Time to get the next party started. We're in Melbourne preparing for the short flight to Sydney today. Off with the Aussies, on with Part Deux.

Weather here has been spectacular - mid 70s and light breezes. We gorged on two straight days of Australian Open tennis, including witnessing Serena Williams go down on the strength of Sloan Stephen's game. That match was about 2 hours 20 minutes. Andy Murray dispatched Chardy in about 1 hour 35 minutes. Heat is expected to return today & tomorrow in this area - brush fires continue to be a big concern (sound familiar, for those of you in the Western US?)

We'll board today and set sail around 8pm per the pre printed schedule. But first .. must drop off luggage then find a friendly sports bar so we can watch the women's semi-final matches. I understand from June access to anything but news reports has been nonexistent on the Aussie segment.

Cheers, Anne

Anne,
So looking forward to your inimitable seamail!

On the last day on board we had the pleasure Ash and Keith for lunch and also Linda came on board later that afternoon. Then that evening Ken and Sheilas daughter and son in law came on the ship for dinner. We had such a great evening it is so nice to meet some of their family. .

Finally the next morning we HAD to leave the Voyager and make our goodbyes for for most of the group it wont be long until we sail together again. We boarded a flight with Sheila and Ken to Noosa. Ken has been telling me about how good his scones are so finally he is going to actually MAKE me scones. So we planned to spend a few nights at their home and taste some home made scones and the wonderful Queensland fruits and fresh fish.

On arrival it was raining quite hard after a week of perfect weather we heard. Ken heated up some pre made scones as prelude the "real fresh cooked scones" planned for the next day. They were delicious not sure how the next days could be better. Then we took a drive around Noosa and looked at the sights. There were great places to walk but not possible with the rain.

We ended up at a great restauant RIGHT on the beach. White sand, rolling surf and people swimming in the rain. A wonderful place to enjoy a meal and WHAT a meal this was. Ken and I split fish and chips and a seafood pasta. Best fish and chips ever with light breading on a beautiful fish and great fries. However, the hit was the seafood pasta. Teeming with all kinds of fresh seafood, tomatoes and spinach this is the dish to beat all other pasta dishes I have ever eaten. Served right in the pan it was cooked it and placed on a wooden block as it was so hot it stayed warm until the very last morsel was consumed. Finished off with a lovely Peter Lehman Australian Shiraz.

David and Claudia who joined us in Africa last year came to dinner as well and we had SUCH a good time.

Instead of ordering dessert and coffee at the restaurant we went across the street to Ken and Sheilas favorite coffee shop/bakery. The boys bought two big desserts (one looked like solid chocolate) and somehow managed to eat all of that. The girls looked on in amazement and one more ounce of food could actually be consumed. We were sitting outside, it was raining but we had cover and it was a perfect temperature. It was fun sitting and talking and people watching at the same tiime. Ken noticed a new ice cream shop had just opened up with really unique flavors and the entire thing was "smoking" obviously with dry ice. Really an incredible sight for an ice cream shop. We "waddled" back to the car and headed home and all instantly hit the sack.

Ken and Sheilas house is wonderful. A sub tropical climate allows the most stunning house with a uniquely shaped pool as a focal point. The main part of the downstairs floor is travertine and this continues outside to the pool area it feels like the pool is part of the house. The house is situated on a nice sized canal so the water feature is everywhere. We sat with most of the house opened up to the outside but the overhanging roof protected the house from the rain. Absolutely stunningly beautiful. Could never have a house like this in Dallas.

This morning the rain became even harder and Nikkon Ken (my Ken is Cannon Ken) came down with the news that the weather was going to get worse and we were afraid we may not get out tomorrow. So to make a LONG story short after a ton of phone calls (while consuming some wonderful Queensland fruit, manadrin oranges, grapes and fantastic mangos)with American and Qantas and about $600 we are now leaving this afternoon. Much better than losing all our FF business class flights home. Last minute hotel reservations and printing out all the new documentation.

So once all that was settled Ken cooked me his scones and I watched the entire process. He is a MASTER at the art of scone cooking down to the right temperature for all the ingredients. One thing for sure is that is as the commercials say "dont try this at home" there is no danger of me taking this much care and attention to cook scones no matter how much I like them. All I can say was FABULOUS BEST I EVER HAD and I have eaten a ton of scones in my life.

So we have time for LUNCH and we are having Queensland giant prawns, with a salad with pumpkin and mango by CHEF NIKKON KEN. As my tee shirt says LIFE IS GOOD!!!!

Only worry now is how this bad weather will affect everyone on the Voyager who are heading towards Brisbane now and they will hit this front. Anxious to know that the seas dont get too rough it appears now to be mostly rain not heavy wind so hopefully all will be well.

Chris we loved the SCONE picture you sent us gave us all a good laugh and definitely a prelude to the scones we had today at exactly 10.30 am and of course in honor of your email they came out of the oven at 10.15 am.

I loved reading this, Ngaire. Thinking about the six of you having dinner together just makes me smile.....and can't say I'm one bit surprised that Ken's scones were perfect!

Can't wait for your seamail, Anne!

What a fun ending to a great trip, in spite of the weather causing you to come home early......sounds like it was really special spending time at Ken and Sheila's.

I forgot I was Ralph's official champagne quaffer on ARCTIC, since he's not a fan of the sparkly and I am. How wonderful to find a bottle in our suite from none other than Ralph (he'd had this suite on the prior cruise). Ralph, we need to keep up this tradition: you sail, then I sail in your suite next, you leave a bottle of champers and I leisurely consume it on the next leg. Do we have a deal?

New stuff - for us, anyway - on this trip (note: haven't been on one of the Regent ships in a few years or so I think): Qantas runs the 767 between Melbourne and Sydney. Very comfortable service. Entertainment is via wireless Ipad. Great in theory, but the devil is in execution. We were 1 for 2 on Ipads in the seat pockets; of the 1 Ipad supplied, it would not load access to the entertainment. A quick visual suggested about 30% of those in front of us had working connections. How DO you get through the day without your Big Bang Theory fix?

Arrived at Sydney airport and learned of new train service to central Sydney. Off to find out how that hooked up with Wharf 5, the international cruise terminal. The information desk for the train service strongly recommended the shuttle vans, as they stop directly at the international cruise terminal. Good idea - $18 Aussie one way, $30 for a round trip. Forgot to ask, though, what's the protocol for getting the vans rolling. Driver wasn't leaving without a full load of 13 passengers, so we had about 20 minutes to kill for the 30 minute trip to the ship. We were to meet local friends for lunch at the terminal. Well ... there's American English and then there's Australian English. Turns out a Gate 5 and a Wharf 5 and a Pier 5 all mean different things. Our first clue was when they said they couldn't see the ship, but were staring at the Harbour Bridge. It was about a 1/4 mile walk to where they were waiting; lovely little area of restaurants and shops. Good to know!

We joined Chris, Linda, Mary Elaine, David, Ron and Linda in Observation Lounge to toast our departure. Lots of tennis talk and a late dinner at Sette Mari. The pasta tastes homemade. One of our favorite waiters, Abraham, has been promoted up the ranks. So nice to see a great crew member doing well!

Sea day yesterday. My vow to exercise was getting foiled by winds and intermittent rain, along with a packed gym. Not to worry .. slid into a long walk and cardio on the bike throughout the day. Cupcake tea was on offer. Looked gorgeous; texture and taste could use a boost. Trivia was a second place finish.

As many of you know, packing light is one of life's pleasures for us when we travel. This cruise is long enough for 2 formal optional nights. Hmmm ... what to do? I spied a sari in my closet (packs flat!) and decided surely there'd be someone aboard who could help me work out the logistics to keep it from falling off. The room stewardess assured me there were Indian ladies in housekeeping, and to ask at reception. turns out there are Indian gents on the butler staff - and one was 'volunteered' for the job of getting the folds and swirls straight on the sari. Gary's inner engineer wanted to know all the details of getting in and out of sari. The gent arrived with a video of his mother donning a sari. Hilarity ensued as all three of us tried to work out exactly which end was up, what side was outward facing, and when to switch from the ends to the middle and back again. By the end of the exercise, it was a passably functional sari. At that point, the gent smiled broadly and said "That's a first for each of us!!"

Headed down for the end of the officer introductions and then swiftly headed to Compass Rose to beat the crush. One of the Indian gentlemen saw me and broke into the widest smile. One for the home team! Enjoyed the caviar and foie gras, then dover sole and a salad.

Two nice changes on Compass Rose menu: they offer 'taste of signatures and Prime 7" as an entree. That's where I scored the dover sole and gary scored the herb crusted rack of lamb. The other is the balanced Canyon Ranch selections so if you want to keep up the healthy food index whilst onboard, it's readily available.

We hustled up to our suite to fire up the computer and track the Murray-Federer match. Fell asleep mid-way through the 2nd set.

Marc, we needed you onboard to properly celebrate Burns' night at the Voyager Lounge. No mention of haggis .. but really, how can you celebrate without marching that into the room accompanied by bagpipes?

This is a celebration-rich cruise. Today is Australia Day and the 10th of February is Chinese New Year. Surely we can find a few more holidays to keep the festive atmosphere alive and well.

It looks like we will be weather challenged for the next few days. Ship started to rock side to side around 4 am; the officer of the bridge came on at 6 am to advise us sharp turns are necessary, causing the ship to list to one side. It's 7:45 am, drizzly and we're a bit late on our arrival into Brisbane. Plans are for the bus tour of Brisbane highlights then off to Lone Pine sanctuary for quality koala time. After that, it's Hamilton Island then an overnight in Cairns. Monsoons still look active around the Cairns area.

Now they are broadcasting into all suites - we're delayed until 10 am. Time for rebookings if necessary for tours. Sounds like time to see if I can get a bike in the gym

Cheers, Anne

Loving the seamail so far...

As no one has yet to post a photo, let me be the first. Here is a pre-pre-cruise pic of Anne and Gary during our version of "Layover" in San Francisco. Nothing like a few oysters to make one amorous!!

The weather will slowly improve as you cruise north! The ex Cyclone depression is moving south. By the time you get here to Cairns it will be clearer but also hotter with very high humidity!
Hope your visit to Brisbane is not too washed out. We look forward to welcoming you to Cairns.

I have never had the nerve to try wearing a sari as it looks like the who,e thing might fall off at any minute. Good for you!

Love it, Anne!, especially the sari scenario. Can we look forward to pix?
Continue to enjoy, as I know you will!

Anne,
Yes, we have a champagne deal but with some modifications. One we need to be on the same cruise and you must agree to share with that certain someone we both know. As if you did not know she is a big tennis fan.

Hopefully the rest of the cabin was cleaned up from the mess I left it in. Was great fun to see you the day before. Looking forward to the next time.

So happy to see your post. Always love your adventures. Hoping for many more as you travel north. And I agree. Photos of the sari is a must.

Here's another request for a sari picture. Looking forward to reading more of your seamail, Anne!!

Ralph - sounds like we'll be adding Indian Wells to our tennis fan annual tour. More than happy to quaff with friends.

Frank - how right you are. The ex-depression weather is on its way. We have been informed:

(a) departure has been pushed back from 7 pm tonight to 6 am tomorrow;
(b) Hamilton island visit pushed back to Tuesday

I'll keep you posted, but sounds like we'll be a one-day stop on the 30th in Cairns.

Sari picture - Gary just volunteered to wrap that sari one more time for pix purposes. Wish us luck!

Cheers, Anne

Anne, only you would attempt the sari without trying it out 14 times prior to leaving! We were so sorry to have missed saying hello. we both were hoping to be back even if for a quick toast......
hope to see you soon!

Ngaire, am loving the tales of the scone ceremony at Ken and Sheilas! I will be in that kitchen working on those, although the healthy diet has started! super long day, got back at 1:00 this afternoon, after 4 hours from Hong Kong on Cathay. Trying my best to make it to 9:30, sure miss everyone on the Voyager as well as those iike us that headed back to reality......

Had a wonderful outing in Brisbane. Lone Pine is an Aussie animal sanctuary. Marcie, the pet lover in you would have LOVED this stop.

Strudel (6 yr old male koala who also weighs 6 kilos) was my cuddle buddy. He was not as thrilled with the idea as I was. Nonetheless .. we got the picture. The other audience participation event was wild lorikeet feeding frenzy. Got to hang onto a feeding platform for about 5 of the beautiful multicolor lorikeets. There were a few other takers in our group. Those birds ate in a hurry then flew up and away in the overhead branches.

There were .. dingos to watch; red tailed cockatoos to admire. Paul Mocko - saw a nesting pair of gang gang cockatoos!! they are smaller than I thought .. and the male was most entertaining. The female simply camped on the food dish. He was out of luck. Golden shouldered parakeet; varied lorikeet; Major Mitchell's pair of cockatoos; Baretta birds; Rose breasted cockatoos blue winged kookabura; little corella pair of cockatoos; princess parrot pair - awesome!! - three varieties of wombats (well fed .. if not portly) .. lots of kangaroos ... emu .. a fantastic cassuwary .. a sheep shearing event and

ta daa ... a platypus. They are smaller than one would think.

We did a foggy city drive by tour on the way back to the mother ship.

current schedule is for us to arrive 30 Jan in Cairns 12 noon and depart 9 pm. After that, we should be on the original itinerary scheduling.

The scuttlebutt is we leave Brisbane at 6 am - find a place to go slow until about 2 pm then brave what is left of the weather front.

Ricky the F&B manager was belting out a scareoke number in Voyager Lounge as we were among the few who lasted to close out Compass Rose.

We'll see what the morrow shall bring

I have to put that animals sanctuary on my bucket list.... we need pictures Anne!

I love it so much when Anne travels!
Another request for pix.

An on the ground up date...........It's 7:30 am here on the Sunshine Coast and we are being battered with cyclonic conditions..... huge winds and driving rain. The news is full of flood and gale warnings. We are only 150km north of Brisbane. Hope the Voyager is sheltered somewhere safe. The weather system which started up north with Cyclone Oswald is very very slowly moving south towards New South Wales.

Sorry to all our friends on the Voyager that we couldn't live up to our name as the Sunshine State.

Thanks for sending the rotten weather our way Shiela!!

Sorry too that the weather isn't up to it's usual standard for all those on Voyager.

Anne - Love your reports. If you're not too busy, what tennis did you get to see? We had a ground pass for the Monday and watched the two day quarter finals in Rod Laver Arena. I think next time I'll have to go the first week if I want to see any Aussies in action, although we did get to watch the two girls who played extremely well for their first time together.

The weather has cleared up here. Glorious day, bit humid but that's Cairns at this time of year. Sorry you "southerners" have to cop the leftovers!
Hope the cruise north from Brisbane is not too rough. You should have better weather in the Whitsunday Islands.

anchored just off Mud Island outside Brisbane Harbor. Harbor is now closed - waves of 6 meters (about 19 feet) and gale forces around 65 knots. We're here until the captain says otherwise. I guess the pilot had a pretty rough transfer onto Voyager when we pulled into Brisbane yesterday.

I'll try a few photo links from the animal sanctuary.

Lorikeet tea time - always better with friends


Australia Day



One very handsome koala



The link to Strudel looking for the fastest way out of my arms and into the eucalyptus leaves is here:

http://i.koala.net/2601617623.htm

Off to hear about the Great Barrier Reef from our pilot-turned-guest-lecturer.

Cheers, Anne

Love all the photos Anne but particularly the 'official' koala one. Sorry about the weather - can't even begin to imagine Brisbane Harbour being closed - it is usually like a pond!! Just as well Frank and Wendy have something better for you.

Voyager Bobbing in Brisbane harbor!
been an eventful few hours of torrential rain, 8 meter waves out of the harbor, and winds out of the harbor at 69 Knots....will stay here we hope until
Cyclone Oscar passes! Great trip[. Sandra Bowen was awesome with her ANZAC talk! Travel is everchanging and exciting! Love it!

thanks lee. we were at the quarterfinals on tues & wed in Melbourne during the day sessions. great tennis!

Will try tracking tonight's match on the website. Djokovic v. Murray - have to think Djokovic has the edge, but Murray played exceptionally well in the semi final match.

Were you also in Melbourne?

Cheers, Anne

how exciting in a way.......easy for me to say since I am comfortably home, but also, we don't get seasick! I can only imagine how our wonderful room at the back of the ship would be rocking. Tether yourselves down and enjoy the company of your wonderful group!

Fingers crossed for smooth sailing from here!

xoxo

Anne: We were at the tennis on the same days and saw the same as you. I did carry my Regent bag in case we should see each other - stranger things have happened!

We had a ground pass on the Monday and managed to see some great tennis on Margaret Court Arena.

Sloane Stephens has a great future in front of her hasn't she? Pity about Serena's 'dummy spit'.

You were right in your choice for last night's winner. Poor Andy Murray's feet - no wonder he lost!

Hope the weather is improving up there - one of my sisters lives in Brisbane and they lost power for hours yesterday.

Frank and Wendy: Didn't mean to make light of the weather - had no idea things were so bad. Is everyone south of the border a southerner? Just wondering.

Hi Lee - I am so sorry we missed seeing you in Melbourne. They were very good matches. Saw updates on the men's match last night on the sports station.

Groundhog Day

Woke up early and immediately thought of Bill Murray in the movie "Groundhog Day". Same weather, same location, rinse and repeat. Enjoyed the breakfast club gathering in the coffee connection as we awaited word on the weather.

Reef Grief

Our pilot gave a second lecture at 10 am on "Captain Bligh: Hero or Goat" and another passenger agreed to offer a digital photography lecture at 11 am. We got word we would be leaving around 1 pm from the shelter of the island outside the harbor. Brisbane harbor was still closed but we were given permission to depart.

But wait ... there is more

Along with the second lecture, we were advised there was an emergency medical evacuation required. Passengers were asked to stay off the outside deck space as the helicopter (Queensland Emergency Management, sponsored by Rio Tinto) hovered overhead and the ill passenger was airlifted to Brisbane for necessary medical treatment.

Headed up to the elevator lobby on 11 to observe the proceedings from inside the ship. Goodness .. the helicopter was very low, just above the port side of deck 12. Flight nurse already on the ground and arrangements were underway to load patient, nurse and be on their way

Once the helicopter departed for Brisbane, we got the sad news our next stop will be Cookstown sometime on the 30th of January. It's a real blow since many of the ship's company were along specifically to experience the Great Barrier Reef.

It's a Swell Time

Providentially, the mid-cruise comment cards were delivered this morning. Disappointment is running as high as the seas alongside the ship about now.

Heard from Ken and Sheila there's significant damage in their area of the Sunshine Coast. We are so sorry to learn of the damage and devastation. Weather should be improving as we head north - but we got the full "E" ticket Disney ride right in Compass Rose for Lunch. There were a couple of waves that completely washed over the deck 4 windows. Oh yea .. and a few trays of glassware hitting the floor.

rolling side to side right now. Art auction postponed until 2:30 pm. Can't imagine how that is going to go without at least a few paintings knocked off their easels.

Cheers, Anne

Just got our phone and Internet back on up here in Cairns. Been off since yesterday. So sorry the Voyager will not be calling in here.
We did get a decent belting from the system but all is back to normal now, just a few heavy showers. We feel really sorry for everyone south of here who has to go through floods yet again.
Lee, just a joke up here that anyone living south of Townsville is a southerner!
Hope you don't get too much rain and wind down there.
We hope the seas smooth out for all on board the ship and that you enjoy the rest of your cruise.

Frank and Wendy: I guessed that but wondered where the border was for you. Are Tasmanians from the 'deep south'?

Quite a large portion of Brisbane was out of power for 48 hours but those on Voyager wouldn't have been affected by that.

Anne: We had a medical emergency on our Norway cruise - very dramatic for the passengers, not to mention the poor patient!! So sorry you had to miss the Great Barrier Reef, though what an excuse to come back!

On Monday our local paper had a picture of Voyager and an article welcoming the luxury liner to a planned visit to Cairns on Tuesday.
Today the local news was very sad that she was not able to visit, due to the weather, and was passing us on her way to Cooktown!

Revision from what was sketchy information at time of my last report: we'll be in cooktown on the 31st. Don Cant joined the ship for entertainment - he'd been Phantom of the Opera for several years. Lovely show last night. Seas were still really high through most of the evening.

Awoke this morning early to pretty calm seas. Time to meet up with the breakfast club. Afterwards, time for the walk about on the jogging track. Hot, hot and steamy aboard for most of the day today. Sandra did another lecture on the aboriginals. Very interesting ... artwork (if it's the real deal) tells you something about the specific tribe's ancestry. Cooking demonstration afterwards in Horizon Lounge. Executive chef has a good sense of humor. At noon, we were at 22 degrees south and 151 latitude east. Have seen small outcroppings of land this afternoon. Lots of the algae in the water on our travel north.

Mongolian barbeque for lunch on the pool deck. I don't know how the crew could stand it - it was a strong blast of steam room quality heat when we arrived at deck 11. We grabbed some pizza from La Verandah and headed to Compass Rose with our appetizer course in hand.

Watched 'Muriel's Wedding' this afternoon. Next up has to be Priscilla, Queen of the Desert and a marathon for The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.

Gary scored on a Bingo win this afternoon; our trivia team was at least in the hunt for prizes today. Yesterday .. it was a bad trivia day.

Signatures for dinner tonight. Sea day again for tomorrow. We've decided 5 straight sea days means we can check off the box on our bucket list that reads "take an ocean crossing voyage".

Missed out on booking an excursion in Cooktown. We'll just kiss Mother Earth when we debark, take the shuttle to town and then try to hold space in the pub for those taking the black granite hill climb excursion.

We are pulling for the Aussies who have been affected by the damaging force of this storm. It's so close on the heels of the big one from a few years ago and takes so much energy to get the repairs made and get on with one's life.

Cheers, Anne

As always an interesting read Anne. I hope the seas stay calm for you!
Thanks for taking us along with you. Congratulations on Gary's bingo win too.

Saw a beautiful deep pink sunset last night from Signatures. It was a wonderful dinner.

Slept through breakfast club this morning. Decided to go for the 60 minute walk starting at 7 am. about 1/2 an hour too late - really sweating by the time 8 am rolled around. Sandra Bowern had another great lecture on Captain Cook this morning, then it was cocktail preparation in Horizon Lounge @ 11:15 am. We opted for tomato juice time in the Observation Lounge. A group came in just before 12 and ordered the perfect Bellini. So glad they profited from the demonstration - they surely enjoyed trying a different drink.

Noon report was 18 degrees 50 minutes south latitude; 174 east longitude (which doesn't sound right given what I heard yesterday but whatever).

Tex Mex barbeque today - very tasty. Off to the art auction then Sandra filled us in on all the scuttlebutt for 2 of Australia's soprano divas, Nellie Melba and Joan Southerland. I skipped the second half to get a half hour in on the stationary bikes.

Off to trivia. Had to switch up our usual seating. It was strudel tea so the demand for tea seating was unusually high. We managed to bring home the triva win today. Four of us went on for snowball bingo - didn't win the grand prize but won 2 of the 4 games.

Going sunset hunting tonight, then lamb curry in compass rose.

Worked out how to get the urn of safari coffee for the morning coffee breaks. Order coffee from room service & top off with Bailey's.

We are supposed to anchor in Cooktown around 7:45 am and take tenders to the shore. There will be no shortage of passengers seeking the shore tomorrow.

Cheers, Anne

Enjoying your reports Anne, as usual. Congrats on the trivia win! Keep having fun and please keep telling us about it!!!

Thanks Anne so great to read your posts. Sorry you hit such terrible luck with that storm I guess Aussie Part One used up all the good weather karma. Of course we were messed up to with our post cruise plans but not to the extend all you had to deal with.

Still lovely to read your positive take on the situation at least you are "in this" with some nice people.

Yeah on a trivia win - one for the LCT team is always great! PLUS a bingo for Gary way to go!

Missed this whole thread.
What an adventure

Three Hour, Three Shower Tour

True to my intention, I was up at 5:30 am for breakfast club. Two of the three of us showed up. Hit the machine - one blast of regular coffee followed by a decaf espresso in the same cup. As soon as I saw sun peeking through the horizon, I was soon on deck 12 for the morning walk.

frank and wendy graciously briefed us it was 105 and humid in Cairns; likely to be the same in Cooktown. In fact, a sea day might be in order. That was welcome advice, .. except we've had 5 sea days already and if we skip land, it's two more days to Darwin (Ricky's home and so we're hoping to have a big turnout for his aunt & uncle ... but I digress). They were absolutely correct - 90 minutes in to the morning walk and I was seriously dripping wet. shower #1 for the day was in order before breakfast. Huevos Rancheros special item up at La Verandah.

What to do? Only answer is the three hour self directed tour. We missed out on scheduled excursions, so boarded the tender at 9 am for shore. 20 minutes later, we were on Mother Earth. Thank goodness! The shuttle bus could carry about 15 people, and dropped us at the Cook Museum. We had picked up maps and the general route of the shuttle bus when we stepped off the tender. It was really hot by 10 am. I worked out a quick stop at the Museum to be followed by a walk through their heritage site botanical garden. There's a foot path that takes you from Finch Bay along the Coral Sea up towards the lighthouse where Capt Cook surveyed the harbor, then across to the tender launch site. All the while, I heard a sustained and frequent exchange by the wild birds. Clearly, the rest of Cooktown had the common sense to stay out of the heat. We were wildly out of order.

We stepped off for our loop tour of Cooktown, only to be advised by our Canadian compatriots that where there are birds .. there are insects. It was bug infestation on the walkway this time of year to the sea. Not up for massive bug bites as a remembrance of our visit to Cooktown. We doubled back to the main street in town. along the way, we learned a lot about Cooktown in WWII (forced evacuation of everyone; much harder on the aboriginal people than the settlers); the convent established schools in the area; the rise of the gold rush in this area; and a near crash of everything in the area by the 1990s. I don't know the population, but I did take note of GPS coordinates around noontime: 15 degrees 28 minutes south latitude; 145 degrees 50 minutes east longitude. In any event, there were locals with cars parked eating picnics near the tender dock, enjoying the opportunity to watch the passengers debark, start to sweat, and then look for extra chairs the merchants helpfully placed along the shaded sections of sidewalk.

We are in a pretty remote area of Australia. Common haircut is a la Bob Marley. found a picture we liked of a cassawary done by an aboriginal contemporary artist. She wanted a picture of where her painting was going to live; we wanted a picture of the artist with the painting. everyone was happy.

On the tender back, a compatriot of the Nikon tribe decided to shoot the ship as we approached for debarkation. Only problem was large spray of water coming in open window @ front. Switching between Iphone and Nikon, I wondered if she could manage to get them both seriously wet with sea water. Hope she was able to save them .. but it was a rhythmic belching of water into the tender from that window.

Back on board we enjoyed a leisurely lunch. It is stinking hot today. For the second time in my RSSC sailing career, I jumped into the pool (the first being the memorable synchronized swimming performance by Michele, Susan, Pam and myself on Explorer 2 in the Antarctic). Bath warm ocean water pumped in from the great barrier reef shipping channel. .. decided this was going to count for our return trip to the barrier reef.

I am wondering how the afternoon hill climb will work out for our fellow passengers. I'm off to another shower to get the salt out of my swimsuit and body; there's no doubt I'll need another shower before dinner.

Laundry capacity is likely to be taxed to the max today. Captain just announced we've taken up the anchor and are headed over to Darwin. Torres Straight is expected around 5 tomorrow (did not catch whether it is AM or PM). As I look out the window .. thunder portends another shower for our sail away.

Cheers, Anne

We were cooked in Cooktown! Even the devil would be too hot here! Heard lots of croc lore and visited both pubs (down from 64 during the gold rush). The town 230 years later has one hot Main Street! And 2000 residents! If the winds are calm we learned that the whole town closes down and everyone goes fishing on the reef for coral trout! Blown away in Cooktown is a local expression about the frequent high winds! Very humid and then rain storms! Small atolls abound in the water with a magnificent sunset! Lightening outside now! Wonderful! ! 2 sea days ahead! Really hot! Cannot imagine what hotter will feel like! Life is an adventure!