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2020 Around the World on HAL2020 Around the World on HAL
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2020 Around the World on HAL

January - March 2020
A 81-day adventure by Sonia Read more
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  • 58footprints
  • 16countries
  • 81days
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  • Sonia Gelman2020 Around the World on HAL
    Day 58

    Unknown Future Itinerary

    February 29, 2020, South Pacific Ocean ⋅ 🌙 77 °F

    Yesterday the captain announced that our itinerary will change and the new one will be delivered to our state room.
    Well, we got it. As of now, we are on our course for New Zealand and Australia.
    After Darwin, Australia, we will be in the ocean for 7 days, then Sri Lanka for 2 days instead of one. Then unexpected Mumbai for 3 days. We are missing Maldives, but staying in Seashells for one extra day.
    That is for now. I am sure it is not the end of changed.    Read more

  • Sonia Gelman2020 Around the World on HAL
    Day 60

    Auckland, New Zealand. Day 1.

    March 2, 2020 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 72 °F

    After few days in the sea, we docked in Auckland, NZ.
    Our plan for today is to explore Waiheke Island. This island is located 30 minutes ferry ride from Auckland.
    Waiheke Island is the most populated and the second-largest island in the Hauraki Gulf of New Zealand. Waiheke is the second-largest island in the gulf, after Great Barrier Island.
    Waiheke has become known as New Zealand's "island of wine." It has close to 10,000 population in the winter and it is 30,000 in the summer.

    So, we were promptly outside of the ship at 8:00 AM and short walk to the ferry. We purchased combined tickets ferry plus hop on hop off bus. By 8:40 we were on the island. First bus came at 9:40 and to our surprise not wheelchair accessible, so I had to take the wheelchair completely apart to fit it in the bus. Well, no problem. We got off after one stop to see the village and to our surprise discovered that one of the knobs for the wheelchair attachment broke after I screwd it on. Now we could not fold the wheelchair and put it on the bus. We were told that one of the HOHO buses is double decker and is wheelchair accessible. We decided not to wait for it, but take a city bus which is acceptable. Our next stop was a cluster of wineries. Although it was any 11:15, we decided to taste wines and have a bite. The setting was beautiful and we had delish pizza and wine samples. After spending there nearly 2 hours, we got on HOHO double decker bus. Our next stop was gorgeous beach and charming little village with lots of restaurants. Again we spent 1.5 hours on this location, walked on the beach, enjoyed ice cream and surroundings. The bus came late and it was different bus. It was huge tour bus. We were told the double decker had an accident and 4 broken windows and they replaced it with a accessible tour bus just for us. Hooray!!

    Our next stop was the highest point on the island. The view was beautiful and in addition to that the place had beautiful winery. Since we had to kill 1.5 hours to the next big bus and all hiking in that area was pretty hard for Boris, we went to the winery and spent a lovely time talking to a woman from San Francisco and a local man with a cute dog.

    One and a half hours later the bus came, but to our surprise it was a small bus. The big tour bus had an accident also that brock windows. The wheelchair can not fit on small bus. Luckily after tacking wheels off we could put the wheelchair on the bus w/o folding it. We decided not to press our luck anymore and go straight to the ferry to Auckland.
    After ferry we walked to pharmacy to get some supply.
    Tomorrow we will have another day in Auckland, but we are taking a tour and Boris will not need a wheelchair.
    To see the pictures of the day, please go to this link: https://photos.app.goo.gl/ohrtkUe23PrRN34n8    Read more

  • Sonia Gelman2020 Around the World on HAL
    Day 61

    Auckland, New Zealand. Day 2.

    March 3, 2020 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 72 °F

    Two days before today I decided that it will be much easier for us to have a tour then go by ourselves. Auckland is very hilly and it creates a problem for Boris.
    I got online and found a tour that we liked, but it was sold out. So I decided to try my luck and emailed the company. They answered that there was cancellations and two spaces are available for March 3rd. They sent me a link to pay. I tried to do it using different computers, different browsers, but could not do it. Finally, using Skype I was able to call them and asked to hold reservations untill we meet in Auckland and will be able to pay for the tour.
    Precisely at 8:25 AM, as they told me, the yellow Mercedes pulled over. There were 4 more people in the van. Total of 6 in the group and the van is for 12. Plenty of space.
    The tour took us all over Auckland, the best view points. We also visited one winery and had a wonderful lunch outside of the city. We passed many neighborhoods of Auckland. It was a wonderful overview of the city.
    To see the pictures of this day, please use this link: https://photos.app.goo.gl/yXhUYDTejnfHRpo76    Read more

  • Sonia Gelman2020 Around the World on HAL
    Day 62

    Waitangi, NZ

    March 4, 2020 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 79 °F

    Another tender port... I got up early and was in line for tender tickets by 6:00 AM. Today we were suppose to have 5 hour Day Cruise and some island walking and winery tour. We got on the tender boat by 8:00 AM and I opened my email. What a surprise...the tour is cancelled due to the fact that we are the only two people that signed up for this tour.
    Since we thought that not much walking will be on this tour, we did not take a wheelchair. Now we are on a tender boat going to the town. We decided that Boris will walk as much as he can and then we will go back on the ship.
    Waitangi does not have anything, only Waitangi Treaty Grounds. It considered to be one of the most important places in NZ. That where two people: local people and people from Europe signed a peace treaty. We could not go there because Boris did not have a wheelchair and suggested time of walking is more then 3 hours.
    So we decided to take a shuttle to little town Paihia and walk as much as he can. It is a very nice little town with beautiful view of the Bay, many restaurants and shops. We walked around, had an ice cream and then got on the shuttle back to the tender port. On the way to the port, the driver asked us if we wanted to stop at Waitangi Treaty Grounds and we decided to stop and then it is a short walk to the pier. We walked a little and then Boris said to get to the pier we had to go left. I argued with him, because I thought we had to go right. But, my sense of directions is pretty bad, so we went left. We walked and walked and then we reached a golf course and walked and walked up and down on the golf course until we climbed on top of the hill and saw our tender port in completely different direction. We had to go right.
    So we went down that hill and up another hill until we reached a parking lot. I was tired...imagine how tired Boris was. Good exercise.
    There was a school bus with a driver on the parking lot. I told him we got lost and he drove us to the pier. Another day of adventure.
    Tomorrow is a sea day, so Boris can rest. To see pictures of this day, please use this link: https://photos.app.goo.gl/JtRdHvM46yAfz6tRA    Read more

  • Sonia Gelman2020 Around the World on HAL
    Day 63

    Latest Update

    March 5, 2020 in Australia ⋅ 🌧 73 °F

    Just got new update. Not going to Sri Lanka and India. Instead spending many days in Australia. Most people are very happy.
    March 7, 8 - Sydney, Australia
    March 11 ----Townsville, AU
    March 12 ---- Cairns, AU
    March 16 ---- Darwin, AU
    March 19 ---- Briime, AU
    March 21 ---- Exmouth, AU
    March 23 ---- Geraldton, AU
    March 24,25 - Fremantle, AU

    That is all we know for now.    Read more

  • Sonia Gelman2020 Around the World on HAL
    Day 64

    Celebrating 9 years anniversary.

    March 6, 2020, Tasman Sea ⋅ 🌧 73 °F

    Today is our 9 years anniversary of the cars accident. So in memory of this Boris decided to get sick. Last night after Gala dinner he went right to bed. He was shivering and looked like he had fever. Knowing that this are the first signs of UTI, he took antibiotic. By morning the fever went down, he continues with antibiotics.
    He felt much better, unfortunately his right leg did not look good. It was red swollen and hot to a touch. He went to a medical center. They took his blood and after few hours he went back to talk to a doctor and see the blood results.
    The doctor told us they suspect he has skin infection or blood clots. Their blood testing machine for infection is broken and the indicators for blood clots are not conclusive. She gave him blood thinner shot and new antibiotics. Tomorrow morning in Sydney we have to go to a hospital. Hopefully the antibiotics will work.    Read more

  • Sonia Gelman2020 Around the World on HAL
    Day 65

    Sydney, Australia. Day 1.

    March 7, 2020 in Australia ⋅ 🌧 70 °F

    At 6:00 AM we were sailing into beautiful Sydney harbor going under Sydney Bay Bridge, passing Sydney Opera House.
    We had breakfast and at 8:00 AM went to see ship's doctor. She referred us to Royal Prince Albert Hospital.
    We took Uber to the hospital and by 9:00 AM arrived at emergency room of the hospital.
    Boris was taking in pretty fast. It is one of the oldest public hospitals in Sydney. It has good reputation.
    The emergency waiting room looks pretty outdated. Then Boris was escorted to examination room. To my surprise, there was not even a chair for me or doctor to sit. Only bed.
    After blood was taking, we were told to wait in the waiting room for the blood test. So they are not keeping people in examination room. It is a different waiting room, but it looks very old and pretty dirty. Patients are sitting next to each other. Not very pleasant. After 2 hours of waiting the result came in. As we suspected it is cellulitis. The antibiotics should clear it in a few days. Let's hope.
    Amazing the whole thing in this hospital costed us $200. It will be much more from ship doctor. That is why we purchased travel insurance.
    We took Uber back to the ship. Need to rest, eat dress before going to the Opera tonight.
    At 4:30 PM we met with few other people from our ship who were going to the Opera, took a shuttle to the Darling Harbour and then a ferry to the Opera. The performance was sold out. The Opera is Carmen, but contemporary production. Can't say I loved the performance. The singing was more or less okay, but the playing was pretty bad. By intermission Boris looked very tired and his leg was uncomfortable, so we left theater and took taxi back to the ship. He needs to rest and elevate his leg. We hope he will be better in few days. To see pictures of this day, please use link: https://photos.app.goo.gl/mF7iT1u1wNSZrZU6A    Read more

  • Sonia Gelman2020 Around the World on HAL
    Day 66

    Sydney, Australia. Day 2.

    March 8, 2020 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 68 °F

    After visiting ship's doctor in the morning and making sure Boris is ok to leave by himself, I decided to go to explore the city by myself.
    I took 9:00 AM shuttle to Darling Harbour and walked along the harbour to Barangaroo reserve.
    This area was of importance to Aboriginal Cadigal people as a hunting and fishing region. There are some indications that it was inhibiting over 6000 years. Now it is a beautiful park with terraces and beautiful view of the harbour.
    After that I walked to the Rock. It is old pedestrian shopping area with Street market and many restaurants.
    I was debating with myself to walk Sydney bridge as a pedestrian or to go over the bridge. I took an elevator to the bridge and then walked to the other side of the bridge, taking pictures of the Sydney harbor and Opera house. It is carries rail, vehicular, bicycle, and pedestrian traffic between the Sydney central district and North shore. It is a massive and about 0.5 km long. I had to cross it twice, to the North shore and then back to the center.
    After that I decided to visit Queen Victoria Building. The Queen Victoria Building (abbreviated as the QVB) is massive Victorian style building used as upscale marketplace (shops and restaurants). Beautiful exterior and interior.
    By that time I was already pretty tired and hungry and I still needed to get to the ship shuttle. Time to go back. Total steps walked today - 20,000.
    I was back on the ship by 2:30 PM.
    Next two days are sea days, so I hope Boris will have time to recover. His leg is still swollen and gets worse by the end of the day.. To see more pictures of this day, please use this link: https://photos.app.goo.gl/VCgKMWyXYBWpDRfB7    Read more

  • Sonia Gelman2020 Around the World on HAL
    Day 69

    Townsville, Australia

    March 11, 2020 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 77 °F

    The day started with Boris going to the doctor. His leg is better, but not completely cured. He finished all antibiotics. The doctor agreed he needs help, so she put IV in his arm and he had to stay in the medical center for an hour to get stronger antibiotics thru IV. Tomorrow he has to get another dose. We really hope that will do the job.
    By 9:00 AM he was done and we went to see the place. Townsville is a major gateway to the Great Barrier Reef. The weather forecast promised 100 percent rain and feel of 98 degrees. We packed our rain gears and umbrella. It was raining outside.
    We took shuttle and it brought us to the city.
    Townsville has the largest reef Aquarium and since it was raining it was logical place to go. The Aquarium has 2.5 million litre Coral Reef Exhibit. Very impressive.
    After spending close to 2 hours in Aquarium, we went outside. The rain stopped.
    Boris had IV in his arm, so it was difficult for him to walk, the IV was on the way of the crutch, so he was on the wheelchair. But it was also very uncomfortable for him to operate a wheelchair. Because of these I needed to push him.
    We walked about 1.5 miles along the water. It is a beautiful walk, but it was hot and extremely humid. There were beautiful beaches along the walk on one side and park with piknic tables and playgrouns on the other side. At the end of out walk we reached statue of the woman in the ocean. It changes the color depending on the air temperature. Some beaches had swimming areas. In Australia you can only swim in netted area because of jelly fish and crocodiles. When we reached almost the end of the waterwalk, we walked inland for a few blocks and stopped in take-away fish store. They cooked fish and chips with some additional shrimp for us and we ate it at the small table outside the store. The fish and shrimp were grilled and were so fresh and delicious.
    After a little rest and food we walked back to the shuttle.
    In addition to walking all-day and the heat, I had to push the wheelchair. So, I got my exercise of the day.
    We got back on the ship, took shower and went for a dinner. I ordered a seafood platter, but it did not tasted good after fish lunch.
    Tomorrow is Cairns and second IV for Boris.
    To see more pictures of this day, please use this link: https://photos.app.goo.gl/u1Mb6nr9tmKMZAwW9    Read more

  • Sonia Gelman2020 Around the World on HAL
    Day 70

    Cairns, Australia

    March 12, 2020 in Australia ⋅ 🌧 79 °F

    It turned to be a fantastic day despite the rain.
    Early in the morning Boris went to the ship medical center and got half of dose of IV antibiotics. His leg got better.
    Then we walked to the nearby hotel to be picked up for Sky Rail trip.

    Exactly at 10:30 AM the bus came and drove us for about 25 minutes to board cable car to go through rainforest and to Kuranda village to board a scinic railways back to Cairns.

    Due to the rain and may be the virus there were very few people. Each cable car could accommodate 6 people. The wheelchair was placed in one car and we were followed on the next one.
    We had two stops along the way to the village, where we got out for a little hike and some photo opportunity.
    First stop was rainforest very diverse rainforest vegetation: trees, fern that grows on the top of the trees and birds.
    The second stop was a beautiful waterfall.
    The last stop was Kuranda village.
    We had 1.5 hours to spend in the village. We really wanted to go to birds sanctuary or butterfly sanctuary. Unfortunately, there was not enough time. We walked around the pretty village, had lunch. Boris had kangaroo burger, which was pretty dry and I had 🐊 sausage, which was delicious.
    We boarded old train at 2:00 PM. It is used for scenic route only. The railway is 37 km (23 mi) in length. It takes about one hour and 55 minutes to climb or decent one way including the stop off at the falls.
    Construction of the railway began in 1886.The railway was completed as far as Kuranda in 1891. Passenger services began operations in 1891.

    Many lives were lost as numerous tunnels and bridges were built. In order to be hired to build this railroad, one had to have their own tools. 15 hand-made tunnels and 37 bridges were built to climb from sea level to 328 metres up. Three million cubic metres of earth had to be excavated during construction.

    The first operation of a tourist train from Cairns to Kuranda was in 1936.  In 1995 major repairs had to be carried out after a severe rock fall damaged the track. On 26 March 2010 the train was derailed by a landslide injuring 5 of the 250 passengers on board.

    The trip was very nice and relaxing, even the rain did not spoil the day. We were back on the ship by 5:00 PM. Around 6:00 PM captain announced we have medical emergency. One passenger had a stroke during dinner and he had to be taking off the ship.
    To see some pictures of the day, Please use the link: https://photos.app.goo.gl/WE27Moo69LEnnBee9    Read more

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