World Cruise #11

 World Cruise 2018 #11,  Aug 4, 2018 

So, we made it to our next stop, Kangaroo Island, on time in spite of the storm.  It’s an island five or ten miles off the shore of mainland Western Australia, with ferry service.  It’s not terribly populated and the people there have this great island mentality and are independent as all get out.  And they help one another and don’t have police and it’s very cool there. 

We had no plans but there was a tour bus sitting there when we got off the ship that looked interesting....so we got on.  We had heard somewhere that there were no kangaroos on Kangaroo Island but that was not the case.  We had a delightful tour guide that told us all about island life in this remote place and she also knew where the kangaroos were to be found.  It was a bit cloudy so it was more likely that we would see them.  We did. 

 Our first stop on the tour was at a beach on the Southern Ocean where there were lots of seals, and it was very beautiful.  Seals don’t do much for me, as I’ve seen so many all my life, but the setting was exceptional.  That done, we next visited a eucalyptus farm that had lots of eucalyptus products for sale and animals.  They made a hard cider I tried and enjoyed.  There was a wallaby rescue operation and boy were they cute, especially the baby.  They were feeding it out of a bottle.  

The kangaroos were wild and all over the place.  I guess there are so many that they hunt them for population control and some are eaten.  I understand that Australia is the only place on earth where they eat their national animal.  Someone said that....haven’t Googled it but it’s kinda funny.  We actually had some later and it tastes like chicken, just like everything else weird. 

We made a stop on the way back to the ship at a beautiful beach, again, it’s the Southern Ocean and a wild and wonderful place.  Gorgeous. Another stop with a magnificent view of the Amsterdam and back to the ship. 

The next day we arrived early at Adelaide, which is a fairly large city.  The ship docked about 20 miles or so from the town and there was a train station right there that took you in to see the sights.  It’s only $10 for a day pass that you can use for any public transportation available, including in the city.....a good deal.  

It was about a fifty minute ride because it stopped at so many little towns on the way but it’s always fun to see the sights in a place you’ve never visited. The city had beautiful buildings and seemed quite large.  We took a tram down to the marketplace near Victoria Square which was large and interesting.  It turned into Chinatown about half way through the market and I could have spent hours there.  

We decided that we wanted to eat lunch and our preference is a place where we can be waited on and have a beer.  Strange that we could not find a place that fit the bill.....and we tried hard.  We finally settled on this dark, mostly empty restaurant with sticky floors and had some calamari.  Still don’t know where the restaurants are hiding in Adelaide.  

Joyce went back to the ship earlier than I, but mostly all I did was make a phone call to Mike before heading back myself.  He told me that our neighbor, Steve, says that there are wallaby’s on Kauai!!!  Who knew??? 

 The time we’re spending on the ship is half the fun and our circle of friends is growing all the time.  Some people we ate dinner with very early in the trip, Richard and Ann and Cynthia and Robin, have finally been the two couples that we run into much of the time after not seeing them for a month or so.  They became good friends with one another since we all had our first dinner together and they’re having a ball..... which we are included in when we happen to meet up.  There is talk of us having dinner with them some night as they are now regular dinner partners.  

Richard and Ann are Canadians and Cynthia and Robin are from Australia.  I think the two guys are twin sons from a different mother....lol.  We’re spending more and more time with “the boys”, Marshall and Don, playing cards and dice and sharing meals.  After dinner, it is my habit to go and listen to Jamm, the piano bar guy, for a half hour or so before it’s time for the late show at 10pm.  

Joyce usually has other plans, so I meet up with Marshall and Don and then I go sit up front and center in the showroom near Candie and Kathy.  No one sits up front, but I love it, because isn’t that where you sit if you can afford the tickets for any play or music venue?  And you can take photos with no heads in the way.  And everyone says that the entertainer will call on you is you sit there, to get involved in the show.  Not true.  They think that is why you sit there so they never call on you.  

I got called one time on this 113 day cruise and I was sitting in the third row.  It was a local show in one of the cities we visited and they had a bunch of us get up and dance.  Love the front row.  Kathy sat behind me in the second row and Candie had her place just off center.  Sometimes I sat with one or the other of them...it was fun. All those people sitting up in the balcony, so they can sneak out if they don’t like the show, don’t know what they’re missing.  The astronomer is very interesting and suggested a movie called “The Dish” which is about the satellite dish he was in charge of in Tasmania and wound up being “The Dish” that was used for communication with the astronauts for the moon landing.  Haven’t done so yet but it’s on the list. Sip and Savor is becoming better and better as we get to know one another and have additional people show up from time to time.  We’re enjoying specialty dinners and I know I’m gaining weight! Who wouldn’t on a four month cruise? 

 More soon, Gayle