Day 42 At Sea

Happy Halloween! Good day for goblins, not sun worshipers…. It was a pretty lazy day. The weather was cold, windy and overcast….. not my kind of day. I did some reading and visiting with friends. To top it off I have decided that dinner is not in the cards for me. I decided to skip it after I saw the menu…. It wasn’t a good fit for my fairly narrow tastes. Tomorrow is another day at sea before we get to Melbourne, Australia. I suspect we will have another dreary day weather wise…. Bummer.

Day 41 At Sea

Today was a lonely day….. It was very windy with temps in the low 50s. There weren’t many people out enjoying and otherwise sunny day. I relaxed all day out in the sun, out of the wind. We had people get on the ship yesterday. The voyage for some will end in 3 days when we reach Melbourne…. What a Grand Voyage. It seems as thought we are just riding on a ferry boat. We have had people coming and going so much I can’t keep track of how many “segments” there are…. I wonder how bad they will carve up the Grand World Voyage in an attempt to fill the ship. Everywhere you look there are cutbacks. Maintaining the quality of the product has become secondary, I fear. A lesser quality product ought to drive the prices down in the future…..

Day 40 Perth/Fremantle, Australia

As advertised, I went to Caversham Wildlife Park. I really enjoyed seeing all the native animals and even the not so native… The Park was nice but far from the best I have seen in Australia. Australia has some magnificent Parks noted for there openness to the birds and animals. In other words you generally aren’t on the other side of a cage. Caversham did have a lot of open areas but they also had a lot of caged birds and animals. After our 4 hour tour I went directly to Fremantle and toured the city. I have been here before and love the old Victorian town.. Today I leave you with the sights from Caversham Wildlife Park….

Day 39 At Sea

Today was definitely a day to get out of the wind…. The seas were rocking and rolling so much that they emptied all the pools and hot tubs….. I loved today! We went up to the Oasis, out of the wind and had a spectacular day….. The temps were down to 64 degrees Fahrenheit but it felt more like the 80s. All in all it was a great day. Tomorrow we dock at 0800 in Fremantle/Perth Australia. I am going out to check out the Australian wildlife in the morning and then pop into Fremantle before we sail at 5:00pm. Here is a description of my shore excursion: Caversham Wildlife Park Visit Western Australia's Caversham Wildlife Park, situated close to Perth in the Swan Valley. See and touch native animals such as koalas and kangaroos in their natural habitat while enjoying the parkland and features of this renowned bushland area. The park is the premier development of its kind in Western Australia with a breeding programme is officially recognised by Australian Zoos. The owner regularly exchanges animals or birds with other parks and zoos to add to Caversham's ecology and for breeding purposes. The park has bred wombats, Tasmanian devils and koalas, and has also entered into a unique grass owl breeding programme with Perth Zoo. It is the only park in Western Australia to have bred cassowaries--a significant achievement for a privately-owned park. Although most of the Caversham's animals are Australian, the park does have some exotics such as monkeys and llamas. Ironically, some introduced species, such as buffalo, donkeys and camels, are now considered to be Australian. It is believed that camels, originally introduced from the Middle East, might have become extinct if not for the breeding program here. Australia has been selling camel stock back to the Middle East for many years. Spend 2 ½ hours at leisure among the flora and fauna of Australia.

Day 38 At Sea

Fabulous day today! The winds picked up quite a bit but if you moved around and avoided the brundt of the wind it was just great. I moved around quite a bit. I started on deck 8 aft by the pool then moved to deck 9 aft then finally to deck 10, the oasis. I had a sun filled day which is just the way I like it. We have one more day at sea until we reach Perth/Fremantle Australia. Last night we had the Black & Red Oriental Ball. I stopped in for a short while and here are some photos of some of the staff attending. First of all there is the Captain, Apollonia and I, a shot of Lori and Jacky from the cruise staff, the Cellar Master Jacque and finally one of me and April from the Casino (especially for Allan). Tonight I am invited to a cocktail party with the Captain and his staff where there will be a diet coke with my name on it……

Day 37 At Sea

Today was just perfect…. It was a very sunny day with a nice breeze to take the edge off the heat. Tomorrow we are expecting high winds and rougher seas…. I just hope we don’t lose the sun. We have two more days at sea before we get to Perth/Fremantle Australia…..

Day 36 Bali, Indonesia

Today was just a fabulous day. We sailed into Padang Bai around 6:00 this morning and got some nice shots of MT Agung, the volcano. I went on the tour as soon as I got off the tender. I was lucky and had the vehicle to myself. We had an amazing drive around the island. We encountered villagers going to ceremony in the Bat cave temple and later a funeral procession. These processions are extremely colorful and interesting. The village of Tiingan was interesting. We were able to see the process of making their traditional musical instruments. The next village we went to, the Penglipuran Balinese village was just amazing. I was able to even go into a Balinese home…. Very cool. Next we went to Pura Kehen the hindu temple complex. I have been here before but it was just as beautiful the second time around. We then headed for Mt Batur and lunch. Both were delightful. After lunch, my guide and I dumped the rest of the itinerary and headed out looking for beautiful rice fields. We found them at the village of Tengallalang. I have seen some beautiful rice fields but these just might be the best. I stayed there for quite a while taking it all in and taking many photos. Finally, I stopped by the Klungkung Kertagosa and its floating pavilion for some final shots before returning to the pier. Occasionally a day comes along when I am particularly pleased with the photos I was able to capture…. Today was one of those days. I hope everyone enjoys them. Just a great day! Now we have three days at sea as we head to Perth Australia…..