From Hawaii across the Blue Pacific to the Blue Mountains of Australia.
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| Ready to leave on vacation.... (picture from our last vacation) |
We are O.K. to go and looking forward to sending you our Blog as we visit some terrific places. Thanks for traveling with us.
Pacific Pleasures - Post #1
11/6/18 - At sea – Cruising the Pacific
Starting in Maui – 10/26/18 – 11/6/18
We started our trip flying out of Philadelphia
Airport with the most amazing sunrise… it was so impressive that the pilot even
commented on the uniqueness of this occurrence.
We were on our way….
 Sunrise |
| Sunrise - Philadelphia Airport, Philadelphia, PA |
We
left our home at 3:30 AM and arrived in Maui at 9:30 PM – NJ time… a very long
day but were happily greeted by Avis’ newest Customer Service member at the car
rental agency. We immediately knew “Adventures”
were on their way.
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| Avis Customer Service - Mr. Rooster - Maui, Hawaii |
Lahaina,
Maui is an old town transformed into a shopping and restaurant mecca totally
tourist oriented. Nice galleries
(giraffes were way too pricey), lots of “T” Shirt shops, restaurants that
unfortunately are not air conditioned.
We had to make sure we ate at one that was on the water front with a
nice cross breeze to make eating comfortable.
The highlight of the city is the Banyan Tree that is 145 years old. It has magnificent branches with many aerial prop roots that mature into thick, woody trunks, which
can become indistinguishable from the primary trunk with age. They can spread
laterally by using these prop roots to grow over a wide area that resembles a
grove of trees. So impressive and
beautiful….
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| Banyan Tree planted in 1873 - Lahaina - Maui, Hawaii |
The
Road to Hana is legendary for its winding road; in fact there are 620
hairpin turns along the way.
There is actually nothing to “go to” in Hana except the 7 pools at the
end of the trail. Legend says that
someone made up the importance of the 7 pools to get people to go to the end of
the road. Along the way there are impressive
waterfalls, beautiful scenery and lots of turns. We decided to work our way to the end with
minimal stops so we could take our time getting back, stop for a nice late
lunch and not be stressed about the time to return to our hotel. You definitely don’t want to drive back in
the dark. YEA, we made it to the 7 pools
(only saw 4 – other 3 up a steep hill) and were on our way back on the same
road. The actual town of Hana is
extremely small with a population of approximately 1,000 with one gas
station. Now this is an important fact
as we hit a large pot hole while pulling off to the side of the road to let
another care through. Lots of the
roadway only accommodates one car so you have to alternately let cars come
forward from the other direction. After
we started driving again we noticed a serious shimmy in the back and got out to
check it the first time there was a larger shoulder to stop on. And the back wheel was bent out about 20
degrees and looked rather bad. We knew
there was the gas station in the town so we limped to it and found out that
there are no mechanics in Hana. So a
call to Avis to have the car towed back to civilization had us talking to the
first Avis representative we saw when we rented the car, Mr. Rooster, an animal
with a very small brain. Oh no, it was
actually an employee in Florida who did not even know where Maui was no less
what or where Hana was. After 4 hours on
the phone with minimal phone service we were sitting in the front of the tow
truck with a 3 hour ride in the dark riding a road with 620 hairpin
curves. We missed everything we were
supposed to see on the way back including dinner (we were so stressed that we
weren’t even hungry – that is saying something for Mike). It was definitely an “Adventure” and one
never to be repeated… we have seen Hana!!!
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| Small Island with Coconut Tree Planted on Top by a Father to Honor his Battle Fallen Son - Road to Hana - Maui, Hawaii |
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| Waterfalls - Road to Hana - Maui, Hawaii |
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| The Three Sirens of Hana - Road to Hana - Maui, Hawaii |
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| A Few of the Seven Pools - Road to Hana - Maui, Hawaii |
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Foliage on the Road to Hana - Maui, Hawaii
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| Our Rental Car Being Towed - Road to Hana - Maui, Hawaii |
The
Marriott is situated on the lovely Kaanapali Bay, very pretty but not a good
beach for swimming in the ocean, lots of coral and waves. Pool area is lovely so we spent our resort
time there.
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| Sunrise - Marriott - Maui, Hawaii |
Our next adventure was going to Mount Haleakala. We drove up to the top of the crater (10,023 feet); roads were very good and definitely wide enough. It is a dormant volcano, not extinct – it still can erupt. We decided not to go for sunrise; you have to leave at 4:00 AM to get there in time, so we went for sunset. The sun sets behind the clouds as you are so high up that rarely does anyone ever see the sun go into the ocean. Scenery is very stark with some of the mountain areas so high in iron content that they are magnetic… interesting. On the way back to the hotel we stopped at Front Street in Lahaina for its Halloween Celebration. It is so much fun; the street is closed off with locals and tourists in costume parading down the street. It is not a formal parade and people just wander in and out wherever they would like to participate. There are some very clever and fun costumes, sort of like the Halloween Parade in Greenwich Village in NYC but on a smaller scale. A really fun way to finish off our stay in Maui....
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| Crater - Mount Haleakala - Maui, Hawaii |
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| Sunset - Mount Haleakala - Maui, Hawaii |
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| Looking Down at the Clouds - Mount Haleakala - Maui, Hawaii |
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| Us - Halloween on Front Street - Lahaina - Maui, Hawaii |
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Santa (Oops no pants) & Helper -
Halloween on Front Street - Lahaina - Maui, Hawaii
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Mexican Train Domino Revelers -
Halloween on Front Street - Lahaina - Maui, Hawaii
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We left Maui on 11/1/18 with a short flight to Oahu to board our ship, Regent’s Seven Seas Mariner. Our first stop was Hilo, Hawaii with a Helicopter Ride to discover the Kilauea Volcano and areas affected by its recent eruptions. WOW, so dramatic… the volcano is no longer flowing lava but the destruction is unbelievable along with an additional 500 acres of land added to the terrain. There are areas with steam still flowing from the lava fissures, the smoldering caldera and areas where vehicles were trapped by the flow are so unbelieveable to see. The land in places is still 100 to 500 degrees at ground level, so no one is allowed in the area. A part of the area where the lava flow has cooled has some reconstruction of the roads… major project. The helicopter trip was totally awesome with a great pilot with lots of amazing information.
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| Ready for our Helicopter Ride - Hilo, Hawaii |
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| Crater - Kilauea Volcano - Hilo, Hawaii |
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| Smoke Rising from the Fissures - Kilauea Volcano - Hilo, Hawaii |
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| Smoldering Caldera - Kilauea Volcano - Hilo, Hawaii |
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| Lava Tube - Kilauea Volcano - Hilo, Hawaii |
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Abandoned Vehicles Trapped by Lava Flow -
Kilauea Volcano - Hilo, Hawaii
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| Dramatic Lava Flow Landscape with our Helicopter's Shadow - Kilauea Volcano - Hilo, Hawaii |
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Road Reconstruction over Lava Path from the Eruption -
Kilauea Volcano - Hilo, Hawaii
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We
are now on the 4th day at sea in the Pacific. Seas have been great with not too much
movement. We love the swaying while
going to sleep at night… no one has rocked my cradle for a long time. There are lots of activities on board, great
food and time to relax. There is a
Hawaiian instructor on board who each day teaches a new local craft including
lei making… lovely to wear to dinner that night. We crossed the Equator yesterday and there is
a very funny tradition on board ships where pollywogs (someone who never
crossed the equator by ship) get elevated to shellbacks (those who now have
crossed the equator). King Neptune and
his wife (a/k/a as the Cruise Director and Assistant Cruise Director) board the
ship and take it over from the Captain.
The pollywogs are put through a very funny initiation ceremony including
the supposed dissection with innards removed along with a dunk in the
pool. Really fun to watch! Luckily we are already shellbacks. The day started with breakfast on our
Verandah and then a lovely sunset behind the orchid plant in our room.
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| Pat Gets (makes) a Lei |
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| Breakfast set up on our Verandah |
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King Neptune and Wife Taking Over the Ship
from Captain Green
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| Pollywogs Innards being Removed |
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Newly Initiated Shellbacks in the Pool
Along with a Fish used in the Ceremony
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| Sunset at Sea, Pacific Ocean Behind the Orchid Plant in our Room |
That’s it for now, we will be communicating with
you again soon….
Pacific Pleasures - Post #2
11/26/18- At sea – Cruising the Pacific
Starting in Nuku Hiva, French Polynesia – 11/7/18 –
11/21/1
Well
it has been a while since I have had time to Blog. We had a glorious 4 days at sea (no pictures),
just great food, fun time on board, lovely people, terrific shows and lots of
pool time and sunshine. The first Marquesan Island we visited was Nuku
Hiva, French Polynesia. Approaching the
island there is a statue of an alien looking creature with a warrior next to it…
protecting the island, legend has it that aliens inhabited the island at one
time. This is the island where the writer, Herman Melville deserted ship and
was captured by the indigenous natives and remained here for three weeks
observing their way of life which later was the basis for his novel, “Typee”. The
island is lush with lovely flowers, an interesting church and beautiful
coastline. What could be better… well there it was in our
room, the most beautiful flower arrangement I have ever seen. Mike sent it to me; when ordering he told the
Purser it should be colorful… but it wasn’t supposed to include every flower on
Nuku Hiva. It was lovely and I still
have some flowers left over two weeks later.
I suggested to Mike that we needed a larger stateroom to accommodate the
flowers… he didn’t buy that – LOL.
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Statue on Hill Approaching the Island -
Nuku Hiva, French Polynesia
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| Shoreline - Nuku Hiva, French Polynesia |
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Madonna & Child Carved in Stone at the Local Church -
- Nuku Hiva, French Polynesia
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| Beautiful Flower Arrangement Mike Sent Me - Nuku Hiva, French Polynesia |
Next
we visited Fakarava, French Polynesia… try to say that three times fast. It was definitely the word of the day with
everyone trying to pronounce it properly (or purposely mispronouncing it). It is an atoll (a coral reef that used to
surround an island which has sunk into the bottom of the ocean) and no tours
are offered (too small, nothing much to offer).
We walked around enjoying the scenery, stopped in a small local church
to say a prayer and viewed the local way of life.
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| Beautiful Scenery - Fakarava - French Polynesia |
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Chandelier made of Shells in Church -
Fakarava - French Polynesia
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Water Collected from Roof in Cistern -
Fakarava - French Polynesia
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Bora, Bora – French Polynesia – no visit is
complete without a visit to Bloody Mary’s to enjoy the famous Bloody Mary drink. Interesting place where the stars and rich
& famous visited throughout the years.
It has a sand floor and a very interesting sink in the ladies room. Our ship stayed overnight and on board they
brought on a local show with terrific Hula Dancers. I was included in the dancing on stage and it
was lots of fun. Earlier in the cruise they
had an instructor on board who gave Hula lessons and I was glad I took some; I even
have a certificate indicating I am a certified Hula Dancer (no demonstrations
when I get home). The next day was
awesome, taking a snorkeling trip visiting an underwater coral garden, swam
with the sting rays and sharks.
Unfortunately I didn’t have a waterproof camera, but shipmates did and
were kind enough to supply some photos. It
was fantastic to have our guide feed the stingrays and see them climb onto his
body to get their treats. The sharks
swam around us but were more interested in the food the guide was feeding them
than us. It was a great experience. We topped off the day with a second tour… a
sunset cruise. The guides are so much
fun and so full of life loving entertaining you to help you enjoy every moment
on their Island. We had a group of them
on our boat singing local songs, playing instruments including the local Ukulele. What a fun day!!!
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View of Bora Bora as we Approached -
Bora Bora - French Polynesia
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| Bloody Mary's - Bora Bora - French Polynesia |
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Pull the Ring to get the Water Flowing in the Rest Room Sink -
Bloody Mary's - Bora Bora - French Polynesia
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| Doing the Hula on Stage - Bora Bora - French Polynesia |
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Shark Fins Above the Water as They Circle Around
Bora Bora - French Polynesia
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| Our Tour Boat Behind us as we Stood in the Water with the Sharks & Stingrays |
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Sunset Cruise - Ukulele Player at Sunset -
Bora Bora - French Polynesia
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Next port was Raiatea – French Polynesia where we learned
lots of interesting things about local industry and culture. We went to the Vanilla Farm with the
beautiful scent of vanilla in the air.
The beans are left to dry in the sun before they are processed into a
variety of different vanilla products.
There was an interesting native gentleman tattooed from head to toe who
welcomed us using the traditional shell call.
He demonstrated uses of the coconut and also the pareo… fun guy. We also saw a demonstration on how they seed
pearls to get the clam to produce a pearl.
It was interesting to learn that the nucleus (seed) is made from shells
gotten from the Mississippi River, formed into different pearl sizes and then
inserted in the clam so it can “do its thing” and produce a pearl. As clams progress in size a larger nucleus is
inserted… thus larger pearls. A perfect
pearl can range in size and price, the one we saw was $4,000, just for the
pearl – WOW. We left Raiatea in an
amazing downpour of rain and were happy to get back to our ship.
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| Vanilla Beans Drying - Raiatea - French Polynesia |
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Decorations made from Palm Fronds -
Raiatea - French Polynesia
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Tattooed Native with Welcoming Shell Call -
Raiatea - French Polynesia
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Nucleus, Shell and Tools used to Seed Pearls -
Raiatea - French Polynesia
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| The "AAA" Pearl - $4,000 - Raiatea - French Polynesia |
Moorea - French
Polynesia… one of the most beautiful islands on earth! We took a scenic tour of
the island, which is quite small with one curvy road going inland to Belvedere
Mountain where the views are beautiful.
They have also built over-water-bungalows in Moorea and they look like a
heavenly place to stay but our ship was waiting for us so off to another port….
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Beautiful Moorea as we Approach -
Moorea - French Polynesia
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View from Belvedere Mountain -
Moorea - French Polynesia
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| Over Water Bungalows - Moorea - French Polynesia |
Next port
was Papeete, Tahiti – French Polynesia which is the main island of the
chain. One end of the island gets more
rain than the other and of course that is where our tour was. Beautiful lush gardens, thanks to the heavy
rains and of course our umbrellas were back in the cabin. Oh well, you dry off quickly in the
tropics. The Grottos were another
beautiful stop with ferns cascading down over them. We next visited a 1,000 year old Marae, which
is a sacred site that was used for religious ceremonies and has recently been
restored. The site is still revered for
its past indigenous religious significance though most of the islands have been
converted (not by choice) by the European Missionaries to Christianity. There were stories told about the
restrictions put upon the indigenous people… they were forbidden to speak their
native language, they were not allowed to sing or dance, they were forbidden to
have tattoos and many of their local customs were “robbed” from them. Over the years their customs have been
restored, but being “colonized” was definitely not something positive for them.
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Le Jardins (The Gardens) D'Eau De Vaipahi -
Papeete, Tahiti - French Polynesia
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Le Jardins (The Gardens) D'Eau De Vaipahi -
Papeete, Tahiti - French Polynesia
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| Grotto- Papeete, Tahiti - French Polynesia |
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Marae - Abode of the Gods -
Papeete, Tahiti - French Polynesia
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We were in
port overnight and the most amazing ship was dockside next to us. It is a $250 Million dollar yacht built for a
very rich Australian and recently sold to an undisclosed buyer (not us, the
rumor is it was a billionaire Russian).
It has a crew or 40 who worked feverishly getting it ready for… who
knows who??? Interesting to see this
amazing ship, with a helicopter, 6 additional boats on board and a swimming pool. Our tour today took us to
James Norman Hall’s Home/Museum. He resided
on the island and wrote “Mutiny on the Bounty” here. There are great artifacts including
manuscripts, posters and lots of family memorabilia. We made several stops during this tour with
beautiful vistas and the scenery was lovely with black volcanic sand beaches.
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Our Dock Mates - 250 Million Dollar Ship -
Papeete, Tahiti - French Polynesia
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Manuscript -James Norman Hall's Museum -
Mutiny On the Bounty -
Papeete, Tahiti - French Polynesia
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Poster from Munity On The Bounty -
Papeete, Tahiti - French Polynesia
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| Black Sand Beach - Papeete, Tahiti - French Polynesia |
The trip we took was 2 back to
back cruises so it circled around and we again visited Bora, Bora. We were taken by a smaller ship to a private
Motu (Island) where we were able to snorkel, swim and relax with a Polynesian
gentleman serving us drinks and fruit.
On our way to the island we encountered a pod of dolphins that swam
along-side our boat and frolicked in the water as we rode along, they are joyous
to see. A relaxing day on Bora, Bora….
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Dolphins Swimming Beside our Boat -
Bora Bora - French Polynesia
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On a Private Motu (Island) -
Bora Bora - French Polynesia
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Being Served on the Motu-
Bora Bora - French Polynesia
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I think I
will finish off this post now or we will never get it out. A few more islands to tell you about later….
Pacific Pleasures - Post #3
12/5/18- Sydney, Australia
Starting in Pago Pago – American Samoa – 11/22/18 –
11/30/18
Our tour on Pago Pago was a rude
awakening to local transportation. We
were informed that the “Local” buses were not air conditioned but we were not
at all prepared for the very rudimentary vehicle they called a bus. Seats were small, wooden and roads were very
bumpy… not the most pleasant trip we had but a good reminder of the luxury we
are accustomed to and take for granted.
We were greeted with a local show and afterwards a bin was placed out if
you wanted to leave a tip. It was pretty
humorous seeing a US Postal Bin used for that, after all it is still America
even if we are in the South Pacific. We
learned about many local customs some very foreign to us. The local homes have the front yard allocated to two different
sections. The very front was actually
the grave yard for their departed family members with very impressive
headstones. Directly behind that was an
open structure called a guest house that is used as a special area for parties,
celebrations and family gatherings. Of
course, nothing is air conditioned so it is all open air. They go from very basic structures to more
upscale buildings with impressive roofs, columns and painted areas but all with
the same purpose.
There is a beautiful rock that
juts out onto the coastline that is called Flower Pot Rock. There is a legend that a maiden drowned there
trying to reach her lover and the rock grew in that place. There is another similar rock nearby that is said
to be the place that her lover threw himself into the sea after she died (I think
we have heard that legend other times).
American Samoa is a very Christian Island and there are very specific
rules about what you can and can’t do on Sundays as our guide said, “It is the Lord’s
Day”. You can do nothing on Sunday… not
even swim for relaxation. The Christian
Colonization of that Island really changed all their local culture.
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Sunrise approaching Pago Pago
(I am a sucker for sunrises/sunsets)
Pago Pago - American Samoa
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Local Bus (I use that term loosely) -
Pago Pago - American Samoa
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Wooden Interior of the Local Bus -
Pago Pago - American Samoa
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Looking for Tips After a Local Show
with the Assistance of a U.S. Postal Bin -
Pago Pago - American Samoa
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Burial Headstone in Front of Home-
Pago Pago - American Samoa
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Guest House in Front of Most Homes
Pago Pago - American Samoa
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Flower Pot Rock-
Pago Pago - American Samoa
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No Swimming (or anything fun) on Sunday
Pago Pago - American Samoa
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Crossing the International Date
Line is a pretty mind boggling experience.
You change your clocks back 1 day and 1 hour. So we celebrated Thanksgiving on Wednesday
(East Coast time) but it was now Thursday where we were. Mike was really upset when he realized we
paid for a 30 day cruise and we were only going to get 29 days out of it… Oh,
no we missed 3 meals – LOL. There was a
great welcoming ceremony on the pier when we arrived in Apia, Samoa with drums,
singing, chanting and dancing… but it was at 7:30 AM. I am
an early riser and had a great time watching the show but most people missed it.
We chose to skip going out on Apia, Samoa
(another island different from American Samoa) as we were totally spent from
the previous day on “The Bus”. We
relaxed and enjoyed our ship and then had a few sea days.
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Change the Clocks - What???
1 Day and 1 Hour 11/22 -11/23/2018
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| Welcoming Local Dancers - Apia, Samoa |
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Thanksgiving Day… playing a game of Ring Toss
Apia, Samoa
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Fiji… everything I hoped and
imagined it would be. Beautiful sunrise
on board our ship and then a day out taking a long boat on the river to a
magnificent waterfall where we swam in the most crystal clear water you have
ever seen. There was interesting local
scenery on route to the waterfall with locals waving as we went by. It was a pretty grueling trip climbing rock
steps and holding rope guide rails to get to the waterfall but well worth it.
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| Sunrise… you guessed it - Fiji |
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| Longboat to Waterfall - Suva, Fiji |
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| Life Jackets Required for Longboat Trip - Suva, Fiji |
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| Raft Made From Trees Along the River - Suva, Fiji |
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Swimming in Crystal Clear Water at The Waterfall
Suva, Fiji
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Next day we chose to go to a private island and it truly was idyllic.
There was beautiful white sand, crystal clear water, great snorkeling, a nice
B-B-Q and time to just enjoy this beautiful setting. The area is a shark nursery so the guides
dropped some food in the water and the baby sharks swam around our feet. I had a terrific guide who took me out
snorkeling on a terrific reef and we swam back to shore in very shallow water
through a reef channel. A little scary
but he definitely guided me where I had to go even taking my hand when he
needed to show me the way… it was a great experience. It was the perfect way to end our trip to Fiji
!!!
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| Private Island - Lautoka, Fiji |
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| Baby Sharks - Private Island - Lautoka, Fiji |
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| Our Idyllic Spot - Private Island - Lautoka, Fiji |
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Proof That We Were Actually There -
Private Island - Lautoka, Fiji
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We had to skip Norfolk Island as
the seas were too rough to tender into the island so we had another sea day to
lounge on the ship. That was our last
port so our trip ended with 2 sea days.
On Sundays the Cruise Director and staff held a non-denomination
Christian Service and it was always inspiring with great readings both from
scripture and inspirational writings by various people. On Friday evenings they set aside time for a
Friday Night Service for the Jewish Guests.
It was nice that Regent arranged time for guests to gather to pray and be
thankful for their terrific trip. We
disembarked in Auckland, New Zealand with a flight to Sydney, Australia. We had a great cruise seeing amazing sites,
visiting very different cultures, seeing parts of the world we were blessed to
be able to visit. That is where I will leave
this post for now. Australia post will probably be from home as
we are busy having fun here.
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Sunday Service with Cruise Director, John;
Marla, Social Hostess; & Elda, Assistant Cruise Director
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Pacific Pleasures - Post #4 (Final Post)
12/29/18- At home in New Jersey
12/29/18- At home in New Jersey
Starting in Australia – 11/30/18 – 12/10/18
Our trip to
Sydney, Australia was uneventful and we were happy to join our Australian friends,
Margaret & Richard for a jam packed 10 days of fun and adventure. We started our first day of Sydney sightseeing
visiting the ANZAC (Australian & New Zealand Army Corps) Memorial. A beautiful museum and grounds in memorial to
all who have served in war. The most impressive
reflecting pool has a notation in granite, “Let Silent Contemplation Be Your
Offering”. Definitely adds a somber,
reflective mood to the area.
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We visited
David Jones Department Store… very upscale with lovely Christmas windows, piano
player inside and all the Christmas trappings.
There is always something interesting to see walking around a new city
and Margaret was there to point out the terrific bar stools. Wanted to kick the people off so we could
take pictures on them, but thought better of it… didn’t want to be labeled, “Ugly
Americans”. We were out on our own
Sunday morning for Church and walked down this little street and there above us
was a huge stump and roots of a tree lining this street, “Underwood Street”. Very clever and interesting to see....
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David Jones Department Store with Piano Player
Sydney, Australia
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| Clever Bar Stools - Sydney, Australia |
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| Underwood Street… Get it? - Sydney, Australia |
The view
from our room at the Sydney Marriott was lovely during the day but spectacular
by night with a beautiful view of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. We had lunch meeting up with Pat & Adrian,
our other Aussie friends as we watched a cruise ship leaving the port which is
in the middle of Sydney. Everything is
so convenient in Sydney, there is one central train station to take you all
over and then the ferry terminal has ferries leaving constantly taking you to
so many areas of Sydney. We took a ferry
to Manly Beach… it was definitely HOT but the scenery was wonderful. My picture tells it all.
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View from Our Room at the Marriott of Sydney
and the Harbour Bridge - Sydney, Australia
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| Lunch with Pat & Adrian watching the Cruise Ship Leaving Port Below The Sydney Harbour Bridge - Sydney, Australia |
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Manly Beach… Need I Say More?
Sydney, Australia
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The Royal Botanical
Gardens are in the middle of the city and we were fortunate to see a beautiful
exhibit in the arboretum with huge walls of flowers arranged in beautiful patterns. We visited the Art Galley of New South Wales
which had an exhibit from the Hermitage in Russia and of course there were some
Monet paintings (if you didn’t already know… my favorite artist). The evening
brought us to the iconic Sydney Opera House to see the ballet, Cinderella. It was a very different production, and being
spoiled by ABT and NYC Ballet we were a bit disappointed in the costuming. It was a great evening as Richard and
Margaret were never to a ballet so it was wonderful to experience the evening
with them.
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Royal Botanical Garden - Wall of Flowers
Sydney, Australia
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Monet painting from the Hermitage Collection -
Art Gallery of New South Wales - Sydney, Australia
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Ready for Cinderella Ballet at The Sydney Opera House with Richard & Margaret - Sydney, Australia
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| The Iconic Sydney Opera House - Sydney, Australia |
Our last
day in Sydney brought us by ferry to Barangaroo Reserve and you ask who is
Barangaroo… well I have the answer.
Barangaroo was a powerful Aboriginal woman. The Reserve is being built as a 54 acre
waterfront renewal project with beautiful water views; gardens; walking and
cycling paths. They planted over 75,000
trees and shrubs making it a lovely place to spend an afternoon.
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Barangaroo Reserve Overlooking The Bay
Sydney, Australia
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Giant Sheep Store (note size of cars)
Somewhere en route to Canberra
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We left
early the next morning heading to the capitol of Australia, Canberra for a
visit to Jamala Wildlife Lodge staying in “The Tree House”. Jamala Lodge is situated in the middle of the
National Zoo. It consists of the uShaka
Lodge and 18 rooms, many of which are located adjacent to animal enclosures. Of course we stayed in The Tree House, a
beautiful suite with the back balcony next to Humbekali’s (nicknamed – Hummer) home. Hummer hangs in the backyard, when you look
out your door or go out to the balcony (eye level with Hummer) he is
there. Most of the time he is eating,
giraffes spend more than half the day consuming over 70 pounds of greens. There is always a large supply of food out
there and each day you are given special treats to feed him, he loves
carrots. What great fun to live with a
giraffe and have our friends Margaret & Richard in the next Tree House
room. Margaret heard about the resort
and waited for us to come to Australia to visit. The resort is absolutely beautiful with an African
décor and beautiful animal sculptures all over.
Our room was gorgeous… the tiled Giraffe bathroom was definitely “over the
top” (tried to talk Mike into one of them for our bathroom at home, but we are
still in discussion – I think???). All meals are at the uShaka lodge and it is
fun to meet other guests from all over the world. Your stay includes 3 gourmet meals
per day including lots of great alcohol.
Afternoon tea upon arrival, cocktail party before dinner, 3 course dinners
and specially prepared breakfast and lunch which were all amazingly delicious. What a great experience.
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Jamala Wildlife Lodge - Tree House Room
Canberra, Australia |
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Bathroom in the Tree House with Ceramic Tile Giraffe
Canberra, Australia
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Mike Lounging in our Sitting Room
Canberra, Australia
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Pat Lounging in our Sitting Room
Canberra, Australia
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The Reason for the Tree House Room - Hummer
Canberra, Australia
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Feeding Hummer Carrots from Our Balcony
Canberra, Australia
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Hummer is
a very unique Giraffe, he is a cross between a Rothschild Giraffe and a
Reticulated Giraffe born on 7/29/01 in another Zoo in Australia. The keepers believe it is the cross between
the two sub-species of Giraffes that gives him his unusual pattern. His neck, top of his torso and front legs
have a larger pattern that is lighter in color and his back end has a smaller
pattern and darker in color. Hummer is definitely
a unique guy who we fell in love with.
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Hummer's Unique Pattern
Neck & Upper Torso is Different from Mid-Section to Back End
Canberra, Australia
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Besides our Giraffe interaction
we had several other private animal encounters for just the 4 of us. We each fed the lion, an unusual experience
as we were only a few inches from him but he was behind the steel bars. He was so beautiful up close and very gentle
taking his meat treat off the tongs. The
keeper was at our side at all times and made sure we knew how to approach and
when to move back (sometimes he gets rather fussy when the keeper signals him
there is no more food).
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| Mike Feeding a Lion - Canberra, Australia |
We met this incredibly beautiful
young Cheetah who was a few feet from us and not caged. He has been hand raised as he was an orphan
and is used to people. Wonderful to be
able to be so close to such an exotic animal that has been rescued.
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| Young Cheetah - Canberra, Australia |
Our last encounter of the visit
was meeting a Python snake. I was
totally… “No way is he getting near me”.
You three enjoy the encounter and I will take the pictures. So Mike, Margaret & Richard held the
snake as he wrapped himself around them and they had such a good time. Well, never would I miss an opportunity and
be shown up by them, so I decided I can do this too. The Keeper put the snake on me and it was
O.K. until he decided to wrap his tail end around my thigh very lovingly like
we were going to be intimate friends. As
they say one picture is worth a thousand words.
I will leave it at that.
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| My Snake Encounter - Canberra, Australia |
The Zoo has a wonderful selection
of animals including two beautiful white lions… first time we have seen
them. Unfortunately, there are so few
left in the wild, the last time one was spotted in its natural habitat was in
1994. They may even be totally extinct
in the wild, so it is fortunate that they have a pair here.
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| Majestic White Lion - Canberra, Australia |
Our really hysterical encounter
wasn’t with any wild exotic animal but with a Peacock who was looking for a
mate. He is ready, but unfortunately
there are no female Peacocks in the zoo.
So he decided to do his mating dance for two Guinee Hens who were
totally uninterested. His front plumage
was so impressive but the best part was when he turned around and really shook
his booty. Those brown back feathers
flapped back and forth calling to whoever wanted to mate with him. Unfortunately he did his dance for only our
enjoyment… we definitely had a chuckle.
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Very Horny Peacock looking for a Mate
Canberra, Australia
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Back End of a Peacock Looking for a Mate
Canberra, Australia
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The entire experience at Jamala was
so lovely, waking up to a giraffe peering into your room, a hot air balloon
floating above the sunrise and the amazing artwork all around the Lodge. Many of the pieces were made specifically for
Jamala and they are so beautiful and impressive. I have included a few pictures for you to
enjoy.
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Sunrise from the Balcony of our Tree House
with a Hot Air Balloon Floating above
Canberra, Australia
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| Artwork at Jamala Lodge - Canberra, Australia |
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A One Ton Leopard Carved from Bowenite
Canberra, Australia
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Carved Door at Jamala
Canberra, Australia
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| Artwork at Jamala Lodge - Canberra, Australia |
We all had a
great time at Jamala and it was time to leave and head to Margaret &
Richard’s beautiful home in the Blue Mountains of Australia. We were so relaxed and chilled out that I
didn’t even take one picture while we were there. But the images are indelibly etched in my
mind of two very special people who we met during our travels many years ago
who have become dear friends. So our
trip finally came to an end after 6 weeks of travels and we headed home. It has taken me a while to finish the Blog as
we came home to major jet-lag, doctor appointments and Christmas
preparation. We had a wonderful
Christmas and now we want to wish you a Happy New Year in the languages of many
of our stops during this trip. We
decided to wear the local island head pieces and leis to celebrate and here we
are:
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| Happy New Year in local languages from our trip: |
English
- Happy New Year
French - Bonne année
Samoan - Hanuia le Tausaga Fou
Hawaiian
- Hauʻoli makahiki hou
Fijian - Vakanuinui Marautaki ni
Yabaki Vou!
