Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary

From the sheep dog show I went over to see the wombats. They were huge compared to the ones I saw before and really cute (pic. 1). I stopped at the general store for a bottle of water and was visited by a lizard that parked itself at my feet and was begging for hand outs (pic. 2). From there I went to visit the kangaroo compound. They had more sizes, colors and types of kangaroos compared to the other sanctuary. These were more standoffish (didn't care to be scratched) but still liked to be fed. I caught this picture of one licking his lips.

Birds of Prey show

From the kangaroo compound I headed to the Birds of Prey show. This was alot of fun. They had the hawks and owls flying between the rows and over your heads such that you felt their leather straps or wings going by. The talk that was given was really good.

Koalas - Moms and babies

The best part of the sanctuary was the Moms and babies section. Here the Koalas were the most active.

I then swung by the dingos, Tasmanian Devils and birds section before heading back to the city bus. The weather was really hot and humid and when I got back to the city I just did a little shopping before catching the last shuttle to the ship. The shopping area (Queen St. Mall) was extremely large and was a mix of discounters, high-end stores and everything in between.

Nap time

I didn't mention it in my Sydney post but I did not sleep well the night before Sydney due to the roughest water that I have felt on this trip. That combined with the busy day yesterday caused me to be tired today. I took a nap after lunch and slept until dinner. Oooh that felt good!

After dinner everyone from the next sitting was raving about the show so I thought I would pop in to see for myself. Surprisingly the singer was a cut above the normal cruise ship singer so I stayed, working my way through three chairs to try and be comfortable. After that I went up top to see the lit up coast line and the electrical show from a brewing storm. Beautiful! Tomorrow Brisbane!

Sydney - victim of my poor planning

Sydney is a fabulous city and I won't be able to do it justice in my post as I did not do it justice in my tour. I spent about 11.5 hours out and about and 10 hours of that time on my feet. I just didn't plan the day well.

I started off strong. The Sydney Opera House tour is a must do. We booked on-line so it was $26 vs. $35 in person. I love architecture and the Sydney Opera House has alot going for it. Every which way you looked the architecture is stunning. The lobbies, stair cases, concert halls, seats, bathrooms etc were all works of art. I could have wandered around in there for hours just looking at the details. Attached are some pics from the tour. If I ever get back to Sydney I am going to try and attend a performance there.

Of special note to me was how comfortable the seats were. They were designed by a surgeon and are the most comfortable I have ever sat in for a performance hall. In addition there was plenty of knee room which is unusual for performance seating. Unfortunately in one hall they are going to be installing computer screens behind each seat which will probably result in them replacing the seats.

At the beginning of the tour they take your picture. It is an unusually good picture package with your pic on the front of post cards, on a CD and of course the normal pics. You don't have to buy it but it is worth doing and then taking a look at.

More Opera House pictures

Sydney Botanical Gardens bats and birds

From the Opera House I wandered over to the Botanical Gardens. There was a sign indicating that the free tour was at 10:30 from a central point. It was 10:25 and it was a 10 min. walk to the walking tour. So I sped off to find the tour. It was a wonderful tour which took about 2 hours. We heard all about the history of the area as it related to the plants. The tour guide tried to keep us in the shade as it was really hot out. We also saw a ton of bats. They were roosting in the tree tops above us for most of the tour (pic. 1). The tour guide indicated that they don't normally fly much during the day but they sure were stirred up for us. They seemed to be constantly flying overhead.

Later we moved to a section of the park where I saw some wild cockatoos flying over head and took a picture of one in a tree. What a treat! I loved seeing the birds in the wild. Someone else saw Lories but I didn't spot them. I would have loved to have hung out in this area longer, just looking for the birds.

More Botanical Garden

Toward the end of the tour there was a great opportunity to take a pic. of the Opera House (pic. 1). I also loved this tree. I think it is called a bottle tree (pic. 2). And finally I got a pic of the city skyline with the park in the foreground (pic.3).

I was very impressed with this park. I think it is the best city park I have ever seen. It is a huge asset to the city.

After my 2 hour walking tour I took the $10 trolley tour that has 4 hop-on/hop-off stops. This is the option I think most people would enjoy. I got off and walked to Mrs. Macquarie's chair. I then took it to the Art Gallery of New South Wales. This art gallery was free and a fabulous stop. I took this picture of a digital person there but it also had wonderful pictures of early Australia, as well as some great classical art.

From there my day went down hill. When we got off the ship there was no visitor information which was unusual. Practically every port had something so we were expecting visitor guides and maps. I picked up a map from the Museum and struck off in the direction of The Rocks. On the way I got some lunch but had likely waited too long to eat (it was around 3 p.m.). As a result by the time I got to the Rocks and tried to make my way to the visitor center I was just wandering in and out of the shops wasting time. I got to the visitor center with only 5 min. before closing so did not make it to any more sights. I then walked back to the ship, stopping in shops as I went but was disappointed that I didn't make better use of the rest of my day. I reboarded the Tahitian Princess at about 7 p.m.

I went up top to see the sail away and enjoyed seeing the city lights as well as the Opera House lit up.

Wild day at sea

Today started off overcast, then moved to rain with the seas kicking up. We bounced our way through the day with those getting off in Sydney saying their last goodbyes. This is the first time I've stayed aboard at the end of a cruise segment. It is sad that some are leaving but at the same time exciting to get some new passengers aboard for the next segment. I understand that we are to have about 120 leave and another 120 join.

We've been aboard 36 days. I for one am glad to be continuing on and I haven't heard anyone say they wish they were leaving. One couple did something quite clever. They are getting off in Sydney and staying 6 days then joining the Royal Princess to continue the same route with a slightly different ending.

Burnie Tasmania Australia - What a fabulous day!

The weather was fabulous for our Burnie visit. The first pic is from the back of the boat while I was having breakfast and we pulled into port. The city of Burnie did a fabulous job welcoming us. They had free buses to town, a free hat pin for bus riders, the mayor dressed in costume available at the gangway for pictures and maps telling us where the ATMs/banks, visitor center, shopping, internet etc. were. The town is very small and it is easy to walk to any of the 3 shuttle bus stops as it is only about a 5 min. walk across town.

I got off at the visitor center. They had a tour operator offering the Wings Wildlife Park for a significant savings over the ship's tour but I had already booked my ships tour for the afternoon so had to forgo. There is a hop-on/hop-off bus available from the visitor center that went to 5 local (out of town) attractions for $15 AUD. I heard good things from those who took this option. I did go to the Pioneer Village Museum at the visitor center. I would give this a miss as it is not good value for the $4.50 entrance fee. However the visitor center is a must do as it had great souvenirs and information for tours or things to do. From here to the second stop is about 2-3 blocks so no need to ride the bus to the downtown, you can just walk over.

I spoke with one of the tour operators as I just wanted to get a good walk in. They indicated taking the boardwalk to Burnie Park was a good option so that is what I did. I walked back through town to the board walk entrance. This is pic. 2. I included this pic because throughout the day we were treated to the fabulous views of the coastline with sandy beaches, rock outcroppings and stunning turquoise, blue and green water. The main roads that we later went on also followed the coast. I couldn't take my eyes away from it. Due to the shape of Tasmania the land is always curving away from the water which made the water feel more expansive. The way the light was hitting the water brought out the most fabulous colors. In addition I read that it was a very unpolluted area which may have also affected how the water appeared so brilliantly colored.

From the boardwalk I walked down to the local penguin observation blind. This was an area where you could stand behind wood panels and observe penguins coming in to rest at night and going out in the morning. Since I was there in the middle of the day I did not see any, but I did see a bunny rabbit. The 3rd pic. is the view from the blind.