March 10-14, 2024
$1 US = $1.52 Australian
We had a wine steward onboard named Jay (unfortunately his contract ended in Brisbane), who indulged our bunch of wine lovers after we attended the official “Women in Wine” presentation about a month into the cruise. Royal Caribbean intended the official tasting to be a celebration of women vintners around the world – the way it was written and advertised looked like it was wine tasting for women. We got that cleared up. Afterwards, Jay arranged a tasting of Caymus wines (California) on Feb. 28th, which was very successful (more showed up than they’d planned) and then an exclusive tasting for Pernod’s – a famous vineyard in Australia, known for high end red varietals that have won awards in France. Pernod’s even sent along one of their sommeliers to present each wine. The tastings came with progressively steeper $, but I enjoyed it completely (as did Liam and Alan, who vied sitting next to me because I always hand over the Cabernet – too sensitive to tannins). I included my tasting notes for the Pernod’s.
Brisbane was rainy – off and on- all day, so Museum Day!!! The Queensland Museum is free to enter, and then extra for special exhibitions. One permanent exhibition is the Science Lab – oriented toward children and the young at heart. The other was “Legoland Jurassic World” – we went to both ($86 Australian for both of us to the 2 attractions). It was a blast.
The northeast coastal area of Australia becomes inundated with the infamous box jellyfish – which can kill with a sting in the wrong place, and a tiny – just as dangerous – Irukandji jellyfish. The Irukandji are only about ½ inch in size, so impossible to see, and the reaction to its sting – dizziness, nausea and sweating – can occur hours later. Because of these dangers, the cities create lagoons near the water, so people can enjoy the “beach” without its inherent dangers.
We’d visited Airlie Beach n 2020 – at the local Woolworths (a grocery store in Australia – not the 5 and Dime store some in my age group and older would think of) there had been a sign stating that a person diagnosed with “the coronavirus” had been shopping there a couple of days earlier and requested anyone that had been shopping at that time come in and be tested. What weird things one remembers. The town is still lovely, though our favorite restaurant – “Shucked” had closed. Luckily, we found The Pub where we could get “bugs” – similar to a small lobster or large Crawfish that is split, grilled and covered in garlic butter, and of course, some of the sweet little oysters from the area – and sparkling wine. We enjoyed swimming in the lagoon, shopping for Easter treats and a generally relaxing day. For those interested – this is an area very close to The Great Barrier Reef, weather reports for here and Cairns did not look conducive to snorkeling, which would have been an option. Friends that did make the trip reported rough seas and poor visibility.
A quick overnight sail up the coast brought us to Yorkeys Knob – about 8 miles from Cairns (pronounced “Cans”). Due to the reef, cruise ships cannot enter the port, so we tender to the yacht club, then get a shuttle bus to the city. Tendering was difficult – despite the waters appearing calm, a strong under-current battered against the ship – causing the tenders to bob up and down by several feet, dangerous for able-footed folks, let alone middle aged and up cruisers. After an hour’s wait, they managed to get the tender tied up safely enough to board. The last time we visited Cairns, we took a ferry out to Green Island to snorkel, this time we stayed in town. The weather was lovely (and friends that did go out and snorkel had a wonderful time).
We wandered, visited the Cairns Museum, and enjoyed a pint in a café by the lagoon.
John had a massage while I went shopping at a big local mall to pick up a few items that would be harder to find in SE Asia. Unfortunately – we didn’t find any “bugs” to enjoy. Back on the ship, I watched a wonderful sunset.
And now, off to Indonesia.
History Lesson:
The first European to document part of the coast of Australia was Dutch explorer Willem Janszoon in 1606, followed by fellow Dutchmen documenting the northern and western coastline of the land called Terra Australia Incognita (The Unknown South Land). James Cook claimed to be the first to step on Australian soil in 1770 when he arrived along the east coast, and brought an onslaught of immigration. The First Fleet of convicts left England in May 1787, arriving in Botany Bay (now Sydney) in January, 1788. Over the next 80 years, 162,000 convicts were brought to Australia to work off their sentences. Their descendants spread through the continent and created a new country, despite the general comment “almost everything in Australia wants to kill you” – so welcome to Australia in a funny way…
Like their counterparts in the US, First Peoples tend to suffer from high unemployment and poor health outcomes. Also, like in the US, native children were removed from their homes and communities and placed in government run schools. Children placed in this matter are referred to as “The Stolen Generation”. In an attempt at reparations, Aboriginals who were removed from their homes as children and placed in care prior to 1969 are eligible for a payment of $75,000. Other recent bills have failed passage.
As a group, Aussies are a friendly, rowdy bunch, who know how to work and play hard. There are an amazing variety of attractions for both the more sedate and more adventurous tourist that involve minimal exposure to the more deadly of Australia’s inhabitants. Northern Australia is tropical, and can be visited at any time, but you need to remember that the Northern Hemisphere summer is their winter, so don’t plan on swimming off the beaches near Sydney in June.