Our World Adventure 2018 - by land and sea

Wow - what a finish to our epic trip. We've been home a couple of weeks and finally settling into a bit of a summer routine. Time to finish out this blog. I left this once we were back on the ship in Port Elizabeth after a great day in Addo Elephant Park. One thing we were very aware of that first day in South Africa were the townships. Apartheid has been gone officially for many years now, but in practicality there is still a great degree of separation. Our road to the main entrance at Addo passed what we could easily identify as a separate and not particularly inviting "neighborhood" in the bush on the edge of town. All along the highway there were people waiting for a "ride", generally it seemed to be an informal van taxi system. Vehicles stopped and people waited just about anywhere. The high fence around the area was a fixture we still don't really understand - is it keeping the neighborhood safe? from what or who? or is it to keep people inside. This

Wow! Africa While we’ve been really close to Africa, we had never actually stopped here. We’ve seen Morocco from the Straits of Gibraltar and have been through the Suez Canal but no Egypt stops. Plus – this time it’s safari oriented. Our first stop in South Africa was in Port Elizabeth. Since we were planning more time in the National Parks, we thought we’d go out to the park closest to the city – either 30 or 60 minutes depending on the gate entrance you use. We had been advised by breakfast table mates to go directly to the main gate. This was a good choice and also took us along a fairly long stretch of road along the townships which was interesting to see and wonder about. At the park we showed our Wild Card (kind of an annual pass) that we had such hard time getting (just needed to plan 3 months out instead of two to allow for mailing from South Africa). We had a great day at Addo Elephant National Park – came across a zebra within a mile of the gate, then more – t

Islands of the Indian Ocean After leaving Malaysia, we had over a week of island hopping around the Indian Ocean, starting with Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylan). We booked a walking tour in Colombo for the morning. It was a bit confusing finding our guide at the port gate – the confusion was where the port gate actually was. We went through two checkpoints but with not English spoken, they’d just point. It doesn’t help that there are a couple of different gates where cruise ships might dock. At any rate, after actually walking past our gate, we managed to connect. Our tour company arranged a small bus (we had 12 participants) to pick us up at the port gate rather than having to get ourselves to a point in the city. This was very helpful though a few of our group stayed in town and walked back to the ship. We had a very informative tour through the early part of the city, settled by the Dutch, including tea and cookies high in a hotel looking over the city and waterfront construction p

Back on Board – on toward Malaysia After a wonderful three days in Singapore, it was time to get settled again on the Queen Elizabeth. Unexpectedly we were assigned back to the same stateroom. Since we vacated it for a month, we figured we could be anywhere. It was a bit like coming back home, though our tablemates for our early dinner have changed rather dramatically – not quite as lively and so soft spoken that I am challenged to hear any conversation. Finding a different place at the table has helped – nice people, though. We had planned to use UBER to get to the ship but found that a company called GRAB has bought UBER in Singapore (they cover most of southeast Asia). The changeover was to happen in just a few days. Anyway, with that unknown (and no cash for a regular taxi), we thought we should get started with time to spare. Then, of course, our UBER driver was there in 5 minutes and off we went. He gave us a bit of a verbal tour as we went straight through the city cen

Singapore We had chosen to fly to Singapore in the evening rather than catching a 6:00 a.m. flight via Kuala Lumpur, with the early, early morning. So, instead, we took Scoot Airlines (a budget airline associated with Singapore Airlines). It actually was fine, though I booked the ticket at rather the wrong time, so paid a bit more than I should have. It was still a cheap price for us – didn’t include anything – booked a ticket with 2 bags and bit extra weight for one of them which we didn’t end up needing *. So off we went on a late afternoon flight to arrive at our Singapore Airbnb home in the wee hours of Sunday morning. So, Singapore. Our Airbnb hostess had sent specific directions to give the taxi driver since most people stay in hotels. I had it printed out and he read it and off we went. I knew that while Singapore has relatively inexpensive taxis (metered), there’s a surcharge after midnight. However, since there was almost no traffic, it was only $30 Singapore dollars

Perth and Western Australia We had a wonderful time with friends who live just north of Perth, Western Australia – a four-hour flight from Melbourne. We loved their home just up from the beach – beautiful sea views from their wrap-around balcony in the mornings. First thing the next morning was a dip in the ocean before it got too hot. The water was not nearly as warm as expected but a great glimpse of their seaside life. A beautiful sunset walk along the promenade was a great way to end that first day. They had strongly suggested a visit to Rottnest Island (named after the native marsupial called a Quokka that appeared to be a large rat to the German’s who named the island). It has been a Western Australia island resort for a very long time and was fun to see this family resort community. We had booked one of the least expensive options other than camping or a hostel, but our friends said “heritage” actually just means “old”. The front of the cottage was, in fact, tented, an

We did a quick drive around some of the little historic streets in Port Fairy before heading north (along the north edge of the Tower Hill Reserve as it turned out). It’s a bit of a long drive to Hall’s Gap, but through farm and ranch land. At some point along the drive we realized that we could see the silhouette of some of the Grampian ranges in the distance. They were quite striking. We stopped in a small town, Dunfeld, just at the southern edge of the park and went to the visitor center to get some maps and suggestions. They recommended an arboretum just out of town – we stopped at the bakery and got a meat pie and sausage roll for lunch. Unfortunately, the meat pie was mostly potatoes – different than all the others during our time in Australia.   We had lunch and wandered around a small lake before continuing north. We got into Hall’s Gap a little early, but the room at the hostel was ready for us – a family room with ensuite bathroom. It was a bit crowded with two sets

The Great Ocean Road, Victoria, Australia. We took a 10:30 train from Melbourne to Geelong, which is a beach playground for Melbourne. It was the first day of a three-day weekend, so very lively along the promenade with lots of kids in the water and a wooden boat show, which we glanced at. We had to walk about half a mile from the train station to our lodging, Gatehouse on Ryrie, just 4 blocks from the promenade. It was a slight uphill and we are not doing really well with our relatively heavy rolling bags. We came upon a shopping cart near a bus stop fairly soon and used it to get the rest of the way across town. The Gatehouse was built in the late 1890s, so very historic. The current owner has had it 15 years and runs it as a B&B – 7 rooms with 2 shared bathrooms. It had great character (in a good way), beautiful dark wood trim and banisters, a nice lounge/sitting room and breakfast room. The kitchen was available for us to cook if we chose (we had kebabs down the stree

A bit of Sydney and Melbourne We’re on our own for a couple of weeks – very different style of travel, but more what we are used to doing. We had two enjoyable days in Sydney while again staying with a with Colleen. We found the “I’m Free” walking tour at the town hall. As it happened, our guide was the founder of the company (now has tours in Melbourne, too). We ate at a recommended café on a back street in the Rocks (Playfair Café) – good food and reasonable prices. Later we took a ferry up the river to Parramatta. There isn’t much of interest in the town, but the ferry ride was fun. It started raining as we walked around a bit and with less-than-clear late afternoon ferry options back to Sydney, we took the train back into the city. We had several thoughts for our last day but ultimately decided to take the bus to the famous Bondi Beach and walk along the coast to Coogee Beach, stopping at Bronte Beach for a fish lunch. It’s a six km walk, paved with stairs here and there

Sydney and north with friends Our first week in Australia was a whirlwind trip – seeing as much country as our friends could manage in a short time period. Our first day was stressful in advance but not in actuality. On our previous QE cruise we were able to do the Australian Immigration on the ship between Auckland and Sydney but this time we had to do it on land and we had a train to catch. I stressed for several days but it went very smoothly and super quick. We had to get an Opal Card (can keep it forever 😊 ) to add money to for local and regional trains, ferries, and buses. It really worked well but we didn’t want to load too much since there are no refunds (and you have to put specific amounts on, not just what you need). Anyway, we used it a lot that week. We took the train to meet Robyn and Cecilia, friends from our previous cruise on the Queen Elizabeth north of the city on Day 1 to go out on their yacht with them. It’s a life we aren’t used to at all, so it was

We were till in a 50 % mode for our sea days (half rocking and rolling and half smooth sailing). We  seem to be handling the seas fine. A number of people in our Cruise Critic group and table mates have become ill - the dreaded cough. It would be nice if cruise lines would be a bit more proactive and not just leave it to individuals to share their illnesses as they want. We have left several venues due to people coughing all around us (or at least changed seats). Maybe having masks available would help - or at least to strongly recommend the use of them. Arrival in Auckland was on a really nice day -  our first order of business was to find the yarn store in the Queen's Arcade. A purchase of a couple of skeins with a blend with possum was easily obtained and we were ready to meet our friends (from the 2015 World Cruise) at the ferry drop-off area. They live a ways north of Auckland - nice country but they've moved several times to stay ahead of the burgeoning suburbs. We enjo

So, five days later – we had two very stormy days before Hawaii – the first was mostly choppy while the second was really rocking and rolling. The outside walking deck was closed for safety and tablemates from one level up (Deck 5) reported having a layer of salt on everything on their balcony. Day 3 & 4 – Sea days – One day did not have a line dance class, but on the rocking and rolling day, we were all in the Queen’s Room, ready to dance. So far, each day has different instructors from the ship’s dance team. I do wonder what these very talented professional dancers think of us, but they are doing a great job of teaching novice dancers. Some of us have a little experience on the ships, some, obviously dance more frequently, but we’re all ready to learn and laugh together. We haven’t repeated a class but maybe in the next week, we’ll just dance without having to learn each one. Great exercise. Yesterday, Day 5, was Hawaii. I was a beautiful day after a week of rain and thu

We are finally on-board the Queen Elizabeth after wondering for awhile if we would get over what should have been a mild illness. San Francisco had wonderful weather for its two-day port stop – mild 70 degree days. Apparently, prior to San Francisco, the cruise has been quite rough. They missed the port in Bermuda and had a half-day in Punta Delgada. This was definitely a disappointment but comes with cruising. That was the only stop between Southampton and New York. As usual, the embarking process is a bit stressful, but once on-board it tends to even out. We had a nice dinner (after tying on our life-jackets 😊 ). We went under the Golden Gate Bridge right at dinner time, so many folks were late to dinner. Nice dinner – we all (six of us) had the beef tenderloin, which was very nice. I requested the Crème Brulee from the “Spa” menu, which might explain the small size of the dessert – actually, that was fine – none of the other desserts “called” to me, which is unusual. Our tab

The Queen Elizabeth should arrive in San Francisco tomorrow morning,  though we won't board until Monday. The train trip on the California Zephyr from Denver to Martinez,  California, was very nice. The two daytime segments across the mountains were beautiful. We've been across the Utah salt flats and Nevada's vast desert several times,  so sleeping across that part was just fine.  We enjoyed visiting with folks from around the world,  not unlike being on the ship. Some are taking it just as transport while others,  like us,  are off on adventures.

We both have been fighting some kind of upper respiratory infection - not the flu, thank goodness. It's taken awhile with antibiotics but the doctors say we are good to go. We decided this week to take the train to California (from Denver). It's a great train ride, but we haven't usually use them as transportation. Glad to not have to deal with the whole airport experience next week. We needed to adjust a few things in California but have found that arranging a one-way car rental is relatively easy and not very expensive, at least in the San Francisco Bay area. Once this decision was made, it was time to fine tune the details of this somewhat complicated trip, so I spent the day cancelling some extra car rental reservations and extra hotel bookings. We prefer to use AirBnb, but sometimes book a back-up option. At least for the beginning of the trip, it's time to clean up those details. First stop is Honolulu, where we will meet a friend from a previous cruise, who

In recent years we have taken ships several times across the oceans, in part to avoid long distance air travel. We love it. As we approach 70 (though not there for a couple of years), it seemed like now was the time to attempt a more complex travel experience - while we still can. Maybe next time we'll just get on a ship and stay there :-). We will fly to SFO, then board Cunard's Queen Elizabeth to sail to Sydney. We've done this once before (see blog from 2015). Our South Pacific ports are different this time - three stops in Tahiti instead of Samoa, Tonga, etc. We will see friends in Honolulu as well as Auckland. We will disembark the QE in Sydney after only 21 days (very short) in order to spend a month in Australia, mostly visiting friends from previous cruises and seeing a bit of Australia from their perspective. We'll also do our own touring of the Blue Mountains and the Great Ocean Road (Uluru will have to wait for another trip). Ultimately we will spend our

 Date Port or Activity Arrive Depart  Mon, Feb 5 San Francisco, CA 5:00pm  Tue, Feb 6 At Sea  Wed, Feb 7 At Sea  Thu, Feb 8 At Sea  Fri, Feb 9 At Sea  Sat, Feb 10 Honolulu, Oahu, HI 7:00am 6:00pm  Sun, Feb 11 At Sea  Mon, Feb 12 At Sea  Tue, Feb 13 At Sea  Wed, Feb 14 At Sea  Thu, Feb 15 Bora Bora, Society Islands 8:00am 6:00pm  Fri, Feb 16 Papeete, Tahiti, Society Islands 8:00am 11:59pm  Sat, Feb 17 Moorea, Society Islands 8:00am 6:00pm  Sun, Feb 18 At Sea  Mon, Feb 19 Cross International Dateline (Cruising)  Wed, Feb 21 At Sea  Thu, Feb 22 At Sea  Fri, Feb 23 Auckland, New Zealand 7:00am 10:00pm  Sat, Feb 24 Bay of Islands, New Zealand 8:00am 6:00pm  Sun, Feb 25 At Sea  Mon, Feb 26 At Sea  Tue, Feb 27 Sydney, Australia 6:30am  Wed, Feb 28 Sydney, Australia Disembark