Random Goes on a Cruise

All over

Today is packing day and tomorrow I fly home. The whole cruise and Oz visit has breen wonderful and I would like to thank all of you who have followed my posts and commented.

See you back on Random Jottings in a while

Whitehaven beach

Some pics from our gorgeous day out on the plane, including the pilot.....

Hamilton Island

It was seven years ago when i made my first visit to Australia after my daughter Kathryn had moved here and we went on a holiday to Hamilton Island. I simply loved it then and asked if we could go back this year. Normally we plan a trip further afield but as we were not sure if Kathryn would have her Permanent Residency granted by the time I came, we had to limit our scope. So Hamilton it was and gosh it was simply wonderful to be back and see it again.

The highlight of the week was a trip we took by seaplane over the Whitsunday Islands and landing on Whitehaven beach which has been rated in the top ten beaches in the world. Pristine white sand, jade and turquoise water which feels like silk when you dive in, it is simply breathtaking.

We were in a four passenger plane and flew over the islands, jewels in the sea, white sails of yachts dotting the ocean and colours of purple and green. When we landed we felt like celebrities in our private plane. It helped that it was flown by a dashing Frenchman who was tre joli to put it mildly. He said there was a bit of wind so we might have some ‘bermps’. Sounded so like Inspector clouseau that Kathryn and I corpsed completely.

I am going to say no more but post some pictures which will say more than my words will do.

Hamilton Island

Love this place. Just so laid back. No traffic. If you want to get around you hire little electric buggies, top speed 25 mph. We arrived and checked in and within five minutes of being in our room these little friends arrived. “Ah new suckers. Perhaps they will have some food”. Having lost a couple of muffins to them on my last visit I am more canny this time around.

On the beach. Baking hot and then out of nowhere comes a wind whipping up the sand and sea, and torrential rain. Ten minutes later out comes the sun and all is well. This happened several times during the day and in the end we did not bother to move. I have to say when we eventually came in and I looked in the mirror and found myself seeing a sandy, hair on end 71 year old I let out a shriek. But nobody here really cares what you look like here.

out in the evening for dinner down in the port. Stuffed to the gills decided to get free mini-bus back to hotel which runs all day and late into the evening. Went by an incredibly circuitous route and when we arrived at our hotel realised we could have walked it in five minutes.....

Kathryn went to the Spa yesterday for a massage and later on in the week I am having a pedicure and a manicure. Two more weeks and I shall be home and this sybaritic lifestyle will end. I am loving it but could not do this all the time. The ‘treat’ factor is very important to this lind of trip.

ok off to breakfast and then down to the beach again....it is a hard life.

 

Off to Hamilton Island

After my not so wonderful week I am delighted to be going to Hamilton Island with Kathryn tomorrowf for five days. It is simply the most gloirious place and I shall be posting pics and photos. Just dropping in to let you now that I am still her in Australia.

I have just Skyped the family and it was wonderful to see them. I freely admit that I am now looking forward to returning home and seeing then all again.

Back in a day or two

 

 

 

 

Surry Hills

For the last ten days I have been staying in Surry Hills witk Kathryn. I like the area very much. It is full of little coffe shops and cafes and I have yet to find one that does not serve a great sandwich or brew a good coffee.

In the 1920s I gather it was the haunt of razor gangs that terrorised inner-city Sydney and was pretty much a slum area. But as we all know, slums get 'gentrified' and this is what has happened. Young professionals have moved into the area, there are loads of designer shops and restaurants. The Victorian terraces have great charm and are now selling faster than those in Paddington which has always been the place to live for some time. There is a curious mixture of fashion and seediness, newly renovated houses stand alongside dilapidated dwellings awaiting their turn to be bought, painted and given a new lease of life. Some of the renovated ones are stunning, small but every inch of space utilised. Now that this is a ‘cool’ ares house prices have shot up as is always the case.  It is so close to the main City and last weekend the Gay Mardi Gras paraded through the streets. It is a huge occasion, great crowds and an atmosphere of fun and affection. When I first came to Sydney in my twenties being gay was still illegal and homophobia was really bad. It was not viewed as a good part of the Aussie macho image. How things have changed and for the better.

I was very glad I was with Kathryn this week as I had a recurrance of something I suffered a couple of years ago. Inflammation of the rib cartilage on my right hand side. I was in very bad pain and could barely breathe and felt as if a clamp was latched onto my rib cage. Kathryn took a day off work to look after me and I have to admit I was very glad she did. I am not used to being looked after!

three days and umpteen painkillers later it is receding, but boy do not want that again. I am at a loss as to its origin. Can follow on from a chest infection or a heavy cold, which I could understand as the previous occasion I had been suffering with precisely that.  Then I read that ‘lifting heavy objects’ can also do it.  Bearing in mind the weight of my suitcase it now all becomes clear....

First few days in Sydney

Checked into the Hyatt and in the afternoon my darling Kathryn came to the hotel and a joyous reunion took place. Wonderful to see her. We went upstairs to the Zephyr bar, which Kathryn knows well (!) and she had a cocktail and I had a glass of Rose. The view over Darling Harbour was lovely and the sun was so hot that they kept spritzing the bar with cold water droplets.

In the evening Stella and I had a meal at an Italian restaurant on the edge of the harbour and just sat and watched the world go by and the lights on the water.

Next day we went to the Opera House. Now I have been there so many times and yet each time I see it I am enthralled by it all over again. The boldness and beauty of the design is stunning and has really put Sydney on the map. We went on a tour. I went on one a few years ago but was happy to repeat it We are not allowed to take photos but before you embark on the hour long tour your photo is taken and then when you are finished you can purchase a book all about the building and its history and inside your photo is superimposed on different shots of the opera house. It is a great souvenir and I decided to buy one, though I wished I had brushed my hair...

After this we went for a walk in the Rocks area, which I shall revisit myself later on as I shall be here another few weeks, but good to get a flavour of it all. Then back to the hotel and crashed out for an hour or so.

Today we went to Manly on the ferry which is another thing I love doing in Sydney and of which I never tire and though I had promised myself no more pics of the opera, I simply had to take this one. The sun was shining on the shells of the building, it was a glorious blue sky and I am delighted with the result.

Manly is a charming place and when you are there you feel far away from the bustle of the City. The waves were coming in, not too high, but a lot of surfies about. We had a nice lunch, a beef sandwich shared between the two of us as they are monster and, once again, chunky chips with aoli. SUBLIME.

And look what I bought for Beatrice and Florence..

Sydney

I have arrived. The entry into the harbour by sea was all I thought it would be. Simply wonderful. I freely admit to a tear in the eye. And we went under the Bridge as well!

Last few days

Another day and we arrive in Sydney and I disembark. The last couple of days have been full of incident. Eating breakfast when a Code 4 was announced over the PA system and a cabin number given. This is an emergency, a total emergency and later we learned that a passenger had suffered a stroke. While we took this in we became aware that the ship was turning round and the captain announced that we were returning to NZ where a helicopter would fly out to meet us and the passenger would be airlifted to hospital. As we had been steaming away overnight this mean practically a full day’s sailing before we were in the limit of the helicopter. It arrived at 3pm and of course most people whipped out their phones to take pictures which I found pretty nauseating. One guy had a huge telephoto lens which he put to use as the stretcher was being winched up, no doubt hoping for a close up. Yuk.

Well, by turning back we were then caught up in the back lash of the end of the cyclone which had just caught NZ and we had pitched seas for the next 24 hours. Deck were roped off and so everyone was inside and though most people were perfectly accepting of what had happened there were the usual moaners. One guy in the Quiz afternoon complained that it was not fair that one team had six instead of seven even though this lady was just sitting there drinking a glass of wine and was not taking part. Pathetic. The prize for this quiz was a ship’s biro and, considering that a possibly dying man had just been taken off the ship, the pettiness and utter banality of some people is truly lowering.

Went to bed fairly early and had a dire night. The anchor is close to my window when it is being lowered and I do not think after having to stop mid ocean that it had been locked in properly as with every movement of the ship when the waves were pitching it bashed against the side making sleep impossible. But I told myself, Elaine you cannot sleep, you have a headache but it does not matter. You are alive and well.

I was still glad when morning came though….

So Sydney tomorrow and disembarkation the following day. I have enjoyed this cruise immensely, minor irritations aside, but there have been moments in the last 24 hours when I have wanted to shriek “Stop the Ship I want to Get Off!”

And I will soon

Oh and by the way I have read 42 books while on board….

New Zealand 2 - Bay of Islands

Last day in New Zealand and this was the best day. Glorious weather, sun shining and a light breeze. The air in NZ feels wonderful, so fresh and gentle and full of the most wonderful smells from the trees and the plants.

We were on a cruise round the Bay of Islands so called because it is a Bay and it is full of Islands. Right. Got it? Good. It is simply beautiful and I am going to try and upload loads of photos so you can see what I mean.

Glad the beauty of these islands soothed my soul because while we were sitting on the cruise boat waiting to set off a lady behind me decided to Skype her relatives at home. ‘Hello I am on the boat’ ‘Yes I am in New Zealand’ ‘Oh can’t you see me? Press the red button at the bottom of your screen. I said PRESS THE RED BUTTON’ at this point probably because of my furious glare her husband told her not to shout she lowered her voice somewhat. I was struck when listening to her conversation about the likeness to Sybil in Fawlty Towers played by the wonderful Prunella Scales, who was on the phone for hours going ‘Oh I know, oh Yes, oh I KNOW’. I sat there, very ostentatiously with my fingers in my ears as this wittering went on until I think the penny dropped in the end and she stopped. I thought Blimey I am on a boat in NZ and somebody is on their phone behind me not taking a blind bit of notice of the glory all around. Words fail.

After the mini cruise was over we repaired to a local eatery for lunch and, remembering the size of portions, ordered a steak sandwich between us both and just as well we did when it arrived. Enormous. But it was accompanied by chunky chips and a bowl of mayo and I spent a blissful fifteen minutes dunking.

We chose to get off the boat at the little town centre which was simply charming and delightful and raided a local souvenir shop, a very good one no tat, and piled up the pressies. Then across the road, a market full of stalls selling local jewellery, wood, soaps etc and I bougt a lovely silver pendant which was on special offer. Chat with the jeweller who was charming and said that all the people off the Columbus she had met that day were lovely and friendly and full of ‘positive energy’. I then spent another few minutes chatting and, hopefully, exuding more positives and then we caught the free shuttle bus back to the wharf to pick up the tender back to the ship.

And the bus driver, of Maori descent, sang songs to us all the way back.

It was a simply gorgeous day and I am already planning a return to New Zealand. I loved it years ago and the feeling is still the same.