Sydney in its full glory at night…Attempting to avoid repetition…

Posted by worldwide-admin on with 0 Comment
A partial moon, boats in the bay and the Sydney Opera House.

There’s something magical about Sydney. Whether its the Harbor Bridge or the Opera House, both of which highlight the city and all of its charm and splendor, it has it all.

Last night, our ship Royal Caribbean Voyager of the Seas was almost 90 minutes late, heading out to sea, which with the fabulous views from our veranda, we couldn’t have been more thrilled.

With more photos than we can possibly share today with the slow wifi signal aboard the ship, we’ve decided to post them over the next several days. At times, we find taking photos of ships challenging. But, getting off at ports of call? Easy.

Let’s face it, there are only so many photo ops on a cruise ship. In some ways, they all look alike. That’s not to say that our enjoyment is diminished by familiarity. It’s not. We thoroughly enjoy the familiar aspects of many cruise ships.

Many of our long-time readers have seen it all based on our photos from the past 12 cruises (this is the 13th) over the past 42 months. As a result, we’re carefully pursuing more unique photo ops. Bear with us. It’s a work in progress.

The Sydney Opera House after dark.

It’s not easy to avoid repetition in life itself, let alone in our world travels regardless of how many new experiences we encounter along the way. Of course, our intent is to always provide a fresh approach with accompanying photos.

But that’s not always easy to accomplish, especially when we prefer to spend only the first half of each day posting, as opposed to the entire day. If we spent more time seeking photo ops surely we’d widen our scope.  Then again, having “free” time is as important an element in our lives as travel itself.

As it turned out yesterday was somewhat of a tough day. We both were awake at 3 am, unable to sleep a moment longer. To us, it was 5:00 am our usual wake-up time, due to a two-hour time difference from NZ to AU. As a result, we were exhausted all day.

I suppose as we’ve aged, sleeping only three hours leaves us dragging our feet. During the muster drill when we had to walk down and then back up several flights of stairs, we both struggled to make it. Today, after six or seven hours of restful sleep, we maneuvered the steps with ease. What a difference a day makes!

Last night, as we sat on the veranda, knowing after the ship set sail, we’d head to dinner, we’d yet to receive the balance of our luggage in our cabin. Usually, the bags collected at the port arrive well before dark. Not the case last night.

The skyline near the bay.

After a while, the only item missing was my suitcase with all my clothing except what I was wearing, a blue shirt and jeans. I started imagining that the bag would never come and although we’ve insured all of our belongings in our possession, it would be a challenge not having my shoes and clothing during a two-week cruise.

In an effort to stay positive, we remained on the veranda awaiting the bag before we left for dinner, taking photos of the exquisite views of Sydney. By 7:00 pm, my bag arrived. We were too exhausted to unpack until this morning and now everything is neatly put away for the next almost two weeks.

We never hand over our computers, phones, overnight toiletries in small sizes, or medications, just in case our bags are lost or stolen. In a way, we’re surprised we’ve never lost a single bag, nor do we leave items behind in vacation homes. We are as careful as we can be, reminding each other to check and re-check.

This morning, refreshed and renewed, we headed back to the main dining room for a delightful breakfast sitting at a shared table with six other passengers. The conversations were lively and animated. All were Aussies, which appear to be the bulk of the passengers. We’ve yet to meet an American passenger which doesn’t bother us one way or another. 

As the ship began to maneuver away from the pier, the views of the Opera House changed.

At the moment we’re situated in the Pig & Whistle Bar on the Promenade Deck which is like a “street” running the length of the ship, lined with shops and restaurants. It’s a fun and busy place to hang out. Soon we’ll move to another location with more comfortable seating.

At 2 pm, we’ll head to the Conference Center for a lecture about the upcoming ports of call. The next stop is tomorrow in Brisbane from 7 am to 4 pm during which we’ll get off the ship on our own. 

We’ve had our fill of ship-sponsored tours with the crowded buses and the outrageous costs. We’ve even lost interest in the small group tours. We’ve found over these past many cruises that ultimately we prefer to go at our own pace and do exactly what we’d like to do without time pressure and constraints.

This leaves us plenty of time to socialize and meet plenty of people. It made us laugh when we ran into two unrelated passengers at the cruisecritic.com meeting with whom we sailed on the cruise from Honolulu to Sydney last May. It is a small world.

Luna Park in Sydney, close to the Harbor Bridge.

This morning at breakfast I discovered that the lovely woman sitting next to me, currently living in Australia, is from New Plymouth, NZ, and even knew of Trish and Neil and their beautiful alpaca farm. It truly is a small world. 

At 3:15 pm, Tom will attend the first SHED meeting while I entertain myself elsewhere, which at the moment, I’ve yet to decide. No doubt, we’ll both have a good time, which is easy to do aboard a ship of “overly friendly” people.

May you have a good time today as well.

Photo from one year ago today, April 17, 2015:

In Kauai, spotting these yellow-tipped stamen on this Anthurium was a first for us. For more photos and the year-ago post, please click here.

Five hour drive and four hour flight, …Saturday morning Rocks Market…Boarding day!…

Posted by worldwide-admin on with 0 Comment
The aft of Royal Caribbean Voyager of the Seas. Soon, we’ll be boarding this ship for a 14-day cruise.

Yesterday, once we arrived at the beautiful airport in Auckland we checked our bags, purchased beverages, and sat at a table to wait for the flight. We’d prepaid the excess baggage fees online of US $270, AUD $350. Luckily our trusty little travel scale was accurate resulting in no additional fees.

In a few hours, we’ll board the ship across the street from the hotel.  To speed up the boarding process, passengers were given “appointment” times to get to the pier.  Our time is 2:00 pm. The ship leaves the port of Sydney at 5:00 pm. In the worst-case scenario, we’ll have to wait in line to board for a few hours.

Flying on Emirates Airlines to Auckland, NZ to Sydney, AU was less exciting this time around than on other occasions at the beginning of our travels. Sure, we get our own remote and TV screen with current movies to watch.

A glimpse of the Harbor Bay Bridge from the hotel rooftop.
(Tom watched Revenant and I watched Star Wars, The Force Awakens, a movie Tom wouldn’t be interested in watching with me. He didn’t care for his movie, but I loved the story and CGI in mine).
Vendors were busy preparing their wares for sale at the market.
And yes, we were handed menus from which to order dinner, but I’d pre-ordered a gluten-free meal much of which I avoided when it mostly contained gluten-free starches and sugars which I don’t consume. Even the baked salmon was covered in a sugary sauce. 
Most restaurants have outdoor dining.

Salmon doesn’t need sugar. I laughed to myself when I saw they’d put a GF fruit bread on the tray with a packet of margarine. Who designs these meals assuming passengers would prefer chemical-laden margarine over real New Zealand butter? Go figure.

It was fun to see the various handicrafts at the farmer’s market.

The huge plane, an Airbus 380, was packed extra tight which appeared to be due to the addition of extra seats.  We didn’t remember the aisles being so narrow on our last two Emirates flights. 

I’m always drawn to these exquisite smelling soaps but we have no room in our bags for such things.

Overall, other than finding humor in the contents of the meal it didn’t matter to me. We’d brought along an appropriate lunch of egg salad and smoked cheese which we stopped to eat at a picnic table in a small town on the five-hour drive from New Plymouth to the airport in Auckland. 

This is a large market extending over several blocks.

By the time we arrived in our hotel, the Old Holiday Inn the Rocks of which we’re “members” it was 9 pm (it was 11 pm to us), I had no interest in eating out as Tom had suggested, not for himself but for me. I passed on his offer. 

The smells of good food from a variety of cafes wafts through the air as we wandered through the streets.

Plenty of food will be available when we board the ship later today. This morning neither of us is interested in breakfast. There’s tea and coffee in the room which we both enjoying now as we’re online.

A charming building along the boulevard next to the Rocks Market.

This is the second occasion we’ve stayed in this particular hotel and we’ve found it to be an excellent choice.  The service is great, the bed is comfortable and the room has free wifi for members, perfect for our tastes.

We noticed the sign reading “free-range egg and bacon roll” which sounded great!

The port is across the street from the hotel.  The last time we boarded a cruise from this location was on January 5th when we hailed a taxi to drive us to the port. Today, Tom is bound and determined we can get our heavy bags down the ramps and steps. After checking out the ramp this morning during our walk, it looks as if we can do it.

We’ll need to get our luggage down this ramp with steps. We’ll figure it out!

Yesterday morning, as we drove away from the alpaca farm, tears welled in my eyes as I hummed out the car window like their hum. Instantly, they all turned to look at me as if they knew we were on our way. 

Amaranta Designs presented a unique product at the Rocks Market which is opened every Saturday and Sunday in Sydney in the “Rocks” area near the pier.
We were particularly fascinated with the flat handcrafted candles. The owner, Louise designs each candle which then are made by hand in Lithuania.  For her website, click here.
These beautiful flat candles took our breath away.  It was easy to appreciate the designs.
Moments later, we waved goodbye to our favorite brown cow and she too looked our way, licking her lips and kicking up a leg or two as soon as she recognized us. 
Lucky Penny Keyrings.

Tears welled up in my eyes as we drove away, not from sadness but from the joy for having had this amazing opportunity to experience this magical place with the mystical creatures. Thanks to Trish and Neil for their kindness, generosity and love.

Luckily, we arrived early enough to avoid big crowds. We chatting with a couple who’d just come off the ship we’ll soon be boarding. They had a fabulous time!

Now, we continue on with enthusiasm for what the moment brings, for what is yet to come and for the memories we’ve accumulated along the way. We’re so grateful…

Photo from one year ago today, April 16, 2015:

The waning sun on a less cloudy evening in Kauai taken outside our condo door.  For more photos please click here.

We landed a vacation home in Sydney!…Itinerary almost completely filled until October 31, 2017…

Posted by worldwide-admin on with 0 Comment
Chaise lounges, gas grills and dining table outdoors overlooking the bay.

When we went back and forth via email for a vacation home in Sydney for the 40 days we discussed in yesterday’s post, we were relieved and excited to have wrapped up this time frame later in the day.

Of course, dealing with Aussies is always delightful based on our past experiences. Oh, dear…am I stereotyping Australians as outrageously warm and friendly? 

 View of the North Harbour and Manly Cove, from the property. A view, WiFi, a clean and updated property is all we need. No screens? We’re used to it by now.

I suppose in a way it may be a stereotype of a nation of people but it’s utterly irresistible to avoid doing so when they, like Kiwis, are some of the most friendly people on the planet.

No doubt there are exceptions, but we’ve yet to experience anything other than pleasant and memorable interactions after spending approximately six months in their presence after arriving in the South Pacific on June 11, 2015. 

Walk out from the kitchen to the beautiful yards and gardens.

We spent three months in Trinity Beach, Australia, a month on two Australian cruises, and now over two months here in New Zealand, giving us ample time to make such a general assessment, albeit it is biased after having such great encounters.

And yesterday was no exception when we pinned down the lovely apartment in an oversized bed and breakfast type house overlooking the bay with a private fully equipped apartment. 

Additionally, there are two separate bed and breakfast bedrooms with baths, common areas, and daily continental breakfast. 

Modern kitchen with everything we’ll need.  No dryer.  No dishwasher.  No big deal to us!

Overall, prices for vacation rentals are high in Australia especially close to Sydney, as is the case for this property.  At AU $200, US $152, NZ $224 per night, this is the highest price we’ll have paid in our travels to date with the exception of hotels and short-term rentals of less than two weeks.

We perused hotels with kitchen amenities such as a small fridge, microwave, and coffee pot but prices were even higher.  Adding the cost of dining out if we stayed in a hotel, we’d easily have spent over AU $394, US $300, NZ $441 per day, well over our budget.

Based on the fact that this property we chose in Sydney, actually Manly Beach, has not only excellent public transportation but there’s also a free shuttle close to the property that travels to the local shopping areas, beaches, and restaurants which we certainly use frequently.

Master bedroom in apartment.

As a result, we won’t need a rental car which once we made all the calculations we discovered this property makes it possible to stay within our budgetary guidelines. Having made this determination, we proceeded to confirm the 40-day reservation with peace of mind and enthusiasm.

With a wide selection of walking trails and paths close to the property, we’ll be able to get out for exercise and to absorb the many beautiful surrounding areas and attractions. 

An easy bus ride will take us to downtown Sydney, the Harbour Bridge, and the Opera House where hopefully we’ll be able to see a performance, a must-do in this city. 

The lounge where guests mingle might be a fun spot to meet other travelers.

The performances for the Opera House aren’t yet posted for 2017. I made a notation on our online calendar to book something as soon as the upcoming performance becomes available.

Sydney has a wealth of tourist attractions we’ll surely visit. We’ll put on our “tourist” persona and go with the flow, seeing everything that appeals to us while living in this amazing city, sharing photos and details here each day.

We’ll arrive in Sydney on a cruise on that particular occasion on March 13, 2017 (more Sydney layovers will follow for many upcoming cruises) departing on April 22, 2017, a little more than a year from now.

From there, on April 22, we’ll take a 24-day cruise from Sydney, Australia to Seattle, Washington, USA for another cruise to Alaska and then off to Minnesota and later Nevada to visit family. 

Whew! We’ll be busy. We love it all!

May all of you stay busy and entertained doing some of those things you also love!

Photo from one year ago today, March 20, 2015:

A year ago today, we posted this photo of Tom and our dear friend Richard who recently passed away. We’ll always miss him and the amazing times we had together during our four months in Kauai. For more photos, please click here.

Filling the last gap in our itinerary…

Posted by worldwide-admin on with 0 Comment
Sun streaming through a dense cloud cover at sunset.

We prefer to have all gaps filled within a year of traveling to any specific location. With a gap between two Australian cruises from March 13, 2017 to April 22, 2017,  we’ve been chomping at the bit to find where we’ll stay while in Sydney, Australia.

Unfortunately, if we waited for sunny days, we’d have a few photos of the scenery surrounding us.

Sydney is a magical city with much to see and do. Having been to Sydney three times since June 2015, staying overnight in hotels twice, we easily fell in love with the city, the people, and the vast array of interesting things to see and do.

View of lake at Pukekura Park.

On many occasions, we’ve mentioned that we aren’t “city people” but from time to time a big city holds a certain amount of appeal that piques our curiosity and interest. Sydney is just that type of city.

The very fact of Sydney’s desirability to many tourists worldwide has contributed to the high cost of rentals both in the city and the surrounding areas, making it fall into the category of some of the most expensive vacation homes we’ve researched to date.

The beach in Opunake.

The only way we can justify the higher rents that will surely prove to be the highest we’ll have paid to date is to use public transportation during this 40 day period to avoid the high cost of a rental car, fuel, and parking. Plus, it appears to be easy to get around the city with considerable low-cost transportation options.

It was a cool, cloudy evening when we shot these photos of the sea.

Staying in a hotel is not a practical solution, although if we can’t pin down a reasonable scenario we may decide to stay in a hotel that has a kitchenette with a coffee maker and microwave. This worked for us when we stayed in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada in September 2014 for six days, giving us a feel for how we’d do without a full kitchen.

There are many cliffs along the shores in New Zealand.

There’s a big difference between six days and forty days but if we purchase roasted chicken two nights a week as we do now, pick up some healthy “to go” food another few nights a week, we’d eat out for the remainder.  It’s definitely doable, not unlike how we managed for another 11 days when we were in Honolulu, Hawaii in October 2014.

Of course, we’d prefer a vacation home, able to do laundry, cook our meals and overall keep the costs down.  Finding a vacation home that works is the challenge in Sydney as we’re now on a mission to wrap something up in the next few weeks before leaving New Zealand.

Visitors walking along the beach on a cool evening.

It’s a never-ending process, luckily one that we each continue to enjoy although more so when there are more options that stay within our budget. As we often mention, staying within our monthly/annual budget enables us to continue on as long as our health continues to be good.

The challenge always revolves around matching location, our particular needs, and desires, transportation options, availability of WiFi, and making the financial aspect work within the constraints we’ve established to continue this way of life with the least amount of stress.

As the sun peeked out, we stopped for another view of Mount Taranaki with cows on the hill.

In essence, limited the amount of stress in our lives is not only vital to our long-term health and well being but it greatly affects the level of enjoyment and enrichment of each and every experience.

We hope you have a low-stress day! 

Photo from one year ago today, March 19, 2015:

A year ago, a visitor was killed at this beach at the end of Anini Beach, a desirable beach only 15 minutes from Princeville. This was sad to see.  For more beach photos in Kauai, please click here.

Answering the question from readers, “Where should I travel?” Our top 13! Link to our world travel map…

Posted by worldwide-admin on with 0 Comment

The Treasury in Petra, Jordan after a very long, hot walk. Click here for one of two posts.  This sight made us gasp with our hearts pounding wildly, less from the walk, more from sheer joy!

Frequently, we receive email inquiries from our readers asking for suggestions for the best places to visit in the world based on what we’ve seen to date. 

That’s a tough question to answer.  Its almost as complex as asking a person what they like to read, to eat and what they prefer for recreation.  Its all a matter of personal preference.

Zef, our houseman, held this monstrous insect Tom had fished out of the pool with the net.  Not only did living in Marloth Park include daily visits from big wildlife but also the smaller world of many insect such as this enormous rhino beetle.  For more details, please click here for one of our three months of posts.

Keeping in mind that our primary interests (although we’ve enjoyed many other aspects in the world which we’ll also include here) revolve around observing wildlife, vegetation and naturally created scenery which limits more than half of the popular “places to see” in the world.

With our goal to visit every continent, choosing countries/regions within that continent we strive on making decisions befitting our personal interests.  To date, we visited 49 countries as shown in our map on Travelers Point.  Please click here to see our map.

A container freighter ahead of us in line to enter the first set of locks, the Miraflores Locks as we entered the Panama Canal.  See here for one of the posts.

When reviewing our map its clear to see how we’ve yet to visit most of Asia (we’ll be visiting a few Asian countries soon), South America (upcoming in 2017) and Antarctica, upcoming in 2017 or 2018 (cruises yet to be posted).

Sure, we’ve found many big cities interesting, romantic and exciting: Paris, London, Sydney, Vancouver, Barcelona, Dubai, Venice, Marrakesh, Cairo, Dubrovnik (Croatia), Reykjavik, Cork (Ireland) and on and on…too many to list here.

This female lion as all animals in the wild in the Masai Mara, Kenya, is constantly on the lookout for the next meal to feed her cubs.  It was a memorable, life changing experience we’ll always treasure.  See here for more details.

Our readers continue to ask for our favorites and for many of our regular readers you may already be familiar with our preferences. For our less frequent visitors, here are a few suggestions that not only include remote areas of particular interest but also cities/areas we found especially exciting:

1. Marloth Park, South Africa:  Abundant wildlife, friendly people, plenty to see and do, reasonably priced
2. Panama Canal cruise:  Making a transit through the canal is quite an experience.  The cruises include many stops to other interesting countries.
3.  Masai Mara, Kenya:  Photo safari one of the top experiences in our lives; pricey.
4.  Petra, Jordan: Visit the Treasury, one of the most amazing man made structures in the world, breathtaking.  Getting there can be pricey.
5.  The Middle East cruise:  (May not be safe at this time).  Traveling through the Red Sea, the Suez Canal (loved this) and the Gulf of Aden proved to be our most adventurous cruise to date.

After we traveled through the Suez Canal, we entered the dangerous waters of the Gulf of Aden, requiring “pirate drills” and special forces onboard with the “packages” including armory to protect the ship and passengers.  Very exciting.  See the post here.

6.  Venice, Italy:  Amazing, must-see for those who don’t mind “tourist” attractions with huge crowds, long queues, and bumping elbows. 
7.  Mykonos, Greece:  (Sardinia is reputed to be even more exquisite). Mykonos has gorgeous scenery, interesting shopping, great restaurants with many delightful hilly walks.  Expensive.
8. Placencia, Belize (a peninsula):  Our first stay outside the US with a bad start for during the first week in a less desirable house – moved to fabulous property – remote, had an exquisite stay; great people, reasonably priced.  Quiet life with a week or two of sites to see. There are many islands in Belize such as Ambergris Caye that tourists often choose over Placencia.  We prefer more remote locations.  Not recommended for those with precarious health issues when its a rough four hour drive or an infrequent flight on a small plane at a local airport to a hospital in Belize City (city is rough and best to avoid for extended periods). 

As our ship made its way to the port of Venice, our mouths were agape in surprise a the feast before our eyes.  Click here for one of two posts.

9.  Sydney, Australia:  One of the most beautiful cities in the world; expensive, good local transportation, fabulous shopping, hotels and restaurants, lots to see, far to travel from many parts of the world.
10.  New Zealand:  This country has so much to offer one could easily stay busy and in awe for many months touring both the North and South Islands, especially if you enjoy road trips.  For us, staying close to New Plymouth and the alpaca farm has totally fulfilled us, although we plan to do some touring in the near future.  Reasonably priced.


The Harbour Bridge.  Wow!  It was extraordinary.  We look forward to returning to Sydney in 2017 for 40 days to fill a gap in our schedule.  For the link to this post, please click here.

11.  Dubrovnik, Croatia:  The must-see walled city may not require a long stay but a few days to a week could be highly gratifying.  Pricey.
12.  The countryside in France and the UK:  We’ve visited many small villages but will someday return for a more comprehensive tour. Expensive.
13.  Kauai, Hawaii:  Extraordinary island offering the “naturalist” a wide array of sightseeing opportunities, scenery and unique wildlife.  Expensive.



The walled city of Dubrovnik, Croatia.  For more photos of this breathtaking historic city, please click here.

We could go on and on.  We’ve provided a few links in the caption of today’s photos for our visits to these special places. If you’d like to see more photos, please search on the right side of our daily homepage and you’ll find a ‘SEARCH” box directly below the listed archive dates (for more past posts). 

If you’ll type in the name of any of the above cities/countries/locations, you’ll find a list of every post in which we’ve visited these areas.  If you have difficulty with this, please send an email and we’ll be happy to assist in finding the appropriate posts containing many photos.


Not wanted to awaken her/him, I kept my distance although I’d have loved to see more of the rarely seen Hawaiian Monk Sea at the beach at the Napali Coast, Kauai.  Click here for more details.

Actually, it would take writing a comprehensive travel book to describe the details of these experiences and more.  Instead of writing a tedious time consuming book, we’ve chosen to share  our story each day. 

For now, our goal is to assist our inquiring readers on areas they may find suitable for their needs and desires. We hope today’s story helps for those who are considering traveling if possessing some criteria similar to ours.

Have an interesting day whatever you choose to do!

__________________________________________


Photo from one year ago today, February 12, 2015:

A final view of Hanalei Bay before we exited an open house in Kauai.  For photos of the house we toured, please click here.

Ship docked in Tasmania today…Great comment from a loyal reader…

Posted by worldwide-admin on with 2 Comments
 Due to a poor signal aboard ship, we’re unable to post many photos each day. 
Last night at the show, Jane, Tom and Rob, our new Aussie friends.

Today, our ship has docked at the port in Hobart, Tasmania. With our upcoming three months on the island beginning in less than 11 months, we decided we’ll save touring this interesting location for that time.

We’ll have a rental car for the full period and can travel at our own pace as we choose. Besides, I’m still nursing a cold/virus I picked up on the flight to Sydney when the man sitting next to me sneezed and coughed during the entire flight. With the use of Tylenol and a nasal spray I’m nursing it, hoping to return to total health in a few days.
As much as we’d prefer not to whine about being ill, we feel it’s only fair to our readers to tell-it-like-it-is including the less than ideal periods we experience from time to time.  
On occasion, most of us get colds, flu, viruses, infections or injuries which regardless of our aggressive preventive measures we can’t seem to avoid. It’s life. Ups and downs. How foolish and unrealistic our site would be if we only shared the “up” times and not the “down” periods.
The thought of doing more today than lounging with a cup of hot tea was beyond me. Thank goodness I’m not sneezing and coughing during the day or I’d quarantine myself to the cabin. Now, as day four since the onset of these symptoms, I’m hoping I’m not contagious.
No flash photography was allowed during the performance, making these photos a bit dark.
Luckily, over the past five days, I haven’t felt so badly that we weren’t able to go to breakfast and dinner. Last night, we dined with new friends, Jane and Rob from Australia. After dinner, at 9:00 pm we all attended the Andy Joy show in the Solstice Theatre, who’s a talented and versatile musician and singer. 
When the show ended, we said good night (no handshakes, no hugs) and headed to our cabin where again I had a good night’s sleep, vital during periods of feeling less than ideal.
Now, with 80% of the passengers off the ship for one of many Tasmanian tours, we’re again quietly content to be lounging in the Café al Bacio coffee bar. We’re contemplating spending a little time at the pool once we’re done posting. 
Today is a mild, not humid, sunny day, a rarity in our lives over these past many months of living in outrageously hot and humid weather. As we move along on this cruise, we’re expecting cooler weather which we’ll fully embrace.

As our posts have continued over the years, we’ve had countless heartwarming experiences of hearing feedback from our readers. Often, they prefer to email rather than post a comment at the end of any day’s post. Some prefer anonymity while others find it quicker and easier to email rather than post a comment.  Either way is fine for us.

However, we suspect that many of our readers enjoy reading the comments of other readers, although they may not be comfortable posting their own comments. I can easily be a “lurker” never saying “boo” on another blog or website I may peruse regularly or on occasion.

Getting into the theatre at the last minute we had no choice but to take seats on the side, not center section.

Our reader, Amit, who stumbled upon us accidentally only a short time ago, has sent email and also posted a few comments. An email he sent a few days ago lingered in my mind that it may be of interest to our other readers. Here’s Amit’s email message sent on January 5, 2016:

“Hi, Jess,
 I have continued reading your blog with great interest and have gotten to the part where you visit the Namale resort to celebrate the third anniversary of your adventure with Tom. Belated congratulations on your new to me occasion. 
    
One of my Facebook friends from my only adventure in the last 25 years, a trip to Central Europe, posted about her upcoming trip to Australia and Fiji and asked for advice. I eagerly recommended your blog and have showed it to other friends, especially the 8 visitors in 1 day post from Marloth Park. 
It’s exciting to realize that I am only 2 months of posts away from your real-time adventures, on a new Pacific Cruise if I remember correctly. In the post I’m reading now you talk about the world map of your travels which I always open in another window when I read your blog. 
You talk about updating and correcting the map and I’d just like to make one minor observation. The map has a link to Borabora in New Guinea rather than Bora Bora in French Polynesia. It would be so exciting if you did get to New Guinea on a cruise. Maybe later. 
Thank you so much for all happiness you have given me with this blog. It makes me excited for my own travels in the future. I really would like to go to Morocco now, although just for a short trip. And I never even knew about your favorite place, Marloth Park.”
His message immediately inspired Tom to correct the map on our homepage. Tom, who handles the map, got to work to make the corrections. In our ongoing efforts to always present a realistic and accurate representation of every aspect of our lives of travel, we can’t express how much we appreciate Amit alerting us to the error. 
The performer was versatile, playing multiple instruments including the piano.
In the past, other readers have offered correction suggestions all of which we’ve taken seriously which we’ve immediately implement when applicable. We welcome suggestions provided they aren’t of a “bashing” or bullying nature. We’ve certainly had a few such comments we soon deleted to which we’ve seldom responded.
This is a positive and “happy” place for us to share our experiences. Yes, some days things go wrong or we’re “under the weather” but that doesn’t diminish the overall depth of the quality of our journey. It all a part of life which for all of us is rarely a constant stream of perfection and ease.
We wrote back to Amit, thanking him for sharing his thoughts with us, explaining that he started at the beginning to read from our first post in March 15, 2012 to the present, which he’s almost reached.  Perhaps, by the time he reads about himself here, he’ll be caught up.
Today’s post is #1257. Amit, that’s quite a commitment and we thank and commend you for tackling it and, for sharing it with your friends and for writing to us. 
As we strive to continue to grow our worldwide readership, sharing our web address with family and friends is so appreciated and meaningful to us. All you need to do is send them an email including this link:  www.worldwidewaftage.com
It will direct your friends to today’s newest post which changes daily as we continue to post 365 days a year…366 this year, a leap year.
That’s it for today, folks. We hope you have a wonderful day. We’ll be back tomorrow with more new photos as we continue to revel in our “boatload” of new friends and experiences!
Photo from one year ago today, January 9, 2015:
A map illustrating how the city of Hilo near the bay was wiped out from tsunamis over the years.  Notice the Lyman Museum name at the top of this page, which we’d also visited in December 2015 with the family. Click here for details.

The freedom to choose…Tom trying new things…

Posted by worldwide-admin on with 0 Comment
At dinner last night, he really stretched himself trying and very much liking this liver pate, another first for him, saying it reminded him of Braunschweiger.

With five more upcoming Australian cruises in the next 15 months, we don’t feel compelled to get off the ship at every port of call on this cruise. The nice part about cruising is we can do whatever we want. There is no schedule we have to follow. Our dinner reservations can be “whenever” we’d like. 

With a variety of functions in which we can choose to participate, most can easily be attended with a last-minute decision. Most often there’s room for two more. 

We love this freedom to decide.  In part, this sense of liberation and lack of feeling of being encumbered, owning “stuff,” had been instrumental in our decision to travel the world.

Tom, for the first time ever, ordered a Caramel Macchiato and liked it very much, ordering another while we sat in the Café el Bacio again today preparing today’s post.

Now, aboard this ship, we’re totally entrenched in this feeling of choice and freedom, exactly how we feel when we’re settled into a vacation home for a few months or more. 

There is no feeling of entrapment, no schedules other than those we freely choose with no obligations than those in our little world except for the responsibility for our health and well-being, taking care of the houses we’re renting, fiscal responsibility, record keeping, and future planning.

As for the “responsibility” of taking photos and posting each day, it’s done without any sense of obligation or pressure. It almost feels as if I have a remote in hand each morning and I select “play” as the process flows through my fingers with ease and purpose. 

If someone would have ever told me I’d have to conceptually write an essay every day of the week, 365 days (or this leap year’s 366 days) including adding new photos daily, I’d had said, “Bite me! I’m not doing that!”

His next “outside the box” new drink, a Café Diablo with Courvoisier VS, Grand Marnier, Sambuca and hot coffee.

And yet, day after day, without stress, without boredom, without “writer’s block” it all comes easily to me.  Motivation is a powerful thing. Documenting this year’s long journey, having the ability to look back and see what we’ve done day after day, sharing it with family, friends and the people we don’t know throughout the world has been all the motivation we’ve needed.

Onboard the Celebrity Solstice now for the past 48 hours, we’ve already had more fun, met more people, engaged in more lively conversation as we’ve wandered about the ship thoroughly entertained together as a couple as companions, shipmates, and lovers. Without even trying, cruising is romantic in its own unique way. 

Last night, as we sat on bar stools at one of the popular bars, The Ensemble Lounge, with a jazz band playing in the background, we were not only reminded of times long past but, of past cruises when conversations on a bar stool are especially memorable. 

Tom was drinking his usual Courvoisier with Sprite Zero while I sipped on plain bubbly water in a tall glass with lots of ice, a lime, and a straw. I miss drinking alcohol but my health is better without it. Last night, my glass looked like a “cocktail” while I almost felt a pleasing buzz from the power of suggestion.High on life? 

A few years ago while on a cruise, he tried frog legs, enjoying them again as an appetizer at last night’s dinner.

From meeting new people while sharing our mutual stories, a unique connection aboard a ship is generated hour after hour. We spend little time in the cabin. At the moment we’re situated in comfy chairs in the Café al Bacio, our newly discovered coffee/tea bar.

On our last cruise on this same ship, we rarely lounged in this area while posting instead spending time outside in warm weather. We’d never tried the coffee or tea. Tom has since tried a few coffee drinks as shown in today’s photos in his attempt at “trying new things.” 

It was exciting to find they offer my favorite oolong tea which I can drink all day when every beverage and sweet treat (for Tom only) they offer in this area is included in the two drink packages included on this particular cruise via promotion through Celebrity: free gratuities (usually charged at US $13, AUD $18 per person per day), free classic drink package for two (Tom’s cocktails, specialty coffees, imported teas, and a wide array of bottled beverages which is usually US $59, AUD $83 per person per day), and a cabin credit of US $100, AUD $141 to be used however we’d like.

Once on the ship we immediately signed up for the unlimited Internet packages which don’t allow sharing unless one goes offline while the other is online.  his plan, at US $244, AUD $345 per person (if we didn’t want to share, which we don’t) resulted in our paying a total of US $488, AUD $690 to ensure we both could be online at the same time.

Tom’s dinner was less adventuresome, tournedos of beef with red wine reduction with potatoes, green beans, and carrots. He found the entire meal and beverages to be pleasing to his limited palate.

With Tom enjoying time online while I spend the better part of each morning preparing the post, sharing is not an option for us. Plus, while I prepare the post, he assists with exchange rates, searching for links, and researching pertinent information while I’m in the process of posting. Having to go offline after each of my many questions is not for us.

Most likely, our final cruise bill will only include the above WiFi fees and a few odds and ends for any purchases we may make. The almost dried-out Max Factor mascara I’d purchased in Sydney made me drool over the prospect of purchasing a three-pack of Lancôme Definicils, my old US favorite for US $72, AUD $102. Gee…I haven’t purchased something this pricey and extravagant in a long time. 

I’ve gone back to the ship’s cosmetic store a few times looking at this potential purchase hesitating to buy it when for the past three-plus years I’ve used what I could find at a local chemist or supermarket. 

My “girlie” mentality hasn’t entirely wafted away while living this life and I’m glad for it. Who said I had to give up everything? No one. The freedom to choose is gratifying. 

No, I don’t own a handbag. I have only two pairs of jeans and five total pairs of shoes. We make do with what we have. An occasional splurge now and then reminds us that we do have the freedom to choose and that most often, we choose that which is relatively frugal and practical.

Today, we decided to stay on board the ship. We’re currently docked in Melbourne (pronounced “mel-ban” here in AU) until 5:30 pm. We may walk off the ship or we may not since we’re certainly enjoying the quiet while other passengers are off the ship shopping, riding in full buses, and sightseeing. 

We’ll be back here on another cruise in November. Knowing this, it’s easy to choose to stay onboard, simply because we feel like it. There are two upcoming ports of call for which we’ve booked all-day small group tours.  That’s enough for us. We had no commitments for today. When we return to Melbourne we may plan a small group tour or take a taxi tour. However, today, we’ll take a number of photos of Melbourne to share here tomorrow. 

So please check back, if you choose to…

Photo from one year ago today, January 7, 2015:

When daughter-in-law Camille and granddaughter Madighan stayed behind a few days before returning to the mainland, Madighan and I made the gingerbread house we’d been too busy to make before Christmas  For more photos, please click here.

Part 1…Booked two new vacation homes…Filling an 88 day gap in the itinerary…

Posted by worldwide-admin on with 2 Comments

View of Penguin Beach across the street from the new house we booked in northern Tasmania. Today’s photos were copied from the owner’s listing on VRBO.

Choosing a location to fill a gap from December 3, 2016, to March 1, 2017, was challenging. In the Southern Hemisphere, where we’ll still be at the time, that period is during the high season, summer holiday, when kids are out of school and families from Australia travel to relatively nearby locations.

Should any of our readers be interested in renting this lovely property or learning more about it, please click here for details and pricing.

Many Australians stay in the South Pacific when they go on holiday to save both time and money and to get to warmer climates readily available on many choice islands during the cooler seasons.

This is comparable to travelers with families in North America who tend to stay on the continent and in the Caribbean when they travel as a family during school breaks whether winter during the Christmas season or summer.

Ah, a spacious living room with views.

As we perused many locations in the South Pacific during this time frame, we were stymied, having the most difficulty we’ve had in the past. Prices topped the charts, far exceeding our budget, which in extreme cases, we’re willing to adjust if absolutely necessary.

However, this gap didn’t represent a scenario that drove us to be willing to stretch the budget when we have bigger fish to fry in the future when we travel to a new continent in 2017, after leaving the US for a visit.

Another issue impeding our success in finding new locations has been the realities of a slow Internet signal we faced in Australia and now again here in Fiji, as it jumps back and forth from online to “limited” many times per day.

Fully equipped kitchen with an average-sized refrigerator (yeah!), an oven and a microwave, and a dishwasher! 

In the past week, Mario has worked hard to resolve these issues and it has improved considerably although still presenting problems in the afternoons the perfect time for us to do research after I’ve completed the daily post.

After thoroughly scouring HomeAway with no luck, using the link on our site, we clicked another link on HomeAway’s page (at the bottom), VRBO, a popular site owned by Homeaway as well.  

We’ve found it easiest to peruse one site at a time rather than jump back and forth trying to figure where we left off when there are often 1000’s of options listed in a single area.

We always keep the table set for the next meal, inviting the preparation of good homemade food.  However, there are many restaurants in the area some we may actually try.

We chose to spend three months in Tasmania after hearing such glowing reports on our last cruise and on publications online as to its beauty, its people, and its wildlife. As an Australian island, with manageable visa requirements, wifi, and the ability to shop for foods at various local farms, this is an ideal location for us.

The challenge was totally predicated on finding a property with water views, wifi, and a fully equipped kitchen.  A few days ago, Tom expressed a great idea. Why not take this gap, dividing it in half into two six week segments and stay on two distinctly different areas of the island? 

I loved this idea. It would give us an opportunity to casually explore the island from two entirely different home-based locations. We could travel the north portion of the island at our leisure and then, be close to the capital city of Hobart, the most popular tourist location on the island.

The private house has three bedrooms. Note the flat-screen TV on the wall. What a treat!

We’d been turned down by several property owners who didn’t want to “tie-down” their property with one renter over the entire summer holiday making it unavailable for possible “regulars” who’d yet to book at this distant future, willing to pay premium prices for the short term rentals during peak season.

The task was challenging, breaking it up into two options, Group 1 and Group 2, the north and close to Hobart, respectively. After days of research with the WiFi on and off, we both vigorously spent the past few days on a mission. We narrowed it down to eight options at the VRBO site. 

I sent Tom an email with each listing and together, albeit slowly, we reviewed all the pluses and minuses of each property, finally narrowing it down to a mere three properties, one in Group 1 and two in Group 2. 

The sunrise over Penguin Beach. Can’t wait to see this in person! Then again, we’re not wishing for time to pass quickly. We’re very content where we are now in Savusavu, Fiji even on the seemingly endless rainy days, still continuing yet today.

Contacting each listing owner separately with basically the same verbiage, except for the variances in dates between the groups, we heard back from one last night, after which we booked it paying the deposit at the Australian version for vacation rentals, Stayz, a secure site. 

Later in the evening, we heard back from a second but decided to wait overnight for a possible proposal from the third owner. Alas, early this morning an email had arrived with the third proposal. After once again reviewing each of the remaining two options, we decided on the third, accepting by email and shortly later, paying the reasonable deposit once again at Stayz.

Both properties are confirmed and we couldn’t be more thrilled. Today, we’ll share the first location with a few photos, a single-family house, located in Penguin, Tasmania.

We couldn’t be more excited knowing that penguins actually wander about the beach. Here’s a quote about Penguin from a site describing areas of Tasmania:

“Penguin

Penguin is a picturesque seaside town with a pretty esplanade, scenic walking trails, great coastal drives, and a quirky collection of penguins on the street.

Sitting on the edge of mighty Bass Strait, Penguin takes its name from a nearby penguin rookery and it’s obvious this town dearly loves its little feathered friends. There’s a 10-foot penguin that makes a quirky photo opportunity, while the real thing can be seen each night at Penguin Point.

On Sundays, Penguin hosts Tasmania’s largest undercover market with more than 200 stalls selling food and wine, woodcraft, and second-hand goods.  The coastal road between Ulverstone and Wynyard is a beautiful scenic drive with sweeping ocean views, great picnics spots, and clean beaches for seaside walks and fun.

Look out for the expansive wild garden that blooms year-round between the road and railway line and explore one of the many walking tracks across the Dial Range, with stunning views over Penguin and the north-west coast. There are plenty of eateries and places to stay.

Penguin is a 15-min drive (17 km) east of Burnie.”

Those who have followed us these past years know how this location is suitable for us and how much we’ll love our time spent in Penguin.

We’ll be back tomorrow with Part 2 and the second booking in Tasmania, where we’ll be closer to the capital city of Hobart. At least while we’re still housebound in rainy weather, we’ll be busy logging the new locations in our spreadsheet and updating the itinerary. Stay tuned.

Photo from one year ago today, September 24, 2014:

One of the last photos of Vancouver as we began to make our way toward Hawaii on a cruise on the Celebrity Solstice. For more details and the final Vancouver post, please click here.

Final expenses for Australia…Leaving Trinity Beach today!…Last favorite photos…

Posted by worldwide-admin on with 0 Comment
Pond view at the Cattana Wetlands.

It’s 7:45 am as I begin here today. I have the final load of laundry going, I’m showered and dressed back into my nightshirt while the clothes I’ll wear for the next 48 hours spin in the washer.  

A huge croc was found here in Deadman’s Gully last year which was later found and moved to another less populated location.

Packing the duffel bag for the overnight in Sydney is challenging when it already contains all of our jeans, both shorts, and heavy long pants in order to lighten the weight of the checked bags. We always carry-on the duffel bag. With two pairs of blue jeans each, plus three pairs of jean shorts each, it’s a heavy load.

Another of Tom’s sunrise photos.

Also, I’ve packed my large Costco beach bag, which is a temporary-for-travel-days-only handbag with a few toiletries we’ll need in the hotel:  toothbrushes and toothpaste, shavers, contact lens case filled with solution for tonight only, antiperspirant, and my small black cosmetic bag. No fluff. No creams, lotions, or potions for us.

An eye-catching orchid found at Rusty’s Farmers Market.

The three bags to be checked need to be arranged and weighed one last time to fit what we’re currently wearing and any last-minute items. Tom’s busy in the kitchen washing our iced tea pitcher which we’ll pack with clothes and place in a bag. I just packed the half-full large grinder from Costco containing Himalayan salt.

It was cloudy and rained almost every day during our first month in Australia. Once it cleared, the weather was nearly perfect day after day.

Sleep was fleeting last night as it always is before leaving. Tonight won’t be much better when we have to awaken at 4 am and be out the door of the hotel at 4:30 am. We’ve timed ourselves and when necessary, both of us can manage our entire time in the bathroom in the morning to less than 20 minutes. No dawdling here.  Efficiency is the name of this game.

A final visit to Trinity Beach on a sunny day.

Today, we plan to be out the door at 3:30 pm for our three hours 5:20 pm flight to Sydney. Based on what we have left to do, getting out the door won’t be rushed or stressed.

As for the expenses, there aren’t any surprises. We were very close to the amounts we’d budgeted, except for the medical exams and tests which we hadn’t originally included.

Last week’s full moon over the bay.

Here are our expenses for the past almost three months:

Rent:                  USD $7,058  AUD $10,207
Car Rental:          USD $2,628  AUD $3,512 (fuel costs included)
Airfare:               USD $   477  AUD $   690
Entertainment:    USD $   553  AUD $   800
Groceries:           USD $2,854  AUD $4,128
Dining Out:                        $0
Misc.*                 USD $5128   AUD $7,413
Total:             USD $18,698   AUD $27,032

*The above mentioned miscellaneous is a category we’ll add to the future final expenses posts as we’ve done today. In this case, it included all of our medical expenses,  medical tests, prescriptions, the cost for SIM data, clothing and supplies we had shipped to us from the US, shipping fees, various toiletries we purchased at the local pharmacy, clothing at a local store, etc. 

Standing on the pier at Green Island, the expanse of this tiny portion of the Great Barrier Reef was breathtaking.

We’ve always kept track of these non-rental related expenses but haven’t included them in the totals we’ve posted in the past.

Peeking through the trees to Double Island on a cloudy day.  Sunny or cloudy, we took many photos while in Trinity Beach

Bottom line, the above totals are every last cent we spent while living in Australia. Of course, these totals do not include deposits and payments we’ve paid for future rentals and cruises while living in Australia. 

Kangaroo family resting under a tree on a hot day.

For example, we did not include the final payments for the rental in Fiji or for the paid in full cruise to Vietnam.  Those figures will be reflected at the end of each of those experiences as we’ve listed these today.

Feel free to inquire if any of you have questions regarding any of these expenses. We’ll always happy to answer any of our readers’ questions in regards to costs.

Local Bluewater Marina.

Also, please note that we haven’t dined out while living in Trinity Beach, not once in an entire 88 days. This is a first and it’s unlikely this will occur again. As mentioned in a prior post, we’d been unable to find suitable restaurants for my way of eating. We could have found a few options but with the beautiful organic vegetables, free-range chicken and eggs, grass-fed meats, and fresh fish, we had little interest in dining out.

There are warning signs at each of the beaches regarding crocs and stingers when an encounter can be life-threatening.

Also, with an enormous outlay for future venues, we tightened our belts and ate meals at home. We could easily add another USD $1500, AUD $2169 to the above totals and with the outlay of funds, we felt it was a good time to cut back.

Each of the many beaches in the area had its own unique appeal.

With Fiji on the horizon and many expenses behind us, we can look forward to dining out each week if we’d like, using the driver to take us back and forth. From what we’ve heard the cost of the driver several times a week will be considerably less than what we’ve paid for rental cars. We shall see.

Many homeowners become annoyed by cockatoos who can be noisy and destructive. Many afternoons they arrived in the yard in huge flocks. The noise is deafening but it was always fun to see them.

One odd item, we decided to try while here: Could we get by entirely using credit cards only, never stopping at an ATM? We did! The only cash we have is a refund given to us by Woolies for bacon we’d purchased that was slimy. Not only did they replace the bacon with fresh bacon at no charge, but they also gave us back the entire amount for the cost of the bacon. 

Exquisite Holloways Beach view from atop a steep hill.

At first, I refused the AUD $12, stating they’d already replaced the bad bacon at no charge and I didn’t require more. But, the store manager insisted I take the ziplock bag of cash, explaining it was their policy to not only replace the item at no charge but also, give the customer back the money. Only in Australia!  Now, we have some cash for tips at the airport.

That’s it for now, folks. Back to wrapping things up, finishing the laundry, packing the odds and ends scattered about the house, and cleaning the house as much as time allows. Sylvie insisted we do not worry about cleaning but, we always like to leave the property somewhat clean and definitely free of trash and debris.

Kookaburra stopped by the yard to sit atop the fence, next to the rain gauge.

Thanks to Sylvie and Andy, our wonderful hosts. If the Cairns area is on your mind for a future visit, you too could enjoy spending time in this lovely property. Click here for details.

Soon, we’re off to the airport to pay for our excess baggage and await our flight to Sydney. If time and WiFi allow we’ll do a quick post with photos.  f not, we’ll be back in 48 hours from our new home in Fiji.

Thanks, again to all of our loyal readers for staying with us during crazy, exciting, and also mundane times as we slowly make our way around the world.

Photo from one year ago today, September 7, 2014:

Standing on Omaha Beach in Normandy, France, one year ago. We were in awe of having the opportunity to visit this profoundly emotional historical site.  For more photos and details, please click here.

Reflections on a life on the move…Leaving Trinity Beach tomorrow afternoon…Total expenses posted tomorrow…Favorite photos…

Posted by worldwide-admin on with 0 Comment
A dingo, a wild dog, is representative of the Australian Outback.

It’s impossible not to compare one location to another. Moving every three months or less, with only a single exception most recently in Kauai, Hawaii, where we happily lived for four months, leads us to the inevitable:  How does each location compare to another?

Love, companionship, and comfort are evident in the most unexpected species.

If it were based entirely, on the beauty of a location, our opinions would be very different. Some of the least attractive locations could be included in the most fulfilling. Were it based on the people we met and the memorable occasions associated with making new friends, it would be entirely different.

Mother koala in a tree with a view of her joey in the pouch.

As it turns out, not surprisingly, many factors enter into the equation of what proves to be the most pleasurable places we’ve experienced on earth thus far. With so more much to see, we’re premature in listing them by preference. 

Mom and Joey…precious.

If we were to say that “convenience” would be a factor in determining the quality of our experiences, we’d be kidding ourselves. Some of the most inconvenient, lackluster locations proved to be the most meaningful.

In no time at all, joeys become adept at hanging on to eucalyptus trees.

In a way, it’s similar to having a preference in the “type” of person we want as a partner. Often in life, as in mine and Tom’s case, we end up happy with the polar opposite of what either of us would’ve expected in a mate.

What a gorgeous pelican.

No more than we can control whom we fall in love with, falling in love with a location almost becomes a matter of chance provided it has the basic necessities we require in our travels: access to a grocery store, running water, electricity, an indoor working toilet, and shower, fresh air, comfortable clean property with a lounge or living room, a good bed, a kitchen, somewhat of a view, warm weather, a reasonable means of transportation and wireless Internet or the ability to buy SIM cards. On the wish list? Screens on doors and windows, a pool, an ocean view. We no longer require air conditioning even in hot climates.

Most beaches in Australia are pristine sand. Even the few locations with a rocky shore are beautiful.

Once we find we’ve accomplished the above in a new location, we settle in making adjustments and adapting as needed to best enhance the experience. Anything beyond these basic comforts is a bonus: pleasing sites to visit, great views, friendly people, convenience for shopping and entertainment, and an easy means of local transportation. 

Australia is not only abundant in unique wildlife but also in unusual vegetation. 

With all of these factors in play in varying degrees, it’s not easy to classify one location as better than another.  It all boils down to one single fact: did we have a good experience? If so, we’re content.

One of Tom’s many sunrise photos.

In Trinity Beach, we had a good experience. We saw the sites we wanted to see; we had all the “creature comforts” we needed; we had a great view and surroundings with some access to wildlife; and the people were as warm and friendly as they could be, although we never had a chance to socialize to any degree.

A flower with a face.

Would we come back to this area?  In reality, we’ll return to Cairns on a future Australian cruise next year during which we may stay aboard the ship. Why pay for a tour when we’ve already spent three months in the area? With so much world left to see, repeats aren’t on our radar right now (except for South Africa for me, for which I’m chomping at the bit to return).

Shade is common along the many beaches from many varieties of trees.

Easily, we leave Trinity Beach with a sense of comfort and accomplishment, grateful for the experience which only enhanced our love of this country which over the next 20 months we’ll further explore with six more cruises circumventing the continent. 

A huge banyan tree in Port Douglas.

By the time we’ll sail away from Australia in April 2017 to head back to the US for a short visit, we can feel confident we’ve seen as much as we wanted of this huge continent and the South Pacific, content to continue on to visit new continents, new worlds we’ve yet to explore.

Today, we share some of our favorite photos of this area, and tomorrow, the final expenses with the balance of the favorite photos.

Thanks to all of our worldwide readers for sharing our first Australian experience as we continue on to the vast South Pacific for more.

Photo from one year ago today, September 5, 2014:

DSC03532
We visited the final port of call visited by the Titanic in the town of Cobh, Ireland. As a tribute to the Titanic, each cruise ship that enters and departs the port is greeted by these ladies dressed in the era of the Titanic. For more photos of the Blarney Castle, the villages of Cork and Cobh, Ireland, and fun times out with friends we made aboard ship, please click here.