Part 1…Visiting Darwin…A beautiful city…Busy downtown area…

Posted by worldwide-admin on with 0 Comment
The two little ones played with the hanging branches of a Banyan tree in the middle of town.

The shuttle ride to Darwin from the port wasn’t more than 10 minutes from start to finish. Waiting in line to board the shuttle took about 35 minutes. In essence, we could have walked into town, but we enjoyed the ride seeing a little more than we would have on foot.

We actually had to purchase a few items which made the outing all the more fun for us. We’d been told by other travelers to purchase insect repellent in Australia since we’d be unable to find many options in Bali.

The sports store where we purchased a new Fitbit for me.

Secondly, after noticing several passengers wearing FitBit fitness tracking devices, I was determined to purchase a new one since my year’s old tracker had bit the dusk awhile back.

The Intersport store has typical sportswear and equipment.

I’ve found using such a device forces me on my feet more, taking stairs instead of elevators, and generally be more active. After returning to the ship and setting up the FitBit, I’d done over 1500 steps in the first two hours. At this rate, it may be possible to do the desired 10,000 steps a day.

We walked up and down several blocks looking for the store. It was a beautiful day, warm but tolerable in the shade.

It wasn’t that I detected any of the wearers necessarily appearing more fit than non-wearers, but for me, it had always been a good motivator, the digital person that I am. 

Plus, my last wristwatch died a few days ago and for the low prices I’d paid for them, it didn’t make sense to replace the batteries. The new wrist-worn FitBit also doubles as a watch. Perfect.

A pleasant park in near the shopping district.

We wandered about Darwin, feeling totally comfortable and safe in the lovely city. The high temperature was offset by a cooling ocean breeze. The city was clean and low-key with an abundance of shops and restaurants.  Of course, whenever the cruise ships came to town, the businesses thrive.

The Darwin State Square.  Darwin is the capital of the Northern Territory in Australia.

When we entered a local chemist shop, it was jammed with dozens of cruise passengers. Cruise ships carry few toiletry items on board and an opportunity for a stop at a pharmacy is always a popular tourist attraction.

As we wandered about the town, we were amazed by how similar is it to New Plymouth, NZ which we left only a little over a week. In many ways, it feels as if it’s been much longer ago since we left when we’ve so easily immersed ourselves into life aboard the ship.

The Darwin State Square Building.

We apologize for the last posting once again. Not only did we have a very busy morning, we just left La Scala Theatre after watching yet another movie, a perk included in the cruise fare. Now, after 4:00 pm, it’s time to dress for the evening and to attend a special party for Crown and Anchor members at 4:45. 

After the party, we’ll head to the bar for a pre-dinner beverage and by 7:30 make our way to the main dining room for what most likely will prove to be yet another enjoyable evening at a shared table of eight or ten.

Photo from one year ago today, April 24, 2015:
Due to the poor wifi signal on the ship, we’re unable to post the year-ago photo today.  We’ll get caught up as soon as we get a better signal.  If you don’t see a post, know that we’re struggling to get online and will be back as soon as possible.  Thanks for your patience.

Super Bowl Sunday…For now, we’ll pay attention to a Super Bowl…What about YOU?

Posted by worldwide-admin on with 0 Comment
Suddenly, while driving we stop for such a scene as this.

Based on the fact that the Minnesota Vikings haven’t made it to the Super Bowl since 1977, neither of us (me particularly) hasn’t paid much attention to the game and its festivities.

Not a fan of most sports, other than watching the Olympics on occasional years, the Super Bowl has never been a cause for celebration. Oddly, we have attended some super bowl parties over the years and, had a few of our own.

After a few sandy beaches on the Big Island(most of which consist of black sand and lava rock), it’s great to see all the sandy beaches here in Kauai.

In our old life, we had a football-shaped roasting pan into which I’d bake a chocolate cake, proceeding to decorate it to appear to be a football using skinny red licorice pieces for the laces and other edible odds and ends for the remaining décor.

On top of that, I’d create and shape by hand, a smaller football-shaped cheese ball rolled into chopped walnuts to then again appear to be a football. Of course, we made the usual chips, dips, chicken wings, teriyaki beef skewers, and the like, to ensure we had a well-rounded feast.

Over the years, our interest in conducting such occasions waned and Super Bowl Sunday became another pleasant Sunday without snacks and instead, a usual robust Sunday dinner.

Anini Beach consists of a few miles of easily accessible sandy beaches.

Since leaving the US, we literally paid zero attention to the game, the commercials, and the half-time show, instead, immersed in our lives at the time. In 2013, we were in Belize still in that less than desirable little cottage (for only a few more days when we moved out), and in 2014, we were in South Africa, neither of which cases we provided access to the game on TV, nor did we care.

Although we love beach scenery, we prefer to spend more time poolside as opposed to sitting in the sand. But, this beautiful beach is calling us and soon, we’ll return to park ourselves for a day to enjoy the sun and surf.

Today, it’s a little different. We’re back in the US and based on Hawaii time, the game will be broadcast on TV at 1:30 PM, perhaps over by 6:00 pm, with lingering observations and comments from a variety of TV networks.

Often, along the winding, hilly roads, there are unmarked lookout spots allowing us to stop for photos. We discovered this view on our return from Anini Beach.

At 12:30 today, we’ll be heading over to our new “club,” the Makai Golf Club, for their annual Super Bowl party consisting of “make your own tacos” and sugary Margaritas, neither of which I’ll consume as presented. 

Houses on a hill overlooking the sea.

Perhaps, I’ll be able to fashion some type of taco salad using meat and vegetables. Tom will indulge today when resisting in that environment is simply not his style. He’ll also enjoy my included alcoholic drinks.

Why did we bother to pay the $62.50 (for two) to attend this party based on the above? We decided it would be one more good way to meet people. Although we’ve met many wonderful tourists, they soon depart. 

At high tide, this sandbar will be covered in ocean water. At low tide, as shown here, it creates a pretty scene.

Our thoughtful new friend Richard had graciously included us in many activities, one of which includes the upcoming full moon party this Wednesday. Next Friday, we’ll all go to lunch at the Westin Hotel here in Princeville.

In the interim, we find ourselves meeting many more wonderful people each night when we wander across the road at “happy hour” to whale and sunset watch. Last night, we had a marvelous time with a new couple we met, who coincidentally is from Minnesota but leaving this side of the island in a few days.

Another view of the beach at low tide with a few bathers on the shore.

Yesterday, we had an engaging hour-long conversation with recently widowed Isabel whom we met at the pool, only to discover she lives in the building next door to us. With many common interests, we could have gone on for hours and hope to see her again before she returns to Chicago next Friday.

Thus, our attendance at today’s Super Bowl party at the Makai Club is more about meeting making an effort to meet more locals than eating tacos and watching the game. It’s about adding to our Kauai social life which although not lacking by any means, would definitely be well served with a little bit of beefing up (no pun intended).

A trip to Anini Beach created many photo ops including this boat.  Across the street at the beach park is a boat launch.

We’ll leave the condo by 12:30 or 1:00 pm. I’ll do my workout at the Makai fitness room while Tom takes our pre-arranged seating in the outdoor grill/café at our reserved table closest to the TV.

Zooming in in the “vog” didn’t result in a clear photo.

Surely, we’ll have a great time as we always do. In the worst case, we’ll watch the game, have a pleasant lunch, and enjoy the time together as always.

The Kilauea Lighthouse at a distance.  We’ll do the tour later in the year when the tourist crowds thin out.

What are you doing today? Whatever it may be, Super Bowl or not, we hope you have a perfect Sunday!

                                           Photo from one year ago today, February 1, 2014:

After we were completely moved into Khaya Umdani we were thrilled to see that visitors came to that house as well. After tossing a few pellets this lonely female warthog took her usual position on her knees to pick them up with her vacuum-like mouth. For many photos of Khaya Umdani, please click here.

A budding social life…Who knew that Kauai would be such a friendly environment?…

Posted by worldwide-admin on with 2 Comments
The Wai’olo ha Church in Hanalei, a popular church and point of interest in the area. For more information, please click here.

When one first arrives in beautiful upscale Princeville, it’s easy to make assumptions that with its certain sense of affluence, that it may not be an easy area to make friends. How wrong we were!

From what we’ve been able to determine there are seven one-lane bridges in Kauai, most of them in the Hanalei Bay area. Hawaiian residents and tourists are highly cooperative in letting several cars pass at a time. Often, we’ve observed signs posting stipulating that one allows six or seven cars to pass before proceeding. Surprisingly, the flow moves quickly.

Many former mainland (USA) residents moved to Kauai to get away from it all full or part-time. Welcoming short term residents such as us, most likely not returning anytime in the near future, may not be a top priority.

As for making friends with tourists, we find this highly likely on a cruise sharing the commonality of interests on the confines of the ship. Otherwise, while traveling, most of the friends we’ve made have been residents of the area. 

This one-lane bridge crosses over the Hanalei River.

On a few occasions, we’ve met tourists open to making new friends while they’re traveling as in the case of the two couples we met this week, thoroughly enjoying time together with Vicki and Jerry, at the beach and Jessica and Ed, our next-door neighbors for another week.

Yesterday, at the Makia Golf Club pool where I now work out and we both lounged at the pool several times per week, we met Richard, a former attorney from the Midwest, who kindly invited us to a house party on February 4th, a monthly tradition for a relatively good size group of locals observing the full moon.

Another one-lane bridge crossing over the river that flows from the sea in Hanalei Beach.

Of course, we were delighted to RSVP on the spot, especially when Richard happened to have an invitation with him with the location and particulars. What a marvelous opportunity to meet locals with whom we can socialize during our four months (as of today) that we’ll be living in Princeville. 

Shortly, after meeting Richard we met Shayna, a neighbor of Richard’s and a permanent resident who was also welcoming and we hope to see again soon.

Many beaches are lined with trees such as these, providing some shady areas.

We never have expectations about meeting people in a new environment. Tom and I both are very friendly.  But, under certain circumstances, one can detect the demeanor of others that doesn’t invite conversation. 

I find this to be the case when working out when others appear to be caught up in their own exercise routine, seemingly exuding a “don’t talk to me” persona. In fact, I may be guilty of this same thing when working out, deep in concentration on doing my best in form and intensity.

Today’s soaking rain will certainly be advantageous for Kauai’s abundant vegetation.

It seems to us that the relaxed setting of lounging by a pool, sitting at a bar in a restaurant, or casually lingering at any venue provides the best opportunity for friendliness and idle chatter.

We took this photo at the exact moment as the rooster stuck out his neck in order to loudly crow when we stopped on the side of the road. Perhaps, he is warning the hens and chicks that danger looms, amongst many other reasons.

At this point, we’re considering attending a Super Bowl party at the golf club, but we’re awaiting an email with the particulars. Apparently, yesterday we were informed that there will be a cost for all members to attend. The amount and circumstances of that fee will determine our attendance. If food is included, most likely, none will be appropriate for me. We have to pick and choose those events that make sense for us overall. We shall see.

So far, we’ve only seen haze near the mountains, most likely due to the green hills covered with vegetation. This particular scenario was common in the hills of Madeira, where we lived this past spring and part of summer.

Today, it’s raining hard enough that we may stay indoors. We’ve been out every day this week and one day at “home” will be fine. We attempt to go out each day to take new photos for the next day’s post. 

Fortunately, we still have plenty of photos from this week that we’ll happily share over the next few days until the sunny skies return and we head out for more exploration.

A fountain at the entrance to a residential area in Princeville, Ka’iulani.

Here’s to wishing each and every one of our readers a fulfilling and pleasant Saturday, rain or shine, snow or warmth, and anywhere in between.

                                         Photos from one year ago today, January 24, 2014:

It was one year ago that I dropped my Acer laptop, breaking the screen. I continued using it over a period of weeks attempting to use it in this condition which ultimately failed. Living in Marloth Park, South Africa didn’t provide us with many opportunities for promptly making a new purchase especially with my requirement of a Windows 8 touch screen. Within a few weeks, a solution was in place when Okee Dokee and I traveled to Nelspruit/Mpumalanga to make a new purchase. Please click here for details of that day’s post.

A birthday to remember!…Safari luck..People luck!…A photo to remember! …Elephants! Bushbuck! Waterbuck! Cape Buffalo and more!

Posted by worldwide-admin on with 0 Comment
Nomsa and Zeff singing happy birthday to me in Zulu.  The sign behind Zeff’s head says, “Take risks. If you win you will be happy. If you lose you will be wise.” So true.

Perhaps we should add, “People Luck” to our repertoire of pet (no pun intended) phrases we regularly use.  Yesterday, my birthday, was a combination of both.

Bushbuck we spotted on the way to the Crocodile River. 

The day started with birthday wishes from my hubby beginning at midnight extending throughout the day.  Then, upon checking my computer, came email, Facebook wishes and Skype calls. 

The sun, behind the rumbling clouds, created this reflection on the Crocodile River when we arrived to check for wildlife along the shores.

I love birthdays without the obligatory gifts and surprise parties. With expectations out the window, one receives words, songs, thoughtful gestures, and messages from the heart. Yesterday, I had them all.

This first animal we spotted was this cape buffalo attempting to stay cool in the river of a very hot day.
First, we saw these two elephants and moments later, two more.

My day started early when Zeff and Nomsa sang Happy Birthday to me in Zulu, melting my heart as I took the above photo. Louise, having arranged this tender gesture stood off to the side as they sang, obviously proud of her loyal workers whom she and Danie adore and treat with kindness and love.

At quite a distance, we watched this waterbuck keeping a safe distance from the elephants.
What a magnificent animal!
The Cape Buffalo mid-river keeping cool as a bit of sun peeked through the clouds for a moment.

African Reunion House was soon sparkling clean by their diligent efforts, leaving me literally nothing to do but enjoy the day. The heat and humidity were at a peak, 94F, 34.4C as we dripped in sweat while on the veranda all day. We didn’t care. Throwing on a bathing suit early in the day, it was easy to cool off in the pool staying cool wearing a wet bathing suit all day.

Elephant reflection in the river as she approached for a drink.

With Okee Dokee picking us up at 5:45 pm to head to the Crocodile River for sunset and to hopefully spot wildlife, the day went quickly. The plan was to head to Jabula Lodge for dinner at dark, have her join us for dinner with Louise and Danie stopping by for a drink. Not hungry after a day of cooking for guests, they refused our offer of dinner, much to our dismay. These generous people all have a hard time accepting tokens of appreciation, an aspect we recall from our past lives.

Walking along the shore trying to keep up with the herd of four.

What can I say? It was a perfect day and night. At precisely 5:45 Okee Dokee appeared at our door, gifts in hand. Knowing we had no room in our luggage she’d brought me two bags of my favorite nuts, macadamias, grown here in South Africa, raw, delicious, and the following wallet-sized photo which she’d encased in sealed plastic so it could easily travel with us. 

This is the first photo of us when we arrived in Marloth Park on December 1, 2013.  Okee Dokee took this photo which, for my birthday she’d made into a plastic sealed wallet size. What a thoughtful gift! Some of our Facebook friends and family members had commented that it looked as if I was wearing a giraffe hat.

How thoughtful! I was in awe of her clever gifts, one as a reminder of our time in Marloth Park and another to be consumed before we leave one week from today. As stated above, she had taken this photo the day we arrived in Marloth Park when she’d picked us up in Mpumalanga/Nelspruit airport. Within minutes of arriving in the park, we spotted Giraffes and she took this photo of Tom and me with the giraffe in the background. 

These two young male elephants were playing, their trunks entwined!
Their playfulness was quite a sight to see! But, it was getting darker by the moment.

We were in total shock, unable to believe this was happening. How is this possible, animals walking around in the streets and in the gardens of the well-scattered homes in Marloth Park? We knew we were coming to a place where animals roamed free but, it was hard to believe until we actually saw it. It’s still hard to believe. Locals have told us, after living here for years, that they still don’t believe it.

I missed the shot where the elephant on the left grabbed the tail of the one on the right with his trunk.

After an emotional exchange of considerable appreciation of her kindness and thoughtfulness, knowing how much we’ll miss her as well, we headed to the Crocodile River with hopes of seeing wildlife along its shores. We weren’t disappointed as the three of us gawked in awe of the activity in front of us. More “safari luck,” for sure.

The four elephants were finally close enough for this shot. 

Keep in mind, by the time we arrived at the river, the sun was shrouded in clouds providing us with little light for our photos. Like many amateur photographers, as I’ve realized, taking photos in waning light or darkness from a distance is almost impossible without special equipment. With our less than sophisticated Sony CyberShot camera, the lens damaged from humidity, I did the best I could.

A momentary opening in the clouds caught my eye.

At dark, we headed to Jabula Lodge, spotting a poisonous tree snake on the road as usual.  As we entered the cozy bar and restaurant, Dawn and Leon greeting us warmly with hugs, kisses, and birthday greetings. Our favorite table close to the AC was decorated specifically for the occasion, more than I could ever have expected.

A loud, and enjoyable evening filled with even more laughter was immediately heightened when Louise and Danie appeared a short time later as we all gathered around the tiny tables. Leon gave everyone in the bar a shot of Amarula, the sweet alcoholic drink made from the popular Marula tree which bears a sweet fruit both animals and people love, after which everyone, those we knew and those we didn’t know, toasted me while singing the birthday song. 

Blushing over the thoughtful tribute, I failed to take what could have been a memorable photo of the locals and friends. Some moments simply remain in the heart if not in a photo.

Danie and Louise last night at my party. We couldn’t adore them more! They told us we were the “easiest” guests they ever had with the least complaints.  Of course, we were flattered.

After lively conversation, laughter, and endless accolades over one another, the evening ended as it was time for the restaurant to close for the night. Soon, the three of us were bouncing along the road in Okee Dokee‘s game vehicle, reeling over the fun we all had. “People Luck” for sure.

Okee Dokee with us under the Cape Buffalo head at Jabula Lodge. We wish we could take her with us! We will miss her! She’s also coming to our party on Monday, along with Dawn and Leon, Danie and Louise. 

Of course, we didn’t get out of there without planning the traditional “goodbye party” hosted by us, this upcoming Monday beginning at 5 pm. We promised a traditional American dinner using the traditional South African bush braai. Hum..what shall we make? We shall see.