Crossing the Equator, etc.

We crossed the equator back to the Northern Hemisphere and we had several sea days on our way to Hawaii. There was a King Neptune ceremony at the crossing and we have had fancy food displays (and eating) and a fancy "Tropical Ball" during this time.

Apia, Samoa

I took a tour of the Apia area, visited a fish market and saw the Robert Lewis Stevenson House/Museum. After the bus tour I took a taxi to see the Samoa Temple. It was a pretty quick trip. We were only in port from 8am to 3:30pm. Some people almost didn't make it back to the boat in time.

Suva, Fiji

I took a tour by narrow, wooden longboat up a river to a Fijian village. They had a traditional Kava ceremony and some singing and dancing for entertainment. The weather was highly variable. It was warm the whole time but hot sun and heavy rain alternated all day. The river had some exciting rapids and there was tropical jungle on each side.

Noumea, New Caledonia

We took a tour on the"Tchou-Tchou" (they speak French here) which is actually an open air ride on the regular roads. Anyway, we saw the sights and got back alive. I walked through the town and out to a marina where I saw a boat from Seattle. Those guys are a long way from home for a 40ft boat.

Sydney, Australia

Our ship was docked right next to the famous Sydney Opera House. On our first day we took a harbor tour and saw the sights from the water. In the evening I went to a play in the small "Playhouse" in the Opera House complex. On the second day we took a ferry across the bay to the zoo. We saw koalas, kangaroos and lots of other animals plus great views over the harbor. We also walked through some of the city streets where there was a mix of old, historic buildings and giant skyscrapers.

Melbourne, Australia

We took an old-fashoned steam train trip through the "Dandenongs" (hills outside of Melbourne). We looked over the area from the top of Mt. Dandenong and visited a bird reserve and saw some colorful birds and a kookaburra sitting in a (gum?) tree. We drove through some small towns and through part of Melbourne on the way back to the ship. In the afternoon I took the city tram downtown and saw the Queen Victoria Market, historic buildings, interesting back alleys and many outdoor restaurants.

Perth, Australia

We docked in Fremantle at 8am and sailed out at 6pm so it was a whirlwind tour of this area. We took a bus tour of Fremantle and Perth then I walked around downtown Fremantle. Next we're on to Melbourne.