On our second day in Sydney, we book an independent tour to visit the Blue Mountains with our friends Sharon and Gerry. We begin the tour with a visit to the Featherdale Animal Sanctuary, which has the world’s largest collection of Australian native wildlife. We begin touring the park by visiting “Kangaroo Island”, where we get “close and personal” with the ‘roos. Later, we see the Tasmania Devil, a pair of Dingos, our favorite Koala, and of course, the Echidna. It is a great start to a what we expect to be a fabulous tour!
After visiting the animal sanctuary, we head up to Scenic World, a “nature park” where we can view the ancient Three Sisters rock formation. We begin by taking the skyway to a lookout point, where we have a fabulous view of the Three Sisters. Next, we hike down a nature trail before arriving at one of the park’s biggest attraction – the steepest passenger train in the world. You can see Melanie sitting on a replica of it before we take the real thing up to the top again!
After visiting the park, we head to Echo Point Lookout, where we take some creative pics. What a great day!
Day 57 – March 2 – Sydney Day 3
Today is a big day – the Sydney “Carnivale” Parade! Captain G. has agreed to stay in port late so we can attend the parade. We do have time in the day to head out for some more city sightseeing, so off we go!
We visit Chinatown before going to the massive “Market City” – an indoor market selling anything one could want. We’re looking to pick up some fun items to wear to the parade. We end up with some sparkly mouse ears.
The parade was a lot of fun, and we had a great place on the front of the curb to stand. Arriving back at the ship around 11:00PM we learn that Azamara had put out a special buffet spread for us. They are the greatest!
After having a “light?” snack from the buffet, we head up to the top open deck as the ship departs Sydney. Goodbye Sydney – until next year!
Day 59 – March 4 – Mooloolaba, Australia
Our next port is Mooloolaba, Australia. In case any one is interested, the accent is on the second syllable, as the Australians onboard frequently told us. We arranged for transportation from Azamara to take us to a nearby town – Noosa Head. There we found a lovely coastal path in the National Park, which we hiked. We turned around when we reached “Devils Kitchen” – there were certainly no swimmers in that area! On the way back, we saw several pods of dolphins. Back in Mooloolaba, we ran into our friends Paul, John and Wally while waiting for the tender to take us back to the ship.
Day 60 – March 5 – Sea Day
Today we had the privilege of being invited to tour the Bridge with Captain G. It was very very interesting.
Day 61 – March 6 – Arlie Beach, Australia
We arrive at Arlie Beach today, the gateway to the Whitsunday Islands and the Great Barrier Reef. It was an easy day, beginning with a leisurely walk along the beach boardwalk. We admired the artwork along the way, on the boardwalk and in the parks.
Later, we visited a church which had stained glass windows that depicted the story of creation. It was very interesting as it depicted the story beginning with a picture of what I would interpret as the “Big Bang”, and continued on to depict evolution. It was very progressive and enlightening!
Day 63 – March 8 – Cairns
Continuing on with our coastal stops, we next visit Cairns. As we had been to Cairns in previous years diving the Great Barrier Reef, we decided to snorkel on this trip. We visited Green Island, where the water wasn’t the best for snorkeling, but we did enjoy a glass bottom boat ride.
Day 65 – March 10 – Alotau, Papua New Guinea
We have an outside excursion booked today, with around 11 other Azamara guests. We begin at the primary school, and even though it’s Sunday, and school is not in session, many of the students and teachers show up for us – even in uniform! We learn that the children attend this school through the 8th grade, but then have to take a long boat ride to a different village to attend high school. Many of us contributed school supplies that we had purchased in Cairns, and the children had made woven baskets for us to take as gifts. It was heartwarming!
A visit to one of the local cultural villages is next on the agenda. As we enter the village, local men greet us with drums and chants, as they escort us up the path to the main area of the village. We have local dancing, and local craft demonstrations – coconut collecting, chipping wood for kindling, and grass weaving. The children were the big stars of the day!
Day 67 – March 12 – Madang, PNG
Today is a very busy day. First, we have our “Azamazing Evening”, which on this leg, is being held during the day. We are transported by bus to a cultural show, which is phenomenal! There are approximately ten groups – each representing a different cultural area in Papua New Guinea. They perform their local music and dances. The best thing about this presentation was that it is not a “sit down” event, where we just watch the performances, but actually walk around the grounds and interact with the dancers as they performed. Lots of fun was had by all!
We are welcomed to the event with a “reed” sign! Before entering the grounds, we stroll through the local art market. Yes, we did buy some masks, and have our pictures taken with the local artists.
After returning to the ship, we have a special meal – organized by one of our new friends, Robin. It is an Indonesian-Indian meal – the Indian part being prepared by the Head Chef, who is Indian, and the Indonesian part being prepared by his Head Sous-Chef, who is Indonesian. One of our favorite servers, Joe, dressed in his native India clothes as well.
March 15 – Day 70 – Koror, Palau
We go diving again today in Palau – a location that has been on our bucket list for some years now. The area lived up to our very high expectations – the diving was spectacular!
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March 17 – Day 72 – Sea Day – St. Paddy’s Day
Today is St. Paddy’s Day, and as it is a sea day, we have an organized Pub Crawl. We visit four of the ship’s bars, and at the last stop, the ship’s “choir”- made up entirely of guests – entertain us with some Irish songs. Most guests wore green, and some even had some creative accessories!
March 18/19 – Day 73/74 – At Sea
Our original schedule planned for us to be in Manilla on March 19, but we had to make an unexpected stop in Cebu, Philippines to fill the ship with fuel. Fortunately, we made it there before we ran out of gas! The upside is that we have two more sea days to rest, which we do need as the tour days can be exhausting!
March 20 – Day 75 – Manilla, Philippines
One of our friends, John, organizes an external tour today for nine of us. Our first stop is Intramuros, “The Walled City,” which is the oldest district in Manila. This is what remains of the fortified city, which was the seat of power during Spanish Colonial times.
Later, we visit Fort Santiago, a museum and public park was built as a stone fortress at the turn of the 17th century and marked the beginning of the walled city’s riverside barricades.
We end the tour with a visit to Destileria Limtuaco, the country’s oldest distillery for spirit tasting. (There seems to be a theme of us always ending our day on shore in a bar!)
Day 76 – March 21 – Sea Day
Another unexpected sea day, as it took longer than expected to sail to Hong Kong. We’re disappointed that we will lose one day in Hong Kong, but the good news is that we have good food, good wine, top shelf cocktails, professional entertainment and many onboard friends to share it with! Stay tuned as we begin the next leg in Hong Kong!
