Adelaide -- Welcome to South Australia

February 8, 2013, in port Adelaide, Australia:  Turner from the Tate.

We docked in the Outer Harbor, Port of Adelaide at 8:00am and took the ship's shuttle bus into the city center area (Rundle Mall).  Escaping the shuttle bus, we walked to Victoria Square and the Central Market.

 The Silversea Shuttle Bus, aka School Bus

"I tell you, some people go to school forever.  Look how old this bunch is!"

 Victoria Square, Adelaide's Center Point

From left, clockwise -- Central Post Office, Australian and Aboriginal Flags, and Three Rivers Fountain.

Central Market, Adelaide

A feast for all the senses - eyes, nose and stomach.  Is the stomach a sense?

Leaving the market, we walked along King William Street, admiring the urban architecture of an uncongested city.  Crossing through Rundle Mall, the main shopping district, we met the pigs.

 Street Scenes and Architecture, Adelaide

Adelaide is a city where you would have to work at getting hit by a car.

The Pigs of Rundle Mall

It seems appropriate that statues of pigs should be at the Mall.  (However, only the Aussies would put them there!)

Not wanting to return to the ship quite so early, we walked along North Terrace, where many public buildings and monuments are sited.  Not to mention the Adelaide Casino!   We stopped in the coffee shop of the South Australian Museum to get out of the sun and have a coffee before continuing on to the Art Gallery of South Australia.   Serendipidously, the high point of our day in Adelaide occurred here:  Viewing the "Turner from the Tate" exhibition, which included over 100 of J. M. W. Turner's paintings.  It was the exhibition's opening day.

Museums and Monuments

From top left, clockwise:  South Australian Museum, Migration Museum, Robert Burns Statue, Capt. Charles Sturt Plaque, ANZAC (WWI) South Australian National War Memorial.

The Art Gallery of South Australia

The person in the funny hat looking lost in front of the museum is who (hint E)?

Exhibition Ticket

Well worth every cent of the A$25 entrance fee, and you get this lovely ticket.

J.M.W. Turner - Peace -- Burial at Sea, 1842

One of the paintings in the exhibit.  For more, go to artgallery.sa.gov.au/turner

After about two hours viewing the exhibition, we were "cultured out," and returned to Rundle Mall for a "lunch" consisting of an immense amount (est. 5,000 calories) of delicious gelato.  Then, we waddled  to the Silversea shuttle bus.  Back on board, we had nice naps, disguised as reading our books, played team trivia, and watched the Silver Whisper depart for Albany in Western Australia.

Melbourne -- Australia's Other Big City

February 6, 2013, in port Melbourne, Australia:  A Tram to the Treasury.

Silver Whisper docked at Station Pier, Port Melbourne at 8:00am.  We went ashore about 9:30am and walked about 500 yards to the 109 Tram Stop.  Before boarding the tram, we had to buy a tourist day pass in the Cruise Ship Terminal.  Tram conductors do not accept cash, and the automatic ticket takers only recognize special key cards.

Sunrise Over Port Phillip Bay

This was the view on J's morning walk.

 Melbourne from Port Phillip Bay

Cities always look their best from a distance.

Packed into a very crowded tram, and riding for 20 minutes into downtown Melbourne, we reached our tram stop and stepped down onto the sidewalk.  Our intended destination was the Old Treasury Building Museum.  This museum records and displays the history of Melbourne from its founding until the 20th Century.  Currently, there were nine major exhibits, including Early Melbourne, Ned Kelly, Criminals, Victorian Democracy, Built on Gold and others.  Photography was not allowed in the Museum,  so if you want graphics you will have to go to www.oldtreasurybuilding.org.au.  We spent an interesting two hours viewing the exhibits.

Old Treasury Building Museum

The building was used to store the gold from the Victoria gold fields.  (We didn't find any!)

After leaving the museum, we walked around the central portion of the city.   Melbourne is an interesting mixture of 19th, 20th, and 21st Century architecture.

Central Melbourne Buildings along Collins and Flinders Street

Many types of architecture in a relatively small area.  The yellow one is Flinders Street Station.

Collins and Flinders Street in Central Melbourne

The building with the pointy bits is St. Paul's Cathedral.

Exterior and Interior Banking Chamber, Commercial Bank of Australia

From Plaque: "Built in 1891-93 from a design by architects Llyod Taylor and Alfred Dunn, this is one of the finest examples of Victorian Classicism...." 

By the time we finished walking along Flinders and Collins Streets in downtown Melbourne, it was after 12:00pm and was becoming extremely hot.   Deciding that we had seen the "elephant," we walked to the nearest tram stop for our return trip to the ship.   At 10:00pm that night, we sailed for Adelaide, Australia.

February 7, 2013, en route to Adelaide, Australia:  Crossing the Australian Byte.

We sailed west from Melbourne, crossing the Australian Byte.   Weather remained clear and hot.  The sea, however, was anything but glassy, with about a five-foot-long-interval swell.  This is a large enough swell to make many passengers uncomfortable.  But, it is a ship, and we are at sea.

Sydney, Land of Bridges and an Opera House

February 4, 2013, in port Sydney, Australia:  Visiting the Plants.

At 7am, we passed through the Heads and entered Sydney Harbor.  For the next hour, we watched one of the most beautiful cities and its harbor unfold before us.  At 8am, we docked at Wharf 5 in Darlington Harbor.

The Heads -- Entering Sydney Harbor

The head with the lighthouse is a favorite spot for suicides.

Sydney from Sydney Harbor

Would Capt. Phillips believe this?

Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbor Bridge

Sydney's two most familiar icons.

 Docking at Wharf 5, Darington Harbor

A new cruise terminal was under construction, so we got the tents.  They were airconditioned.

After breakfast, we took the shuttle bus into downtown Sydney, near Circular Quay, and began our self-guided city tour by walking through downtown to the Royal Botanic Garden.

Walking Tour -- Downtown City Street Scenes

From the shuttle bus stop to the Royal Botanic Garden is ALL up hill -- pant, pant.

Sydney Royal Botanic Garden

Tropical Center (central image of collage)

Close-ups, Royal Botanic Garden

Love the bird.  "This is my lawn and you stay off it!"

Inside the Tropical Center, Royal Botanic Garden

It's like going to the rainforest without the mud and rain.

Two hours of walking in the gardens and visiting the Tropical Center was about all the natural history we could stand in one day.  We found the street;  walked past the Art Gallery of New South Wales and the St. Mary's Cathedral; crossed Hyde Park; and continued to the Queen Victoria Building for a coffee.  Finishing our coffee and a treat, we returned to the shuttle bus stop and back to the ship.

Sydney Street Scenes -- Art Gallery of New South Wales, St. Marys Cathedral and Hyde Park

Yes, Hyde Park, and all this time you thought it was in London.

At 6pm, the dreaded lifeboat drill, now required for ALL passengers at every port where the ship embarks new passengers, was held.  This is another example of training for something that will not happen as you have trained for it.  And, putting ~300 overweight, overage, old farts on deck in a crisis will probably kill them before they get in the lifeboats.

Silver Whisper sailed for Melbourne via the Bass Strait at 7pm.  All of us felt quite "secure" after the lifeboat drill.


February 5, 2013, en route Melbourne, Australia:  Through the Bass Strait.

The one-day sail from Sydney to Melbourne was uneventful.  There were some swells, but nothing like the wave sizes that were predicted by "expert" cruisers on the ship.  We had a quiet day and attended a wonderful lecture by Lynne Truss, author of "Eats, Shoots & Leaves:  A Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation."  Lynne's lecture inspired E to select the book for her book club in June, after we return to Kona.

Hobart, Port Arthur and Across the Bass Strait

February 2, 2013, in port Hobart and anchored off Port Arthur, Tasmania Australia:  J and E Go To the Penal Station

Sunrise Over Storm Bay, Tasmania, Australia

The things you see on your morning walk -- providing you can open your eyes.

Hobart, Tasmania, Australia

We didn't see much of Hobart; onto the tour bus, which left immediately for Port Arthur.

 St. John's Church, Richmond, Tasmania

First Catholic Church in Tasmania.

(Counter clockwise):  Richmond Bridge, Gaol, Historic Building, Candy Factory

We were very fond of the candy factory.

Between Richmond and Port Arthur, a major wild fire had occured about two-weeks before our visit.  For approximately 30 miles along the roadside, the burned-out landscapes were visible, with some areas still smouldering.

Wild Fire Scenes Along Route A9 from Sorell to Eaglehawk Neck

Some areas were still smouldering, and almost all structures were burned to the ground.

We arrived at Port Arthur Historic Site at about 11:30am and went immediately to lunch.  Always, food first!  The Port Arthur Historic Site contains the physical remains of Australia's history as a British penal colony in the 18th and 19th Centuries.  Established in 1830 as the Port Arthur Penal Station, by the time it closed in 1877, the station contained 32 separate structures, including penitentiaries, staff quarters, and all elements of a town for more than 2,000 persons.

Port Arthur Historic Site, The Penitentiary (1857)

Abandoned and largely collapsed, this structure was the largest on the site.

The separate prison was an experiment in penal correction.  Through isolation, silence and contemplation, convicts were to be reformed.  A prisoner spent 23 hours a day in a solitary cell where he (there were no women) slept, ate, and worked.  He was given one-hour a day alone in an exercise yard.

Interior Views, Separate Prison (1847), Restored 2007

No exterior views; J forgot to take any.

The Separate Prison Chapel

The prisoner could only see the preacher, no inmates.  Maybe that was a reason to reform!

Port Arthur Historic Site

Clockwise from upper left:  The Asylum (1868), The Penitentiary (1846),  Guard Tower (1835), Entrance to The Penitentiary,  Soldiers' Memorial Avenue (1918).

Gravestones, The Isle of the Dead

Between 1833 and 1837, ~1,100 prisioners, military and civil officers, and their familes were buried on the island.  - People were just dying to get to this island!

Government Gardens, Port Arthur Historic Site

Just the spot for a quiet walk with memsahib and the little sahibs.

The Church, Port Arthur Historic Site

The church was built with prison labor, but the holies got to arguing who could do what and to whom; therefore, the church was never consecrated.

The Silver Whisper, The Jetty, and the Tender

Silver Whisper made its way to Carnarvon Bay and anchored to retrieve weary tourists from a day at the Port Arthur Penal Station.  Guess they weren't taking new inmates.

February 3, 2013 en route to Sydney, Australia:  Hobart to Sydney -- Crossing the Bass Strait

The entire day was spent at sea tracing (backwards) the route of the famous Sydney-to-Hobart yacht race.  Luckily, the weather and sea state were kind.  There were neither monstrous waves nor high winds.  Tomorrow morning:  The Heads, The Opera House and The Bridge of Sydney Harbor.

New Zealand Sounds & Tasman Sea

January 30, 2013 en route Hobart, Tasmania, Australia – Transiting New Zealand Fiordland

Leaving Dunedin, Silver Whisper cruised around the southern end of South Island during the night of 29/30 January, and early on the morning of 30 January, we entered Dusky Sound.  From 8:30am to 11:00am, we toured the sound from the ship.

Entering Dusky Sound

Wonderful scenery for a morning walk.

Dusky Sound is one of a number of fiords along the southwest coast of New Zealand that make up Fiordland National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Area.  It was named by Capt. James Cook in 1770 when he sailed past the entrance at dusk.   Later (1775), he returned and spent two months charting and mapping the sound.  The sound extends ~18 miles into the mountains, with the surrounding shoreline a spectacular landscape of sheer 4,000 ft. cliffs, waterfalls and mountain peaks.  The sound contains several large islands.

Landscapes of Dusky Sound

For those less impressed by landscapes, Dusky Sound is the first place beer was brewed in New Zealand by Cook's crew (Sailors will be sailors!).

Viewing these rugged landscapes worked up a voracious appetite; and the ship's culinary staff prepared a magnificent buffett (galley lunch), with specialty dishes from all countries represented on the galley staff.   You gain about two pounds just looking at the selections, especially the desserts.

A Vegetable Koi Pond -- Galley Lunch

Some people will go to any lengths to get you to eat vegetables.

After lunch, we continued north along the west coast of New Zealand.  From the ship, you could see mountain-top glaciers and snow fields, which had not melted even though it was mid-summer.

Glaciers and Snow Fields, West Coast of New Zealand

What a chilling sight!

At about 4:00pm, we entered Milford Sound, named for Milford Haven (a town in Wales) by John Grono, a sealer captain in 1812.  The Sound is 8 miles long and consists of striking mountain and water landscapes, including the 5,560ft. Mitre Peak and the 520ft. Bowen Falls.

Milford Sound Peaks, Glaciers and Snow Fields

It looks cold, icy cold up there.

Bowen Falls, Milford Sound -- Various Views

Some people consider waterfalls VERY photogenic.

Sheer Cliff and Narrow Passages, Milford Sound

Wouldn't this be great fun in a sailing ship?

During the ship's tour of Milford Sound, we played trivia and our team won, as usual.  Those wins are not necessarily because of the team's combined knowledge or memory, but because of our so-called "lucky" team hats.

 Lucky Trivia Hat with Team Logo

"The Pirates of Corsaro" in honor Capt. Corsaro of M/V Silver Whisper

At 6:30pm, just at dusk, we departed Milford Sound and headed westward for our two-day crossing of the Tasman Sea.


January 31 and February 1, 2013 en route Hobart, Tasmania, Australia – Across the Tasman Sea

The Tasman Sea, which is situated between the Southern Ocean and the Coral Sea, links New Zealand and Australia.  It is notorius for upsetting cruise passengers and turning them that strange shade of gray-green that says, "I am not a happy cruiser."  This crossing to Hobart, Australia was not as bad as it could have been, but more than a few of our fellow passengers were green at the gills by the second day.

Also, to show Silversea's special appreciation for World Cruise participants, a Caviar and Champagne Breakfast was held in our honor on January 31.  This was great planning.  Nothing is better for that gray-green color than a little caviar and champagne.  It comes up so easily!  Anyway, the Tasman cooperated, and the swells were not so bad.  They would get much worse as we neared Tasmania.  Maybe it was the spirits of Tasmanian devils and tigers, driven to extinction by European settlement, acting up.  Who knows.  Whatever the cause (more likely, meteorological), by the night of February 1, as swells increased to over 10 feet, the vast majority of the ship's passengers and a good number of the ship's crew were praying for an early landfall and calm seas.

South Island Ports --Port Chalmers (Dunedin)

January 29, 2013 in port Port Chalmers, New Zealand – Welcome to Edinburgh in the South Pacific

We arrived in Port Chalmers, the port for Dunedin, at 7:00am.  On the pier next to the ship was a passenger train of the Taieri Gorge Railway, taking a large tour group from the ship to Taieri Gorge and Pukerangi.

Port Chalmers, New Zealand

Taieri Gorge Railway Tourist Train – As if the tourist buses were not enough.

We did not take the train tour.  Having done it before in 2007, we went into the city of Dunedin, about a 15-minute, tour-bus ride from the ship.  Dunedin is called the "Edinbugh of New Zealand," and you see why as soon as you step off the bus at the Octogon, the eight-sided town square in the heart of Dunedin.  Its architecture and construction materials are very much like Edinburgh, without the kilts.  The city is full of well-preserved Victorian and Edwardian public buildings.

Welcome to Dunedin - Town Hall and Robert Burns Statue

I don't know how we got to Edinburgh, but there is Robbie on a pedestal.

Dunedin Street Scenes

Rush hour is so stressful here.  Penguins, what penguins?

St. Paul's Anglican Cathedral

Thus begins the stairway to heaven or the descent to hell.  

Depends if you are at the bottom or top.

Interior St. Paul's Anglican Cathedral

Great organ and stained glass.  Not so sure about the altar cross.

Dunedin Railway Station -- Example of Anglo Saracen Architecture, Circa 1906

Now, only the Taieri Gorge Tourist Train stops here, sadly.

Dunedin Railway Station Interior - Tiles, Mosaics, and Stained Glass

Regretfully, they are having problems with vagrants!  (Note: E, J and Jon Fleming!)  

Lower frame by Tracy Fleming.

ANZAC Memorial Garden, Dunedin

Somehow, a garden seems more appropriate to commemorate the fallen than an obelisk.

First Presbyterian Church, Dunedin

What do we have here?  Christians playing "mine is bigger than yours"?

Stained Glass Windows.  Interior, First Presbyterian Church, Dunedin

Presbyterian versus Anglican sounds like Scotland versus England.

Returning to the ship shortly after noon, we sailed for Hobart, Australia via Dusty and Milford Sounds on the West Coast of the South Island.