Sydney – Page 2 – Steps to Anywhere

Between A Queen and a Diamond

Posted on March 1, 2018 by Ted Thorpe

Wednesday morning was our time to check out of our stateroom of the Queen Elizabeth and check in to our Holiday Inn hotel room for two days before checking in to our stateroom on the Diamond Princess. We have started to explore Sydney again.

We are beginning to figure out the subway system. Our hotel is four stops and one train change away. Our train change happens at the City Hall station which appears to be one of the busiest. Five of Sydney’s eight subway lines converge here, looping around the central business district. At City Hall it looks like there are six levels of platforms below ground. That said, upon arriving on one train you may be able to see the platform for your next train but need to go up to the top on one escalator then back down on another just to cross the tracks, so to say. The scenery on the subway is not so great.

Conversely, there are eight ferry lines radiating from Circular Quay that offer rather scenic commuting throughout the harbour and along the Parramatta River. We have not yet tried the bus lines although there appear to be too many to mention. Perhaps we will get to them on our return from Tasmania. All of these services are ticketed through their OPAL system. One very interesting element of this system is that is supports variable time of day rates, daily and weekly maximums. There are other transportation services in the area that allow charging through the OPAL system but are outside the Sydney system maxima.

During our intermezzo in Sydney we renewed acquaintance with The Rocks, Darling Harbour, Circular Quay, The Queen Victoria building and the mole city surrounding it. While looking for a place to have lunch we saw a sign for a food court. Upon entering we ascended a five level escalator where there was indeed a food court. In fact a whole shopping centre. Even more interesting, as we descended to level three we were again at street level, then again at level two, and one. Sydney is somewhat hilly and it seems that one might avoid climbing hills on the sidewalks by using the escalators inside buildings. I wonder how long it will take to figure this out?

Here are a couple of photos of The Rocks, Manly and the Queen Elizabeth building.

The stained glass and diorama clocks are among its unique features.

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Stories out of school

Posted on February 28, 2018 by Ted Thorpe

Our stateroom is referred to in the booking information as a “Partially Obstructed Balcony” which means that some part of a survival craft or its associated mechanism is the first thing you see off the balcony. On most ships and particularly on long ocean voyages there is little to see from balconies anyway. For 18 days we have watched our obstructed view and survival craft have twice been lowered into the sea to function as port tenders while at anchor and once for crew exercises while at a berth. For all of those days we have been somewhat mystified by an apparatus, sitting above the boat davits, that showed signs of extreme rust in a geared track and a bucket, partially full of oil, mcgyvered to hang below a motor. Attached to the outboard extremity of this apparatus is something that appears to be a folding gangway. Two questions: what was it for and in its condition, would it even work?

Friday morning in Auckland we were awakened by the noise of motors, grinding gears and grating sounds. The pattern repeated numerous times. We watched from the balcony as the mechanism moved outward, ground to a stop, retreated inward then outward slightly farther than the previous stoppage. Gradually the rust was overcome and the gangway was lowered to the dock where it was positioned to bring fresh supplies into the lower decks of the ship.

When we later returned to our room it was clear that someone had spread grease liberally on the gears and tracks. Before sailing the gangway and its balky davits were easily returned to their storage position. Here is a photo collage.

Gangway

Our stop at Bay of Islands was very pleasant. There was very little wait time for tender service to the Waittangi shore. By the time we arrived most of the tours had begun and we had the choice of a 25 minute walk or free shuttle bus into Pahai. We opted to walk. We purchased water at a shop on the way and enjoyed the beautiful weather.

A group of Maoris were performing in a small park near the waterfront at Pahia and several travellers were co-opted into their performance. The town was not overly crowded. Souvenir shops, eateries and realtors lined the streets. More vendors could be found along walkways that threaded between the auto-roadways. That was where we found a pleasant little sandwich shop about lunch time. We returned to Waitangi on the shuttle bus and returned to the ship early in the afternoon. There was time to soak in the hot tub while watching sail craft, para-sailing and tour boats in the bay.

How much does a suntan cost? The sun is available to everyone and there were more than enough loungers on the deck so the answer should be “nothing”. Watching a few passengers tanning technique provides a different answer. There were a number of travellers who seemed to lay out on deck regardless of the availability of sun but as the sun warmed, the outerwear vanished, bodies glistened with sunscreen of something and bar stewards attended. My calculations estimate that over a three week cruise the tan may have cost more than $800, excluding sunscreen. Oh well, I suppose it’s good news for the cruise line.

Sunday and Monday we were at sea en route to Sydney Australia. Sunday was a beautiful day at sea with warm, sunny, dry weather and smooth seas. Monday could hardly have been more opposite as we traveled through the northern Tasman Sea. By the time we came along site the Overseas Passenger Terminal on Tuesday, February 27 the nice weather had returned.

Tuesday morning was scheduled for inspections by Australian Border Security people. Cunard, in their wisdom, scheduled visits to officials first by urgency to disembark for tours then by deck of residence in ascending order. What could be simpler? Our deck, deck 5, was called to the theatre in preparation for inspection ashore. while enroute to the theatre an announcement was made that there was no longer a need to stage disembarkation via the theatre. By this time we were with others committed to entering the theatre at the lowest of its three levels. Without method of escape we were held captive while Cunard staff explained to guest after guest after guest that no-one would be allowed back into the ship until all passengers had completed inspection, a fact that was in the paper documentation received by all and announced repeatedly over the public address system. Next, other than leaving the ship on deck 1 as originally planned, we were now directed back through the ship and up to deck 3. Once Cunard stopped messing around, Australian Border inspection was a breeze.

Cunard was, however, not yet done with us. Upon returning to the ship with plans to have lunch on board, many of us discovered we could not board at the planned time. We were given boarding sequence numbers then shuttled from place to place within the terminal building for nearly an hour. We were later to discover that Cunard had not planned for the eventuality that some 40 or so passengers felt that for some reason they could ignore Australian officials and simply stay on the ship. So the 400 or 500 of us wishing to re-board the ship had to wait while Cunard rounded up the strays and herded them to inspection.

After lunch we again set off to wander the harbour area. Sydney has a public transit system that includes bus, train and boat. They also have a “Tap and Ride” fare payment system that works quite well. One of our first stops was to pick up an OPAL card and shortly thereafter we were on a ferry heading to Darling Harbour. We found there were many changes since we first visited 10 years ago. There has been a lot of new development and the number of ferry stops reduced. We walked around Darling Harbour from one ferry stop to the next. the northern end of the harbour is currently being redeveloped. Parts of the eastern and western shores were familiar but most was either under development or already redeveloped into condos and businesses.

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Sydney…Brisbane…and…

Posted on April 16, 2014 by Ted Thorpe

After a night of Tasman Sea hospitality the calm of Sydney Harbour was quite welcome. Conditions did not abate as our Captain had predicted. I imagine it was more wishful thinking than scientific prediction. We did have following seas rather than the earlier swells on the forward quarter. At least the stabilizers had a fighting chance.

As expected, all 1900 of us left the ship and by 0900 the crew were busy doing what ever they mean by “sanitization.” I suspect Australian health authorities encouraged the procedure and Princess were not inclined to test them since they do have the authority to quarantine the whole ship in the event of a serious outbreak. I fully support the concept of a healthy shipboard environment but I feel a letter to Princess executive coming on. There are always a number of passengers with chronic health conditions or mobility limitations who should probably have been given better treatment. Dumping these folk off to spend 7 hours at a shopping centre is, to say the least, insensitive. The cruise line gave each of us a $20 credit suggesting it was to offset meal costs while displaced. If they really believe that the shoreside value of 7 hours of on board food service is $20 they really need to go ashore more often.

There was a bright side for us. While visiting the Information kiosk at Darling Harbour we met another couple from the ship, Eva and Arthur. We travelled with them by ferry to Circular Quay and enjoyed their company for a walk through the Rocks and the markets then for a lunch stop. I must confess I was envious. As Australian seniors they were able to purchase a transit day pass for $2.50 whereas we had the privilege of paying $6.00 per trip or about $25.00 for a similar day pass. After lunch Eva and Arthur headed for the Maritime Museum and we for the Queen Victoria Building. While at Circular Quay we saw this bird sitting on a chair back eating the sugar from a package. He was being photographed from every possible angle. I really doubt that he could have been frightened away.

The rain was intermittent as we walked along George Street but we were prepared with umbrella and outer wear. The Queen Victoria Building was very busy so we soon retreated to the streets. We found a shop with an adequate supply of souvenirs. So with that done we walked to the Opera House to take another look. There was much construction at the base of the Opera House stairs and once again no lack of people. I wonder how many photos are actually taken of the Opera House or of tourists with the Opera House as a background.

After departing Sydney we once again felt the Tasman Sea; not as rough as pre Sydney but still 3.5 metre seas. The further north we sailed the better the seas became and we gradually felt temperatures rise. Some blue sky was evident during the day at sea and by the time we sailed into the Brisbane River skies were bright and sunny. By the time the Dawn Princess made fast at Hamilton DSCF3182 ruise terminal in the Brisbane River we could really feel the temperatures rise. The morning weather report warned of the possibility of showers and there was some cloud to the west.

With breakfast concluded we headed for the gangway to disembark. We had been advised that an expected shuttle bus service would not be operating. For those of us visiting without the benefit of “official” tours, taxis or the River Cat ferries would be the choices. We had always planned to use Brisbane’s River Cat service. A dozen or so of these 15 or 20 metre long catamarans traverse the Brisbane river all day and night. Our shipboard cruise director announced, just before we let the ship, that we could purchase a $7.50 day pass, however, my research indicated that day passes were no longer offered. I was correct and the cruise director’s information turned out to be more than three years out of date. Shame, shame!

We enjoyed a leisurely day in Brisbane. We rode the City Cat to it’s eastern terminus at the University of Queensland then back to the city. Since our last visit here in 2007 there have been two floods on the river and the boat docks all appear new having been replaced presumably by insurance money. A walk up about 50 steps brought us from the City Cat terminal to the foot of Brisbane’s Queen Street mall, a pedestrian space covering perhaps a dozen city blocks. Shops were busy as was the mall and as lunch time was upon us we stopped for a bite to eat.

We continued through the streets of Brisbane to the City Botanical Garden. Again we could see evidence that floods had done some damage to low lying areas near the water. The mangroves along the edge of the river seemed less dense than we remembered them and we could see where many of the trees had been cut and removed. From the garden we continued across the river using the Goodwill Pedestrian and cycle bridge to the South Bank Parklands. This is a park and recreation area that has been created along the river and appears to draw locals and visitors in large numbers. It is serviced by the City Cat which we again used to return us to Hamilton and the cruise terminal by mid afternoon.

Having had none of the predicted rain in Brisbane we now have a great, warm, sunny day sailing up the coast. Since we are now sailing inside the Great Barrier Reef we benefit from its protection and the sea is very quiet. Instead of waves and deep swells we see nothing but ripples to the horizon.

We have discovered one musical group on board that plays danceable music in the Wheelhouse Bar so that is where we hang out in the evening when we are not at a show or visiting some other entertainer. On this ship most of the entertainers seem to be drawn from Australia, not unexpectedly. This means we have not seen them before but it also means that at least part of their act targets Australians more than those of us from other parts of the world. The stage shows include some we have seen before but others we have not. There are also some speakers on board who appear to offer interesting subject material. We got some insights on the Great Barrier Reef from today’s speaker, a 38 year veteran of piloting ships through the reef.

There are more photos on line for Sydney and Brisbane. Internet conditions have been surprisingly good compared to those experience in some other regions. As a consequence photo uploads can be made quite quickly and reliably. I have not been doing any culling or editing yet but they should all have captions of some sort.

Our next stop will be Port Douglas on Good Friday. We expect this to be rather quiet since it is a small town and it is a holiday.