Australia Trip 2019 - Part 6 - Adelaide to Ajax
- Wayne Webster
- Oct 3, 2021
- 8 min read
Updated: Oct 6, 2021
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Saturday November 9th, 2019 - At Sea Bound for Adelaide - Sun and Cloud - Cool - Calm Seas
Lost another hour last night, so not up until 7:15 am. Got my half bowl of oatmeal, tea and the four newspapers. By then, Wayne was up, so we walked our six rounds and then went for breakfast.
Sat out on the promenade until my hands got too cold and then headed for the Crow's Nest until 11 am, when Kay was giving a presentation on Kangaroo Island. Thank goodness we booked a tour - no transit, no cabs, all the private companies are doing HA stuff and Penshaw has 300 people! After lunch we went to a good talk on seals and sea lions, which we will probably see on Kangaroo Island. There is a huge colony (800). Also looking forward to the Coorong tomorrow.
Sunday November 10th, 2019 - Adelaide- Cool and Windy
Today we had a marvellous day on the Coorong. We did a drive first, including our old stomping grounds: Art Gallery, Museum, Botanic Garden. Brought back good memories! Then a lovely drive through the country, after which we boarded a boat, the Spirit of Coorong, to explore the area by sea. Saw a barrage, a dam whose job it is to keep the sea water out of the Murray River and all the other freshwater lakes and rivers. Without this, agriculture would collapse. We went through a lock and cruised on down the river to its mouth.
The bird life is amazing. One hundred thousand migrants pass through here every year.
Then we stopped at Coorong National Park and did a 45 minute walk through the sand dunes to the open sea. Some people saw a brown snake, highly venomous. There are a lot of native plants along the way. The open sea is wild - 2,500 km due south of us is Antarctica.
They fed us a great boxed lunch of cold meats, salad, roll, cheese and crackers plus a glass of wine (we already had tea/coffee and a date square mid morning). Lovely vessel, good commentary. The skipper lived on a boat in the marina until he was ten. His grandparents still do. It's a bit of q quirky place, miles from anywhere - I loved it.
On the way back, we cruised right by our ship, the Maasdam:
Video of the same trip we took on the good ship Spirit of Coorong
Monday November 11th, 2019 - At Sea Bound for Melbourne - Sunny, Cool and Windy
Big disappointment today. Captain decided the winds and the swell were too high to tender into Kangaroo Island. At 7 am he turned around and booted for Melbourne. I was doubly upset. I intended to get up for the 6 am Sunrise Remembrance Day Service. I overslept (we have lost two and a half hours over the last three days so my internal clock was out of whack). Threw on my clothes at 6 am, but by the time I got there they were just finishing. Hundreds of people there. I was sorry I missed it. Another sea day - I never though I'd say it, but we have had too many sea days. Kay did her talk on Melbourne. Erin did a good presentation on wildlife photography. Walked six rounds. Good dinner: barramundi fish - delicious.
Tuesday November 12th, 2019 - Melbourne - Sun, Cloud and Rain Squalls
Went to Kay's talk on Tasmania this morning. Did our six rounds and then went to the Mariner's gathering where Wayne received his Mariner's Medallion, presented to him by the Captain and First Mate:
Scored three glasses of champagne, but didn't want the big lunch, so went up to the Lido. Too windy to sit outside, so went to the Crow's Nest. We were in a perfect spot to watch the Captain screw up the Melbourne docking (it was briefly very windy). He should have waited five minutes - calm and sunny. Instead, he called for a tug to push us in - amazing little boats, about one one hundredth of our size, but they can push us in! Consequently, we were an hour late docking (3 pm instead of 2 pm). No point going into town - all the museums, etc. close at 5 pm. Walked off the ship - no wifi in this enormous cruise terminal, so walked to a little cafe. Had to buy two coffees - $8.30 AUS, but that sure beats the $15 US a day that the ship is charging for wifi.
Walked to the beach - high tide - couldn't walk. Walked along the waterfront path for a couple of kilometres, saw the pier all the soldiers embarked from in both world wars. But rain squalls and high winds drove us back after a couple of hours. Very different weather from the first time we were in Melbourne. Also found out the Queen Victoria Market is closed on Wednesdays. A very helpful Tourist Information lady showed us the best shopping streets where we are meeting Suse, including a couple of discount bookstores. We'll try there tomorrow. Frustrating day, but great to be back in our favourite city!
Wednesday November 13th, 2019 - Melbourne - Cool, Cloudy and Windy
Lovely day today. Bought our shuttle tickets in the terminal ($15 for a 3-4 km ride - crazy). Hopped right on the 109 bus which dropped us across the river from the Immigration Museum on Flinder's Street. Back in our old stomping grounds. Shopping went surprisingly well. Got t-shirts for Katie and the kids, a sweatshirt for Ryan, books for the kids, koala hats, a koala for Lisbeth, etc. Had a coffee and got wifi and a comfy place to sit in the TI to wait for Suse. It was wonderful to see her again. We had a lovely lunch in one of the Arcades and caught up. She may be coming to Canada the year after next, but we have to not say anything yet. Managed to get her a copy of Atwood's The Testaments and wrote a very sappy but sincere thank you card. She had to go back to work after a couple of hours while we browsed in a funky used book store on Flinder's Street before going back to the ship by shuttle. The worst has happened: I am officially too fat to fit into all three of my dinner dresses. They look ok but are very uncomfortable. Good dinner: calf's liver for me, steak for Wayne.
Thursday November 14th, 2019 - Burnie, Tasmania - Mainly Cloudy and Cold
Rain squalls and fog on the mountain. A bit of a mixed day today. The good news is that we got a small bus - about 20 people and a lovely older guy, who grew up here, as a guide. The bad news: it rained off and on all the way to the mountain. At the mountain, it was rainy, windy and foggy - couldn't see Dove Lake or the mountain.
They substituted a boat ride on the lake and a walk on the boardwalk with a visit to the home of Gustav Weindorfer. He was an amazing guy. He and his wife, Kate Cowle, settled in Cradle Mountain and ran the first hostel and guiding services, working relentlessly to have Cradle Mountain protected as a National Park, which it is today:
Then had a very good lunch at the only fancy hotel up there, a great buffet of salmon, steak, chicken, fancy sausage, baked potatoes, veggies, etc. I pigged out on the lovely salmon. They also had a really classy gift shop and art gallery. Bought Gill a magnet and a fairy penguin storybook for Lisbeth. Then back up to Gustav's house. Did a short but totally amazing walk through the rain forest. Saw the King Billy Pines used in ship building, especially for masts - some were 2,000 years old. Everything except the King Billys was covered in moss - amazing walk.
Our gallery of pictures from the home and rain forest of Gustav Weindorfer
Coming down from the mountain, the weather improved a lot. Went through amazing rain forests (they get 2-3 metres of rain a year), deep valley gorges and a lot of very attractive and productive farm land. Stopped briefly at Sheffield to view the fascinating and whimsical murals made for the International Mural Fest.
Gallery of Our Photos of the Murals
Then booted it back to the ship. We were twenty minutes late. The captain must have been having a hernia - we were running out of tide!
Friday November 15th, 2019 - At Sea Bound for Sydney - Sunny and Pleasant
The last day - interspersed stuff we had to do (packing and writing thank you notes to our marvellous crew) with sitting on deck all day soaking up the warmth and the light before we come home to the cold and the dark. Nice farewell at dinner tonight - hugs all around. I'll miss Zaenal, Juancho, Allen. Yudi, Angus and Henky. What now ? I have to cook - serve dinner - where are my three courses? No lobster? What? I have to make beds, clean up after myself? Oh no! I've been spoiled. The cruise was pretty good. Good things: the food (especially Joe at the omlette station, smoked salmon, pizza, salad bars), the speakers, the ports. Bad things: our cabin, problems with the phone, the A/C heat (never fixed), the safe, and the bathtub (way too high - I had my heart in my mouth every time I had to get out, no falls though. The controls are positively ancient. Took us a day to figure them out. I didn't figure out how to override the governor on the hot water till the last week, so I could get a hot bath rather than a warm one. Shore excursions - always a disappointment - not enough time.
Saturday November 16th, 2019 - Sydney and the Long Trip Home - Sunny and Warm in Sydney - Bitter Cold at Home
Today went pretty well, considering. Docked at Circular Key, so got a good last view of the opera house, the bridge, the Sydney skyline. Took the Holland America transfer to the airport - the guy got lost - twice. Didn't bother us though, we were on the bus at 9:30 am. Flight didn't leave till 2:40 pm. I had arranged that we didn't get kicked off the ship until 9:10 am rather than 8:10 am, so we had a nice, relaxed breakfast.
Sydney airport is just lke Sydney: crazy busy, noisy, confusing, very high tech, some of which didn't work, and very expensive. Boarded a bit late - two screws missing - nice one! Got fixed pretty fast. They made up the time in the air. I thought I had an empty seat beside me, until at the last minute, a huge guy arrived (6'4" 240 lbs). He was a royal pain - the seat mate from hell. First, he manspread, taking up part of my seat (my bad shoulder is still sore from twisting away from him). Second, he drank a lot (six bottles of wine that I saw). Third, he wanted out five times in the first five hours. He would get more wine, or take his backpack into the washroom for 15-20 minutes???) Finally, I told him to stay put so I could sleep. Fourth, when he finally went to sleep, he snored. Fifth, he was totally uncommunicative. It was hard to sit on the edge of a seat for fifteen and a half hours. Other than that, the flight was smooth.
We arrived on time at Dallas-Fort Worth. Easily made the transfer to the Air Canada flight to Toronto. Good flight - seats only two in a row - what a relief! Arrived in Toronto on time, busy but not too bad, bags arrived. The last glitch was the cell phone didn't work (Wayne put the sim card in upside down). Called our pre-booked cab from a phone at the info desk. They said they would be there in five minutes, but still were not there after fifteen, so called again. It might have been our fault. I'm not sure we made it down to the other end of the terminal, including washroom breaks. Cab did arrive right after I called the second time.
Uneventful trip home. Everything is perfect in the house. It's great to be home! Absolutely exhausted!
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