Diamond Princess: Singapore to Sydney: Please, Mr. Custer I Don’t Want to Go!

[SailorJack]

This is the city of Darwin, Australia - the capital city of the Northern Territory - as seen from our ship.

 

 

The port area is one of the most picturesque we have seen. This photo was taken from the elevator that takes you up to the town level. Those are condos on the right and the ship is docked just to the right of those condos. It is an easy walk up to the town.

 

 

This is one of the swimming areas by the beach. The string of colored floats you see supports nets to keep salt water crocodiles out of the swimming area!

 

 

This is the main shopping street - mall - in Darwin. Note the sign to the left detailing the bombing of Darwin. During WWII Darwin was bombed more heavily than Pearl Harbor. At the time, Darwin was so isolated from the rest of Australia that the country was not told about the bombing so as to not hurt morale.

 

[Nancyquilts]

About the monkey forest in Bali - watch out for your glasses. When you enter, someone wants to sell you monkey food. When the people ahead of us didn't buy any, a monkey jumped on the lady's shoulder and made off with her glasses. When she bought the monkey food, the glasses were returned. We always wondered if the seller trained the monkey, or vice versa.:D

[Aussie Gal]

Sailor Jack,

 

"This is the main shopping street - mall - in Darwin. Note the sign to the left detailing the bombing of Darwin. During WWII Darwin was bombed more heavily than Pearl Harbor. At the time, Darwin was so isolated from the rest of Australia that the country was not told about the bombing so as to not hurt morale."

 

I can vouch for that as growing up down South in Melbourne we had no idea of just how much Darwin was bombed and we only discovered the true facts last July when we visited the Top End for the first time. More ships were destroyed than in Honolulu but not as many people lost their lives as in Pearl Harbour.

 

Darwin has such an interesting history, we loved our time up there and want to return again. The best time is between the end of May and until the end of August when the weather is dry, not humid and it is 30C every day. Apparently it never rains in those months.

 

Jennie

[CAC104]

SJ....You are too, to, two, 2, tutu funny!

[SailorJack]

:)

Sailor Jack,

 

"This is the main shopping street - mall - in Darwin. Note the sign to the left detailing the bombing of Darwin. During WWII Darwin was bombed more heavily than Pearl Harbor. At the time, Darwin was so isolated from the rest of Australia that the country was not told about the bombing so as to not hurt morale."

 

I can vouch for that as growing up down South in Melbourne we had no idea of just how much Darwin was bombed and we only discovered the true facts last July when we visited the Top End for the first time. More ships were destroyed than in Honolulu but not as many people lost their lives as in Pearl Harbour.

 

Darwin has such an interesting history, we loved our time up there and want to return again. The best time is between the end of May and until the end of August when the weather is dry, not humid and it is 30C every day. Apparently it never rains in those months.

 

Jennie

 

We also fell in love with Darwin and would like to return and spend more time in the area. We both wondered how much the impending arrival of 500 US Marines and their families will have on the community. I'm guessing we will see a few more pubs.:)

 

About the monkey forest in Bali - watch out for your glasses. When you enter, someone wants to sell you monkey food. When the people ahead of us didn't buy any, a monkey jumped on the lady's shoulder and made off with her glasses. When she bought the monkey food, the glasses were returned. We always wondered if the seller trained the monkey, or vice versa.:D

 

That would be an interesting scam!:) Obviously the monkees - what with the theft of the the purse and the glasses - are a little more aggresive than we saw.

 

SJ....You are too, to, two, 2, tutu funny!

 

Glad you liked it!

 

Jack

[burm]

While at Victoria Falls, I was upset that monkeys stole my breakfast, but one of the guests, a professional photographer, had a monkey steal his camera bag! (He did not get it back) I wish I could have heard him explain that one to his insurance agent. :)

[CAC104]

Thank you for the wonderful pictures. I don't think I will ever get to this part of the world, and I have been enjoying your photos and comments.:)

[SailorJack]

Thank you for the wonderful pictures. I don't think I will ever get to this part of the world, and I have been enjoying your photos and comments.:)

 

Except for Sydney we had never been to any of those places either - so you never know what the future will bring - but I am glad you have enjoyed the pictures!:)

 

While at Victoria Falls, I was upset that monkeys stole my breakfast, but one of the guests, a professional photographer, had a monkey steal his camera bag! (He did not get it back) I wish I could have heard him explain that one to his insurance agent. :)

 

With all the replies detailing aggressive monkeys I am wondering how we avoided a similar problem.:D

 

I agree with you about explaining it to the insurance agent. Sort of a variation on "the dog ate my homework".:D

[SailorJack]

Just a few final shots of downtown Darwin. I should add that Darwin is an exceptionaly clean city. The parks were immaculate, the buildings modern, and a complete lack of graffiti. In that sense it almost reminded us a little bit of Singapore. But a lot hotter!

 

This is one of the parks just off the main street.

 

 

A memorian to the veterans of WWII. On the smaller monuments to the left and right of the main memorial are inscribed the battles in which Australians fought.

 

Government building - it was very impressive,

 

 

There were a lot of very uniquely designed churches in Darwin.

 

 

Finally, as a respite from the heat I can recommend Kitty O'Sheas! But not till after 11:00!! We had a couple of cold ones here before heading back to the ship. I had a VB and Jill a 4X. (Well, actually we had a couple of each.)

 

[SailorJack]

Our second stop in Australia was Port Douglas. It was a stunning port. I seem to be using that superlative a lot on this cruise..but it was truly one of the best cruises we have ever been on. This shot is of our entrance into the sheltered area.

 

 

Port Douglas is a tender port, so here we are tendering into Port Douglas with the Diamond in the background.

 

 

For Port Douglas we have elected to take a ship's tour into the Daintree Rainforest that included a one hour cruise on the Daintree River. The scenery from the forest was incredible.

 

 

The foilage along the river bank was lush and tropical.

 

 

We came upon a salt water crocodile swimming upriver. We did not feed it!

 

[SailorJack]

Another stop on our tour was at a very good animal park which showcased the animals native to Australia. Here is the Koala bear. It appears to be sleeping because, well, because it is sleeping. Koalas sleep nearly 18 hours a day and only become active around sunset.

 

 

The animal that everyone identifies with Australia - the kangaroo.

 

 

A close cousin of the 'roo - the wallaby.

 

 

Another relative..the tree kangaroo.

 

 

An inquistive bird that was eyeing my camera.

[SailorJack]

Midway through the tour the animal park held a breakfast for us before we went into the "Birds of Australia" section.

 

 

Then it was a amazing display of tropical birds.

 

 

 

 

[partybarbie]

Thanks so much for the pictures. I hope the 10 months until our cruise will just fly by.:)

[SailorJack]

Our last port before we disembark in Sydney is the quaint little town of Airlie Beach. The town basically has only one street and it is lined with souvenir shops, pubs, and eateries. The one main attraction of Airlie Beach is the man made swimming lagoon - built because stingers make swimming in the ocean during the summer months dangerous. I had expected a rather nondescript water hole and was delighted to see how beautifully they had done the job!

 

 

Nobody is in the water as a quick moving storm was coming in over the mountains and the life guards had ordered everybody out. This bridge divides the part of the lagoon seen above with an equally sized part on the other side.

 

 

Everyone took shelter from the rain - which came down horizontally at times - but was over in 15 minutes.

 

 

A look at Arlie's one street taken from the beach and showing the dirt swollen river caused by the rain.

 

 

The storm rolled out to sea quickly. That is a RCI ship in the background - the Voyager I think. Two ships in harbor at the same time made for a very croweded downtown area - considering the size of the town.

 

[SailorJack]

Thanks so much for the pictures. I hope the 10 months until our cruise will just fly by.:)

 

Glad you are enjoying them. Posting the pictures is like reliving the cruise...a lot of fun!

 

The ten months will fly by. I hope you write a review of your cruise - I would love to hear what you thought of it.

 

Jack

[partybarbie]

Glad you are enjoying them. Posting the pictures is like reliving the cruise...a lot of fun!

 

The ten months will fly by. I hope you write a review of your cruise - I would love to hear what you thought of it.

 

Jack

 

I would love to do a review, though probably not as entertaining and amusing as yours.;) I have a new laptop, so I might even try to do a "live from". This will be my first visit to Asia/Australia/New Zealand, and with our cruise and land packages we will be traveling for about six weeks.

[SailorJack]

I would love to do a review, though probably not as entertaining and amusing as yours.;) I have a new laptop, so I might even try to do a "live from". This will be my first visit to Asia/Australia/New Zealand, and with our cruise and land packages we will be traveling for about six weeks.

 

Please do a "live." The live reviews are some of my favorite postings on this board as it brings the cruise so close to home. Six weeks is a loooong time! This last trip of ours was the longest we have ever taken and it was only three weeks. Sounds like you are going to have a great time.

 

Jack

[Pia1913]

Please do a "live." The live reviews are some of my favorite postings on this board as it brings the cruise so close to home. Six weeks is a loooong time! This last trip of ours was the longest we have ever taken and it was only three weeks. Sounds like you are going to have a great time.

 

Jack

 

I would love to do a review, though probably not as entertaining and amusing as yours.;) I have a new laptop, so I might even try to do a "live from". This will be my first visit to Asia/Australia/New Zealand, and with our cruise and land packages we will be traveling for about six weeks.

 

As someone who does LIVES quite frequently, I second the motion. Fun to do and fun to read. I was just reading one of mine from a year ago (I print them when I get home for future reference) and was actually laughing out loud reading some of what I wrote.

 

Go for it, Barbie! :)

[partybarbie]

Thanks Jack and Pia. In the past, I have loved reading both of your reviews. And thanks to CC members, I know to type in word, then copy and paste to CC in order to maximize my Elite minutes.:D

[erewhon]

SailorJack,

 

Thank you for the fantastic review and photos of your cruise.

[SailorJack]

Thanks Jack and Pia. In the past, I have loved reading both of your reviews. And thanks to CC members, I know to type in word, then copy and paste to CC in order to maximize my Elite minutes.:D

 

OK..it's settled then -you will be doing a "Live.":) I see you enjoy Pia's reviews as well - she is one of my favorites and her last one was her (in my opinion, at least) the best. I will look forward to yours.

 

SailorJack,

 

 

 

Thank you for the fantastic review and photos of your cruise.

 

Glad you enjoyed them...one more set of pictures coming (Sydney harbor) as soon as I can get them uploaded.

 

 

 

 

Jack

[erewhon]

 

Glad you enjoyed them...one more set of pictures coming (Sydney harbor) as soon as I can get them uploaded.

 

 

Jack

 

Will be watching for them.

Hope you took a supply of vegemite home with you.:)

Thanks again.

[USC-UVIC]

Thank you, excellent writing! I grew up having Marmite or Vegemite on toast. They are yummy, very high in sodium!

 

Now I use them for cooking i.e adding a dollop of the paste to my spagetti sauce. Equally yummy!:D

[SailorJack]

Thank you, excellent writing! I grew up having Marmite or Vegemite on toast. They are yummy, very high in sodium!

 

Now I use them for cooking i.e adding a dollop of the paste to my spagetti sauce. Equally yummy!:D

 

I guess (as I mentioned in my review) you have to develop a taste for Vegemite! The one sandwich I had (or the part of it I had) was probably not enough to make me a fan.:D Can't comment on Marmite as I did not have the opportunity to try it (darn!). Vegemite and Spagetti...it takes a unique person to come up with that combo!:eek::D.

 

 

Will be watching for them.

Hope you took a supply of vegemite home with you.:)

Thanks again.

 

As you might deduce from my answer directly above, I did not bring any Vegimite home with me!!!

 

I will upload the last of the pictures tonight after work.

 

Jack

[SailorJack]

As we left Arlie Beach and headed for our departure in Sydney, Australia save us a beautiful sunset as a sendoff.

 

 

In the early morning the city of Sydney peeked out at us through the morning fog.

 

 

 

 

Either two ferrys backed into each other or the Australians have a unique sense of design!

 

 

A stunning skyline view of Sydney from the water.

 

 

We docked right downtown...just to the left of this photo.