Adventures of Tin Can Lulu

Part 1 .. Australia

Like most organized tours you hit the ground running. Our Road Scholar group is quite large 34, plus 3 tour leaders. Rose, Dave and Liz have done an amazing job keeping our group organized… and so far no one has been lost or left behind.

We headed off to Bondi Beach with a local guide, Jill, who shared many facts about Sydney as we toured through many neighborhoods enroute to Bondi Beach. Bondi Beach is a unique crescent shape beach with turquoise waters and white sand. It draws surfers due to its realible waves. “Between the Flags” is a local term that life guards use for the safe area for surfers. Lunch was at the local Australian Returned Services League, a community hub that supports veterans and visitors.

Day 2 we ventured to the Taronga Zoo and the Sydney Opera House. The Taronga Zoo is a government-run public zoo. We were introduced to Joeys, Dingos, Koalas and Wombats. We were excited to finally see these Australian animals live! Our guide at the Zoo pointed out various birds and fauna.

We took a ferry ride across Sydney Harbor. The views were amazing and we landed by the Sydney Opera House. Designed by Danish architect Jørn Utzon in 1957 after winning an international design competition. The Opera house was completed by an Australian architectural team headed by Peter Hall, the building was formally opened by Queen Elizabeth II in October 1973.

The roof structure is commonly referred to as “shells”, they are precast concrete panels supported by precast concrete ribs.  The roof appears uniformly white from a distance and it is actually a subtle chevron pattern composed of 1,056,006 tiles in two colors: glossy white and matte cream. The tiles were designed to be cleaned by rain naturally. There are seven performance halls/venues inside the opera house.

Day 3 we visited the historic Rocks Area and boarded the ship. The Rocks is a neighborhood of historic laneways (an Aussie term) in the shadow of Sydney Harbour. Early settlers poured into The Rocks as the area expanded and the convicts and colonists attempted to tame the wild sandstone that formed the area’s foundations. They used it to construct Sydney’s first hospital, gaol (jail) and dockyard, and to build homes for the increasing population. The Rocks was home to a busy mix of merchants, convicts and sailors, as a busy and bustling port side town. Houses densely populated the rocky topography of the area and it soon earned a reputation as a rough and tough area frequented by the underbelly of society

The remainder of the day was spent boarding our cruise ship, the Noordam, and settling in. We unpacked our suitcases and will not have to pack them up for another 12 days. Yippee!! Part of the beauty of cruising.

We spent an entire day sailing before we arrived in Melbourne. The seas were calm, and Laura survived without any motion sickness! Yeah!!

Melbourne is the largest city in Australia and the capital of Victoria.  During the gold era Melbourne possessed great wealth and many of the city’s fine buildings were built during this period of prosperity.

We toured the National Gallery of Victoria’s Australia collection, housed in the intriguing buildings that make up Melbourne’s Federation Square. A local art historian introduced us to the Gallery’s wonderful collection of Aboriginal and wider Australian art.

We did a walk about Federation Square with a local historian. He gave us the low down on the local street art (graffiti), the many older buildings in the area, and took us along the river walk. Our last place to visit was the Shrine of Remembrance, a tribute to those from Melbourne who served in the armed forces. Melbourne is definitely a bustling city and more time could be spent there exploring.

Our last stop was in Tasmania before we sail on to New Zealand. We visited a wildlife preserve whose focus was saving the Tasmanian Devil. We were up close and personal with many of the animals. Feeding the kangaroos, petting the Tasmanian Devil and Koalas was a cool experience.

Laura and animals as close as she will get!

The next three days was spent crossing the “ditch” (as the locals call it) to New Zealand. The Tasman Sea is often a treacherous part of the South Pacific. We did a lot of rock and rolling but it was all manageable and we both survived!

Next stop New Zealand.