Fellette, Jim and Gail ventured out today, leaving Doug at home to nurse his horrible sore throat/cough. And so today, the author of the blog has been usurped by the healthy person in the cabin. All photos are compliments of Jim.
We headed into town on the shuttle bus at 8:30, arriving at the quay side at 9:15 to catch a ferry to the popular Darling Harbour. There are many exciting things to do and see over there, and we were headed to the indoor zoo that features almost all the strange animals that live Down-under.
On the short ferry ride we passed the Opera House (some of our ship mates attended the opera Carmen last night). Under the famous bridge that we climbed last time we were here. Then a stop at the amusement park, but we didn't get off as we had no grand-kids with us to have a barrel of fun with.
By 10:00, we were on our way through an excellent presentation of all the creepy crawlies and unusual animals that inhabit this expansive continent that was cutoff from the rest of the world for such a long time that many of her animals are unique to this country. It has the dubious honour of having more highly poisonous snakes and spiders than any other place on the planet. One of the photos shows such a creature if you can see it amongst the vegetation. My favourite was a tree frog that looked as tho' it were gilded with real gold. Koalas (they're NOT bears), kangaroos, wallabies , wombats, a croc, and we even got a peak at a Tasmanian Devil that was fast asleep in its cave with a wee one.
By 11:30 we were ready to head out and start a search for food. Gyros at the food fair in the Darling Harbour Mall renewed our strength sufficiently to begin the long march back to our shuttle bus stop. In one of the many booths we passed we saw a bunch of couples hugging each other? 'What's going on here?' asked Jim. They are attempting to break a Guinness Book Record for hugging which is now at 22.5 hours. They're trying for 24 hours. They looked pretty tired and they were only 1/2 way through the allotted time.
We had a plan to drop into a craft store to purchase some yarn to keep our hands busy on sea days. I found some that I'll crochet into a baby blanket to be donated to the 'knitters circle' that meets daily at sea. There are dozens of quilts being made and will be given to a worthy cause that the Holland America Line supports. Gail didn't find any thing that took her fancy tho', so we may have to search out another shop when we get to Brisbane.
It was a long hike back, dodging frantic downtown workers rushing back to their offices after lunch. Fortunately we were on the shady side of the street and a lovely breeze wafted through the sky-scrappers. As we approached the appointed meeting point, a cool shuttle bus pulled up and by 2:30 we were once again safely ensconced on our floating home.
Doug was feeling better than he was when we left, but he still has no voice to speak of (or with).
No comments:
Post a Comment