We enjoyed another great nights sleep. We consider ourselves very fortunate to have had relatively calm seas for another evening since we were sailing in the Tasman Sea, better known for its rough seas.
We had a fairly early tour this morning so Keith woke up even earlier than normal and worked out for a little over an hour in the Fitness Center. He was the first in the center but not before long Mary was also in the center and John arrived a little while later. Anne Marie took a well-deserved break from the Fitness Center today.
Since we have an early tour we had breakfast delivered to our room this morning. Actually, when Keith came back from the Fitness Center the breakfast was being delivered to the room so that was perfect timing.
We wanted to mention that last evening before we went to sleep we could see another cruise ship heading in the same direction as our ship. It looked like a Princess Ship and this morning as we were making our way towards land we could see the same ship. We learned that there would be three ships in port today including our ship. When we arrived we did see the other two ships; the Sapphire Princess and the Celebrity Mercury. We sailed on the Mercury over ten years ago on a cruise of Alaska.
We saw a beautiful (and we do mean beautiful) sunrise from our room, as we were finishing up our breakfast. The temperature early in the morning was just about 60 degrees Fahrenheit. We also wanted to mention that last night when we were eating dinner we saw several porpoises (at least that is what we think they were) from our dining room table. We’ve learned that you can see quite a bit if you just pay close attention to the ocean.
After five days at sea, we arrived at our first port of call in Australia, which is known as Hobart, Australia. Hobart is part of the island-state of Tasmania. It is located between Mt. Wellington and the Derwent River. It is Australia’s second oldest capital. Its population is about 130,000 people.
The city is rich in its history and it has approximately 90 buildings with National Trust classification. Like Sydney, Hobart is also known for its nice Harbor and is recognized as having one of the most beautiful harbor cities in the world.
We enjoyed an outstanding day and tour in Hobart. Hobart and the portion of Tasmania that we saw during our daylong tour is beautiful beyond description. The countryside was amazing as we drove along winding roads and by hills and mountains with beautiful greenery all around us.
We took a shore excursion that we signed up with through Crystal called the Tassi Trek Adventure. This was a full day excursion lasting over eight hours. Normally, we sign up for excursions that are shorter in duration, but this excursion was very appealing to us.
As part of this tour, we were taken in a four-wheel drive vehicle to the interior of Tasmania. This was a full day tour, which included plenty of sightseeing as well as a nice lunch. This tour has been sold out for quite a while and only 25 people were on the tour. We thought it would provide us with a nice opportunity to see first hand several of the animals that are unique to Australia and to also see more of the inland. We were also happy that Mary was on the tour as the Crystal Representative.
We visited Bonorong Wildlife Park, which is home to Australian residents such as koalas, Tasmanian devils, wombats, kangaroos, and wallabies. Park rangers were on hand to hold and freed these very cute animals. We were able to feed some of the animals ourselves.
We also visited Mt. Field National Park, which is a World Heritage Site. It is a beautiful park offering breathtaking views for all to see. Our visit included a walk in the rainforest were we viewed the Russell Falls. During the course of our walk we saw hundreds upon hundreds of hardwood trees many of which were three to four hundred years old. We also saw various Ferns, many of which were a couple of hundred years old. . We visited the park two times once in the morning for a snack which included scones with whipped cream and jelly (yummy) and coffee/tea and then in the afternoon for our long walk in the park.
We also visited glacial Lake Dobson and Mt Tim Shea in the Florentine Valley. The views were spectacular.
Our tour included a wonderful lunch in the forestry community of Maydena Township. We enjoyed a variety of nice foods including Salmon for our entrée.
On our way back to the ship, our guide also took us around Hobart and provided us with a good deal of information about this wonderful location. Our guide was outstanding and shared lots of information with us concerning the history of Tasmania and its people and also explained to us all that we were to see and answered the numerous questions we had in great detail. We also appreciated all of his enthusiasm.
For those passengers who were not signed up for any of the tours, the ship was docked within walking distance from downtown Hobart making it very easy for those passengers to spend time in this very nice area.
Tomorrow we will cruise the Bass Strait on our way to our next port of call, Melbourne, Australia.
All in all today was an outstanding day.
Keith & Anne Marie
