Day 01 - 09/26 - Sydney to Canberra

We woke up to the first announcements of our arrival in Sydney. I had wanted to get up early and watch the sail in, but our arrival would be in the near dark and since we didn't have to disembark until 9-9:30, it became another chance at 40 winks. Around 8am we arose and ate our last breakfast this cruise. We said our goodbyes to a few fellow passengers before taking a last tour around deck 12 to snap a few photos.

Right at 9am, our RED3 disembarkation number and color were called and we disembarked, went through immigration with a very friendly agent, gathered our luggage and passed through customs and began the short walk to the light rail station opposite the ferry terminal which was at the end of the pier the Maasdam was berthed at.



We had saved our OPAL cards from 3 years ago and those were still valid and had more than enough value on them for us to take the light rail to Central Station. At Central station we walked over to Track 4 where our train to Canberra was departing from. About 50 minutes before departure, we were able to board the train and drop our luggage off in the first class section we had booked our seats into. Here's a tip for traveling on trains in Australia: book into first class as you get a reserved seat with more leg room and a steeper tilt plus a few other benefits. The cost is been not that much greater over economy.

Our train departed on time and arrived on time in Canberra 4 hours later. Along the way we stopped at a number of towns we had never heard of and some that we couldn't even pronounce. Most were painted the same mauve red and pale yellow and many of the towns had a vintage 1930's look to them. Near Canberra, Angela spotted a couple of kangaroos in a field which really excited her.

After deboarding the train, we used our UBER app to summon a rideshare to our IBIS Styles hotel which was nearby. We checked in and noted a large number of kids from schools at the hotel. We ate a light dinner in the 203 Restaurant in the hotel (a chili-like soup without the beans and it was very good along with a couple pieces of 'Cheeky Chicken' and fries).

Later I fell asleep watching TV at 8pm. So much for staying up. We have a full day of visiting the Australian War Memorial tomorrow. Stay tuned.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Day 13 - 10/08 - Launceston - Day 4

Image
On our final full day in Tasmania, Lana & Lindsay took us on a several hundred kilometer drive through the NE Tasmanian countryside. We made our first stop at the Sideling Lookout which provided terrific views of the Tasman Highway and surrounding countryside including Flinders Island in the far off distance. Our second stop was at an Amish Farm (Springfield Farm Tearoom) for morning tea and a chance to shop for local sewed items and sewing kits. A little ways further we stopped at the Springfield Farm, another Amish Farm and chatted with the owners. Three weeks ago they lost a 2 month old baby born with trisonomy . Angela was able to share with the wife her cousin's life of raising a child afflicted with that genetic defect. The woman was full of faith even in her grief. We continued on through Springfield to Derby where we stopped for lunch at the Crank It Cafe. This small former tin mining town has re-invented itself as a mountain biking town with B&B's, cafes...
Read more

Day 04 - 09/29 - Canberra - Day 3

Image
We woke up a bit earlier today and after having breakfast, we boarded the now familiar R06 towards downtown. Only today we got off the bus at the Old Bus Depot Markets. We were, however, a bit early and many vendors were still setting up. After a quick preliminary tour we walked down to the Kingston Harbor area with its mega million condominiums. We could have rented an electric party boat for $200A, but we passed on that and bought two tickets on the MV Southern Cross for $15A each (concession rate). Before the cruise started, we had a great chat with the ticket seller about cruising.   The cruise made a couple stops to pick up more passengers and after the second stop we were pretty full. One party of 6 got off at the Yacht Club stop as 'grandma' was on another tour boat and somehow communications got mixed up. But our tour continued on and we got to see many of the sights we had seen from land but now from the water. At one point we got to see the start...
Read more

Day 06 - 10/01 - Melbourne - Day 1

We woke up in Narre Warren around 8am. After breakfast we took a little walk around the pond below Elizabeth's house taking time to feed the ducks and give Ethan a chance to ride his bicycle around the pond. We then drove to another nearby park and spent several hours walking around it. This park had magnificent views of the surrounding countryside and was a firmer dump. The methane gas from the decomposing materials is being used to produce electricity in a small power plant and was previously used to heat a greenhouse. After lunch we went to a special event at the Casey city hall. This was a large inflatable structure which when inside produced interesting color effects on our phone photographs. We also went to another small park so Ethan could have some more playtime and we did some light shopping at the IGA grocery store and checked out the Australia Post store. After a roast pork dinner we all watched the Masked Singer on TV, and after Ethan went to bed we ...
Read more