Captain's Log:
We are sailing into some monsoon winds in the South China Sea, according to the captain. The ship is a'rockin'. Swells at 4 meters, expected to reach 6 meters throughout the night. All the old people were advised to stay in their cabins, don't want any broken hips and what not.

Housekeeping note-I don't know when the next round of pictures will be. The next couple of ports we are visiting have some long busrides into the city centers. Therefore, once we are off the ship for the day, we are off until we set sail at night. So, I won't be hauling the mac around with me all day. It will at least be after Shanghi. We'll be in port for the next day, so if you want to check out the webcab, it won't be just the sea. But we are docking in a container/shipping yard, so I can't promise a great view. We are sailing out of Hong Kong at 3pm local time on Thursday (I think it will be 1am Central on Thursday) If you're up and about.

Until then...
crj

We know we are behind in posting pictures but we have good excuses. We had to be back on the ship at 1:30 p.m. while in Albany, early departure of 2 p.m., so we didn't have a chance to do anything but our tour/sightseeing. On Fremantle we took a ferry over to Rattnest Island and that story is below. We hope to get some internet time in Exmouth tomorrow for downloading pictures. Betty and Nancy, who are from Australia, tell us that Exmouth is the End of the World and very hot. We also understand there are only 2,400 people who live there. I'm thinking they have to have internet and cable, what else would they do for entertainment?????

There are a couple of saved up post following this one.


Update on comments:

Charlie T. - It was cold on the Alpine Jet Boat ride but we did get used to it. The double hats were more of a 'keep the hair back and out of the camera lens than anything else. BUT the water melting off the Alpine Mountains, overcast conditions and the wind at 50 m.p.h. is nothing to sneeze at.

Amy G. - We did get your second post, so it looks like you got it figured out. Julius sounds like he is all business protecting your humble abode out there in the countryside. Wait until the critters started to charge back towards him, he'll be back on the porch than you can count to 1.

Chris - We wish you were here with us too. We have not run into anyone that has done a world cruise before except one lady who travels all the time. She already has her next two trips planned for 2010. Don't know what she does for funds but I'd like to find out!


Fremantle

Yesterday we were in Fremantle (Freo as the natives refer to it) and went to Rottnest Island (Rotto). We were late getting into port due to strong headwinds so we missed both the 9:30 and 10:00 am ferries over to Rottnest but we did get tickets for the 11:30 a.m. out and 4:00 p.m. return. Prior to catching the ferry, we walked over to the Round House, which is a twelve sided building constructed back in the early 1800's. This is the oldest building in Fremantle and it once served as the prison. You know you always have to go se how the prisoners lived - cramped, but on a brighter note they did get their own cell! There was a wedding taking place there that morning. Very unusual for a Sunday morning, I thought, but maybe a very appropriate venue - you know the prison theme!?! They also had a mechanism that marked the time at 1:00 p.m. everyday by dropping a ball from the high mast atop the hill and simultaneously shot a cannon out in the water. In 1937 radio transmission replaced this method but I think I'd like to see the cannonball trick one more time.

Rottonest island was named after an animal that looks like a rat but it's really a Quokka. The island was overrun with them before tourist started coming out. Today there are still quite a few and they are pretty large rat-looking creatures but cute enough to take a few pictures of them. There are no cars allowed on this island, only service vehicles like garbage trucks and buses. The island has 63 beaches and 20 bays and is very 'glossy travel magazine' worthy! This is the playground for all those who own boats in Fremantle and Perth. Every bay we came across had about a hundred boats all anchored and facing in the same direction, some huge, some small but most about medium size. They made for some nice pictures with the beaches in the background. We went to Basin Beach first. It had a rock shelf that was carved out in a circular teardrop formation just under the water and beyond the front of the beach that then dropped about 3 - 5' into some dark emerald green water. THIS was our kind of beach. After a while we walked up the road to find Parakeet Beach and Small Parakeet Beach. Along the way we bought lunch, coke and potato chips, which we saved until we got to the beach.

We walked for quite a bit through the picturesque roads and only had to dodge the biker riders. Everyone, kids/grandparents, were on bikes, which was the only transportation other than one local bus that looped the entire island. There were small little vacation homes to rent ringing the entire island and in some ways it reminded you of being at summer camp but with really good beaches! When we were waiting for the ferry we noticed big luggage bins filled to the brim and ready for transport over to the island. Once on the island we discovered what this was all about. All the visitors coming and going from the vacation rentals put their luggage right out on the road for pick up (I guess you can't ride a bike too well if you try and hold all your luggage). Very trusting and it was refreshing to take a step back in time where everyone respected other people's property. Kids the age of 3 were out riding their bikes all by themselves and groups of kids traveling together with no adult supervision. Very safe place, kid and family friendly and I'll bet no crime to speak of, although we did see signs posted telling you to lock up your bikes or lose them. So, maybe living with a bicycle theft every once in a while is not so bad!

The road started getting too long and hot so we gave up looking for Parakeet Beach and walked back to the last bay we saw for lunch. After refueling, we decided to head right back to Basin Beach and hung out there until it was time to go. It was so pretty and the water was just a little chilly to take the heat off that we kind of lost track of time and were five minutes late getting started back to the center of town than we had planned. The ferry left at 4 and we were suppose to be there at quarter til the hour and we noticed it was 3:26 when we went to shower and get the sand off of our feet. Time to forget the shower. We only washed our feet off in order not to get any blisters and hoofed it back to town. We were sweating in more ways than one since this was the last boat off the island for the day. We did make it back in time but Candice thought I'd be able to sweet talk one of those boat owners for a ride back - let's not press our luck (but I wouldn't have been shy in asking).

All in all I'd recommend Rottnest Island for anyone who wants to get away from it all, take a step back in time to more simpler way of life, and has time to enjoy all 63 beaches! We rate this island a 5-Star - rats or no rats!

Sandy

We took a private tour today in Albany with a couple from Perth, Australia who we met in the Lion's Pub playing trivia a couple of nights ago. David our tour guide was a real "Man vs. Wild" kind of guy. He knew everything about everything. He even takes people on eco-tours and wine tours but today it was the rocky jagged coastline right outside of Albany.

We drove all the way around the harbor to Torndirrup National Park. Once inside the park area we drove out to The Gap, a huge open ended rectangular block of granite rock that the ocean waves come crashing up into. In the same area there was a natural bridge which also had waves crashing underneath it and popping up on the rocky beach below. We walked down the granite rocks to the edge for some wonderful shots of the beach across the way and the crashing waves against the rocks strewn all along the shore. It reminded us a lot of New Zealand.

Next stop was Stoney Hill Lookout and Salmon Holes. Saw some snakes and a monitor (sp?) lizard at Stoney Hill . David gave us a quick education on the surrounding vegetation and the history of the area. Great waves for surfing on Salmon Holes if you brought the board and they even had a sign warning you about 'freak' waves coming up on the beach - tsunami or no tsunami! We were positioned about 50' above the beach, so we had a great vantage point but the wind was very strong, especially at these higher elevation. David warned us not to wear a hat unless it was secured. He said it was too dangerous to try and retrieve anything and he said every year they have a loss of life because the wind knocks people over the cliffs and down to the rocky beaches below. Not a pretty thought when you have wind gusts pushing you around on top. During the month of February the winds kick up from Antarctica and there is nothing to break them before they hit Australia. The winds were so strong the other day when we were in Melbourne that I actually started to think that the glass surrounding the back pool where we were eating a late lunch was going to shatter. All the deck chairs and tables started moving and jumping. We thought it was funny until a table attacked us and the crew members looked a little anxious! You should have heard the roar! It was just a tad bit scary hearing this ghostly wind whipping all around the ship but you couldn't see it.

We then headed down to Frenchman's Bay where the explorer Vancouver landed in 1791 for a walk on the beach out to the natural fresh water spring which served him and his crew after they landed. This site later became a Norwegian whaling station and Albany just recently stopped all whaling operations in 1978. There was a converted whaling operation that changed over to a museum after whaling was outlawed. The large round silo where they stored the whale blubber was turned into a movie theater - talk about your sticky floors, ha, ha!

We were then dropped off back in town for a little walking and touring on our own. We visited St. John's Anglican Church which was built in 1846. We did a little bit of wine tasting at Alkoomi's and we thought for sure we would see Lee and Joe, our new dinner table folks from UT. Lee loves her wine at dinner and is always looking for the latest wine tour off the ship. Seems the elderly ladies, Betty and Nancy, bought some wine today and Lee told them she bought a corkscrew because the ship charges a $15 corkage fee. Said she'd open their wine for them for free (what a great dinner companion). Speaking of Betty and Nancy, they were late getting back on the ship in Adelaide. Betty had some friends pick them up for the day and they got caught in all the hoop-la traffic close to the pier. I asked them how late they were and they said 20 minutes, so it looks like you do have a small window but ever so small and not worth chancing it.

We walked over to the Patrick Taylor Cottage which is the oldest home site in Western Australia. I think it dates back to 1832. Funny thing was Candice had walked on ahead of me and I was taking some pictures outside so when I rounded the corner to enter the house I didn't see Candice so I went on into the house. I never saw Candice in the house and there was no back door so she couldn't have exited without going past me. I took a few pictures and came out looking for her. There she was sitting on a bench under a tree. I asked her were she went. She told me that it cost $2 to enter the house. I said 'What?" She said "Didn't you see the sign?" "What sign?" "On the door." "NO." Oh well, I guess the guy at the front door just thought I was on a tour, or it could have been that crossword puzzle he was doing. Ha, ha. You know, I don't really like to do any unnecessary reading!

Albany was another maiden port and the media showed up for footage. Candice was on the gangway and they wanted her to wave with the other people, so if catch Albany news channels be on the lookout for her. We went to an IGA store and stocked up on Coke for Candice. We saw this other young guy who's also on the world cruise bringing back a whole case of beer. He told us that he had plenty for everyone on the bus, dockside, if they wouldn't let him back on with it. Once again not too much food to recognize except Oreo's, Coke, Pringles and Doritos (but no ranch flavor). I think I'd loss weight outside the US. And the prices were much higher! Of course the Australian government includes their taxes within the price of the merchandise instead of at the register but based on our $11.45 purchase for a ten pack of soda and small bag of chips, the tax was only $1.03. So prices are high! We discovered just how much we love and appreciate Walmart and this made us just a little homesick!!!:) I think we might be having Walmart withdraws.

Sandy

I'm beginning to enjoy the launderette more and more! It seems to be the hot spot in more ways than one! First of all, I think I've only been down there four times, so don't think I'm spending all my time there, but every venture has been more productive than I thought possible. A couple of days before we had reached Sydney, I had come in from the pool and decided that I'd go check to see if a couple of washers were free before I jumped in the shower. As luck would have it, there was one lid open which meant that I had to hustle back to the room, sort the darks from the whites real quick and scamper back down the long hall without knocking over any old people before anyone else showed up for a quick wash. Yes, I made it!

I stuck around to make sure the washer filled up to the appropriate level and started it's thing. While hanging around waiting, this lady who lives in Sydney was giving this couple some advice on the beaches and the surrounding area. She even ran back to her to room to grab a map and pointed out all the spots she was telling them about. Well, I'm over there taking mental notes, glancing at the map and hoping that I can remember everything she is saying so I can size it up to my homework that I did before the trip. Well my curiosity got the best of me and I no longer was just an observer, I had to pose a couple of questions myself. She was so eager to help all us 'virgin' Sydney travelers. Well just then I realized I had my hand on a washer with the lid down but no vibration. I opened it to peer in and viola, empty! I hated to leave the conversation but this was my chance to get a second load going. On my mad dash back to the room I met Candice coming in and real fast I told her that I got some info on Sydney and Manly Beach from the laundry room but first I had to get back down there with our second load. She laughed as I dashed out the door. I got back down there just in time for the second of only three washers and went back to the room and laid out the goods on Manly Beach for her.

Then tonight, while everyone was at dinner, we went down to run a load of darks and I struck up a conversation with a couple from Australia. They had been to Hong Kong before this trip so they gave us a pretty good scoop on what we should do, what we should see and where we should go to shop. Very useful information. We always meet the nicest people in there and it's amazing how much you can learn about someone in just ten minutes. Needless to say I just can't get enough from that little party hole called the launderette! Oh, by the way, being able to go out on the side deck with the cushy lounge chairs, read a little Glen Beck and watch the sunset between the wash and dry cycle is a pure delight! Who couldn't stand to do a little laundry in this atmosphere?

On another note at our 'big dinner' in Melbourne we heard a horrifying story from the doctor's wife about this little thing called laundry wars. Seems the San Francisco to Sydney segment was 23 days so there were some battles over these 14 washer and dryers on board and this lady got caught up in one. She told us that she had put her clothes in the dryer and set her watch to go back in 60 minutes to pick it up. She got there and found her clothes in a basket and very wet. Well, this British guy had taken over her dryer and she asked him why he removed her clothes. He told her that she couldn't be tying up the dryers. She stated that she set her watch and they should have been done right now. She said this guy was 2" from her face and spitting as he yelled at her. She went to her cabin and got her husband, who is very tall, and he came down to get things squared away. Meanwhile someone called the purser's office to report him and they had come up to referee the fight. They asked this guy what his cabin number was and what his name was. He wouldn't give it to them. Seems they removed him and banned him from the laundry room. The Americans won that round! Seems there are some pretty uppity British people on the ship and you can spot them a mile away. On one occasion we heard a lady on the elevator complain about this woman getting off the elevator and how she treated her rudely just because she was an American. My, these 'old' British people can be vicious, ha, ha!

All in all I think they should start listing a meeting time for the laundry room in the daily program for informative travel tips and possibly some betting action on the British vs. the rest of the passengers!

Sandy

Money is a funny thing down under! One of my favorite coins doesn't even exist, the penny, no $1 dollar bills and coins almost as big as your fist, which are only worth .20 cents each. The two dollar coin is brassy gold in color, the size of a dime and four times as thick. Their dollar is a coin about the size of a quarter and the fifty cent piece is just a little smaller the .20 cent piece. The larger the monetary value the smaller the coin and vice-versa. Go figure - It's an upside down world over here! You can buy ferry tickets or bus tickets with a twenty dollar bill and get a whole pocket full of change back, which causes you to try and figure out what to buy just to get rid of the cumbersome coins. Makes you feel like you are playing tiddlywinks. We sure do miss our US money!

We switched our dinner to 8:30 p.m. seating and now we get to bed around 2 a.m. but on a nicer note our afternoons are much more laid back. New table consist of a couple in their mid fifties from UT, Lea and Joe, our two young NY people, Morgan and Nora, and Betty and Nancy from Australia who are 88 and 90. I asked Nancy and Betty how they got to be travel partners and they said they had been good friends for a long time. They asked Candice and I how we knew each other and they about fell off their seat when we told them we were mother and daughter. Nancy said, "So you produced her?" Why that would be a yes! They still can't get over it but I figured when you get that old everybody looks younger than they really are. Betty and Nancy are getting off in Hong Kong, the rest of us are in for the long haul. We are down to 230 Americans with 1,038 Australians leading the pack.

I must report back that I went to pick up my winning photo and certificate from the photo contest and they presented it in a nice leather bound 12" x 12" photo album with the Cunard logo embossed inside. Very nice and even boxed up. Much more than just the certificate that I thought I was getting. Another photo contest is underway but I think I'll pass on this one.

Melbourne

So Melbourne was a big city. second largest in Australia. They have the world's fourth largest transportation system. Trolleys, trains, trams and buses everywhere! They will hold the Formula 1 Grand Prix in March but I can't imagine where the course will be since there are trolley tracks all over the place with the electrical wires overhead. We took the shuttle bus into the city and climbed the Tower of Remembrance, a tribute to all those who served in the wars for Australia. We climbed to the top for a good view of the city and some pictures. Right across the street was the Royal Botanical Gardens, which was spread out over quite a few acres. We noticed that the lawnmowers even have license plates assigned to them. Too funny! Very nice gardens/grounds and plenty of diversity with plants and trees from all over the world. I don't know what they feed these trees but they are huge!

Coming out of the gardens backside we crossed the street and walked the banks of the Yarra River into the city center. The college rowing team's boathouses were positioned close to the center of the city and we saw some working out on the river. It was quite the city and more college freshman initiations going on in the public squares than you care to shake a stick at. We rode the city tram all the way around the city to get a good look before making our way back to the shuttle bus stop to go back to the boat. They have some really neat buildings and they claim the tallest building south of the equator, the Eureka Skydeck. On the 88th floor they have a glass platform that overhangs the building, so you can stand out there and feel like you are suspended in the air.

That night was our big 'off-the-boat-dinner' that started with a Captain's cocktail party on the ship. Everyone was preassigned a coach number (#3) and a dinner table(#1-couldn't figure out how we rated that one!). So after two really good whiskey sours and some good hors d'oeuvres we were called out to our coach. We drove back into the city and along the way we got a personal tour and history lesson of Melbourne. When we got to the Art Gallery they had a red carpet 12' wide all the way to the building's entrance from the curb and of course the ship's photographers were there like the paparazzi, all over the place snapping and flashing their cameras. We felt like we were in Hollywood on the red carpet. They had some Aborigines playing on their didjeridoos, all painted up and some dancing around out front. The outside front wall of the art gallery was a water fountain that stretched all the way across the front entrance. Once inside we met the VP of Cunard, Peter Shank, and the Captain. Then we walked down another red carpet lined with a boy's choir (but we didn't know they were a choir until they sang for us before dinner - very good I might add) from Melbourne and there was a band playing on the stage for the evening entertainment and dancing. On through the door to an intimate darkened gallery that had tables of ten set and decked out to the hilt. The ceiling was an entire piece of artwork made out of stain glass with the last of the days light shining through it and gardens out back. The venue looked like a really ritzy wedding was going on. Chairs covered in silk and tied with white silk ribbons, large beautiful vases with white bouquets of roses and other flowers sitting about three feet off the table. Each setting had four glasses; two for wine, red and white, champagne, and water.

Now to find our table, #1. Starting at the far right of the room we found tables 4, 5, 6... but no table one. Walking to the other side of the room we found table 50, 51, 52. Where in the world was table one. More crisscrossing the room, then a question posed to a hostess, ah, table one in the corner of the room and towards the back. Yes, that is the world on an upside down, down under manner! We had a good laugh, found our name cards, sat down and introduced ourselves to our table mates. Candice and I were split up between two of the Cunard staff members and we also had a retired doctor and his wife from Virginia and another couple in their early sixties from Michigan.

Dinner was to the nines with appetizers, surf and turf (fillets), and not one but three desserts on one long plate. Chocolate Mousse with crisscross white chocolate netting surrounding it, a lemon zest tart and a fruit tart. The entire program and the venue were just awesome; nothing but the best! Definitely worth writing home about. Cunard knows how to thank their customers in first class style! Needless to say, our ship did not sail at midnight! We didn't get back to the ship until 11:30 p.m. and there were still plenty of people to get shuttled back yet.

Adelaide

Adelaide was another port we had to be shuttled into, 40 minutes, but the drives are always interesting and the surrounding suburbs are very quaint. The housing architect is always interesting to see. Adelaide is like a bedroom community with a large city plucked right down in the middle of it. After being dropped off in the city center we got our bearings and took a tram out to Glenelg Beach. The town was established in the late 1800's. The tram went all the way downtown to the beach front and town square, just a couple of steps and you were on the beach. A quite day at the beach, no crowds since it was a weekday. I saw the birds out on the sandbar pounding their feet into the sand at a really fast pace. I had never seen this before and I assumed they were searching for food, maybe trying to bring the small shells to the surface. I was so intrigued by this that I tried it myself to see if anything would rise to the top. No, nothing and it seems like they never got anything either, so I really don't know what that was all about but I gave it shot. Must be this upside down world again!

After eating gyros for lunch, we ventured down the street to have a look around the shops. I spent my money wisely - on chocolate at Haigh's Chocolates. I spotted a store in Adelaide before catching the tram out to the beach but decided, why wait when dessert was now. Haigh's was established in 1915 and they had a boutique style shop along with boxed chocolates. We picked out some truffles, solid chocolates and a cappuccino bar. Well waiting for the tram to go back to Adelaide we started sampling our goods. Oh my gosh! The rum truffles were to die for so I quickly decided that I had to buy some more of these at the Haigh's in Adelaide before we got back on the bus shuttle - and I did! I think I could live on those things! Candice thinks she can live on the dark chocolate ganaches.

We got back into Adelaide and walked around the convention center, the railway station, down to the river and headed over to the Art Gallery of Australia. Sarah you would have loved this place. Funky new art in a quite a few of the new galleries mixed with periodical artwork and some Aboriginal gallery works too. Saw the Old Parliament House and the Government House too before catching the bus back to the ship.

When we got back to the ship we were met by 1,000+ people swarming the parking lot and beach area. Seems the Queen Victoria is the largest ship ever to dock in Adelaide and it drew quite the crowd on it's maiden port stop. We were the talk of the town (along with the AC/DC concert tour that we've been running parallel with since New Zealand) and the news media helicopters were flying over head and filming while large party boats were cruising by in the water filled to the brim with people trying to get a close up look at the ship. It was like a fourth of July festival but without the fireworks. The captain kept blowing the ship's whistle for the crowd and as we sailed away people stretched all the way down the rock jetty, waving and taking pictures, just kept getting smaller and smaller by the minute. It was a sight to behold. Candice and I kind of got a tear in our eye as we sailed on past the crowd. I wished they all could have sailed away with us!

Sandy

FYI: Internet connections are getting a little difficult to come by. Especially a connection that is good to upload photos. So, picture post will be few and far between for a while. Hopefully text posts will hold you guys over until then.