After 2 days at sea we arrived at Esperance, Australia.Esperance is located on the southeastern coast of Western Australia. Western Australia is the largest state of Australia. It is known for its beautiful coastal landscape and its “squeaky” white sand and beautiful turquoise water.

The French were the first to arrive in this area and did very accurate mapping of the coast. The first settlement was at Albany in the 1790s. The ship that came to this area was the Esperance, and so the town was named for the ship.

The population is around 14,000 with the average age of the inhabitants 42. It is a popular place for retirees to either live full time or have vacation homes in the area. The economy of the area is based on farming, mining and even gold mining. Because of the fertile soil and climate it is now becoming a wine growing area. Many of the farms are now multi-family because the younger generations are not interested in farming, so several families combine their land to continue farming with more people working the land. The area also has many rare minerals.

Along the road we drove were tall Norfolk Island Pine trees. I think we call them Australian pines, like the trees used to be on Sanibel. These trees were planted for 2 reasons: they are fast growing and tall (so they served as a point to spot from the sea) and because of their straight trunks and height they could be used as replacement masts.

The area has a housing crisis because of an influx of immigrants. They came to this area because of the ability to get work and the schools are good.

Our excursion took us to Cape Le Grand National Park and Lucky Bay. It supposedly has the whitest sand and sunbathing kangaroos. We did see the beautiful beach but no kangaroos. The park is 31,000 hectares and was established in the 1960s. It is considered a biodiversity hot spot.

A biodiversity hotspot is a biogeographic region with immense, unique plant and animal life that is under severe threat from human-induced habitat loss. To qualify, a region must contain at least 1,500 species of vascular plants found nowhere else (endemic) and have lost at least 70% of its original native vegetation.  Our guide told us that Cape Le Grand National Park has over 8,000 unique plants and animals, therefore making it a hotspot. In order to protect this area, no dogs are allowed in the park.

We then went to a second beach area that was more crowded. Both beaches allowed automobile traffic on them.

We also saw Frenchmen’s Peak. It is a small granite mountain with a cave at the top. It can be hiked in about 4 hours.

Our last stop was at a full size replica of Stonehenge as it would have looked 4,000 years ago. Someone with lots of money decided to make this replica using local pink granite. It uses 2.5 thousand tons of stone, all the stones are free standing. It took 9 months to erect. It is perfectly positioned so that at the summer solstice, at 4:30 AM the sun comes through the two triangular pieces and lights up the altar piece. Then on the winter solstice the light comes through the tall stones and through the triangular ones at sunset. It was interesting because we could actually walk within the structure while at the real Stonehenge you are kept far away.

It was finally a warm and sunny day.

Located on the far southwest coast of Victoria (one of Australia’s states), Portland is a historic harbor city, known as the “Birthplace of Victoria.” It was established in 1834, predating Melbourne and was the state’s first permanent European settlement. Today it is a blend of industry, home to one of Australia’s largest aluminum smelters, and a big destination for nature lovers and history lovers.

The area was settled for thousands of years by the Gunditjmara, an Aboriginal people. These people developed an aquaculture way of life on the lakes in the area. They fished mainly for eels. They lived in small weatherproof round huts. They were not nomadic and lived in villages. Some of these villages are on the dream time trails.

Now the port is mainly a fishing area, with Australian salmon and southern rock lobster the main catches. In earlier times it was a big whaling and sealing area.

The city has a population of 10,000. This part of Victoria has 4 wind farms, which supply about 7% of the state’s electricity. These wind farms collectively are the largest in the southern hemisphere.

We passed through many small towns on our way to the Great Ocean Road and the Twelve Apostles. One feature we passed was Tower Hill volcano caldera. It last erupted 35,000 years ago and is now a crater filled with water. It is a sacred area to the local aboriginal peoples. It is a very fertile area and lots of unique Australian animals can be found here, kangaroo, emu and black swans to name a few.

We had a lunch break in Warrnambool, which is on the famous Shipwreck coast. Warrnambool is the end point for the longest 1 day bike race, from Melbourne to Warrnambool, covering 267 kilometers. The area is the largest milk producing area in Victoria.

The Great Ocean Road was built in 1919 as a war memorial. It was built by returning soldiers after World War I. It was a way to reintegrate the returning soldiers into the country.

Most of our time traveling to this part of the coast was spent in cloudy skies and dense fog. We were concerned that we would not see the objective of our tour, the Twelve Apostles. Fortunately when we arrived at the lookouts the fog slowly lifted and we had great views of the sandstone stacks, cliffs and shoreline.

Although we had very long rides to get to this area it was worth it because of the great beauty of the area. The Great Ocean Road did not have great ocean views, sadly.

After a sea day we were in Melbourne. Different guide, so some different information.

Our guide came to Melbourne in 1976, being invited to come and teach in the area. The country had a great need for teachers because of the influx of people and the boom of children after these new people arrived. All children wear uniforms at schools, both public and private. High schools are called secondary colleges.

Australia has no automobile industry. All cars are imported and Melbourne has a huge area for car imports. The most popular brands are Chinese.

Melbourne has a huge coffee culture. 90% of their coffee drinks are made with milk and not water. For this reason, Starbucks did not make it in Australia and in Melbourne in particular. There are some Starbucks but they are near the university areas.

You can get your drivers license when you are 17, learners permit. The regular license is issued at 18, but you have it as a temporary license until you are 21.

My excursion was to the Werribee Zoo. It is a conservation zoo, where they are trying to breed endangered animal species. It is situated on over 80 acres. There is a “safari” ride, through natural habitats where the animals live free. There is also an area to walk through that has traditional Australian animals, koalas, kangaroos, wallabys and rare birds.

Fortunately the weather was sunny and in the 70s. We avoided another really hot day.

It was nice, but not Africa.

Sydney was the last port of the first leg of our 2 leg cruise. We are only here long enough to let some passengers off and get new passengers. We arrived around 7 AM and set sail around 6 PM. We did have time to go into Sydney and do a tour of The Rocks. We were very fortunate to have a fabulous guide, Dave.

The day we were in Sydney was the end of their Christmas break. The schools are out from just before Christmas through January 26, which is Australia Day. We were lucky to spend that day at sea since almost everything would have been closed. We did celebrate our 57th anniversary on the 26th, with our stateroom staff decorating it for us and a special cake at dinner.

Australia Day is like our 4th of July celebrating the founding of the country. However, it is a controversial day with the First Nations people, as they feel it takes away their heritage.

Sydney has the largest financial district in the southern hemisphere. Only 18% of the world’s populations live in the southern hemisphere.

Many of the animals in Australia are marsupials, with 85% of them unique to Australia. These animals have no natural predators and are very tame and friendly.

Sydney was populated mainly by convicts. After the American Revolution, Great Britain needed some place to send their convicts. Previously they had been sending them to the United States. So they decided to send them to Australia. Lord Sydney was tasked to find somewhere else and looking at Captain Cook’s description of the area decided on Australia. The first fleet was 11 ships with 800 convicts and they arrived in January of 1788 after 9 months at sea. They arrived at Port Jackson, which is now Sydney Harbor.

When the convicts arrived they were put in the least favorable land and that was an area now known as The Rocks. It was a rocky bluff and they built their homes on it with rocks and in the rocks. The convicts were used to build homes, roads and government buildings by quarrying stone. Many of the stones have markings with the convicts “sign” on it.

One of the convicts we heard about was Mary Reibey, although a convict, married well, raised 7 children and started the oldest bank in Australia after her husband died. She is honored on the $20 bill. Another convict on their money is Francis Greenway who ended up being an architect for the city, his crime was bank note forgery 😉

We learned how some colloquial phrases came to be…”happy hour” in old times all bars had to close at 6PM, so the hour after you got off work at 5 PM until the bars closed was “happy hour”. “Hangover” came from the sailors wanting a place to sleep, and for 2 cents they could “hangover” a railing, it was better than 1 cent to sit in a chair. Our guide was full of fun stories that led to these phrases.

In 1970, the city council wanted to tear down The Rocks area, but the people protested and so the early heritage of the city was preserved.

We learned that during WWII, Reginald Evans who was living on an island in the Pacific was part of the people who rescued the survivors of the PT 109 ship. He was subsequently invited to the White House by then President Kennedy and shown a coconut that sat on the President’s desk as a reminder of his rescue. The oldest pub in Sydney, Hero of Waterloo, has memorabilia of Evans.

The city is also known as the Emerald City because of the color of the waters in the harbor. The locals nickname for the Opera House is “a scrum of nuns”. The Harbor Bridge was built between 1920 – 1932. It is an iconic symbol of the city.

Hobart, the capital of Tasmania, is located at the southern most tip of the island state. It was the first European settlement on Tasmania in 1804. The population of Tasmania is about 573,000 with 190,000 in Hobart. The city has many historic sandstone buildings, which is a testament to its heritage. The city is located on Sullivan’s Cove which is a deep port.

The city has an active fishing fleet which is located in the city center. Much of the land in the city center is reclaimed land. In the 1970s heritage protection laws were passed to keep the old buildings from being torn down. Now they have been refurbished with traditional exteriors kept.

In 1836, Charles Darwin came to this area. Hobart lies in the shadow of Mount Wellington which puts it into a rain shadow – the rain falls on the mountain or on the back side, but not much falls in Hobart.

Almost all of the electricity on the island is from hydroelectric or wind power. 80% comes from hydroelectric from the lakes and dams on the west coast of Tasmania. 20% is wind power. They actually produce enough electricity to supply some to the mainland of Australia.

The Derwent River flows through the Hobart area. It is the 3rd largest natural waterway in the world. Abel Tasman arrived in this area in 1642. He had 2 ships and named the land for his employer, but subsequently the island was named for him, as was the waters between Tasmania and New Zealand. We actually sailed the Tasman Sea for the 2 days it took to get from New Zealand to Tasmania. The waters of the Tasman Sea are usually somewhat rough. They did not disappoint 😉

The island does not have any heavy industry. They farm, growing apples and stone fruits. They are famous for their alcoholic ciders. They also have a small wine industry, but do not export the wine.

Tasmania is the most mountainous of all the states of Australia. 334 islands make up Tasmania.

The major population growth came when Tasmania was used to keep convicts from England. They were sent here and had the ability to “work off” their sentences. While doing this, they built roads and infrastructure and most ended up staying after their sentences ended. They had learned valuable skills and had become part of the local communities.

42% of the land is protected. However, they have valuable minerals in these areas – copper, gold, silver, lead, zinc to name a few. Some of the old mines are now being reopened because current mining ways are more efficient than before and there is still valuable metals in the slag piles left by the old mines.

Our excursion took us to Rosny Hill Lookout. This was across the river from Hobart and gave us a view of the whole city. We then went to the Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens. We had a walking tour to see the gardens. We even went into an ice house which had plants that grow in the coldest climate.

Our final stop was at the top of Mount Wellington. The mountain actually creates its own weather. As we approached it was foggy and rainy at the top of the mountain. However by the time we reached the top it was clear, but very cold and windy. The mountain is 4,170 feet and 650 million years ago it was at the bottom of the sea. It was pushed up by magma and has slowly eroded to its current height. There are basalt columns across the face of the mountain.

New Zealand is renowned for its fantastic landscapes and among the best are its “sounds”. These deep narrow inlets of the sea offer a unique blend of rugged beauty and tranquility. Fiordland National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the southwest corner of New Zealand’s South Island. The sounds were carved over millennia by glaciers. The sounds have dramatic scenery, including tall mountains, lush rainforests and the deep U-shaped fiords themselves.

We spent the whole day cruising into and through 3 of the most famous ones. After several very cold and sometimes rainy days we were treated to a beautiful blue sky day.

Dusky Sound: the largest of the fiords, Dusky Sound is a haven for wildlife, and the habitat for the Crested Fiordland penguin, which is endangered.

Doubtful Sound: deeper and quieter than Milford, it offers a more intimate experience with nature. Its waters include dolphins, seals and penguins. It is often called “The Sound of Silence”.

Milford Sound: often called the 8th wonder of the world. It is the most famous of the fiords with sheer cliffs and waterfalls and reflective waters. This area is home to some of the oldest plant species in New Zealand, including groves of Southern Beech trees that are almost 1,000 years old.

It was a lovely day and we were so blessed by the fantastic weather. I am including some photos, but the camera can not do justice to what the eye has seen.

We now start 2 days at sea as we sail for Tasmania and Australia.

Dunedin is on the South Island, on the southeastern coast. It was established in 1848, by people from Scotland who were trying to get away from the harsh beliefs of their Presbyterian church in Scotland. The leader who brought them to New Zealand was Reverend Chalmers. They were looking for 5 things in the land: fresh water, coal and lime, good soil, a good port and 7 hills. These requirements were based on the fact that they wanted to have a place that reminded them of where they were leaving and that was Edinburgh. They were able to purchase 14,000 acres for 1 cent an acre from the native Māori.

The people were promised free health care and free education and that promise has been kept to current times. The cost to come was 17 pounds a person. The first ship arrived on March 27, 1848. Dunedin did not become a city until 1865 and had a great inflow of people in 1861 because of the discovery of gold in the area.

The first medical school was here and until 1969 was the only one in New Zealand. They also have the only dental school in the country. The University of Otago is here with about 22,000 students. It is one of the prime industries in this city. There is a lot of street art in the city but no graffiti. In olden days they built locomotives here and there is a big rail museum.

The first ship actually had a pre-fab school house in the hold. Currently, if you graduate from college here, the government will pay the costs of your last year which is about $15,000NZD. Of the total student population 88% are not local, and 12% are not from New Zealand.

Our guide told us that this area is the wildlife capital of New Zealand with seals, sea lions, blue penguins, yellow eyed penguins, sea gulls, albatross, black swans, oyster catchers to name only a few.

There is only one tribe of Māori on the South Island. Our objective was to see the Royal Albatross. After eggs are laid they are incubated for 80 days with both the male and female on the nest alternatively. Most times one is on the nest for 3 or 4 days while the mate is out searching for food. Then that bird comes back and takes over the nest and the other bird goes off to feed.

It actually takes about 5 days for the baby bird to hatch. They fledge after 7.5 months. These birds only lay 1 egg every two years. The birds return to mate to where they were born and they mate for life. Once the birds fledge they fly to Chile and stay there for approximately 5 years to mature. When they are 5 or so, they return to New Zealand to mate and reproduce. The average breeding age is 7.

We were at a conservation center where they have protected bluffs for the birds to nest. We were in a small glass blind and were able to observe about 8 birds on nests. The other birds were over the cliff edge or farther away and we could not observe them. There is a set of islands off the coast, farther south, Chatham Islands and there are about 25,000 nesting pairs there.

After our time at the albatross center we headed to Larnach Castle. The story about the family who built it was interesting to hear, but way too complicated to write. Here is a link to the history if you are interested.

https://www.larnachcastle.co.nz/about-us/history

We had a tour of the first floor of the castle, really a very large home and then lunch in the Ballroom Cafe. The house took 3 years to build and sits on 1,000 acres of land which was purchased by William Larnach for 1 shilling an acre. The house was built for his wife, Eliza. It was very far from the town of Dunedin, taking 4 hours round trip in the late 1800s when the family lived there. Mr. Larnach was a banker, then a shipping company owner and finally a politician becoming the Treasurer of New Zealand. Unfortunately his business ventures did not work out well and he went bankrupt and killed himself.

The house was very ornately decorated with all the wood hand carved and unique. The gardens around the house were very nice as well.

When we sailed away we were able to see the albatross sanctuary from the water. Not sure if the bird I photographed was an albatross or not.

The port of Lyttelton sits on the site of 3 dead volcanoes which died 6 million years ago. Lyttelton is the second largest port. The last big earthquake here was 10 years ago.

We drove through a 1.9 kilometer tunnel to get to Christchurch, which was established in 1850. In 2011 there was a large earthquake which destroyed 70% of the buildings in the town. 185 people lost their lives. It was 6.2 magnitude and threw the land upwards. A phenomenon called liquifacation happened – this is when the ground turns into “jelly” and sloshes around. To help the city rescue people, the United States sent $600 million in equipment that has been used in other instances of emergency rescues.

Although the country is in an economic recession, this part of New Zealand is growing. After the big earthquake many people moved away because they did not have the resources to rebuild, but now the area boasts a population of over 500,000. On our tour we saw many buildings still in need of repair, but most had been rebuilt and others hardened for earthquake protection. There are Red Zones, areas that are not built on because the land is not stable enough.

This area is famous for the greenstone, which is sacred to the Māori. We learned about the many braided rivers in this area of the country. They are 1 river that looked like it is many, with many small branches.

We passed through the Canterbury Plain, the largest flat area in New Zealand. This area hosts farms and ranches. The dairy cows here are all grass fed and produce very rich milk. Some of the milk is turned into powdered milk for export. In 2010 many of the leases for the sheep farmers came due. Most could not afford to purchase all the land they ranched, so they bought a portion and the rest was turned into conservation land.

We were headed to the Southern Alps. They are formed by the Pacific Plate , pushing up under the Australasian plate. They are about 8,000 feet on average with the tallest being Mount Cook at over 12,000 feet. This area has a major, 8 magnitude, quake about every 300 years. Our guide indicated that we were in the “50 year window”. The North Island has the only volcanos in New Zealand with 8 highly active.

Our first stop was in Mount Somers for a rest stop and snacks. Our real objective was the filming site in the Rangatata Valley that was used in the second Lord of the Rings movie. They movie producers had to jump through many hoops to be able to use this land. It is conservation land and they had to put it back exactly as it was before they came to use it. They even unplanted plants that they took to a nursery and then moved them back after the filming ended.

The drive to the site was in beautiful landscape. When we got there our guide had photos of the filming site, but of course it was only scenic views that we saw.

Lunch was back in Mount Somers and on the ride back to the ship we saw several videos about the filming site, the actors and bits from the movie.