November 20 and 21
sea day and Hobart, Tasmania
I would like to take a moment to reflect on the cruising aspect of this journey. The Regent Navigator has been recently refurbished and is in tip top shape. Captain MacNeil is funny and warm and works beautifully with the cruise director, Ray Solaire. I look forward to their silly announcements during the day. I always get a smile out of their description of roly poly seas when we hit some rough patches. There is a real can do attitude on board, with the exception of the destination desk. I mentioned that I liked Ginger beer and they brought a case for me at Melbourne. They not only stocked my fridge, but have it waiting for me around the ship's bars. Our stewardess, Jingle, is a doll and the best we have ever had. Food has been excellent, the lectures interesting and the service excellent. Being a smaller ship, I never expect much in the entertainment arena. It has been the best I have had, though, on a Regent ship. The comedian the first night was a bit weak, but the comedian/juggler was a hoot. The baritone last night was superb and I understand the pianist, who we missed, was very good. The tours have been well conducted with no "uncles' gift store" stops. I absolutely love Murray, the computer room genius, who has helped me learn this iPad as well as my camera with incredible kindness and calm. The passengers as all as nice as LCTers with minor exceptions. I bought some Tasmanian honey, which is world reknowned. Sadly, Doug informed me that he thought NZ 's rigid importation laws would preclude me from bringing it in. We checked with immigration on board today and Doug was right.
I will have to eat it all in the next week! One guy saw that we were going to ask immigration about this ( I was carrying the jars) and he said nastily, "don't show them anything. You will spoil it for everyone else. I am bringing in spices." I hope he gets a big fine for not declaring his spices!
There are some very rigid guidelines also in Australia. We always had to wear seat belts in the bus, import issues are strict here as well. Even the police bagpipe band (made up of policemen) were not allowed on the pier to see us off. Security is strong, with dogs and stringent checks of vehicles and people.
Australia, once so British, has become very American. Since WWII, when The US came to Australia's aid against Japanese attacks, we have become close allies. It is a young country, with roots similar to ours.
There have been very minor glitches all which were resolved. If you purchased anything in Australia, you must have spent $300 at one store. The ship arranged with customs to come on board to get back our VAT in our final Australian port in Hobart. However, we found out after purchasing our tour tickets that they wouldn't come on board until 2 and would leave at 5 promptly. There was no way for us to be back from our tour. The concierge said that their was nothing he would/could do, and the destination desk refused to exchange our tickets or give us back our money. The Captain, though, contacted the tour companies to ask that we get back before 5. I had left my purchases at the front desk and our cruise director saw to it that we came back to executed documents. So, there was no issue as it turned out. Yeah! I ended up with some Australian made Uggs and gloves for a good deal.
We had lots of shipboard credit and I treated myself to an abalone necklace. My other purchase was stuffed animal related--a kangaroo and a koala bear. We leave them doing interesting things each day, watching TV or drinking or hanging from the drapes and Jingle plays along and leaves them in interesting poses for us. There was a mixology class as well as an interesting galley tour and a fantastic wine tasting. Except for not winning a free cruise or necklace, everything has been great.
The weather has been nice but brisk. Yesterday, we had a wonderful day at Hobart. I think this has been my favorite port so far. It began with a visit to the Bonorong Wildlife Park, which only houses Tasmanian animals. Many of these animals are extinct everywhere except Tasmania. It has been the site of a successful captive breeding ground for Tasmanian Devils for 30 years. We wandered by ourselves for an hour, but there are 45 minute tours at 11:30 and 2 pm. They say that you can do the rest of the park on your own for about another 45 minutes and I believe an animal lover would really benefit from a full 2 hours. This is an animal sanctuary that differs from a zoo in that it gives you an up close and personal experience with the animals. We got to pat a very active koala and there were dozens of friendly and sweet kangaroos to feed and pat. Many had joeys in their pouches. Some joeys had their little heads sticking out and others had their feet sticking out because they were nursing. We had to be dragged kicking and screaming from this place and reboarded our bus for a tour of this beautiful place. I wished I had time to stop at some of the picturesque towns we drove through. We passed another sanctuary for non Tasmanian and Tasmanian animals (Zoodoo) and another strictly for Tasmanian devils. We then drove off to Port Arthur for lunch and an afternoon tour. Lunch at the Fox and Hound was yummy...wiener schnitzel, veggies, sticky date pudding....and then we were of to the historic site. Port Arthur was a prison. It was also a complete community. The convicts worked at farming and whaling or boating industries. There are over 30 historic homes, ruins, gardens, and a ferry ride. It was established about 1830 a a timber camp, using convict labor. It was a punishment area for repeat male offenders within Australia. There the British government instituted a system built on religious and moral instruction, separation, and education. The objective was to break the spirit. Nevertheless, some survived the system and went on to regain freedom. In the mid 1800s, Port Arthur become home to the aging, physically and mentally ill convicts. By the end of the 1800s, Port Arthur was closed. By the 1920s, it had become a museum. Once freed, convicts were given 30 acres of land and a service and went on to become industrious citizens. Only 5% ever returned back to Great Britain. Once free, the citizens as well as military families lived in stark contrast.
We all had a fantastic time and wished we had more days in this piece of Australia. Now we have three sea days and will just relax, read, eat, have fun with friends and listen to lectures and entertainment.
