We survived the wrath of the Tasman Sea and finally docked in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia!! YAY!!
We booked a Port Arthur Historic Site Tour and would be off our ship for eight wonderful hours. We were looking forward to getting our “land legs” back! We hopped aboard our tour bus and headed to the 19th-century penal settlement nestled on the Tasman Peninsula. The Port Arthur penal settlement is now an open-air museum and includes a huge penitentiary and the ruins of the Convict Church (which was built by inmates in 1836). We walked around the grounds, including the prison and the church site, and visited the water’s edge. We also boarded a tour boat and sailed around the Isle of the Dead, located right offshore from the penal settlement! At lunchtime, we had a nice picnic lunch outside while gazing at the massive (oddly beautiful) property. It really was a very interesting tour of the penal settlement once known as “hell on earth” to all its inmates. It gained a feared reputation because of its isolation and its formidable geography. We took great pictures of the area, and our bus driver even let us jump out at a few more locations (unofficially) on our way back to the ship so we could take some pictures of the beautiful scenic coastline.
Convict Church
Isle of the Dead
We returned to our ship to relax and get ready for another fun evening. After dinner, we watched a movie outside (Jurassic Park – Fallen Kingdom) on Deck 17. While you lay on lawn chairs watching the movie outdoors, the cruise ship staff provide you with warm blankets, serve you drinks, and hand you bags full of delicious warm popcorn. It is fun, and we try to see at least one movie “Under the Stars” while we are on board each ship we sail on.
The next day, we were going to have another day at sea…so we did all those things we like to do when we are stuck on the ship. I played Bingo, did some line dancing, walked on the Promenade Deck with my husband, checked out more areas of the ship we still had not explored, listened to tons of live music around the ship, and went to another entertaining show.
Melbourne, Australia
The next day, our ship docked at Melbourne, Australia. We booked the Puffing Billy Train & Dandenong Ranges Tour. The Puffing Billy Train is over 100 years old and is one of the world’s most popular steam railway trains. The train track still runs through the very mountainous Dandenong Ranges in Australia.
The Yarra Valley and Dandenong Ranges are best known for their renowned wine region, timber-trestle bridges, secret fern glades, and sprawling forests. We had a great time on the train and enjoyed all the fabulous scenery. Some other places you can visit while you are staying in Melbourne are: Royal Botanic Gardens, Queen Victoria Market and Federation Square. It would have been nice to stay another day or two in Melbourne; however, our ship was scheduled for one more day at sea and then, finally, Sydney, Australia (where we would disembark).
Sydney, capital of New South Wales and one of Australia's largest cities, is best known for its harbourfront Sydney Opera House, with a distinctive sail-like design. Massive Darling Harbour and the smaller Circular Quay port are hubs of waterside life, with the arched Harbour Bridge and esteemed Royal Botanic Garden nearby. Sydney Tower’s outdoor platform, the Skywalk, offers 360-degree views of the city and suburbs.
We left our home away from home (the Majestic Princess Cruise Ship) after 13 days and checked into our hotel in Sydney, Australia. We stayed three nights at the Hyatt Regency Sydney, located at 161 Sussex Street, right on Darling Harbour, near King Street Wharf, the Sea Life Sydney Aquarium, the Wild Life Sydney Zoo, Madame Tussauds, and the National Maritime Museum.
Our wonderful Travel Agent, Kathy, at Beach Travel of Treasure Island, found us a beautiful hotel right smack in the middle of all the action in Sydney!
A Premium, Waterside Retreat in Sydney
Located adjacent to Darling Harbour in Sydney's central business district, our hotel is a haven of relaxation for the business or leisure traveller. As Sydney's largest premium hotel, Hyatt Regency Sydney boasts 878 rooms, award-winning dining experiences and 4,000 square metres of flexible meeting and event space. We invite you to enjoy an unparalleled Australian getaway.
We walked every day right from our waterfront hotel, along the boardwalks, to a beautiful harborside area filled with plenty of shops, restaurants, and even a Ferris wheel! We had so many things to do and see around us; we should have stayed an extra day or two in Sydney at this hotel. It was one of the best hotel locations we have ever stayed at on all our trips, and that even includes hotels we have stayed at many times on Waikiki Beach in Honolulu and in Times Square in New York City for our 25th wedding anniversary many years ago!! We highly recommend this hotel if you ever stay in Sydney, Australia.
We took off from our hotel every day to just walk around the city of Sydney. It was a wonderful, vibrant place filled with a lot of very friendly people and tourists, all having a great time. We visited the wharf/harborside area for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and never felt anything but welcome. We took the Big Bus Hop-On/Hop-Off Tour around the city and saw many wonderful sights. The bus stopped at many areas in the city where you could get off, spend a few hours, and then get back on another bus when needed. Check the bus schedule before you purchase tickets to make sure it stops at all the locations you are interested in seeing while you are staying in Sydney. The bus tour has headphones you can purchase for very little money or, you can bring your own headphones with you and plug in to their bus speaker system. We thought it was a great way to see a lot of the city and learn a little something about the history of Sydney. Some of the stops included the Sydney Harbor Opera House, Sydney Fish Market, King St. Wharf, Chinatown, Sydney Harbor Bridge, and many more. So, if you want a pretty cheap way to see the sights in Sydney, keep this bus tour in mind.
FYI: We saw many different types of buildings in Sydney. Some were historic, and many were super modern buildings, with wood wound around the outside of the tower and many live plants hanging from all the balconies.
Cassowary Bird
Shingleback Skink
When we visited the Wild Life Zoo and the Sea Life Sydney Aquarium in the wharf area, we saw many interesting animals. Some we have never seen before in America. We saw the Tasmanian Devil, the Platypus, a very large Cassowary Bird, a Shingleback Skink, and the strange-looking Bilby.
Bilby
We also saw many Koala Bears, Kangaroos, Rock wallabies and even a white-skinned Crocodile.
Tasmanian Devil
Platypus
White-skinned Crocodile
Important Note: Four months before this trip, we went online and booked a fabulous tour. The famous Sydney Harbor Bridge Tour. Yep, we planned on climbing the bridge so we could see Sydney from the top of the Sydney Harbor Bridge! We were not young (62 and 63 years old), but we were in fairly decent shape and very determined to do this tour while we were in Sydney. So, for me (at least four months before the trip), I worked out like a maniac! Three times a day…I walked in the morning, spent a half hour to forty-five minutes on an elliptical machine in the evening, and lifted weights (especially for my arms). I was determined to get stronger and climb that awesome bridge. I even dropped additional weight to make the climb easier on me. (I really did not want to be the older woman that could not finish the tour!!) So, finally, it was time to show the world (and myself) that I could climb that fabulous bridge at 62 years old! (FYI: The bridge looked a lot bigger in person than it did in any pictures I had ever seen!! LOL!!)
Beyond the ordinary
So, on the second day that we were in Sydney, Australia, the time had come to climb the Sydney Harbor Bridge! We ate a good breakfast and then rode a bus to the tour area at the base of the bridge. My heart was pounding (with excitement, of course!) when I got a real good look at the bridge up close. It was huge! Oh well…Let the Adventure Begin!! We went inside the tour office and checked in early…they told us that they would be with us soon so we could get our outfits for the climb and go through the obstacle course (a course they put you through to see just how much in shape you really are!) and, to go over the rules regarding the bridge climb. So, I did what any female person would do with all that extra time…I shopped in their gift shop for all those wonderful gifts I just had to have!! LOL!!
We passed the fitness test (YAY!) and then changed into our “official” blue and gray bridge climbing outfits and gear. FYI: You are not allowed to wear any jewelry, watches, sunglasses, your own hats, your own clothes, or take a camera or cell phone with you on the tour. They explained that you climb an active bridge with six lanes of traffic (and a train track) below, and they want to make sure that nothing drops and/or falls onto the cars (and trains) as you climb the bridge! (Makes perfect sense to me!!) So, we had their hats on (that you get to keep after the tour), their headphones (that were also attached to our outfit that you return to them after the tour), and harnesses you use to attach to the safety line and the rest of the people going on the tour in your group. We had 14 people (hooked together) on our tour.
The scenery from the top of the bridge is totally amazing and you even get to see the Sydney Harbor Opera House right next to you in the harbor below. The tour company takes pictures of you when you reach the top of the bridge, and you can buy those pictures at the end of your tour. The pictures are not expensive, and they are perfect memories of your climb up (and back down) the Sydney Harbor Bridge! We loved this tour and highly recommend you book it (at least 4 months ahead of time) if you plan to visit beautiful Sydney, Australia!
It was finally time to leave Sydney and fly to Honolulu, Hawaii (our next stop). We sadly said goodbye to the beautiful Land Down Under and boarded our flight to Honolulu at 9:30 p.m. on a Thursday night. It was about a 9-hour flight to Hawaii, and we slept most of the way. We woke up when the plane was landing in Honolulu at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday morning. Yes, I did say Thursday morning (the same day as yesterday)!! We gained a whole day during our flight and arrived 12 hours before we left Sydney the day before!! That International Date Line is totally amazing!
So, we had a whole day in Sydney before our late evening flight, and then we had another whole day (another Thursday) in Honolulu, Hawaii!! We felt great and set out to explore another Thursday on Waikiki!! YAY!! The best two Thursdays in a row we have ever had! LOL!! (Come to think of it, it was the only two Thursdays in a row we have ever had!!) One in Sydney and one in Waikiki!! Life IS Great!!
We did run around Waikiki for three days and visited many ABC Stores on the island (LOL)! ABC Stores are like some Starbucks in big downtown areas…They are on every corner!! We also ate at some great restaurants in Waikiki. We also enjoyed all the beautiful sunsets every evening on Waikiki Beach and even went to a Waikiki Festival that was right near our hotel! We visited Diamond Head on a trolley, where we ate fresh pineapple from a pineapple stand at the base of Diamond Head (our tour guide bought the pineapple for us! He was a very nice guy!!). We have visited the beautiful State of Hawaii five times in our lifetime (so far) and have always enjoyed every minute we are there!
Diamond Head
We said ALOHA to beautiful Hawaii and headed to Las Vegas, Nevada for two nights!! We have been to Las Vegas many times in our lifetime (more than I can count!) LOL! As I have said in other BLOGS, Las Vegas is a great destination to fly to, so you can visit many wonderful National Parks in the Western portion of America. You can find many flights, especially from Tampa International Airport, that are non-stop (which I always love) to Las Vegas. And, sometimes, you can even find some flights at a discounted price compared to flying to other destinations out West. It is also VEGAS, baby!! A very fun town to spend a day or two! We stayed at the Golden Nugget Hotel on Freemont Street…yes, I know that it is a very interesting area to stay at while you are in Las Vegas. (Just be ready to see everything and anything imaginable on Freemont Street!) We love the overhead music video screens, the live bands, overhead ziplining, the container park, and all the craziness in that area of Vegas. And, most importantly, the hotels are cheaper there than on the Las Vegas Strip! Don’t get me wrong, we love hotels on “The Strip” too, and, in past years, we have stayed at many of them…But, after 27 days of vacation…we felt like ending this vacation trip with a few crazy nights on Freemont Street! LOL!!
Waikiki
High-rise hotels line the shore in Waikiki, a vibrant neighborhood known for its popular surf beach. Designer fashion stores line Kalakaua Avenue and nearby streets, and the area buzzes after dark with waterside cocktail bars, fine dining and Kuhio Beach hula shows. Honolulu Zoo is home to Komodo dragons and wandering peacocks, while parrotfish and urchins inhabit Waikiki Aquarium’s reef exhibit.
We left after a few days in Las Vegas and then headed home. After this wonderful (and crazy) whirlwind 29-day vacation trip, we realized something really important. We were still happily married!! (Awesome!!) Let’s hear a big hooray for that!! All kidding aside, we had a fabulous time. I really think we need to start planning another great (29+ day) vacation trip real soon!!
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