aussielozzie18

Last month, family members successfully walked the Larapinta Trail. One of the great walks of Australia. 223km. Starts in Alice Springs in the Northern Territory and goes across the West MacDonell Ranges and finishes at Mount Sonder. A challenging walk with stunning scenery, flora & fauna that took them 20 days. They did it themselves with pre-arranged food drops along the way. I love the beauty of Central Australia and plan to do this as part of a paid walking group when I retire.

You look lovely Sue. Hope you enjoyed the reunion.

I am sorry Lisa was unsuccessful. DD was up at 3am and was surprised how easy it was to obtain tickets for herself and two friends for the Toronto Show in November 2024. Only took 10 minutes all up. The last time the three friends saw TS was in the US, 6 years ago. Tickets were $120 each back then. Certainly not those prices anymore….

Little bit of chatter elsewhere that cruise ships (p & o and Carnival) are not stopping at Lifou on upcoming cruises. Anyone heard of a valid reason for this?

Thank you for your review. Very balanced. I cruised solo to the Pacific Islands in May on the Splendour. I choose to be seated in a table of 2 in the MDR and because the tables were so close together found myself chatting to those on tables of 2 closest to me and it would often be the case that 3 tables of 2 would all be chatting together. I started off eating at the MDR but by the middle of the cruise I started going to the Buffet for dinner because like you I found the MDR portions small (& I don’t consider myself a big eater) and yes I liked their buffet range as well as the other included food options. Did you consider doing one of the local tours on Mystery Island? I haven’t done them myself as I prefer to swim & snorkel but I believe they visit the school & village. I was warned off the comedians by fellow cruisers on board.

Overcast Saturday in Sydney but still a nice day for a walk. Ferry to Taronga Zoo Wharf then walked to Balmoral Beach. 6.5km one way.

We have an opportunity to cruise with NCL out of Sydney but I know nothing about them. For those of you who have cruised with them here in Aus/NZ can you tell me what they are like? Are the on board charges in AUD or not? What is the demographic and which of the other mainstream cruise lines are they similar to? Looking at their itineraries - they are mainly one way Sydney to NZ or reverse, with one four day loop cruise to Hobart. The prices atm seem high to me.

The moon tonight was awesome. First time, i wished we owned a telescope.

I had to laugh that they feature the German Shepherd with the gloves in its mouth…. Been telling DH for months to get a pair of gloves like these for when he brushes Max once a week. Max goes to the groomers once a month (where we pay extra for the difficulty) but he needs to be brushed once a week and he acts like Jade every single time…. DH feels your pain & lack of love OB. I am sure Jade’s next vet visit will be better for both of you.

Update to the plumbing saga. $360 call out fee + $120 per hour. Sadly DS has no interest in being a plumber. However, Sydney Water have confirmed the tree roots in the sewer line are their responsibility so they will reimburse some or all of the costs 😀

@h20skibum Happy Anniversary 🥂

Beautiful!!

Prices have been steadily climbing for Virgin. I wanted to book one of the Virgin cruises with my young adult daughter but the dates just didn’t work for us.

Whilst we were at Manly Dam, my friend and her husband were at the other end of the peninsula, walking to Flint & Steel Beach in Ku-ring-Gai Chase National Park. During a snack break, my friend lost her muesli bar that she was eating to this cheeky cutie.

Sounds like an excellent plan!

Good morning. It’s a beautiful sunny Sunday in Sydney. 26C! Today DH did the 11km mountain bike loop trail at Manly Dam whilst I walked the Nature Walk & the Wildflower walk.

Only time I wear both is to a Wedding. I wear wedge heels to work but they are so comfortable they don’t feel like heels.

Being a lowly standard cruiser will I be missing out on Tiramisu in Alfredo’s on the Majestic Princess or does it only serve pizza on that ship? Thanks

Same. I got 3 emails this week - final payment email, healthy protocols email & the benefits of the medallion app and the new Premier & Plus packages but nothing specific about what the extra costs on board will be because I chose a standard fare….

Conversation with DH today… Me: we need a plumber DH: Why? Me: Where your bike is currently parked next to the shed, is flooding… DH: Oh yeah I noticed that. Well, I am not using the last plumber. He charged $400 and that included the 30mins he talked to me about Rugby and I don’t even like Rugby!! Me: ok, well do you want me to get recommendations? DH: Yes please. Me: texted him recommendations from friends DH: Plumber is coming first thing Monday Me: Which one? DH: the one I used last time Me: 🙄

Went to a free exhibition currently on at the Museum of Sydney - celebrating 50 years of the Sydney Opera House. Thought I’d be there half an hour but ending up spending over an hour and a half. Had footage of the late Queen Elizabeth officially opening the Sydney Opera House - outdoors in gale force winds - I read rumours that the females of the Royal family wear skirts with weighted hems - certainly seemed to be the case in the footage. Also, news footage of various special events at the Opera House including the NYC artist who photographed 5000 Sydneysiders who willingly posed naked on the Opera House steps in 2010…can confirm we didnt volunteer. Photos from the exhibition 210,000 lego pieces & 371 hours to build this lego model & the artist obviously loves cats because they are Centre stage at the Concert Hall… Surprisingly my uniform working for tourism back in the day did not look like this… This woven model sits on a bed of crushed shell. The original site of the Opera House had a traditional shell midden that was a place of importance for cultural meetings of the local people. This is the reason the restaurant at the Opera House that I recently enjoyed High Tea at is called Midden.

I was actually thinking of seeing the final Indiana Jones only because it is only being screened once a day - unlike the others that are being shown every hour. Want to see both you are considering. Be interested in your thoughts on the one you choose…

Good morning. Another beautiful winter Saturday in Sydney. Planned to see a movie today but too nice a day to spend indoors. Be interested to see if this winter in Sydney will be the warmest & driest on record.

@Fishbone fabulous report of your landtrip & cruise. Great photos too. Thanks for sharing. I hope you consider doing another report next year. Going on the Majestic for the first time later this year & aiming to do a land trip of Alaska next year so your report was super helpful as were @cruisequeen4ever suggestions in her reply to you.

I don’t know where you have been dining for dinner this week Graham but the 3-course meal photos you have posted this week have been superb.