February 27, 2013  Sea Day

This was the first of three sea days on our way to Bali. We attended the “Good Morning Amsterdam” show where the guest of the day was the piano bar pianist Debby Bacon. Debby is from Tampa, Florida and this is her fourth world cruise. She is traveling with her husband Ron who is also a musician but does not work on the ship and is only accompanying her. Prior to working on cruise ships Debby worked in a Tampa hotel bar for 18 years where she worked from 5:00 to 9:00 Monday through Friday. In addition to her cruise ship work she also works four months of the year at a hotel in Amsterdam playing the piano. In addition to the piano she plays the saxophone, organ and xylophone and she also sings. She has quite a loyal following of passengers onboard and can play just about anything. She has a vast array of music on her computer and can easily access the music to most anything someone would like to hear her play.

Barbara, the onboard travel guide, spoke about what to see and do in the port of Benoa, Bali today. This is a change of ports due to the fact that the previously scheduled tender port docks have been damaged or destroyed by storms recently. Benoa is at the southern edge of Bali but it had a port large enough for the ship to dock without having to use the tender boats.

There is a new Explorations Speaker by the name of Aileen Bridgewater onboard until Hong Kong. Aileen hosted Hong Kong’s longest running English daily radio talk show for 14 years, broadcasting phone calls live. She has interviewed thousands of celebrities in the studio and traveled worldwide to interview people making the news, including Princess Diana, Mother Teresa and the Dali Lama. After her talk show she spent nine years lecturing throughout the United States, covering Hong Kong and the Far East. Aileen is a fascinating speaker with one story after another. She speaks using audio clips of her guests to help tell the stories. Today, she talked about her interviews with, among others, Bob Hope and William Holden, the owner of the radio station.

In the afternoon we attended a rehearsal for the Amsterdam singer and dancers final show this evening before they disembark in Manila to perform on another ship in the fleet. We will get the cast from another cruise ship that will perform a variety of new shows for us in the future.

Bob Tonkinson presented another lecture on the Aborigines religious beliefs and cultural symbols. He showed a series of slides of the Aborigine people taken during the early years of his work in the 1960’s.

The Amsterdam Singers and Dancers show titled Centre Stage included a variety of musical theater favorite songs from Moving on Out, Mama Mia, Funny Girl and Mary Poppins. It was a fun filled show with some familiar songs.

Downtown Fremantle

Fremantle Architecture

Livestock Ship

February 26, 2013  Fremantle and Perth, Australia

Included with our travel package were four shore excursions, one of which we took on this day. The tour included two wineries in the Swan Valley. Our tour left from the port in Fremantle, along the Swan River, through the city of Perth and then into the Swan Valley. The drive to the vineyards was approximately an hour from the port and is near the town of Guildford. Our drive along the Swan River included a drive through millionaire’s row where gorgeous homes along the river’s shores have sold for as much as $56,000,000. We pass through the larger city center of Perth complete with high-rise office towers on the shore of the Swan River. The downtown area is filled with both old and new architecture as well as a large number of public parks and beautifully landscaped public areas.

The Swan Valley grows not only grapes but is a fertile farming region for all sorts of fresh fruits and vegetables. The vineyards have just finished the harvest. The weather was extremely warm with a temperature of about 100 degrees. The first winery we visited was Houghton’s Winery where the first commercial vintage was produced in 1863 and is listed by the National Historic Trust. They have a small tasting room surrounded by lush gardens where we had a taste of a variety of white and red wines that they produce.

Our next stop was the Sandalford’s Caversham Estate, which is one of Western Australia’s largest privately owned wineries. The estate produces 90,000 cases per year, including 11 premium table wines, a port and a dessert wine. We took a short tour of the winery, which was very similar to any winery you might tour in California’s wine regions. The tasting here was a bit unique in that they described the seven wines we would taste and then opened all fresh bottles for the nine of us on the tour to help ourselves. They also provided cheese and crackers and a souvenir wine glass for each of us to take with us.  Kent enjoyed the cheese!

On the drive back to the ship we took a different route back through the town of Perth to get a view of more of the city. Along the way we drove through King’s Park and the Botanic garden, which is approximately 1,000 acres in size. The park offers spectacular views over the city of Perth and the Swan River. It was a short day as the ship sailed for Bali, Indonesia at 4:00pm with the all aboard time of 3:30pm.

The nightly entertainment was a musician and comedian by the name of Steve Stevens. Steve was not only a trumpet player but also a singer and a comedian. After the show the previous night, the show crowd was small but everyone seemed to enjoy the show.

We have been in Australia for almost two weeks now and wanted to summarize our thoughts about our experience. The people everywhere we went were extremely gracious, kind and helpful. The cities we visited were clean, well cared for and we always felt safe. We saw a vast array of different sized cities from the very small to the very large and all had something unique and interesting to offer….many very similar to cities in the USA. All were oriented to the water.  We had not been to most of the southern and western cities so it was great to see a variety of cities around the country.

February 25, 2013  Sea Day

For the most part this was a sea day, as we did not arrive at our destination of Fremantle until 3:30pm in the afternoon. The port city of Fremantle is located on the western shores of Australia near the southwestern corner of the country and is adjacent to the town of Perth. Fremantle has a population of approximately 300,000.

We attended a lecture by Bob Tonkinson about the Mardu Aborigines of the Western Desert region. This desert covers one-sixth of the continent. These groups of Aborigines were among the last people to abandon their traditional existence and migrate into settlements in the 1960’s. Bob spoke of his experience in visiting these people in the desert during the 1960’s and showed some photos of them as well. Today several of the Aborigines from this area have gone on to lead public lives and travel the world discussing the culture and life of the Aborigines.

After we arrived in Fremantle we headed out with several friends to explore the town on foot. From the port the town is very easily accessed and is within a ten-minute walk of the port. The architecture is beautiful with buildings from the late 1800’s on. Many of the buildings are built in stone and brick and have exquisite details and ornamentation. The narrow streets of Fremantle are well kept, clean and pedestrian friendly with wide sidewalks and pedestrian only streets.

After exploring some of the local shops, churches and public city center we headed a few blocks to the coast where we found a stretch of seafood restaurants along the wharf. We enjoyed fish and chips along the waterfront, fighting off the seagulls that were looking for handouts.

Docked near us in the port was a very large cargo ship that transports live cattle and sheep to the Middle East. Due to the religious reasons and culture of Muslims, the sheep would mostly be sold live. Some families might buy several and slaughter them as needed. We heard several different numbers as to how many sheep and cattle the ship might carry but it is many thousands.

We were back onboard the ship by 9:00 to check out “The Wadumbah Dance Group.” It was an Aborigine dance troupe which performed a variety of cultural dances including the kangaroo dance. The quality of the show was very poor and many folks walked out before it was over.  However, others who had seen similar shows said that this show was about the same.  Perhaps we can’t judge these dances very well or they just don’t appeal to our taste.

Albany Cemetery

Mark and our friend Jenn

Kent and his new jailhouse bride.

Albany Town Hall

February 24, 2013  Albany, Australia

Founded in 1827 as a military outpost, Albany is located in western Australia near the southwest corner of the country. The military outpost was established to stop the French ambitions in the region. During the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries, the town served as a gateway to the Eastern Goldfields, and for many years was the only deep-water port. Prior to the 1950’s, whaling was an important part of the local economy, although today its main industries consist of tourism, fishing, and agriculture.

The weather was a mix of rain and sunshine, with temperatures in the 70’s.

We took a short shuttle ride into town with our friend Jenn to explore the town on foot. Being a Sunday most of the shops were closed, but the locals had set up a small craft market with entertainment in the park on the main street called York Street. We walked to the botanical garden, which was more like a small neighborhood park. Nearby was the community cemetery with graves dating back to the late 19^th century. As it rained we ducked into McDonald’s to use the Internet, which is very common at most of the fast food restaurants. The service was slow but allowed us to check emails and to update this blog.

After the rain had passed we continued on to the Town Hall where they were having a nice photography exhibit, as well as stopping in at a few shops that were open. At St’ John’s Anglican Church we came across an Aboriginal smoking ceremony of some type going on. Someone said they thought that a woman of the local tribe who had been separated from her family had been returned home and it was a celebration. There were metal buckets with smoldering and smoking eucalyptus branches. Several people were seated in a semi-circle with a band of white sand placed on the grass under their bare feet. During the ceremony some reddish brown powder was placed on the sand around their feet as well as thrown into the air. One black gentlemen who was involved in the ceremony was dressed in a suit but had very long red hair and a beard.

We took a self-guided tour of the Albany Convict Jail, now open as a museum. The convict system here was based on the idea of rehabilitation. Convicts were transported here from England over an 18-year period beginning in 1850. Most of the convicts were hired to work by the free settlers to perform a variety of jobs. Some manned the pilot boat, some built roads, while others help lay the railroad. Buildings on the site included a barracks, a cookhouse, warden’s quarters, a store, a blacksmith and carpenter’s workshops.

From the jail we walked the short distance back to the ship along the waterfront. The waterfront has a newly built entertainment center and boat harbor, with additional construction underway.  After we returned to the ship, Jenn said, “You know why I like hanging out with you guys?  I can say ‘f%*k.’  I can be myself!  I can’t say bad words with those other old people!”  I guess that’s what we all want, Jenn…friends we can be ourselves with.

The entertainment onboard the ship this evening was a variety show of Laszlo and Claudia the violinists and Colleen Williamson the soprano, all of which are excellent at their arts.

February 23, 2013  Sea Day

This morning we attended a lecture with Bill Crews where he discussed the progressive discovery of the West Coast of Australia. Back in 1606 the Dutch, followed by the British and other European explorers landed on the island all well before the time Captain Cook had claimed the East Coast of Australia for Britain.

The afternoon lecture by Bob Tonkinson explored the impacts and aftermath of the European settlement on the Indigenous people of Australia. The Europeans brought diseases, which reduced the population of the Indigenous people from 500,000 to only 150,000. Settlers did not treat the Indigenous people well and tried to put them in settlements with the expectation that they would soon die out and be gone completely. That did not happen and today the Indigenous population of Australia is around 600,000. As in the US, the natives have not been treated well over time but with better education and knowledge the government is trying to better assist the needs of the native people.

In the afternoon there was an Australian high tea in the dining room, which we attended with our friend Jenn (see 2/19).  She seems to be doing better and is becoming more engaged in the available activities.  Her spirits are lifting as evidenced by her showing Kent a video taken before she left for the cruise.  She won a dance contest which involved dancing with a six foot penis.  Yes…she was good and was very proud of it.  I knew I liked her.  She also told Kent about a sex video she had of herself and her Black boyfriend, but he hasn’t seen that one yet….maybe later!

The weather was windy with gusts to 35 mph causing the ship to roll a bit. This makes it difficult to walk and many of the passenger’s retreat to their cabins to lie down or to take motion sickness pills. When the seas are rough the crew begins to bring out the barf bags and hang them in the hallways just in case a guest needs them.

The time is changing regularly as we move from east to west along the southern coast of Australia. We moved our clocks back 30 minutes one day, followed by moving them back by 90 minutes. Tonight we moved our clocks and watches back another hour.

The entertainment on this night was an Irish comedian by the name of Adrian Walsh.

Internet availability—Although there is internet available on board, it is slow and very expensive.  So, we wait until we are on shore to find free Wi-Fi or an internet café with computers (increasingly hard to find because more and more people have smart phones and other devices of their own for internet use) to do emails.  These facilities are not always easy to find in remote locations and don’t always have good signals.  The one thing Kent misses while on the ship is being able to easily send and receive email to stay in touch with family and friends.  We are doing the best we can to stay in touch.  Please understand if we don’t get back to you or check in with you as quickly as we’d like.  We are thinking of you.

February 22, 2013  Sea Day

The Good Morning Amsterdam guests today were two of the young ladies onboard who are photographers and take your photo at every port stop, formal night and sail away party.

We attended a lecture from a new speaker by the name of Bob Tonkinson who spoke about two tribes of Australian indigenous people. Bob is a senior Honorary Research fellow at the University of Western Australia, a Life-Fellow of the Australia Anthropological Society and the Association for Social Anthropology in Oceania. He has a Ph.D. in and has done extensive research with the Western Desert Mardu Aboriginies and the Southeast Ambrymese people in Vanuata (Melanesia) since 1966. He gave a very interesting talk on the nomadic lifestyle of the Aboriginal people and how they are often required to move due to weather conditions and food supply at any given time. They live in quite small tribes of 15 or 20 people who all have a job to do, whether it is hunting or gathering. The men generally do the hunting while the women do more of the gathering. They follow the stars to mark time and often travel to meet up with other relatives or tribes who may be having a special occasion or event.

In the afternoon we attended a lecture by Bill Crews on “Cattle Duffing and the Legend of Captain Starlight”. Captain Starlight was the basis of books and films about his life of cattle theft in Western Australia during the gold rush years. At the time there were many very large cattle ranches making it difficult for ranchers to always keep track of their cattle. Captain Starlight would steal cattle and move them sometimes hundreds of miles before selling them to unsuspecting butchers and ranchers. By the time the owners of the cattle would realize they were missing, Starlight would have taken off with the money. He was often caught and charged with stealing the cattle but most of the time there was not enough evidence to find him guilty and he would be set free and do it all over again.

We had afternoon tea in the Crow’s Nest with Alec (see 2/14) who filled us in on his drama with the ship’s security after the Aussie Boys show a few days ago. After the show he was escorted out of the theater and questioned about striking a woman in the theater. Evidently a woman had accused him of striking her across the face during the performance. He knew nothing of the incident although the accusation shook him up enough to loose a good nights sleep. He never met the woman and after questioning, security told him it must have been a case of mistaken identity and not to worry about. I can’t imagine what the woman must have said to the man to make him strike her?  We had a nice discussion with Alec about his gay life and are glad to know more about who he is.  He is traveling with Ingrid, a friend, with whom he has never had the “orientation” discussion.  Of course, Kent is making plans to resolve this situation.

Dinner in the dining room was a formal event this evening and the theme of the night was a medieval theme. The dining room was once again decorated like a castle with colorful banners and all of the wait staff was dressed like knights. Many of the guests had festive outfits to fit the theme of the night.

The entertainment was a young couple that performed a variety of musical numbers on the violin. Laszlo is from Hungary and Claudia is from Italy and they now live in Florida. They perform all over the world in concerts, for musical performances, films and on cruise ships. They are extremely talented violinists.

Kingscoat Main Street

February 21, 2013  Penneshaw, Kangaroo Island, Australia

Penneshaw is a small picturesque country town located on the eastern end of Kangaroo Island with a population of less than 2,000 people. The island is located about nine miles from mainland Australia near the city of Adelaide. Kangaroo Island is Australia’s third largest island after Tasmania and Melville. The island is almost the same size as Long Island, New York. Most people arrive via Ferry from the mainland, which is only a 45-minute ride. 30% of the island is protected Australian National Parkland. The island has a large population of Kangaroo, sea lions, wombats, birds, koala, sheep and penguins.

We stopped at the local pizza and coffee shop for coffee, where we also used the Internet wi-fi. The walk around the town’s hand full of shops was short and uneventful. We then took a shuttle bus from the small town of Penneshaw to the larger town of Kingscote for a look around. Kingscote is the largest town on the island but still small. The town has several small motels, bakeries, a market, hardware store, a few art galleries and souvenir shops. We stopped at the bakery for meat pies and sausage rolls for lunch, which we ate along the water’s edge. We wandered the small town’s shops before shuttling back to the town of Penneshaw and the ship. All aboard today is 4:30 so we did not have too much time but it was sufficient for what there was to see.

Kent occasionally still gets stopped by people who inquire about his porn star days (see 1/20).  One lady was so excited to talk and told Kent she has about 4 tapes on board and will check them out to see if she recognizes him!  There is hope for old age!

The entertainment this night was a young 24-year-old pianist by the name of David Schofield. David grew up in Manchester, England where he learned to play the piano before being shipped to Chicago where he studied piano for the next nine years. When David was only nineteen-years-old he won a music competition at Carnegie Hall and since then he has been performing all over the world at concert halls and aboard cruise ships. He gave a very entertaining concert with a wide range of music choices.

Downtown Adelaide Park

Handorf Building

Downtown Adelaide University Building

February 20, 2013 Adelaide, Australia

We explored Adelaide on foot after our shore excursion on this day. The city is beautifully laid out with parkland surrounding the center of town. Besides the parkland there are several large parks within the city center for the locals to enjoy. The city today has a population of about 1.2 million people. The downtown area is filled with beautiful old sandstone buildings including several museums, the University of South Australia, office buildings and government buildings. Rundle Mall is a pedestrian only street filled with the major department stores, shops, eateries and many local street performers from singers and musicians to jugglers. The mall receives 23 million visitors a year to its over 700 stores. We sampled the famous Haigh’s chocolates at one of the many shops in town. With Easter on the horizon the shops are filled with chocolate eggs dressed in brightly colored foil and all sizes of chocolate bunnies.

Out tour took us to the nearby town of Hahndorf, which was established in 1839 by a group of Prussian and East German immigrants. This is Australia’s oldest surviving German settlement. The town was named after Captain Dirk Hahn who was the master of the ship who brought the original settlers. Captain Hahn was so impressed with the immigrants onboard his ship that he helped them to find land to settle. The town today is mostly a tourist attraction with many small tourist shops and Inns where visitors can stay. The lovely old main street is lined with mature cork elm trees. We had meat pies at a local bakery for lunch, along with Ken from Detroit.

We traveled through the Adelaide Hills where you find a picturesque wine region. The area around Adelaide is known to produce many varieties of award winning wines from over 48 local wineries. Atop the highest hill called Mt. Lofty is a spectacular panoramic view out over the city of Adelaide and the ocean. Unfortunately on this day, smoke from the local bush fires had limited the view and all we could see was a cloud of smoke over the region.

We were in port until 11:00pm so they had an Aussie Outback Barbecue onboard the ship poolside in addition to the normal dining room option. The food included lamb chops, seafood and many salads. A local group called “The Old Gum Tree-O” performed many local Australian songs. No formal entertainment tonight.

February 19, 2013  Sea Day

This morning’s Good Morning Amsterdam guest was Matt, the onboard Sommelier who is a very tall South African gentleman. Whenever we passed him in the hallways he seemed to have no personality but at the show this morning he seemed very personable.

We attended a lecture by Bill Crews on: South Australia and the Federation. Here we learned the history of the discovery and settlement of South Australia. This area of Australia is very dry and not very conducive to farming. The area has some natural minerals including gold and copper. Germans settled here in 1839 and remain there today in the town of Hahndorf, which we will visit tomorrow.

We enjoyed a lunch with Jenn who is a young lady in her late 30’s traveling with her 80-year young cousin Mary Ruth. Jenn lives in Pennsylvania and left her job, boyfriend and life to take the cruise with Mary Ruth, who lives in Kentucky. Jenn is one of the youngest passengers on the ship and is hoping to meet some fun people.  We are happy to take her under our wings!

Food—Food on the ship is pretty good, although there are some who complain.  Kent has limited his breakfast to cereal, fruit and juice.  Mark needs a fuller meal like waffles and apples with syrup, followed by eggs and a side of ham.  For lunch, Kent has a soup or salad while Mark has something with fries, along with dessert.  We don’t go for Tea often, but if we do, there are more calories in the sweet and savory treats.  At drinks there are nuts, appetizers and other stuff for our enjoyment.  For dinner Kent has an appetizer, soup or salad followed by chocolate from the Explorer’s Lounge.  Mark usually has all 4 courses.  Who gains weight?  Kent.  As you can see from some of our photos, we have packed on a few pounds….Kent more than Mark.  Our pants still fit, but there is a hangover!  Guess we will have to give up the midnight buffet!

Tonight’s entertainment was a variety show by the Aussie Boys and Simeon Wood who have both performed on recent nights.

Port Arthur Penal Colony Harbor Setting

Port Arthur Penal Colony Church Ruins

Hobart Area Fire Damage

Two of the Aussie Boys, Andy and Todd

February 18, 2013  Hobart, Australia

Hobart is the capital of Tasmania and Australia’s second oldest city after Sydney. The city is located on the Derwent River at the foot of the 4,000-foot tall Mt. Wellington. Hobart has many elegant old buildings made of Sandstone and built by convicts in the 19^th century.

Our tour on this day took us to the Port Arthur Historic Site, which is a World Heritage Site. Port Arthur was very unique in that it was not only a prison but also home to military personnel and their families and home to free settlers. The convicts worked at farming and industries, producing a large range of resources and materials. The historic site contains about 30 historic buildings, extensive ruins and beautiful gardens and grounds. A short ferry ride from the site is the Isle of the Dead cemetery where more than 1,100 people were buried. The cemetery was used for not only prisoners but for officers and their families as well. There was also a boys prison at a nearby location, where boys as young as nine but mostly between the ages of 14 and 17 were held. The boys were sternly disciplined and harshly punished as well as educated.

The Port Arthur penal station was established in 1830 as a timber-getting camp, using convict labor to produce sawn logs for government projects. From 1833 Port Arthur was used as a punishment station for repeat offenders from all the Australian colonies. The Port Arthur prison was fashioned after a new English penitentiary designed as “a machine for grinding rogues into honest men”. The idea was that through discipline, punishment, religion, moral instruction, classification and separation, training and education, that you could be rehabilitated. Many of the men left Port Arthur broken, but others left rehabilitated and skilled, some as blacksmiths, shoemakers and shipbuilders.

Port Arthur’s community of military and free men and their families lived their lives in stark contrast to the convict population. Parties, regattas and literary evenings were common. Beautiful gardens were created as places of sanctuary and the children played and attended school within the settlement.

By 1840 more than 2,000 convicts, soldiers and civil staff lived at Port Arthur, which by this time was a major industrial settlement. A range of goods and materials were produced here, everything from worked stone and bricks to furniture and clothing, boats and ships.

With the end of convict transportation in 1853, Port Arthur became an institution for aging and physically and mentally ill convicts. In 1877 the penal settlement finally closed and many of its buildings were dismantled or destroyed in bush fires. Others were sold and the area gradually became the center of a small town, renamed Carnarvon in an attempt to erase the hated convict past.

First hand stories of convict life proved to be a major draw and tourists began visiting almost immediately after the closure of the penal settlement. By the 1920’s, some convict-period buildings had become museums, hotels, shops and the settlement was once again named Port Arthur.

On Sunday April 28, 1996, a tragic chapter was added to Port Arthur’s history when a gunman took the lives of 35 people and physically wounded 19 others in and around the Port Arthur site. This led to the country banning automatic weapons and rifles and more than 800,000 weapons were purchased back by the government. With this came a dramatic drop in gun violence and suicide in the country, which is still enjoyed to this day.

The site is situated on a quiet bay with the hills rising around it. Many of the beautiful sandstone structures stand in ruins, but are at the same time elegant and beautiful. The solitary confinement prison has been restored, as has the asylum, which houses a museum. Several of the officer’s homes have been restored and furnished, and can be visited. Our time here was too short to see everything but at least we got an idea of the area.

Lunch was at a Port Arthur pub called Fox and Hounds. There we had a salad, breaded and deep-fried chicken breast with brown gravy, roasted white potato, mixed vegetables and a date cake with some type of very sweet syrup sauce.

On our fifty-mile return trip to Hobart we stopped at the small historic convict village of Richmond with its charming strip of sandstone buildings. It is a small town which today is mostly a tourist town including the oldest bridge and Catholic Church in Australia. The area between Hobart and Port Arthur was devastated in recent weeks (January) by a horrendous fire, which blackened miles and miles of bush land and towns. Many houses, shops and vehicles still remain heaps of ash and metal. Fifty-two lives were lost in the fires along with a large number of homes, businesses and out buildings. They are just beginning to clear some of the debris after replacing most of the telephone poles and electrical wires. No sign of rebuilding yet, with the exception of trailers brought in to replace a grade school that was destroyed in the fire.

At the sail away today, we talked with friends, the new Canadian fellas and some of the Aussie Boys, who are a delight!

The entertainer this night was a Soprano by the name of Colleen Williamson. She has a beautiful voice and performed a wide variety of music from opera to musicals.