Swan BradshawDay 1
Arriving Brisbane… our flight took 3 hours and 20 minutes from Christchurch.
The line through immigration though… Kevan couldn’t pass through the automated passport screening (e-gate) process (I sailed right through!) so he had to line up behind all the tourists going through immigration. He got flagged for 3 additional security and bag screenings, the last one was a canine search, the dog liked Kevan and he finally got the approval to proceed – from a black lab. Luckily, that meant we didn’t have to get our luggage searched by the immigration officer like the guy in front of us. He got all pieces of luggage searched thoroughly.
After I went thru the automated screening, I picked up my ticket and left my passport at the kiosk. Luckily, a Good Samaritan found me and handed me my passport. Whoops!!!
Landed in Cairns!
Beautiful view of the Great Barrier Reef coming in. After picking up our rental car, we were off to Port Douglas, where we would be staying for 4 nights. I was hoping to get eSIM at the airport as we did in New Zealand, but this option wasn’t available in Cairns, Australia.
The weather here is very much like in Hawaii, humid and warm, very tropical, but warmer than Hawaii
Ellis Beach Grill
We had lunch about halfway to the resort at Ellis Beach bar and Grill, with a great ocean view. Kevan ordered their signature Ellis burger, I had the garlic bread pizza and some sweet potato fries. While the garden garlic bread pizza was interesting, the sweet potato fries were exceptional with sweet dipping sauce. The Ellis burger had locally sourced Angus beef, an egg, aïoli, jam, beetroot, and some other stuff, Kevan said it was very tasty.
Sheraton Grand Mirage Resort
Finally arrived at the resort! The resort has multiple pools, they call them lagoons, winding around the resort property, including right up to some of the rooms. We have a room with lagoon access so we can walk right out from our patio and dive into the pool, pretty cool. We are exhausted, we lost a few hours on the time zone change in addition to having to wake up at 3 AM this morning. But we still had to go into town to find a grocery store to see if we could find some Pavlova that I have been craving for the last few days. And we were successful! so now we are able to compare Australian Pavlova with New Zealand Pavlova, there are some distinct differences, I think I like them both!
Day 2
We went for a walk this morning and then to breakfast at the hotel. The weather outside was humid and hot, 77 degrees feels like 100 with the humidity. I will be staying in the room enjoying the view outside most of today. Breakfast was complimentary and served a huge selection of different cuisines ranging from English, Indian, Japanese, and even Pavlova. I enjoyed the fruit options a lot, dragon fruit, papaya, kiwi, melons, just to name a few … and of course, the cocoa beans that they use to make my hot chocolate!
Here are some beautiful flowers we encountered on the walk back to the hotel. A huge mosquito stung my wrist, I applied Therashield, an essential oil based mosquito repellent on my legs but not on my hands. Next time I will put it on my arms as well as my legs in order to test out the efficacy of the product!
Pavlova for dinner is the best!
Day 3
Today, we dove into the Quicksilver Cruises Outer Reef trip to Agincourt Reef—1.5 hours from Port Douglas to the Great Barrier Reef’s edge. This was a top destination for us and this opportunity to see the beauty and majesty of the largest reef In the world was pure paradise!
Quicksilver Reef Cruise
At 9:30 AM, we boarded a sleek, air-conditioned catamaran—perfect for escaping Australia’s sticky March heat. We took some dramamine as a precaution to avoid sea sickness (although they say the catamaran style cuts through the waves instead of rolling with them). The ship left at 10 AM and we hit the massive Quicksilver Reef observatory platform around 11:30—our reef playground for nearly 4 hours. The group snorkeled and dove in a submersible over the coral reef with clownfish, parrotfish, and a bunch more… all without a single shark sighting. The water was crystal clear with endless hues, truly jaw-dropping!
Lunch was tasty—fresh prawns plus a variety of salads and hot bites to recharge. We went on the semi-submersible to have a peek of the coral walls and a ton of fish, no effort needed. A wild storm rolled in mid-swim, but we powered through—rain can’t dim this paradise. We learned that reefs cover just 0.5% of the ocean yet cradle over 20% of marine life—coral’s a triple threat: plant, animal, mineral!
I skipped scuba, maybe next time! But Kevan snorkeled all over the reef and even swam with a huge sea turtle. I saw the same turtle but it was above water in the rain!
Back at port by around 4pm, a little salty and over-sun-drenched, ready for dinner for sure. Quicksilver delivers top-notch crew, epic reef, great time, highly recommended!
Wrasse Roe
We had dinner at Wrasse& Roe on Port Douglas‘s “Eat Street“ tonight. The food served here was amazing. We ordered their grilled scallops as an appetizer, they were so flavorful and grilled to perfection. Kevan ordered fish of the day (red emperor snapper) and I picked seafood marinara as my entree.
Day 4
This morning our sleep was disturbed by loud screeching from the hotel fire alarm at around 5 am. We evacuated the room and headed to the main reception. The fire truck arrived shortly after that with the siren on and firemen and women dashing through the entrance ready to do their job, only to find out that it was a false alarm!
Daintree Rainforest
Today we took an unforgettable day trip from Port Douglas to the Daintree Rainforest, which is the oldest tropical rainforest in the world. We kicked off the morning with a scenic hour-long drive up the Captain Cook Highway along the coast to Cape Tribulation. We crossed the Daintree River on an fee ancient cable ferry which marks the point of entry into the rainforest.
At 180 million years old, the Daintree is the world’s oldest tropical rainforest, outdating even the Amazon by a cool 10 million years. Spanning about 460 square miles, it’s Australia’s largest continuous rainforest, a living relic of when Australia was part of the supercontinent Gondwana.
Stepping into the lush Daintree National Park, part of the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area, it’s amazing to think that this ecosystem covers just 0.2% of Australia yet pumps out a hefty chunk of the planet’s oxygen—tropical rainforests like this one can produce up to 40% of Earth’s O2. With over 3,000 plant species, including 12 of the world’s 19 primitive flowering plant families, and 900+ tree types in its 210 plant families, it’s a botanical wonderland.
First stop was the little town of Mossman, right next to Mossman Gorge, incredibly fresh air but we were in the middle of a tropical rain storm so the rain was strong, and the humidity was stifling.
Road conditions were also not good, visibility was low and in many places rain was gushing onto the road and creating flood conditions. From Mossman, we continued on to Cape Tribulation, where the rainforest meets up with the beach, connecting with the Great Barrier Reef in a rare joining of 2 UNESCO sites. The sand was golden, the mangroves are thick, and the views are unreal. The rainforest houses 30% of Australia’s frogs, reptiles, and marsupials, 65% of its bats and butterflies, and 18% of its birds call this place home. That’s 663 vertebrate species and 12,000+ insects thriving in this steamy jungle.
The afternoon heat had me marveling at the canopy’s giants, like the Bull Kauri trees soaring 50 meters high. This is an amazing forest—a beautiful lush and ancient oxygen factory. Port Douglas to Daintree ~ a wonderful trip.
We grabbed lunch in Mossman Village—a great little Thai place if you can believe it, run by a Laotian woman and her husband.
Zinc
We had dinner at Zinc, which is a modern Australian restaurant. Lots of good local seafood, lamb, and Australian beef. Kevan had the Australian filet which he thought was very tender and delicious. I had my regular Prawn Linguine, very flavorful but a bit salty as usual.
Day 5
We left Port Douglas this morning in pouring rain, took us about an hour to arrive at Cairns Airport. We got drenched at the rental car return but arrived and checked in with ample time to grab a small bite before boarding. I picked up some chicken sandwiches from a Portuguese restaurant, the sandwiches were interesting( kevan said inedible) but the French fries were ok. Should have gone to Hungry Jack (their logo is remarkably similar to Burger King in the US).
We landed in Sydney after a~3 hour flight. When we landed, Kevan found out Teri and Ken landed in Sydney at exactly the same time as well. We met up and had a nice time visiting by the pier at our hotel. It’s amazing that we met up without prior arrangement, sometimes that’s the best way to get together!
We are staying at Pier One Sydney Harbor, as the name implies, it is right on the water by the Harbor Bridge in Sydney, opposite side of the Sydney, the Opera House. Great views, great location, lots of nice restaurants around here and only a five minute walk to the cruise terminal, which should help us out a lot on Sunday when we board our cruise.
Sydney Harbor Bridge
When we got to the hotel, our room was not ready, so reception offered to buy us drinks and lunch while we waited, which was perfect because Ken and Teri were with us and we needed a place to sit and catch up. We looked at a few different options, but apparently in Australia, restaurants are typically open for the lunch session from 11 to 3ish, then they close, then reopen for dinner at five thirtyish. So we were right in the middle of that. Fortunately, the hotel bar had a light food menu as well, so we ordered a few things and sat around and reconnected for a couple of hours, which was fantastic. The view was great, the food was good and it was free. It was really amazing to reconnect with Ken and Teri with no prior plan that we would land in Sydney at exactly the same moment! A huge blessing for sure!
Walsh Bay Crabhouse
Of course we had to eat again, so we went next door for dinner at Walsh Bay which was fantastic! We ordered the Singaporean chili crab with fried bread and really enjoyed it. The cost for just one crab though was about US$200 so it’s rather pricey but the crab was fresh and delicious
It was a nice walk back to our hotel after dinner. The weather is Sydney is very nice and we really enjoyed the cooler weather with the ocean breeze here at Sydney harbor.
Looks like someone is filming a movie here by the pier!
Day 6
We enjoyed a nice breakfast at the hotel, all you can eat including made to order eggs of all varieties. The fruit was especially fresh and tasty.
After that, we went to Bondi Beach where we started the coastal trek heading south. Amazing views all along the coast! The shoreline here is incredible! I have to say Bondi Beach is even more beautiful than the beaches in San Diego, which are hard to beat. We went from Bondi Beach and walked along the cliffs.
The surf was up at Bondi Beach, and there were quite a few surfers out there catching waves. There is also an Iceberg’s ocean pool right beside the water and it was filled with swimmers.
We walked south along the promenade and got to the coastal path and continued to Tamarama Beach.
This was much smaller than Bondi Beach, but also very beautiful, and there were a few surfers there. It was much more rocky, and the surf break was not as long, so fewer surfers as you would expect.
We continued from there and walk to Brontë Beach, which was beautiful. We stopped there and just sat on a bench and enjoyed the ocean breeze and the kids playing in the park.
At the end of Brontë Beach there is this little natural rock pool called Brontë baths where people were cooling off right beside the ocean waves, pretty neat little place for a dip in the water. There’s also a nice grassy park right there with benches and areas to rest and play.
After hanging out there for a bit, we then walked across the street. where there are a few shops and we grabbed a couple of tasty açai bowls, two feathery friends even came to visit. After that we headed back to the hotel. A great morning! Time to rest up for our trip to the Sydney opera tonight!
The Rocks
We had dinner at The Rocks Cafe which was a wonderful street side Café right next to Sydney Harbour. I had the stir fry prawns and Kevan decided it was time to try the kangaroo meat so he had kangaroo burger. Kangaroo has been a staple protein of the indigenous people here for thousands of years and has recently become much more popular with the general population. It is very lean, even leaner than venison, very low in fat and high in protein so a very healthy meat.
Sydney Opera House
We went to watch Cinderella at the opera house.
We went to the Sydney Opera House for the final performance of Cinderella. The visit to the building itself was amazing as this is arguably the most recognizable symbol of the Sydney skyline, located on the shores of Sydney Harbour.
The opera house was designed by a Danish architect (Jørn Utzon) with a sail-like silhouette that forms the roof structure which is surrounded by water on three sides. There are multiple performance venues – the Concert Hall, Joan Sutherland Theatre (where we watched Cinderella), Drama Theatre, and smaller spaces, hosting over 1,500 performances annually.
There have been several productions of Cinderella performed at the Sydney Opera House over the years, including opera we saw, but also as a ballet, play, and pantomime. The acoustics in the Joan Sutherland Theatre were great, partly because the venue is relatively small (only about 1500 people). This is about 1/3rd the size of the Met in NYC.
This production of Cinderella had minimalist props but had lavish costumes and fantastic performers, and we enjoyed the fireworks in the harbor during intermission.
The opera was composed by Jules Massenet and directed by Laurent Pelly with Emily Edmonds as Cinderella and Sian Sharp as the prince. Standouts were Emma Matthews as the Fairy Godmother and Dominica Matthews as the wicked stepmother.
The opera was principally in English (some french sprinkled in) but interestingly they had subtitles in Chinese (there were a few Chinese attendees at our showing – not a ton – but we definitely saw lots of Chinese tourists in other places so I suspect there are more Chinese viewers on other nights).
A great time for sure!
Walking & Sightseeing
Things we saw while walking to Sydney Opera House from our hotel…
Day 7
It rained all morning, pretty much. Gregg drove from Canberra to see us, saying he planned to bring a”friend” along. Kevan and I guessed that Azriel may be the one as Linnie had told us that she couldn’t make the trip to Sydney due to excessive workload. We went to lunch at Kopitiam
Cafe for lunch (Malaysian food), the food was good and we had a great time catching up.
Lo and behold, Linnie was the one who made the trip. Planning to surprise us at dinner, she had told a little white lie about or making her trip. But her flight was delayed by 4 hours so we had to change our dinner reservation until later, that’s how we came to find out her surprise visit.
We had dinner at Squire’s wharf restaurant right on the wharf at 8:30pm. Linnie and Gregg arrived from the airport at around 9pm. We were very happy to see Linnie in Sydney. Dinner was amazing, the prawns were good, the fish was exceptional, but I don’t think Kevan was that impressed with the steak. Most importantly, they served Eme Morte, another version of pavlova, and I absolutely loved it!
We walked back to the hotel along the pier, taking some pictures, it was a neat experience!
Day 8
We had breakfast at the hotel then we checked, loaded our luggage into Gregg’s car and headed to church. Gregg did an excellent job getting us to church on time, even with a few “detours” on the way.
Church talks were great. The topic of the talks centered on hymns and worship through music. As I listened to the talks about different hymns and songs, I reflected on the times when our children were little and was flooded with fond memories during those precious moments. For example, when Travis sang Listen to the Prophet’s Voice”, Alice Quan, our dear friend, pointed out that he had perfect pitch because he hit the first note right on pitch every single time. And Taylor, with his cheerful and sometime a bit mischievous demeanor, sang “The Spirit of God” with much enthusiasm and excitement because that was his favorite hymn. And Tina played “Jesus Once was was a Little Child” on the violin multiple times at church and at a Young Women’s event I recalled how beautifully she played the violin.
Built in 1958, this church building is probably the oldest we’ve attended.
Church was great and filled with the spirit. And it was even more amazing that we attended church with Linnie and Gregg in Sydney! We ended the meeting with “How Great Thou Art”, simply beautiful, I know God lives and He loves everyone of us!
Lunch at Papparich (another Malaysian restaurant, this time a chain) was pretty good! We ordered different varieties to share.
After lunch, Linnie and Gregg dropped us off right at the cruise terminal! What service! Such a wonderful blessing to be able to spend time with all of them over the past couple of days in such a wonderful place.
With all the necessities packed, we left Sydney and set sail across the Pacific!
As soon as we cleared the harbor and entered the Tasman Sea outside of Sydney, huge rolling waves began to roll in and rock our ship side to side. This continued through the evening and over the night, gradually reducing by the next morning. Pretty rough night, Stuff sliding all over on the boat, but the Westerdam is a huge ship and we rolled right through it.
Day 9
All day at sea!
At dinner we had a wonderful table right by the window overlooking the ocean, great dinner, I had garlic herb roasted chicken and Kevan had the salmon. At the adjacent table, there were two couples dining. After dinner, the lady closest to us asked us some questions and engaged in a conversation, so we had a nice chat with these two couples. They turned out to be from Salt Lake and are very experienced cruisers, having been on a dozen cruises with Holland America alone. Kevan asked them what is the number one thing that they would recommend in terms of a retirement adventure for a new retiree, one of them indicated camping in the national parks in southern Utah, the other indicated off-road cycling, one other said that anything that involved a longer vacation than two weeks would be recommended, and the final one didn’t have a suggestion!