Cairns Australia - Rain...

Tuesday, February 22, 2011 – at sea off the coast of Australia – 2nd terrible earthquake in Christchurch

Breakfast and lunch with friends and handling some issues; nap out on deck; computer assistance. Heard the terrible news of the 6.2 earthquake in Christchurch, NZ, where we were on February 11. Have sent off emails to hear some news from our friends. We get two TV stations and as long as we have satellite reception, we get the news as soon as it is reported.

Formal night with a welcome cocktail from Stein Kruse and picture with he and his wife and John Bowles, Broadway and West End singer/actor; great show.

Falling in to the groove of being onboard now. Friends stop you along the hallway to chat; crew stop you to talk and laugh. Longer cruises turn in to a “community-at-sea”, like a retirement village at sea! Your needs are well attended and you are seeing new sights with each port of call. What could be better…

Wednesday, February 23, 2011 – at sea

Breakfast and lunch with friends; we are another hour ahead of you which makes it even harder to call the US during business or waking hours.

The afternoon lecture with the CEO of Holland America Cruise Lines, Director of Mariner Society (past guest program), the Captain and Hotel Director. They explained how they choose their world cruise itinerary, by sending out questionnaires and listening to the ideas of past guests and figuring mileage and where they can pick up supplies and re-fuel.

The dinner was a fantastic evening the crew had spent hours and hours creating – an Australian BBQ under the covered pool deck. We had the aborigine playing the didgeridoo instrument, the bush band playing, the kiosks with Australian wines, an Australian micro-brewery, fresh flower tent, fresh fruits like a stand on the street with Bing cherries by the gallon!!! (Fresh fruit is worth 10 times its weight in gold on a long cruise where re-stocking can be tricky!) Emu, kangaroo, lamb, steaks, barramundi fish, salmon, chicken, pasta, Asian and all kinds of salads, cheeses, fresh dates and figs…whew. And all the alcohol you desired! What a night.

Thursday, February 24, 2011 – Cairns, Australia

Tropical heat, bush hats, grab some shade…that is what it is supposed to be like. We were greeted with RAIN. Buckets of RAIN. Oh gosh. The dreams of seeing the Great Barrier Reef are being dashed. And we have our private group tour today in the countryside. The ship’s TV camera showing the front of the ship is just as gray as it can be. It is depressing BUT hopefully it will clear up. It is very unusual to have an entire day of rain. Their very high humidity creates the rain but it does not usually last long.
Well, today was the exception. An entire day of drenching rain. We probably had the best tour we could have chosen since we were in covered locations.

On the way up the mountain, we were stopped for 50 minutes by a fallen tree. Completely stopped. We knew the weather was even worse than we thought, at this point. We played Australian trivia and learned all about the state of Queensland.

Finally made it to the Rainforestation (www.rainforest.com.au) Nature Park where we rode the Army duck through the rainforest, saw the Koalas, kangaroos, snakes, cassowaries (nasty creature like an emu/ostrich but shorter), quolls (Like a large rat), dingoes, lizards, crocodiles, tried to throw a boomerang, watched the traditional dances of the pamagirri tribe and ate a BBQ lunch of an assortment of the Australian meats and specialties.
Continued up the road to Port Douglas and it is normally a spectacular drive (I can remember when we drove it many years ago) but today you could not see much from the bus windows. Islands and beaches and curvy roads made several car sick and Port Douglas was a small town for shopping. We did drove along to Palm Cove, an exclusive hotel section to see what they offered but it takes on new meaning in the rain.

Back to the ship by 6PM and ate in buffet. Walked in to Cairns and to the night market (massages for $15 for 40 minutes!) and opals and handcrafts; it was late night shopping in the city so the shops were open! Finally opted to go to the internet center and worked. When walking back to the ship, we were harassed on the street by some 20 years olds; it was quite a shock for us and we informed security at the ship. They called the police and mentioned there had been two other incidents. The policeman said it is getting more difficult on late night shopping Thursday nights. We gave a police report and worked from the ship and bed super late!

Sites to see: Great Barrier Reef Marine Preserve, the largest of all living things in the world. There are more 2500 separate reefs with more than 30,000 species. Undara Lava Tubes were formed 200,000 years ago when the McBride volcanic province erupted. Kuranda Scenic Rail travels along one of the world’s most beautiful stretches of track through Barren Gorge National Park past waterfalls and deep chasms. Skyrail will carry you above the rainforest canopy in a six-person gondola.