, and visited Anzac Square which was opened in 1930 to honour those who died in the First World War.

    We were back to the hotel by noon and our room was ready so we were able to settle in and Brad was able to take a nap. We planned to have dinner at one of the numerous restaurants on the side of the Brisbane River. Our walk there took us through the City Botanic Gardens to the riverside. An after dinner stroll along with the riverside offered spectacular city skyline views.    Read more

  • Australia, NZ + Tahiti
    2They sleep about 20 hours a day
    Too cuteFeeding the kangaroos1Joey peeping from the pouchFeeding the lorikeets3Holding Riley2At the lookoutDinner at The Boundary Hotel1The West End has a cool area called Fish Lane6Holding Riley

    Animalpalooza - Brisbane Day 2

    January 24, 2024 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    We had a private tour booked today to visit the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary, the world‘s first and largest koala sanctuary, as well as other sites. The sanctuary is home to more than 100 koalas as well as other Australian species, including kangaroos and wombats.

    Our guide Christine picked us up at our hotel and we headed straight to the sanctuary in hopes of securing two of the few available tickets to hold a koala. Success! We were scheduled for later in the morning giving us plenty of time to see most everything. We started out visiting the koalas, then feeding the kangaroos and the lorikeets after which we went to see various other species.

    Our visit culminated with holding a koala. Brad and I were instructed how to position our hands to hold the koala so that it would believe we were just another tree. We were told to remain very still. The koala, Riley, was surprisingly light and incredibly soft. What an experience!

    Once we finished at the sanctuary, we visited a neighbourhood called Paddington and had a wonderful view of the city from a café. From there we carried on to an area called Kangaroo Cliff and lunch at a place called Joey. Christine then drove us through a few neighbourhoods and finished our tour at a lookout area called Mount Coot-tha Summit.

    For dinner, we walked to a neighbourhood called West End, a hip area with street art, cool cafes, indie bookshops, brewpubs, and music venues. We had dinner there at a place called The Boundary Hotel, a giant pub/restaurant that was established in 1864.

    We’ve noticed that the city rolls up the sidewalks rather early. We asked Christine our guide about this over lunch and she explained that people in Brisbane tend to get up early and go to bed early. When I was making dinner reservations, I was surprised to see that most restaurants closed at 9 PM!

    As we were walking home from dinner this evening, we walked by a theatre at about 9:15 pm and saw people cascading out. We saw a couple holding a program walking ahead of us, so I stopped them and asked them if they had just left the theatre to which they replied, yes. I then asked them what time the show had started and what they had seen. They said they saw the musical Chicago and it started at 7 pm. Quite different than our North American typical start time of 8 pm!    Read more

  • Australia, NZ + Tahiti
    Croissants at Lune
    At the KittyCat dockHarry Smith Wharves2Under the bridgeLunch spotCheers!Ready to board the KittyCat1Rainforest walkGrand Central Hotel pub was our dinner spot

    Brisbane Day 3

    January 25, 2024 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    We had no set plans for today and we were looking forward to freestyling and seeing where the mood took us on our last day here. We made our way to Lune, a world-renowned bakery that serves croissants exclusively. It was well worth seeking it out.

    From there, we meandered around The Queen Street Mall area and caught the “KittyCat.” Brisbane has a free ferry shuttle service along the river that is called the KittyCat. We hopped on to make our way to Howard Smith Wharves, a beautiful waterfront restaurant area. Our lunch at Greca, a Greek restaurant, was exceptional. From there, we got back on the KittyCat and then walked through the small rainforest park to the Brisbane sign. (After all, most every city has one!)

    By then, it was late afternoon, and we made our way back to the hotel to have a bit of a rest. Because we’d had a big lunch we weren’t looking for much of a dinner, so we went out for a bit of a stroll and wound up at a pub adjacent to the train station. It was clearly a popular hang out for locals, a perfect end to our visit in Brisbane.

    We have only good things to say about this city. It is clean, walkable, safe and interesting. Our over-arching observation after three days in this country is that Australians are among the most friendly people we have ever encountered in all of our travels. They are helpful and very quick to have a conversation with you.

    The other thing that we’ve noticed is not unexpected. The Australian vernacular is quite entertaining. We were having a chat with a woman on the KittyCat today and she said that, with Australia Day tomorrow, the Howard Smith Wharves area would be “chockers!” to which we said chockers? What does that mean? She explained that it’s the Australian way of saying chock full. We’re looking forward to learning more colloquialisms in the weeks to come.    Read more

  • Australia, NZ + Tahiti
    2We strolled around the night market
    The boardwalk is quite lovelyWith the obligatory Ferris wheel4The pool at the boardwalk was popular1Beautiful lighting and landscaping

    Cairns and Cyclone Kirrily

    January 26, 2024 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 29 °C

    While Cyclone Kirrily may not have been big news in the rest of the world, it’s been the top of the news here for days now. It made landfall south of Cairns last night (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/ja…) We’d been watching the forecast to determine whether our flight from Brisbane to Cairns would be cancelled or delayed. When we got up this morning, the flight was on schedule and we felt relieved. It’s a two-and-a-half hour flight so we arrived in Cairns in the early afternoon.

    Cairns is the city closest to the Great Barrier Reef and launchpad for most excursions to the reef. Despite the flight proceeding, we knew there might be a chance that our boat trip to the reef might be canceled because of wind. Sure enough, it was. We have now rearranged things to hopefully take a trip to the reef on Sunday instead of tomorrow. Fingers crossed. We leave here on Monday, so if Sunday doesn’t happen we’ll be out of luck.

    Once we managed to rearrange things, we set out to explore the city of about 165,000 which is a tourist town. Hotels, casinos, restaurants. There is quite a lovely waterfront and boardwalk. We had dinner at a beachfront restaurant, walked the boardwalk and went to the casino to cool off. We’re in a tropical area so it’s hot and humid here - it was 36 Celsius with 89 per cent humidity. 😫    Read more

  • Australia, NZ + Tahiti
    The Queensland rainforest is a UNESCO heritage site
    At Barrons FallsBarrons FallsRainforest walkKurandaArmy duckSpear throwingPlaying the didgeridooYoung dancer

    Cairns Day 2: nature + culture

    January 27, 2024 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 29 °C

    Today was all about exploring nature and experiencing aboriginal culture. We started the day about 25 kilometres outside of Cairns at the world’s oldest rain forest (a UNESCO site) floating above its canopy in a cable car, walking through it, and venturing into its waters in an “army duck.” Next, we explored Kuranda, a village in the rainforest considered an arts and crafts hub.

    In the afternoon, we visited the Rainforestation Nature Park and were treated to traditional dances, spear-throwing demonstrations and taught how to throw a boomerang. (Brad was pretty good at it; I was not.🤣)

    It was another hot humid day so we went back to our hotel to relax and cool down before dinner.

    An update on our Great Barrier Reef cruise for tomorrow: cancelled 😫 Not wanting to leave Australia without having seen it in some way, we will be flying over it in a helicopter tomorrow. If we can’t go in it, we’ll go over it!    Read more

  • Australia, NZ + Tahiti
    Boarding
    1😁😁😁One happy guyGreen Island1Great Barrier Reef1The pilot told us that that small sand island is often the site of proposals or even weddings1Awe inspiringAustralian answer to The LegionContemporary vibe1MANicure😉4The reef covers 2,000 kilometres

    Bird’s eye view of Great Barrier Reef

    January 28, 2024 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C

    Well, we may not have been able to go to the Great Barrier Reef by boat but we managed to recover by taking a helicopter trip over the GBR this morning. We’re so glad we did! We may never travel here again and to be mere kilometres away from this UNESCO site and not see it would have been a damn shame. The pictures and video are worth a thousand words.

    It was another scorcher here so we didn’t feel like doing much after the flight. We visited a tourist information centre and their only suggestion was the aquarium which we weren’t interested in doing. But they did recommend we go for lunch at the RSL - Australia’s version of The Legion. The Legion!?! Why not.

    Our Legion sure could learn a lot from the ones here! It had an unbelievable menu, and was very contemporary in decor and attitude. And it was pretty well packed by the time we left. The food was great and reasonably priced.

    That’s something we’ve noticed - restaurant meals are somewhat more expensive than what we’re used to in Toronto. For example, a Caesar salad that is meal size with no protein is about AU$22. And we’re not talking fancy restaurants. But tipping isn’t a thing here so you need to readjust your thinking. The other interesting thing about casual restaurants in Australia is that it is quite common for you to go and place your order at a counter and pay for it. It’s then delivered to your table number. We think it may be common because of no tipping so it’s very efficient to have them ring up your order and you just tap and go.

    Wanting to escape the heat, we couldn’t really decide what to do after lunch so, when in doubt, go for manicures! We have found in our travels that whenever we’re in a beach town, manicure shops are side-by-side-by -side. Sure enough, we found a strip where there had to be at least 10 in one block. Not surprising, the young women who did our nails were from Thailand.

    The men’s final in the Australian Open Tennis was on this evening, so we went to a sports bar for dinner.    Read more

  • Australia, NZ + Tahiti
    Landing
    Hot, hot, hotAt the grocery storeCocktailsUluru in the background2GlowingChef in the desertThe landscape is incredibleThe audienceThe Anangu Working Group helped develop the show

    Uluru (Ayer’s Rock)

    January 29, 2024 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 41 °C

    When you’re traveling, you have to be ready for bumps in the road. And we experienced a couple this morning. We had a 5:30 a.m. pick up for a flight from Cairns to Uluru scheduled to leave at 7:50 a.m. The first hiccough was when the car prearranged to take us to the airport didn’t show up, so we took an Uber. All good.

    As we’re en route in the Uber, I pull up my boarding pass for our Qantas flight from my mobile wallet and notice that the boarding time for the flight is now 10:30 a.m. not 7:30 a.m. and my seat has changed! Puzzled, Brad pulled up his boarding pass, which has the original boarding time of 7:30 a.m. and the original seat. While he was looking at it, the boarding pass transformed to the 10:30 boarding and a different seat?!? We were in awe. Sure enough when we arrived at the airport, it turned out that the flight had been delayed because of a mechanical issue and was now scheduled for 10:50 not 7:50 a.m. Qantas gave us each a $20 breakfast voucher and we sat around the airport until it was time to go. The flight to Uluru is about 2 1/2 hours and it was quite routine.

    We knew that we were heading to the outback and to the hottest area of Australia. When we landed, it was 41 degrees Celsius. Thankfully, it’s dry heat. The hotel is part of a large resort complex with everything from a grocery store to a post office. Our room wasn’t quite ready so we went and explored the property.

    Given we’d been up since 5 a.m. we rested in the afternoon in anticipation of our sunset visit to Uluru for dinner and a light/drone show that tells an aboriginal story ( https://parksaustralia.gov.au/uluru/discover/cu… ). Uluru is a sacred site and it is seen as a resting place for ancient spirits, giving it religious stature. The show was developed with the aboriginal Anangu Working Group and photography is prohibited. It’s an incredible experience that’s beyond description.    Read more

  • Australia, NZ + Tahiti
    Up up and away
    The landscape is desolateUluruMajestic1"Every day is hump day at the camel farmLunchEntrance to the gallery. Palya is hello, good bye and thank you1Beautiful works by aboriginal artists1Detail of the painting

    Uluru from the sky

    January 30, 2024 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 38 °C

    We took a walk over to the Town Square this morning to poke around the shops and happened by a counter selling helicopter rides. We couldn’t resist. 🤣 So that’s what we did this morning - we took a ride around Uluru. Helicopters can’t fly over it because of it’s sacred and there’s an aboriginal village nearby.

    This afternoon, we visited a camel farm and an art gallery which displays aboriginal art.
    Camels date back to the 1840s here in Australia. They were instrumental in transporting provisions to the mining operations in the outback as well as facilitating the construction of the railway. That railway is now known as The Ghan, giving a nod to the Afghan people who cared for the camels.
    https://www.pichirichirailway.org.au/history/th…    Read more

  • Australia, NZ + Tahiti
    1
    From a distance, the surface of Uluru looks smooth. It's not.2Watering holeCaves were used like chalkboards to teach children111

    Uluru up close and personal

    January 30, 2024 in Australia ⋅ 🌬 41 °C

    Later this afternoon, Brad and I took a private tour to Uluru to get right up to it and learn more about its stories. Because of the spiritual nature of the site , videography and photography is not allowed in a number of places. We had a private tour, just us and a guide named Pete. It was wonderful! He was incredibly knowledgable and was able to tell us many of the stories of the Anangu who have inhabited the area for an estimated 30,000 years.

    We had heard that flies could be a real nuisance in the area and were fortunate to have brought fly nets with us and found them very helpful. The flies don’t bite, but they come and buzz all around your face which is incredibly irritating. As a result, you’ll see that Brad and I have nets covering our faces in the photos (fashion crime😉).

    It’s difficult to convey how special this site feels. It has a serenity about it that’s impossible to explain.    Read more

  • Australia, NZ + Tahiti
    1Sunrise at Uluru
    3Kata Tjuta sunriseBreakfast in the outback2Plant called mala mala which means beautiful but useless 🤣Hiking Kata TjutaGoodbye, Uluru 😘

    Sunrise and hiking Kata Tjuṯa

    January 31, 2024 in Australia ⋅ 🌬 28 °C

    Our final morning in Uluru meant getting up early and heading out at 5 a.m. for sunrise. We watched the sun come up over Uluru, as well as Kata Tjuṯa. Magical. Once the sun was up, we had breakfast in the bush before setting off on a hike of Kata Tjuṯa.

    Meaning ‘many heads’, Kata Tjuta is 36 domes and lies about 50 kilometres from Uluru. We completed the Walpa Gorge walk which is about 2 1/2 km. Of course it was hot but nowhere near as hot as it would’ve been later in the day. Another spectacular site!

    In the afternoon, we flew to Melbourne, arriving early evening. We did a little walk near our hotel, had a quick bite and will rest up for an exciting day tomorrow when we meet up with my cousin Eric who’s lived in Melbourne with his wife, Teri, for the last 40+ years and who will be showing us the sites for the next three days.    Read more

  • Australia, NZ + Tahiti
    Urquart Bluff
    Moi and EricLorne Beach11The 12 Apostles1A tad windyLoch Ard GorgeRazorback1Eric, me and BradLondon Bridge

    The Great Ocean Road

    February 1, 2024 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    Today we met up with my cousin Eric who moved to Melbourne 40+ years ago. He and his wife Teri are showing us around while we’re here. (Teri wasn’t able to join us today because she was volunteering.)

    Eric took us on an epic drive along The Great Ocean Road, a 240-kilometre stretch along the south-eastern coast of Australia. At the end of the First World War, returning soldiers needed jobs. Built by hand by more than 3,000 soldiers, it’s a memorial to fellow soldiers who died in the war.

    The main attraction along the road is The Twelve Apostles, a series of limestone columns that have been etched out of the cliffs. Further along the coast we visited London Bridge and Razorback. The sites were spectacular but catching up with Eric was even better.    Read more

  • Australia, NZ + Tahiti
    Collins Street Precinct
    Beautiful arcadesQueen Victoria Market waresTram time. Just like streetcars in TorontoPub patio lunchSouth bankYara River areaPrinces Bridge 1888Arts Centre

    Exploring Melbourne

    February 2, 2024 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    My cousin Eric and his wife, Teri, met us at our hotel this morning and took us around the city. We started out walking through the arcades and worked our way up to Queen Victoria Market. What an impressive place! Building after building of incredible food vendors selling everything from sausages and cheeses to fruits and vegetables, including a flea market type area.

    From there, we hopped on a tram and headed to a pub for lunch on a beautiful patio.
    We then walked to the cultural area and visited the art gallery and Victoria Park as well as laneway graffiti similar to Toronto’s graffiti alley.

    We hopped on another tram to Eric and Teri’s house where they hosted us for a wonderful dinner.    Read more

  • Australia, NZ + Tahiti
    National Gallery of Victoria
    1Admiring the ceiling in one of the galleries1Ceiling view(THIS IS) AIR BY NIC BRUNSDONVictoria Park2Like Graffiti Alley in TorontoFlinders Street Railway StationEric and Teri's house2

    Exploring Melbourne - more photos

    February 2, 2024 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    Each footprint post is limited to 10 photos. Melbourne deserves more than 10.

  • Australia, NZ + Tahiti
    Wine tasting
    Vineyard lunchPaul JettyThe Nobbies1Penguin ParadeAt the viewing area waiting for sunsetStock photos1They're soooo little1Me, Brad, Eric and Teri

    Vineyard lunch and penguin parade

    February 3, 2024 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    My cousin Eric and his wife Teri planned an incredible day for us. To start, they took us out to wine country. We had an absolutely spectacular lunch at a small vineyard called Mont Rouge Estate. (Of course, we had a wine tasting as well.)

    From there, we took the drive down to Phillip Island and stopped at Paul Jetty and the Nobbies on the way. Visiting Phillip Island was at the absolute top of my list for this trip. The island is home to the biggest colony of little penguins, the smallest penguins in the world. They are merely three pounds and a foot tall, and blue colored, unlike other penguins which are black. The little penguins are in the water, and at sunset they watch closely to ensure that predators are not around and then form a group called a raft, emerging from the ocean to make the mad dash across the sand to their boroughs. It’s called the penguin parade and it’s unlike anything we’ve ever experienced in our lives.

    Eric had booked tickets for us to have a Ranger guided walk as well as front row seating at a viewing area. As you can imagine, I was in heaven! Once the penguins begin to come in across the beach, there are elevated walkways so that you can actually follow their progress to finding their burrows. Each night, there is a count done to determine how many emerged from the ocean. Last night’s count was 642.

    The only downside? There is no videography or photography permitted, which we respect. Photos and videos are provided for download however, as well as taxidermied penguins in order for visitors to be able to appreciate their feathers and tiny size. You can watch the parade here:

    https://www.penguins.org.au/assets/Penguin-Para…    Read more

  • Australia, NZ + Tahiti
    Chinatown gates in Melbourne
    Entrance to The Block arcadeBeautiful architectureSun's settingThe BridgeOn the waterfront2

    Bye Melbourne, hello Sydney

    February 4, 2024 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C

    When we got up this morning, we’d thought we’d be picked up at 10 a.m. to get to the airport for a noon flight to Sydney. We were wrong. We had a notification from Qantas that our flight had been cancelled and we were rescheduled to fly out at 4 p.m. It was quite disappointing news because we had a walking tour scheduled for 6:30 p.m. in Sydney and would no longer be able to get to it in time. Further, it meant we had to scramble to alert the driver who was picking us up at 10 as well as rearrange the pick up we had arranged in Sydney. Such is life.

    We made the most of it and went for a meandering walk and then headed to the airport. The flight was uneventful. Our hotel in Sydney is in a fabulous location and we can easily walk to The Rocks, the Opera House and the Bridge. We went out for a walk to orient ourselves and have dinner. Explorations in earnest will start tomorrow.    Read more

  • Australia, NZ + Tahiti
    Our tour guide Bradley was great
    Queen Victoria BuildingSt Mary's Cathedral in Hyde ParkThis is a white ibis but locals call it a bin chickenHyde Park BarracksEl Porcellino, donate a coin, make a wishSydney Tower EyeAngel PlaceNight at the operaBravo!

    Sydney walking tour + the opera

    February 5, 2024 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 31 °C

    We had a walking tour of Sydney today which gave us good insight into the city’s history and the many people who helped the city become what it is today. The architecture is quite interesting, particularly the historic buildings which are well preserved. It’s a big city of about five million but the downtown area is really walkable which we love.

    Because it was another hot day, we stayed in during the late afternoon which tends to be the hottest day segment and then headed out in the evening to the Sydney Opera House for a performance of opera favourites. It’s a magnificent building and it was a thrill to experience a performance within it.    Read more

  • Australia, NZ + Tahiti
    Starting at Bondi Beach
    Beach volleyball, of courseAnd surfers1Catching a wave1We think the guy in the Bondi speedo is a lifeguard1Gorgeous viewsWaverley Cemetery is considered one of the most beautiful in the worldSix kilometres ✅

    Coastal walk: Bondi to Coogee

    February 6, 2024 in Australia ⋅ 🌬 23 °C

    We had planned one major activity for today - to complete the coastal walk from Bondi Beach to Coogee Beach. It’s about 6 km. Fortunately, it was much cooler today so we knew we wouldn’t have to face the scorching temperatures we’ve experienced recently. It was only about 23 or 24 today and overcast. What we underestimated was just how windy it would be.

    We took a bus to Bondi, which took about 40 minutes. We then started our walk which has some elevations, but is really quite manageable. Fortunately, I packed a sweatshirt so I was able to cover up when we got to particularly windy portions. Despite the wind, it was lovely. We stopped for lunch along the way and finished at Congee by early afternoon. We then took a bus and a subway back into the city and did a little shopping before heading back to the hotel and having a quiet night in.    Read more

  • Australia, NZ + Tahiti
    On the ferry
    Harbour viewsWatsons BayShark nets😲Our Lady Star of the SeaThe main dragThe GapView of Sydney1Dry cleaning delivery1Lunching with a view1Back to Sydney

    Ferry to Watsons Bay

    February 7, 2024 in Australia ⋅ 🌬 21 °C

    A number of people recommended that we take one of the Sydney ferries to experience the harbour so we took one of the public transit ferries to a place called Watsons Bay. It’s a small community that was once a fishing village with a charming atmosphere. We also lucked out because the fish and seafood restaurant my cousin Eric had recommended is in that town so we ended up having a wonderful lunch with a view of the city of Sydney.Read more

  • Australia, NZ + Tahiti
    1At the waiting area
    5Lots of gearAt the centre of the arch3We did it!2We didn't buy the T-shirt 🤣2At the Shangrila celebrating our successful climb1We were on top of that bridge 😲1Amazing view

    Sydney Bridge Climb

    February 7, 2024 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C

    Last night, we went on the BridgeClimb up to the top of the arch of the Sydney Bridge. We had debated whether to do it, but decided before we left Toronto and booked tickets for a twilight climb. Our hope was that we would have a beautiful sunset.

    We were fortunate that it was a cool day And not terribly windy. There was some rain in the forecast, but ended up being totally minor drizzle. But it was overcast, so there was no spectacular sunset which was disappointing.

    I had been leery about the physicality of the climb, but a number of friends had assured me that I was more than fit to do it. Brad was leery in another way - he’s not a fan of heights. We’re happy to say we both succeeded and congratulated ourselves at the top for having completed it. The views from the top are truly spectacular.

    The procedures and rules for the climb are quite extensive with special gear to be worn and practice ladder climbing before you actually approach the bridge. It’s incredibly well thought through. Virtually everything you wear is clipped to your jumpsuit including eyeglasses, cap, flashlight, etc. You can’t wear any watches or bracelets or necklaces and you’re not to bring cameras or cell phones. As a result, you’re at the mercy of the BridgeClimb folks for photographs. Not surprising.

    Once we were done the climb, we felt we needed to celebrate and headed to the rooftop bar of the Shangri-La Hotel which is known to have one of the best views of Sydney. An Australian Chandon bubbly for me, a glass of Shiraz for Brad and grilled kangaroo for both of us. A fitting celebration for our accomplishment. What a spectacular way to end our time in Sydney!    Read more

  • Australia, NZ + Tahiti
    4A bit of bubbly as we leave Sydney
    2Sailing under the Sydney BridgeBalcony viewOur route to Aukland, New Zealand

    Boarding Regatta; Bye Sydney

    February 8, 2024 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C

    We’re on the next phase of our trip now. We checked out of our Sydney hotel this morning and checked in to our cruise for the next 16 days aboard Oceania‘s Regatta. We had lunch on board and then spent the afternoon unpacking. We were ambitious and actually went to the gym before the ship sailed under the Sydney Bridge around 5:30 p.m.

    The Regatta is the same class of ship as the Insignia, the ship we spent six months on last year. We’re very comfortable and well acquainted with its layout so it was easy settling in. It feels like a bit of a homecoming. We’ve recognized a number of the crew from previous Oceania trips. And we have so far recognized one passenger who was on the around the world trip on Insignia last year.

    (Interestingly, the photo of us was taken by a Toronto couple who live uptown at Yonge and St. Clair. Once we got talking with them, we realized that we’ll be in Paris at the Olympics this summer at the same time! We’ve already made plans to meet up while we’re there.)    Read more

  • Australia, NZ + Tahiti
    Morning Pilates
    Mid morning latte at BaristasIntroduction of the officers at the Captain's cocktail party2The officersDinner at ToscanaSaladOsso BuccoSunset

    At sea

    February 9, 2024, Tasman Sea ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    The waters were a bit rough last night so neither of us had a great sleep. Despite that, I went ahead and did the Pilates class at 8:15 this morning. We then had a leisurely breakfast and a lazy morning until I went to trivia at 11:15.

    Leisurely lunch, lazy afternoon and then back to the gym. This evening was the captain’s cocktail party which means complimentary bar and an introduction to the officers. It’s always a fun evening. Once that was over, Brad and I had a dinner reservation at Toscana, the specialty Italian restaurant. After dinner, we went and listened to the string quartet. Got back to the room just after 9 p.m. The seas are calmer tonight so we expect to have a wonderful sleep.    Read more

  • Australia, NZ + Tahiti
    2Queen Victoria Market
    1I had spinach and cheese 😋Lamington cake is uniquely AustralianIts sponge cake, whipped cream, chocolate icing covered in coconutIt was okay1

    Back in Melbourne

    February 10, 2024 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    We’re back in Melbourne now and since we were here for a number of days earlier in this trip we feel quite comfortable just grabbing the tram at the port and going downtown. I was keen to go back to Queen Victoria Market to pick up a few things I had seen on our last visit there. We wandered around for the better part of the morning, had lunch and then took a walk around the city, heading back to the ship by mid afternoon.Read more

  • Australia, NZ + Tahiti
    Koorie Heritage Trust
    A wonderful galleryLots of wedding photo shoots in the parksBeautiful landscapingVictoria PrideLove thisKung hei fat choiBye, Melbourne. You're a wonderful city.

    Final day in Melbourne

    February 11, 2024 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    We decided to freestyle today since we’re so comfortable in Melbourne. We had only one planned activity today - to go to the Koorie Heritage Trust, an Aboriginal owned and managed gallery/meeting place established in 1985. We hopped on the tram from the port and got there easily. It was well worth a visit.

    A fellow passenger told us there was a pride festival on in the city and we decided we’d walk to that area. Our route to the festivities took us through a number of parks that were spectacular and beautifully landscaped. It was a fabulous, unplanned addition to our day. The pride event itself was a lot of fun. Once we’d roamed around the event, we were hot and tired and the temperature had climbed into the 30s. We decided to find the tram again and head back to the ship. As luck would have it, our path back to the tram took us to where the Chinese New Year celebrations were taking place, including the lion dance. Bonus! What a great day.

    We left Melbourne early evening and will wake up in Burnie, Tasmania.    Read more

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