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February 2024

February - May 2024
An open-ended adventure by Tui Snider Read more
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  • TravelerFebruary 2024
    Day 22

    West Terrace Cemetery

    February 28 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 81 °F

    Cemeteries often have monument shops nearby, but the one in Adelaide features an eye catching statue out front.

    Like other burial grounds we’ve visited Down Under, we enjoyed birds and their melodious calls as we explored. At one point, a half dozen Superb Fairy Wrens appeared and began foraging along a line of headstones.

    The wrens are aptly named; they do flit like little fairies, with iridescent turquoise feathers around their necks adding a delightful flash of color.

    West Terrace offers a whopping 4 different walking tours, with signs featuring QR codes throughout. I chose the Culture and Symbolism tour.

    I was stopped by groundskeepers twice during our visit. They simply wanted to know how I was doing and if they could help. Both times I let them know how much I enjoyed their walking tours and the fact that they are protecting heritage plants.

    Christian monuments dominate the landscape, but there were Jewish, Afghan, Muslim, and Syrian Druze sections.

    That said, my favorite monument there is the cherub with butterfly wings that we saw on our way out.    Read more

  • TravelerFebruary 2024
    1
    Day 21

    Adelaide Wandering

    February 27 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 97 °F

    In Adelaide, our ship was met by a band called “Ewe Calyptus.” Always nice when locals come out to greet us like that.

    The cruise port is quite a way from Adelaide, so everyone needed to take the train if they wanted to go into town.

    The ticket booth closed, so the station agent told us to buy a cruise day pass when we got off.

    Once there, our departing throng overwhelmed the ticket booth, so much so that they shooed us along and told us to buy tickets upon our return. So that’s what we did!

    After taking a cab to Adelaide Cemetery, we hoofed it back to the train station, admiring the architecture and stopping for iced mochas and pastries along the way.    Read more

  • TravelerFebruary 2024
    11
    Day 20

    Melbourne Cemetery

    February 26 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 70 °F

    Our friends had never visited Melbourne General Cemetery (MGL), but they accommodated my wishes by including it on our walk.

    Well, we actually took the tram for part of the journey. Good thing they were with us to sort that out.

    The ticket machine didn’t work at the port, so the tram driver told us all to board it anyway, because she was heading to the free ride zone.

    Melbourne General Cemetery has the largest caretaker’s cottage I’ve ever seen. Inside, I bought a book about the burial ground and picked up a walking trail brochure.

    I was happy to see that MGL has a program called “Project Cultivate” which plants native trees and grasses to the burial ground as a way to revitalize the land.

    I had two monuments on my list to see here, and we found them both: the Elvis grotto and tomb of a famous billiard player.

    After those goals were met, we had an aimless meander through the old section, which is always my favorite part.

    My favorite monument there features a large statue of the Archangel Michael.    Read more

  • TravelerFebruary 2024
    132
    Day 20

    Melbourne Friends

    February 26 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 70 °F

    We met Carol and Steve on our world cruise last year, and they met up with us today at the port!

    Our other Melbourne pals couldn’t make it, but we spent a fun filled day with Carol and Steve, catching up, eating fish ‘n’ chips, exploring a cemetery, walking some more, and capping it all off with decadent pastries and espresso.

    We barely scratched the surface of all that Melbourne has to offer, but it was the perfect way to spend a day here.    Read more

  • TravelerFebruary 2024
    1
    1
    Day 18

    Sydney Sail Away

    February 24 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 70 °F

    Our tablemates, Clive and Thelma, invited us to watch the Sydney sailaway from their suite, and it was sweet, indeed.

    As we pulled away from the dock, I had a great view of a tugboat at our bow, and was surprised to see that there was a line attached to our stern.

    Must say that Sydney’s opera house is just as striking in person as it is in all the posters and movies I’ve seen it in.

    At one point, Clive asked, “What sort of bird is that?” Moments later, we realized it wasn’t a bird at all, but was in fact, a large bat! It was the size of a raven. Truly special way to end our day in Sydney.    Read more

  • TravelerFebruary 2024
    11
    Day 18

    Sydney Walkabout

    February 24 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 70 °F

    Sydney’s port swarmed with people, but we had a good time exploring the area just the same.

    Friendly volunteers handed out maps at the pier. The lady I spoke to told us how to enter the opera house for free, adding that, “Be sure to visit the bathrooms, too, they are quite picturesque.” I’ll let you be the judge from my photos!

    Along the way, we saw some Aborigines busking. I’m a sucker for the didgeridoo, so I walked up to take a photo of the guy playing it while the other guy danced.

    I didn’t expect the dancer to pose for pics with me, but he was very exuberant. After our first pose, which was rather sedate, he goes, “Let’s do another shot, but make it a bit crazy!” Sounded good to me, so that’s the shot I’ve shared here.

    Sydney’s historic neighborhood, aka The Rocks, was especially busy, with an open air market full of goodies.

    I chuckled at the sight of a Berliner booth because of JFK’s famous gaff. When visiting the city of Berlin, he grandly stated, “Ich bin ein Berliner.”

    He meant to say that he was a citizen of Berlin, when he was actually proclaiming that he was a jelly filled donut.

    Seeing Vegemite for sail put the Men at Work’s “Land Down Under” song in my head. We also saw a variety of kangaroo products for sale.

    The little phone booth I show here would’ve come in handy when Larry and I were trying to book a cab earlier in the day. You can use it to make free calls in Australia. It also says that it has free WiFi, but I’m not sure how it all works.

    Ozzies drive on the same side of the road as Brits do, so the “look” sign on the pavement was a good reminder. We travel so much that I look both ways before I cross the street no matter where we are.

    Larry has a special way with birds, and was able to feed some wild Lorikeets we saw loitering on some cafe umbrellas.

    Seeing “pet shop birds” in the wild is such a delight. During our cab ride, for instance, I saw a dozen lorikeets standing on an apartment railing. The cabbie explained that the birds had “adopted” the people living there. I like the idea of people being pets to animals.    Read more

  • TravelerFebruary 2024
    Day 17

    Cold Front Clouds

    February 23, Tasman Sea ⋅ ⛅ 81 °F

    The night before we reached Sydney, a big cold front blew through and cooled the city down from triple digits to a very pleasant seventy-something.

    Our dining table is located at the ship’s transom, so we had a great view.

    Sunsets at sea are a wonderful sight to behold.    Read more

  • TravelerFebruary 2024
    Day 17

    Waverly Cemetery

    February 23 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 90 °F

    Sydney’s Waverly Cemetery is a beautiful burial ground overlooking the sea. Although filled with Victorian and Edwardian monuments, it’s an active cemetery, and still receives new burials.

    I never found out what type of lizards the street sign refers to, but apparently they cross the road by Waverly’s front gate.

    We spent several hours wandering up and down and all around. It was hard to choose which photos to share here.

    One of my favorite monuments depicts an angel with butterfly wings. I was quite intrigued by a monument to a young man who, as the epitaph explained, died during a circus stunt in which he dove into a bucket from a great height.

    Afterwards, we found a cafe nearby and enjoyed some delicious iced espresso. Hailing a cab turned into quite a challenge, however, so we lingered longer than planned.

    My Uber app wouldn’t work, and when I called for a cab, I got an automated menu that wanted me to input an Australian phone number. We tried waving down a few passing cabs, but none of them stopped.

    I finally managed to get a human on the end of the phone (which was an international call) and book a cab. Phew! We enjoy walking, but that would have been a bit too much.    Read more

  • TravelerFebruary 2024
    1
    Day 14

    Glow Worm Caves

    February 20 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 75 °F

    Our second stop in New Zealand took us to the gorgeous Bay of Islands. I was eager to see native Tui birds there, but locals explained that it was too hot. The birds were staying cool in the deep forest.

    Ah, well. I don’t blame them. It was too hot in the sun for this Tui, too.

    We compensated for this ornithological disappointment while exploring the seaside village of Paihia. Larry found a pair of Tui earrings with a matching pin and sneakily bought them for me. I love them and have been wearing them ever since.

    Later, we took a bus to the Kaiwiti Caves where we saw glow worms twinkling in the darkness. Glow worms emit light in order to lure insects into the sticky threads they dangle from the walls of the cave.

    After dining on their prey, they quit glowing until they get hungry again, which can be as long as a month.

    Our guide, Hinemoana, was very knowledgeable and answered all our questions with aplomb. I regret, however, that I can’t share pics of the glow worms. Since the caves are sacred to Maori people, photography is forbidden inside.

    In addition to hundreds of glow worms, we also saw a big eel in the cave. Priscilla, as she is called, is 4 1/2 feet long and well over 80-years-old!

    You can see Hinemoana standing on a meteorite in one of my photos. It fell from the sky and landed at a nearby farm many years ago. They rolled it here so people can marvel at the heavy rock.

    Larry and I enjoyed how low key and informal the whole experience was. The cave has no electricity inside, there’s no gift shop, and the only toilet facilities were a couple porta-potties.

    The New Zealand countryside is so pretty. I’m in love with the gorgeous forests and great big fern trees.

    I definitely want to visit New Zealand again. After all, over yet to see a Tui bird!    Read more

  • TravelerFebruary 2024
    1111
    Day 13

    Weta Workshop

    February 19 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 81 °F

    While our cemetery jaunt bolstered my ongoing research, our stop at the Wets Workshop was pure fun.

    We’re offers a behind the scenes glimpse at the filmmaking process, especially the special effects aspect. They have miniatures and big-atures and all sorts of paraphernalia for sci fi, horror, and fantasy films.

    Larry found the workshops inspiring for his mad scientist laboratory back home. It’s definitely a place that would be fun to take the grandkids. As you can see, we had fun playing around during g our visit.    Read more

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