Category: Diamond Princess

Wrapping up the Journey

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Our last dinner in Honolulu was at Tony Roma’s and it brought back memories of a birthday dinner in Burlington more than 20 years ago. Some of you may remember. For those who weren’t present here’s the short version. Dinner plans began with four celebrating my birthday and one other. It ended with a group of more than 20 in attendance as a result of contacts made throughout the day with friends who shared Amateur Radio (Ham Radio) as a hobby.

Our flight from Honolulu to Vancouver was delayed more than an hour because of a needed tire change on the Boeing 737 that was transportation. A task that should have taken half an hour, according to the initial announcement, took much longer. They seemed to have difficulty finding a suitable replacement. By the time the replacement wheel had been installed there were three wheels under the airplane, the original and two potential wheels that didn’t fit. After that, the trip was uneventful but we arrived in Vancouver about two hours later than scheduled.

The Culprit Tire

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After a night of sleep we returned to the airport for our flight to Toronto. There were no delays with this airplane, in fact we arrived in Vancouver 30 minutes earlier than scheduled. It turned out to be irrelevant as did our quick clearance through Canada Border Security thanks to NEXUS. The luggage handlers didn’t get suitcases onto the carousel for nearly 30 minutes. We did get lucky and our bags were among the first group to arrive. Kevin picked us up promptly and we started the drive back to Burlington.

We picked up our car from Kevin’s home, transferred our baggage and collected groceries for our next breakfast, however, we still needed to have dinner. A quick call to friends Chris and Marie found them ready to share a late evening table at Kelsey’s. The trip home continued after an enjoyable meal and once home the suitcases were virtually abandoned until the following morning.

We have no plans for another trip although I am nearly certain there will be another and when plans are made the journal will again become active.

Thanks to all of you who followed our 2018 journey we, Gail and I, hope you found something of interest in the commentary and posted photos. Another thank you for the comments made on many posts. I have now added the nearly 1000 trip photos and videos to the gallery which can be accessed directly at the link Australia 2018. You will also find the Photo Gallery menu item above and link to the photos from there. There is also an Australia 2018 link on the sidebar of this page. Not all of the photos are captioned but that should cause no trouble.

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Tasmania Ashore

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Monday, March 5, was our day in Hobart. Although the overcast kept the temperature in the mid teens (Celsius, 60s fahrenheit) the sun broke through occasionally but we decided to take a little rain protection just in case and around noon we went ashore to meet our tour group. During a short ride, where we learned that Hobart was a city of about 250,000 in a state with a population of about half a million, we arrived at the Royal Tasman Botanical Garden. As it is approaching autumn here there were fewer blooms than there might have been in summer, the garden was very nice. The garden contains a global collection of species well organized and labeled. Some species have been there for over 80 years.

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Amaryllis in the wild

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Following the gardens visit we traveled through Hobart and began the ascent of Mount Wellington. The road up the mountain, built early in the 20th century, has been maintained but improved little in a century. The upper half features periodic turnouts to accommodate upbound and downbound vehicles passing safely. When traffic is moderately heavy this system works poorly. The view of Hobart becomes evermore expansive as the coach climbs toward the 1270 metre summit.

 Hobart Panorama from Mount Wellington

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The Port from the Sunnit

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The overnight sail from Hobart to Port Arthur took place between 11:30 PM and 7:00 AM Tuesday, this to cover less than 90 nautical miles. Port Arthur is one of the most famous and infamous British Penal Colonies and our tenders arrived nearly at the front gate of the prison. This location might be said to be a natural prison with sea surrounding it and a very narrow isthmus linking it to the mainland. This isthmus, named Eaglehawk Neck, was policed day and night by vicious dogs chained as a living barrier to those who would try to escape, thus was called the “Dog Line”.

 Prison Site

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 Dog Line Memorial

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Our tour coach transported our group around the Port Arthur region stopping frequently for photo opportunities featuring the unusual geology of the region. Many of the sheer rock walls facing the sea are riddled with caves. Where this rock has been eroded to sea level the beach is formed by flat, natural patio stone-like formations called Tessellated Pavement. Other areas have stretches of white sand beaches, some of which provide opportunities for surfers. 

 Rock Face with Tessellated Pavement below

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 Rock Formations and Sandy Beaches

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We all complain about the cramped seating and narrow isles on airliners but they are nothing compared to the motor coaches we used for the tours. In Hobart we really re-boarded the coach only twice, in Port Arthur there were a dozen stops. This was a very well behaved group. There were no stragglers and everyone returned to the coach by the time requested by our guide. When we returned to the tender port our seats on the bus were quickly taken over by the next tour group and we returned to the ship to enjoy a sunny, warm afternoon.

 

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Continuing southbound

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We checked out of the hotel around 11:30 AM into a waiting cab. The traffic was not so heavy at this time of day and the trip was quick. The huge check-in line we saw as the taxi pulled up to the cruise terminal made our hearts drop a little. There was a porter waiting to take our checked bags as they were unloaded. As we turned with the remaining luggage we saw the “Priority Boarding” sign which was our queue. As we entered our stateroom Gail’s watch read 12:15 PM. 

After boarding the Diamond Princess and doing a bit of exploring we went for our typical boarding day hamburger at the Trident Grill. Now here’s some comparisons. We have been on the Queen Elizabeth for three weeks, eaten in the LIDO repeatedly and only once been offered beverage service, this afternoon a waiter was at our table almost as we sat down. Another comparison, along with the beverage service waiter came several others offering wine tasting events and coffee cards for sale, whereas on the QE we never encountered such solicitations. 

It was evident even from our hotel room that the Diamond was much larger than  the Queen Elizabeth. From our third floor window we could see the top of the opera house and, with a little concentration, make out features of ships at the Overseas Passenger Terminal. The only bits that were visible on the QE superstructure were the two white, spheres atop the vessel that house communications stuff. The upper two decks of the Diamond were quite visible over most of the ship’s length. Once on board the size differences were even more apparent. From  the upper decks residential east Sydney could be seen over the Opera House peaks.IMG 9352 On the other side, the view was of the roof of the terminal rather than the upper floor windows of the building.IMG 2495 As the Diamond set sail she had a huge impact on the ferry boats and pleasure craft. The Diamond’s turning circle requires most of the approach to Circular Quay docks. The eleven mile trip to the ocean offers some great views of Sydney. Once clear of the harbour she turned southward, steering a course paralleling Australia’s east coast. Our first contact with Tasmania should occur after about 40 hours and some 600 nautical miles after departing Sydney. As a result, we are traveling at a leisurely 12 knots.

Until this point all of the photos have been taken with my trusty iPhone SE. The next bit, on Sunday March 4, will be costal cruising therefore it is time to bring out the Fuji with it’s 700 mm zoom. I will have to sacrifice the geographical metadata but that’s life. Of course, having not used this camera for quite a while some of the buttons will be mysterious for a short while. Perhaps I’ll take it out for a spin on deck before we arrive in Hourglass Bay.

Sunday morning, March 4,  finds our position just east of the coast of Tasmania. Early this morning the ship shuddered slightly but otherwise passage through the shallow Bass Strait separating Tasmania from Australia .  Between 1:30 PM and 4:30 PM we cruised slowly along the coast of Wineglass and Oyster Bays. The rock formations and white sand beaches provided our first look at the State of Tasmania. Eventually, once back in Sydney with reliable internet and time, there will be more photos of the area, but for now, here are a couple.

Panorama of Wineglass Bay

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Panorama of Oyster Bay

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Monday morning we entered the port of Hobart. After a relatively clear sunrise the weather became rather cool and overcast with some sunny breaks. Our berth is at a commercial site with a warehouse as a temporary cruise terminal.

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Mount Wellington can be seen directly in front of the ship beyond the city.

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Later today we will take a tour in Hobart then another tomorrow in Port Arthur.

 

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Between A Queen and a Diamond

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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.

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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.

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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.

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

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