Australia & New Zealand (2002)

Thursday, January 10th, 2002

With our luggage packed on our SUV we took Emily and drove to the city of Orange to say our goodbyes to Joy, Sole’, and of course Emily.

We said our goodbyes to Odie, who took us there, and stood in line for Qantas airlines. Itai showed up later (to pick up a document from me) and after checking-in and getting our “On-Board” passes, we went upstairs for a cup of coffee. The time was 8:30pm and our flight was scheduled to leave at 10:20. With almost two hours to spare we were not in a hurry.

Luckily, I had to go to the bathroom at around 9:20pm. On my way back I saw a HUGE line of people standing in a queue toward the security gate. When I say HUGE, I mean HUGE. The line went outside of the terminal, into the street and around the building. I asked one of the airport’s officials how long of a wait this line was and his replied shocked me: “One and a half to two hours”. He added that the security line is so long since they had started to check people shoes before they board the planes. I rushed upstairs to the coffee shop and told Tova & Itai about my discovery. We took our personal belonging and rushed to the end of the line. There was no way we would have made the flight this way. Tova stood there and Itai and I went to check “other alternatives”. We headed to the front of the line where Itai got into the line, telling me (in Hebrew): “I want to see if anyone here is telling me to get out… Go get Tova.”). Well considering Itai’s size he was right! I ran outside, the time was 10:05. I found Tova (She identified my whistle among this sea of people). We rushed to the front of the line. Itai was standing there and we said goodbyes as we entered the security area. We made it!!

The flight to Sydney was great. We slept most of the fourteen hours. The crew was extremely kind and pleasant. Next to us, sat an Australian girl, who was returning to her home in Sydney, Esther was her name. She gave us many leads of what to see and what not. I handed her my itinerary, the one I worked on for the last two weeks or so, and she deleted some attractions and added others.

We landed at 8:00am on January 12th (Saturday). After custom, immigration, and a short visit to the toilets (I wanted to make see in my own eyes how the water flushed counter clockwise.. and they DO!!), we took a cab to our hotel.

To our pleasant surprise, the hotel, Oxford Koala Apartments, was situated in the center of the city. We also asked and got the top floor (13th) with the harbour view. The room was not ready (it was only about 9:30am when we checked in) so we decided to go for a breakfast in one of the restaurants on Oxford Street. We found this quiet place and ordered a grilled cheese toast (made with cheeses, avocado, Greek olives, and tomatoes), cereal with fruits and of course a delicious Latte’. We returned to the hotel at around 11:30. Light rain had started to fall and strong winds started to blow. We were told that it was very unusual to have this kind of weather in the middle of summer. Our room was ready and what a beauty it was: we actually got their largest suite which included a kitchen, living room, a bedroom and of course a bathroom (with a tub). The view was spectacular: from our balcony we could see the harbour and this most beautiful structure: The Opera House.

After a quick shower we headed to Circular Quay – about 2 miles away from the hotel. On our way we visited Hyde Park (5 minutes from the hotel) and happened to show up right when some Aboriginals (Native Australians) were dancing and singing on stage. We took Elizabeth Street down to the Quay.

The view of the harbour was breath taking: On the left were the Harbour Bridge and the peninsula and to the right was the Opera House. On the pier were Aboriginal dancers and musicians and of course jugglers and other street performers.

We made reservations for the bridge climbing (quite expensive: AU$250.00 for both of us) and also booked ourselves to the next cruise around the bay.

We boarded the Matilda Cruise and it was a great experience. The ferry took us around the bay and a tour guide gave us lots of information about each and any of the attractions along the way. The cruise lasted for about an hour.

We called Odie & Joy.

After our return to Circular Quay we decided to take a self-guided tour of “The Rocks”.

The Rocks, in the heart of the cosmopolitan city, encompasses the country’s past, present and future. The Aboriginal people inhabited the rocky headland and surrounding shoreline for thousands of years. Then in 1788, Australia’s first European settlers — British convicts and their guards — claimed the land and built their camp atop these sandstone cliffs. The Rocks eventually grew from an open-air gaol (British Jail) into a vibrant port community. Its colorful history — filled with tales of shanghaied sailors, rough gangs, and gritty life — can still be traced in the many surviving buildings from the last two centuries. But today the renovated warehouses, sailors’ homes, and dens of iniquity house a unique mixture of fine restaurants, one-of-a-kind shops, and galleries showcasing both established and emerging talent.

We stumbled upon Sydney’s oldest dwelling, or The Museum of Contemporary Art, or a gallery, which included timeless Aboriginal crafts. Along the way we visited the market, which opens every weekend. The market consists of local artists and merchants. It was quite a site!! Two hours into The Rocks tour, we decided to continue it tomorrow. There is still so much to see!!

We stopped at a local pub for a quick break, had a snack (Fried Calamari) and (of course) a local beer. There was a group of musicians performing at the pub and the crowd had joined them in singing. We really enjoyed that.

Thirty minutes later we headed to the Opera House. We inquired and found out that Guided tours of the theatres and foyers are conducted every day of the year. They run continuously between 9am and 4pm and take about 60 minutes. Since it was about 5:30pm, we decided to tour the Opera House exteriors on our own and that we shall find the time to take the above tour. We toured the exterior of this magnificent building, which is considered to be one of the top ten architecture structures in the world today.

My camera was begging for a break after we were done with that site!! The Opera House is surrounded by water on three sides, at what is known as Bennelong Point, and it is one of the most magnificent buildings on one of the most beautiful harbors in the world. The Opera House, Originally designed by the Danish Architect Joern Utzon, is meant to look like a giant sailing ship. (I will write more about this building after we’ll take the guided tour).

We headed back to the hotel, by foot (of course). Right next to the hotel we stopped at a local supermarket and bought some food and wine. We made a delicious dinner, at our hotel room, and ate while watching “Survivors – The Last Episode” on TV.

Sunday, January 13th, 2002

We walked toward Pleasant Harbour (20 minutes from our hotel), on our way to the Fish Market. Australia's only working fishermen's market, the Sydney Fish Market is colorful and vibrant. It's a meeting place for the fishing industry and consumers, where each weekday morning the Southern Hemisphere's biggest seafood sale takes place; 1000 crates every hour and 65 tones of fresh catch are auctioned daily and shifted swiftly to the city and suburban retailers and restaurants. I totally forgot that today is Sunday, and it cost us by missing the live auction they have there everyday (except Sunday – of course!!). At the auctions, we were told, the local merchants buy their merchandise by bidding on what they see and the prices of the fish and other sea foods is established accordingly for that day. Anyhow, we made the most of it. We sat at one of the restaurants and had a Sea Food breakfast!! Not bad at all.

After breakfast we headed Harris Street to experience the Powerhouse Museum. One of the articles I read about Sydney, when I prepared for this trip, said: “If you have time for one museum in Sydney, visit the Powerhouse”. It was a great choice. The Powerhouse Museum, Australia's largest and most popular museum is located in Darling Harbour. Its collection of 380,000 objects is unique and diverse spanning social history, music, science, technology, design, industry, decorative arts, transport, and space exploration. The museum contains five floors, each floor with different exhibition.

The one I liked the most was the “History Of Modern Music”. We also found out about a piece of history, which involve the Jews who fled Europe during the Holocaust to Shanghai and then had to escape the Japanese (after the Pearl Harbor attack), who controlled Shanghai, to Australia. One of the employees in the museum told us about the “Sydney Jewish Museum” and provided us with information about it. We spent about four hours in the Powerhouse Museum.

Our next stop was the Harbour. Along the way we found a pay phone and called Emily. Everything seem to be okay at home! Darling Harbour is intended to be one of Sydney's "buzz" places. A former dockside area, the small harbour has been transformed into a major tourist site and leading convention and exhibition center. A monorail service runs from the Central Business District to Darling Harbour: Sydney’s people are so proud of this service, and I don’t blame them. Darling Harbour is a wonderful place to just hang around, have coffee or food in any of the café’s along the wharf and watch the people go by. The place also is a resident to the Australia Maritime Museum, The Aquarium, Sega World and the IMAX Theater (Cinemagic) among other attractions.

We stopped at one of the café’s on Cockle Bay Wharf, had Latte’ and of course did what the locals do: watch other people on the pier.

We decided to use the rest of the day to continue our “The Rocks” tour. We walked from Darling Harbor to Circular Quay – about 3-4 miles. It was quite a “schlep” but was worth it since we saw this side of town.

We arrived at The Rocks and continued the tour, by using the self-guided map. Along the way we discovered the “Rocks Center” which include a raw of café’s and live Jazz band was appearing on the stage. We also visited the shortest street of Sydney: about 8 meters long!! We had lunch at one of those “hole in the wall” places, which included the local “Fish ‘N’ Chips”, salad and of course Cascade Beer.

Our next stop was the Royal Botanic Gardens. We passed again by our favorite building, the Opera House, and entered this pastoral place full of grass, flowers, trees, birds, and butterflies. The view of the harbour and the Opera House from the gardens was one I will never forget and the combinations of the garden colors and the blue bay made this view just perfect.

We found the Governor’s House and entered for a visit. The Governor does not actually live there but he does entertain his guests there. We learned that the people of Australia do not elect their governors, but instead, the Premier of the country is appointing them. The current Sydney’s governor is a woman with a degree in Psychology.

Out next stop was QVB (Queen Victoria Building). On our way we stopped at St. Martin Place, which is a promenade, with many artists, merchants and people in the square.

The Queen Victoria Building has been described by Pierre Cardin as "the most beautiful shopping center in the world". This outstanding example of Byzantine architecture, which occupies an entire city block, was built in 1898 to replace the original Sydney Markets. Later, it accommodated a concert hall, which eventually became the City Library. The building was remodeled in the 1930s and used for different purposes, including municipal offices. In 1984 it was completely refurbished as a shopping center, with more than 200 shops. The renovations, by a Malaysian company, were highly imaginative and thoughtful. Most important, they retained the turn-of-the-century charm of the building. The building has a series of domes with exquisite stained glass windows and extensive wood paneling throughout. QVB is the most photographed building in Sydney and justified so.

Our final stop for the day would be the “City Tower”, which is also called AMP Tower. Standing at 305 meters (1001ft) high, AMP Tower Counterpoint is the tallest building in Sydney and is Located in the Central Business District in the heart of the city. The tower’s newly refurbished Observation Deck is the highest of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere. The tower, which was completed in 1981, also has a revolving restaurant, which slowly rotates through 360° degrees. The AMP Tower itself forms part of the Centerpoint Complex, which is home to around 140 shops, as well as the Centerpoint Convention and Exhibition Center.

We took the elevator to the top floor to witness one of the greatest views one could imagine. From 305 meters above street level we could see the whole city. We were provided with a tour-guide who pointed out the different places and told us, in details, about each and every one of them. It was something I will never forget. During our time there we met a Jewish family from Blue Mountains, Australia. The grandmother (looks like well into her 80’s) was very sharp and knowledgeable about what is going on in Israel. After the tour we experienced the “Sky-tour” attraction on the podium level of the Center point building, which took us on a 40-minute visual journey through the Rainforest, the Outback, the Urban and the Seashore to experience a simulated expedition around Australia.

Tired and hungry we headed back toward our hotel. I called Ariel Sternin and we are to meet him and his wife tomorrow at 9:30pm.

Dinner was prepared again in the hotel room with last night’s leftovers (Salad, variety of cheese, yogurt, and bread). It was delicious!!

Ten minutes after dinner we were sound asleep!!

Monday, January 14th, 2002

We woke up at 6:20am. After a wonderful breakfast, at a Greek restaurant (next to Hyde Park), we walked toward Circular Quay and this time we took George Street. Hundreds of people were walking in the street on their way to work. Along the way we stopped at a McDonald’s (to use their bathrooms) and found out they serve McCafe’ – we had to try their espresso..

Our reservations for the bridge climbing were for 11:30am. We just wanted to make sure we know where the registration is, so we walked toward the Harbour Bridge and arrived there at around 9:00am. I asked if we could change our reservations to earlier than 11:30 (since we were there already), and without problem we were rescheduled to take the tour, in 10 minutes.

So, we had 10 minutes to learn that the Sydney Harbour Bridge is one of Sydney's most famous landmarks. Completed in 1932, the construction of the bridge was an economic feat as well as an engineering triumph. Prior to the bridge being built, the only links between the city center in the south and the residential north were by ferry or by a 20 km (12½ mile) road route that involved five bridge crossings. The Sydney Harbour Bridge, which is known locally as the "Coat Hanger", took eight years to build, including the railroad line.

The bridge was manufactured in sections on a site that is now occupied by Luna Park funfair. Sydney Harbour Bridge is the world's largest (but not longest) steel arch bridge, and, in its beautiful harbour location, has become a renowned international symbol of Australia. Its total length including approach spans is 1149 meters and its arch span is 503 meters. The top of the arch is 134 meters above sea level. The total steelwork weighs 52,800 tones, including 39,000 tones in the arch. The 49 meter wide deck makes Sydney Harbour Bridge the widest Longspan Bridge in the world.

We joined a group of seven climbers and were provided by wonderful wind-breaker-jump-suits, walkie-talkies and other accessories. We were asked not to bring our cameras with us. Our instructor, Chris, provided us with some training of how to climb and an hour later we were ready.

We started our adventure at 10:30 and without any doubt it was the most enjoyable time we had for quite awhile. As we climbed up, the glory of the bay and the city started to appear in front of our own eyes. We reached the summit and there we hung around for about 30 minutes. Chris took pictures of us (to be sold later on… of course..). I will never forget the bird view we had from the summit. Sydney and its surroundings were just beneath us and we could see Blue Mountains and the horizons since the day had become clear and gorgeous. We started to head down, back to the street level. We finally arrived there at 1:30pm. We invaded the souvenirs store, bought some shirts, postcards and of course bought our own pictures. We left the packages in a storage space, so we wouldn’t have to carry them for the rest of the day.

We headed back to the Quay to take a bus (Route 325) for our next visit: The Gap.

The bus goes around the city and arrives an hour later to Watsons Bay where The Gap Is located. We had a delicious lunch at Doyle’s Sea Food restaurant, located on the sea front and considered to be one of the best and we agree! After an appetizer (shrimp cocktail, fried calamari, and green salad) we were both served with huge portions of fish baked with all kind of secret ingredients and a taste, which is hard to describe. It was quite a feast, nevertheless.

After the late lunch we started The Gap Walk, perhaps the most spectacular harbourside walk in the world. Right in front of you there this spectacular ocean cliff, which winds its way down through Watsons Bay and takes you all the way up to the lighthouse at South Head. The Gap is famous not so much for its natural scenic beauty, but for more bizarre reasons: a reported 20-30 people suicide each year by leaping from The Gaps on to the rocks below. Dozens slip from the rocks, which makes it a dangerous place to be if you don't keep to the paths and stay behind the barriers. Well, we behaved and stayed in the paths! What makes this walk so good is that you gain a great perspective on the positioning of Sydney Harbour in relation to the ocean.

We returned to Circular Quay via another bus (Route 82), which took us by Bondi Beach (the famous white sand beach - We'll visit it later on this week). There were hundreds of people there and we wanted so much to join them, but we were so tired that we decided that Bondi Beach would be on our list for next week.

We arrived at the Harbour Bridge to collect our packages and caught a taxicab back to the hotel. We wanted to get there early to pick up our cloths from the local Laundromat and also we were supposed to meet Ariel Sternin and his wife at 9:30 for “A night on the town”. We took a nap and woke up at 9:00. We waited for Ariel outside the hotel for an hour and he never showed up. We found out later that he called at 9:40 and left a message that he will not make it. Oh well… his loss!!

Tomorrow – wake up at 6:00am!

Tuesday, January 15th, 2002

We woke up very early. After a great breakfast we were picked up by a mini van to spend the day at Blue Mountains. Our first stop was at the Olympic Village and the Olympic Stadium – called also The Superdome.

The Olympic park is just 19 km west of the Sydney city center and was home for the 2000 Olympic games. Our tour guide explained how the city had prepared itself for the games and the preparation to accommodate one million visitors. Before leaving the park, we tried our luck in throwing boomerangs and it was quite fun. Our next stop was Great Adventure Park, which is a combination of a zoo, live shows, rides, shops, etc.

We took some pictures with a koala bear, a kangaroo, penguins, crocodile, and more. We also watched a sheep sheering show (which was a waste of time) and spent money at the gift shop. We left an hour later, still on our way to Blue Mountains.

Our next stop was at an Aboriginal Village (which was actually a store in a shopping mall) where 2 men demonstrated how they call for the good spirits. Lunch was provided half an hour later at a casino (of all places), which is located at the bottom of the mountains.

We finally started to climb the mountains (yeah!!) . We arrived at Echo Point where we could see the Three Sisters and the Jamison Valley. This is known as Australia's mini-Grand Canyon.
Earlier, the driver/tour guide told us about the legend of the Three Sisters: There was a father with a magic bone who would turn his daughters into stone in case of danger. Once, to save his daughters from a monster, he turned them into stone and turned himself into a bird. The father, however, who was now a bird, dropped the bone, so they say that he's still in the area, looking for the bone. His daughters on the other hand are waiting for their father to come back so they can be brought back to normal. In the meantime, they have to put up with all these tourists who wish to take their pictures!

Why is the place called Blue Mountains? There are a lot of eucalyptus trees in the area and when light hits the oil coming from these trees, a blue haze appears. Hence, the name Blue Mountains. Katoomba, the city where Echo Point is located, is an aboriginal word meaning "Place of many waterfalls. Our tour guide also taught us the meanings of other words. How "kangaroo" roughly translates to: "I do not know" and "koala" to: "I do not drink." Koalas hardly drink and just rely on the liquid that they get from the eucalyptus leaves.

We were given only 45 minutes to enjoy this magnificent site. Our next stop was the Scenic Ride. The ride includes two phases the Railway and the Skyway. At this point, we chose to ride down the mountain using the steepest railway in the world (Guinness Book Of Records – so they say…) and originally part of the Katoomba Mining Tramways constructed between 1878 and 1900. I sat in the front seat of the railway along with three gals and as it started to move slowly down towards a dark cave, the girls, in the row with me, began screaming and screaming. We arrived at a rain forest and toured it for a while.

We then took the scenic skyway up the mountain. Our driver / tour guide took us then to a view spot where we could see a mountain which had a huge piece of it missing from its side. We were told that in 1934 the piece had fallen off the mountain and into the rain forest and luckily no one was hurt. Our tour concluded at the bottom of the mountains where we took a ferry back to Sydney’s Circular Quay.

We took the bus back to the hotel and met an Australian, on the bus, who used to live in a kibbutz in Israel. After a quick shower, we headed to Chinatown, which is located within the suburb of Haymarket (10 minutes from the hotel!). We picked up, at random, a noodle bar and had a great dinner.

After some shopping for cloths we went back to the hotel to pack our luggages. Tomorrow we are scheduled to fly, early in the morning, to Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef.

Wednesday, January 16th, 2002

We checked out from this great hotel not before we arranged with them to hold our luggage until our return on Sunday. Last night we packed enough cloths for 4 days. Australians’ courtesy is so impressive: they would not charge me for storing my luggage. An airport shuttle picked us up and we arrived 20 minutes later at the airport. As soon as the plane took off we fell asleep and woke up only when the plane started its’ descending routine. After landing safely in Cairns, we arranged with Fig Tree Hotel to come and pick us up but there was some misunderstanding and after 25 minutes we gave up and took a cab. The hotel receptionist reimbursed us for the cab fare. The suite that we got is very lovely (You should have seen me argue in order to get it!!).

Cairns City is the heart of Tropical North Queensland and the primary gateway to Northern Australia. A modern, sophisticated tropical city, Cairns is an ideal base from which to explore many attractions. We booked three tours in the area including The Great Barrier Reef, Kuranda, and Daintree Rainforest.

The temperatures started to climb up and reached three digits before noon with humidity up in the nineties.

We took the bus to the Esplanade, thinking that the breeze from the ocean will cool us off. We were wrong. The Esplanade is stretched to almost 2 km of landscaped parklands with stores and restaurants on one side, and a natural harbour inlet on the other. Each year thousands of visitors flock here to relax under the trees or in the sidewalk cafes, and to watch the many bird species which inhabit the tidal zones. We entered the Shopping Mall at the bay and were pleased with the air conditioning there. After some shopping (Sandals, shorts, etc.) we returned to the strip and had a light lunch in a Vietnamese restaurant.

In the afternoon, the weather got better and we decided to walk back to the hotel – only 3 miles! On the way back we stopped in a Tourist Information place (to drink cold water) and I asked the girl there, where is the best steakhouse in town; her answer caught me by surprise: “The Fig Tree Hotel Restaurant”.

As we arrived I made reservations for dinner (of course) and got another surprise: The hotel manager heard about the misunderstanding of the morning and offered us a complimentary bottle of wine with dinner. We put our swimming gears on and went to the hotel’s pool, which is very unique (including a waterfall!!).

We spent the rest of the afternoon sleeping and woke up at around 8:00 – HUNGRY. Dinner was absolutely great. I ordered a steak that his size (500 grams or 1.1 lbs.) was too big for the plate so it hung over it. Tova ordered a delicious fish and we shared. Oh yeah: The wine was delicious.

After dinner we took a cab to The Reef Casino to try our luck. The casino is very nice and quiet. We won some money thanks to Tova’s streak of luck: she won some sort of a jackpot on a penny’s machine and received AU$69.00 (lots of pennies!!) After about an hour in the casino we took a cab back to the hotel.

Thursday, January 17th, 2002

Our hotel package ($45.00/night!!) includes continental breakfast but for $0.50 you could add fruits. So, that’s what we had for breakfast and the plate of fruit that they serve was full of tropical fruits, which included: Kiwi, Passion Fruit, Pineapple, Mango, and Papaya.

After breakfast we were picked up by a shuttle, which took us to the marina for a voyage to the Great Barrier Reef (GBR). We boarded a big boat (can carry 400 passengers) and started our journey to the GBR.

The first stop was Green Island. Situated on Australia's beautiful GBR just 45 minutes offshore from the port, Green Island is a small coral cay of 15 hectares surrounded by a magnificent coral reef, and one of Australia's premier environmental heritage sites.

We took a path, which took us to a rain forest right there on the island. The birds were singing morning songs and our ears liked the sounds of the forest.

After about an hour of exploring the forest, we entered the Marine Aquarium to witness many fish and other sea creature. Our next stop was the Crocodile Farm. It is one of its kinds. We saw huge sea turtles and of course many crocodiles. The highlight of the tour was crocs feeding. I actually held a baby croc in my hands!!

We got back to the boat, which took us to a floating dock right there, at the reef.

As we arrived to the dock, we took a glass bottom boat, which took us for a 30 minutes tour around the reef. Thousands of fish, scorpions, jellyfish, clams and corals reef were on display and the colors were just out of this world. The boat’s captain told us that there are 1,500 different of fish and 400 different of corals there.

Lunch was served. It was a buffet style lunch. Snorkeling suits were provided and we started to explore this magnificent reef.

A fence surrounded the area and we were warned to stay within the fence. I started my journey within the fence and before I knew it, here I was outside the fence. I explored the reef witnessing one of the most beautiful things I have ever saw. There were thousands of fish, all in different colors and shape plus the colorful reef with thousands of different shells and other magnificent items. I heard whistles in the air but paid no attention as I was hypnotized by the marvelous view. As I picked my head up I saw the lifeguard signaling me to come back to within the fence. I found Tova and together we snorkeled around the reef. After about three hours we returned to the dock. It was time to go back to Cairns.

On deck we met a South African couple. We started to talk and found out that they are actually racist people who hate anything that are not white. I felt so uncomfortable and tried to get away from them but they kept finding me and preached about white supremacy, etc. It was the first time in my life to encounter such people.

We arrived at our hotel room at around 6:30pm. We both had sunburns in some parts of our bodies. We did put the sun-blocker lotion all over our bodies, but the sun got us in few places where we missed.

After a short rest, we took a taxicab to Red Ochre Grill. We were told that this is a real authentic restaurant, serving the best of Australia. It was quite expensive but was worth it. BTW: they serve crocs and kangaroos dishes but we settled for seafood.

After dinner we walked toward the esplanade for some window shopping and managed to buy two watches (his & hers) in a duty free shop. The watches have an opal stone in the middle and are made by Pier Cardin.

As we strolled along the esplanade we managed to bump into the South African couple. Thank God they did not have time to talk to us.

We returned to the hotel very tired.

Tomorrow is my birthday!!

Friday, January 18th, 2002

I woke up to the sounds of a “Happy Birthday To You”. Wow! I am 52 years old!!

After a great breakfast we were picked up by a shuttle bus, which took us to the train station in Freshwater. We were waiting for the Kuranda Scenic Railway to arrive. The ride to Kuranda is hard to describe. Just picture yourself on a 34 km long postcard, because there is not a postcard around that can capture the beauty we witnessed onboard the railway. For one and half fabulous hours, we traveled onboard a historical carriage through some of the lushest rainforests, passed deep gorges (canyons), rugged mountains and a spectacular waterfall. It's a view that was originally captured 100 years ago by teams of railway men armed only with picks and shovels. Today, that 34km track still winds its way through 15 hand made tunnels up to Kuranda Station - a Station, which looks more like a beautiful botanical garden.

Kuranda is a postcard village of shady trees, old timber houses and shops, and a host of art and craft galleries. Kuranda is “The Village In Forest” in Aboriginal.

All passengers aboard the train took the conventional path to town. I read that entering the town via the Barron River is one for the books. So, here we were walking on the bank of this beautiful green (!) river. Thirty minutes later we arrived to town. Tova found a store that sold everything in white and picked up a beautiful white suit for her. The owner is also the designer and the tailor of these suits.

Our first stop was at the Open Market. It is famous for having the biggest and most frequent art and craft markets in Tropical North Queensland. Four times a week country markets delight visitors who pick their way through stalls terraced among the trees - showcasing local products from damper, to art, craft and local fashions.

Our next stop was at the world famous Covered Market, which features a cultural theater with free entertainment. We visited the Aviary, which is a quiet retreat - where native birds share food, trees and often perch on visitor's hats. Some of them landed on our shoulders. We viewed the native Parrots (45 species) and finches (12 species).

Next in line was the Butterfly Sanctuary. This 3,666 cubic meter aviary is home to over 1,500 magnificent tropical butterflies, all local to the area, including the electric blue Ulysses butterfly and the largest butterfly in Australia, the Cairns or as it known as the Australian Birdwing.

A tour guide had been provided to us and we learned more about this wonderful place. The Aviary was opened in 1987 and has been visited by over a million people since. As the butterflies are all rainforest species, the aviary is designed to re-create their natural habitat, complete with a running stream and the correct food plants on which the female can deposit their eggs. These eggs are collected regularly by staff, and taken to an especially designed laboratory where the caterpillars are raised until they pupate and eventually emerge as fully formed butterflies - ready to be released back into the aviary. This intensive handling over many generations has resulted in the sanctuary's butterflies being far more relaxed around people, hence their inclination to land. At the end of the tour we entered the attached museum and observed the many displays of butterflies from all over the world.

We headed our way to a café’ where we ordered our regular drink for this trip – The Latte’. We also ordered a local pie, which is made up with chocolate and coconuts – YUMMY. Remember the South African racist couple? Well.. There they were. I thought to myself that we would never be able to get rid of them!! Anyhow, they were busy shopping. Thank God.

The highlight of the day is still to come. We boarded the Kuranda Skyrail, which would take us back to Cairns above the rainforest.

The Skyrail rainforest cableway runs from Kuranda to Smithfield (Caravonica Lakes) and has a total length of 7.5 km making it the world's longest gondola cableway. There are two stations along the way each with a trail to the rainforest. Red Peak is the highest Station at 545 meters above sea level. The steepest section of the line has a slope of 19 degrees. Maximum speed of the Skyrail is 18 km/h but, usually, the cableway ran slower than this so that we could have more time to enjoy the Skyrail experience. We stopped at both stations along the way where in one of them we joined a tour guide who gave us a short course on rainforest.

We arrived at Smithfield and still had about 40 minutes to wait for our shuttle, so we “sneaked in” and spent 30 minutes in the Cultural Center enjoying a show performed by Aboriginals.

We arrived at the hotel and after a shower we headed our way to a seafood restaurant. (Last night cabdriver swore it was the best in town). The name of the place is Fish Lips. Here you could order half size plates so one can enjoy more variety with his meal. We ordered 4 different half-size courses and two hours later we could swear that it is indeed the best seafood restaurant we have ever experienced!!

My birthday’s gift waited for me as we returned to the hotel. Tova made reservations for a Thai Massage for me. A small and thin man was giving me a full body massage including a facial massage for the next hour and a half. Tova waited in the lobby, downstairs.

When I was done, I went down to the lobby. We ordered drinks and deserts to complete this perfect day!

Saturday, January 19th, 2002

Breakfast as usual was delicious. Our shuttle bus came shortly after to take us to Daintree Rainforest. The way to Daintree reminded me so much of Pacific Coast Highway, in California, with its wild scenery of sea, rocks, and trees. On our way we stopped at Port Douglas to pick up a passenger. Port Douglas is a resort town famous for its golf courses and the only five stars hotel in Australia: The Sheraton Mirage. Kings, queens, presidents and other VIP had stayed in this hotel.

About 50 miles north of Cairns begins the largest virgin tract of rainforest in Australia. On our way, our driver told us a lot about the rainforest. The forest is a living testimonial to the ancient rainforests, which once covered the earth’s surface. Here, the Daintree and Cape Tribulation rainforests have survived almost unchanged for 100 million years. These rainforests contain several of the first flowering plant species from which all plants originated. The Daintree area rainforests are the second largest virgin tract of rainforest after the Amazon rainforest in South America, and are also older than the Amazon rainforest species. Over 150 species of trees, some of them over 3000 years old exist in this area.

We arrived at the forest and as it was magic, it started to rain and I mean R-A-I-N like cats and dogs! It was something I’ve never experienced. The temperatures were in the nineties and a hot shower was poured upon us with strength. We arrived at the Environmental Center.

After a hot cup of tea (the locals call it here “cupper”), we were joined by an expert guide who took us on a boardwalk and explain some of the fascinating secrets of one of the world's oldest rainforests. The climax of the tour was a climb up the stairs of the canopy – The roof of the forest where we saw (under heavy rain) this magnificent rainforest with all its glory.

We Continued to Cape Tribulation, which was named by Captain Cook its founder, in the late 1700's, since it was just a little north of here that his troubles tribulations started when he ran his ship on to the Endeavour Reef. In the '70's it was a hippie outpost with a number of settlements, particularly at the infamous Cedar Bay, further north towards Cooktown. Today with further improvements to the road, Cape Tribulation is becoming more popular for visitors. It's not surprising as this stretch of the coast is incredibly beautiful. It's one of the few places in Australia where the rainforest runs right down to the water. Again, under heavy rain, we ran toward the water to view the landing spot of Captain Cook.

Our driver took us to a place, along the Daintree River where we enjoyed lunch in a tranquil rainforest setting: The company’s cook waited for us, under a huge tent (to protect from the rain) and as soon as we arrived he threw some steaks, sausages, and fish onto a huge BBQ and started to cook lunch for us. Our driver rushed to help him and prepared a big plate with local tropical fruits.

Twenty minutes later we were treated to surf, turf, salads, drinks, fruits, and even two different kind of wine.

After lunch we continued our tour of the forest and encountered a big bird, which is called a Cassowary, a rare and colorful flightless bird standing up to 1.8 meters tall. The male is in charge of bringing up the chicks and the female, is free to go around the forest and “date” other males she likes. We saw the male and the chicks and it was quite a sight.

We “landed” on Alexandra Lookout for a panoramic view of the area. We then crossed the river and joined a guided cruise on the Daintree River. We kept our eyes peeled for the fearsome saltwater crocodile but no luck this time. We did see a big snake on one of the trees, though.

The whole river cruise was under heavy rain, but we did not mind at all. The boat brought us to a town, and after drinking hot coffee we boarded the bus, which took us back to the hotel, where we arrived at 6:30pm.

After a shower, we packed our belonging since tomorrow we will head back to Sydney.

We took a taxi to a Japanese restaurant, Cherry Blossom, recommended by the hotel’s receptionist. The restaurant is located on a second floor of a building and they sat us next to a window where we could see the nightlife of the city beneath us. The Saturday night crowd was walking the streets and children where running and jumping all over. The food was excellent!

We strolled the promenade and took a taxi back to the hotel.

We called Sharone, who was surprised to hear from us. I think she was too excited, since she forgot it was my Birthday,,,,

Sunday, January 20th, 2002

Wake up was at 3:45 am. A taxi, which we arranged the night before, was waiting for us at 4:15 am and took us to the airport. The flight to Sydney lasted 2.5 hours and we spent two hours of them, sleeping. The flight was a connection flight from Osaka, Japan and we were one of the few white people on board.

After landing, we took a shuttle back to Oxford Koala hotel, where we left the rest of our luggage. With us on the shuttle was a couple, which just arrived from Florida, and they told us that they are also on the cruise. We arrived at the hotel, checked out our luggage and took a taxi to Darling Harbor, where Royal Carribean's Legend Of The Sea, with all its glory, was docked.

Once again we were impressed by the organization of Royal Caribbean’s. In no time we went through security and left our baggage’s with them and since our cabin would be ready later this afternoon, we decided to make the most of the day and try once again to take the tour of the Opera House. So, once again we marched toward Circular Quay using familiar roads. For some reason I felt at home in this city. We arrived at the quay and registered ourselves for the next tour.

The tour name is The Front Of The House Tour. A tour guide, a volunteer in his seventies, was very knowledgeable and told us many facts about this building. The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an extraordinary site on Sydney Harbour at Bennelong Point. An ambitious state Premier (Cahill), a visiting American architect, and a young Danish sketcher (Joern Utzon) were the key factors which generated one of the world’s most important modern buildings. Utzon’s sketch of the building won first prize in a competition and his creation, designed at the vast scale of the harbour itself, was chosen to become the future ROH. More remarkable is that the scheme makes no reference to history or to classical architectural forms. The roof is more important than the walls; consequently the language of walls - columns, divisions, windows and pediments - has been effectively dispensed with. As a public building, it conceals its usage in its lack of historical associations, and restores the concept of the ‘monument’ as being acceptable in social terms. Utzon got his inspiration when one day he peeled an orange and looked at the shape it formed. The project of this building created one of the most talked about scandals in Australia’s history. It was supposed to last four years and cost eight million dollars. After eight years and an astounding one hundred and fourteen million dollars (!) the ROH project completed. Utzon (who is still alive) quit angrily before the completion of the structure, left for Denmark and never set foot in Australia afterward. His daughter did visit the complex years later.

The tour included three different theaters and the highlight was the Opera Theater.

After the conclusion of the tour we walked to downtown for some last shopping. We discovered Pitts Street Promenade and had lunch in a Food Center, located underneath one of the building. It contained about 60 different restaurants. We chose Italian for main course and French for deserts!

From downtown, we walked back to Darling Harbor and checked in with the Legend Of The Sea.

To our pleasant surprise we were upgraded and got a suite on the eighth deck. The suite has a bedroom, living room, a balcony, a bathroom with a tub, and lots of storage space for our cloths.

We took a well-deserved nap and woke up in time for dinner. Sitting with us at our table are three other couples: Lindsey & Wendy from Melbourne, Derek and Lesley from England, and Linda & Allen from Wales. We all became instant friends and it felt great. It is hard for me (and I think for Tova as well) to understand some of the words the couple from Wales was speaking (especially Linda). Also, we discovered that in Wales, when they get excited about something they say: “NEVER”. (Try it with a Welsh’ accent, it is funny!).

After the show we joined the familiar “Welcome Show” and went to bed around midnight.

Monday, January 21st, 2002

After breakfast on the ship we walked to, the now very familiar, Circular Quay and took the ‘389’ bus-route to Bondi Beach. Thirty minutes later we started to walk along the famous stretch between Bondi Beach and Bronte Beach. The white sand, the beautiful scenery of rocks formation, waves, and greenery had captured our eyes not to mention the beautiful people laying on the beach with or without cloths.

The road is 7 km long and it took us about an hour to arrive to Bronte.

We sat for brunch at a restaurant on the beach and then took the bus to Bondi Junction. This promenade is full with stores, cafés, service stores, etc. As it turned out, Israelis own most of the stores and it didn’t take long before we heard Hebrew in the street. Tova found a hair salon (Israeli’s) and I went around the stores. I met two Israeli girls (Tamar and Ayelet) who told me about the Sydney Jewish Museum (We heard about it initially at the Powerhouse museum).

They told me that I MUST go there. I had lunch at a Japanese Noodle House and sat in The Zoo café which was full of people watching a tap dancer. My waiter was an Israeli, who told me that most of Israelis in Sydney live here at Bondi.

Right after Tova finished her “business” in the salon, we took a bus to the Sydney Jewish Museum. We arrived there about 15 minutes later and started to tour the museum. It had a limited time engagement of an exhibition about the Shanghai’s Jews, among other exhibitions, which included the Holocaust era, and early times Jews in Sydney. We learned that the first Jews arrived in the late eighteenth century as prisoners of the British Empire. Out of the first 150 prisoners, who first came to Sydney in 1778, 18 of them were Jewish. The Nineteenth century found many Jewish establishments in the city and in a matter of fact, Jews owned the first stores on George Street. The Shanghai Exhibition was amazing. We learned about their lives, heritage, their journeys, etc.

In the museum we met Henny and Herbie, a Jewish couple from Montreal who also are guests on the Legend. They came with their friend, a Sydney’s resident, who offered to take us back to the ship as soon as we are done. We gladly accepted his offer.

We arrived at the ship starting to say our goodbyes to this magnificent city. I will never forget this place and will visit Sydney at least one more time to continue touring this magnificent city.

There are still places to discover and we will do it!

After the “Life Boat” exercise the ship embarked and started to sail away. We stood on the top deck and took many pictures of the wonderful bay and the city’s Skyline.

Bon Voyage!!!

After dinner, we watched a nice show, played in the casino and went to bed at 1:30am.

Tuesday, January 22nd, 2002

We walked up at 12:00 (!). Our bodies just blessed this long sleep. We just realized how tired we were from vacationing in the last 9 days. Funny eh?

We started our day in the dining room where we had a delicious lunch. Dining with us was a Jewish couple from the Phoenix area: Linda and Sandy along with Sandy’s brother (from Columbus, Ohio) and their neighbor Evelynn. Also, at the table, we met a retired couple from Miami (Jackie and Marty) who met Linda on the Internet and decided to share some of the tours together. Linda offered us to join them in some of the tours in New Zealand and we agreed to join them for a couple of them.

After lunch Imma went to the gym and I joined a kickboxing class. We rested in the afternoon and got ready for the Captain’s Reception and of course dinner. We met an Israeli couple on the ship: Yossi & Nikki who live in England. Yossi invested a large sum of money in Real Estate and he is now retired. He is only 44 years old!!!

Later on, at a casino table I met another Israeli named Zvi, who cracked me up when he told me that his wife is not Jewish and therefore, shops at “Goys R Us”.

After a delicious dinner and the show we went straight to bed.

What a life!!!!!!!!

Wednesday, January 23rd, 2002

The ship arrived to Melbourne at 6:30am. We were already awake and got ready for breakfast.

We left for the city at around 7:30am. We took the train from a station right next to the port (!). We arrived to City Center, which consists of a mixture of elegant and kitsch 19th century architecture and self-important skyscrapers. The main north-south artery, Swanston Street, is mostly a pedestrian mall, while Bourke (also a mall for part of its extent) and Collins Streets, which cross it, are the city's other two main shopping thoroughfares.

Melbourne is, as Sydney, rich with history: The first people to live around the area, which is now Melbourne, were the Aborigines people. There were five different groups, which belonged to the Kullin Nation. They were hunter-gatherers. In 1835 John Batman and a group of businessmen bought some 200,000 acres of land from the local Aborigines for some Jewels (just like Peter Menhuit bought Manhattan from the Indians). John Batman thought he was buying the land from the Aborigines. The Aborigines thought they were only granting him the right to pass through their land. This purchase was later declared illegal by the government. In 1837 the new settlement was named Melbourne (after the British Prime Minister at the time: Lord Melbourne).

Today Melbourne is the capitol of the State of Victoria and is the second largest city in Australia with a little over 3 million people mostly immigrants from 160 different countries. The most outstanding ethnic group in this city is the Greeks with astounding numbers. Melbourne has more Greeks than Athens!! Melbourne used to be the Capitol of all of Australia but lost the title to Sydney. When both sides of the house fought which city to be named Capitol, one smart politician put on a table a resolution that the Capitol should be Canberra, which is in the middle of these two cities.

We walked along Swanston Street toward the Yarra River. We had an excellent Latte’ at a café along side the river (we missed a good coffee, which the ship is lack of.) we started to tour the river, which flows right by the city. It is sometimes called "the river that flows upside down" because of its muddy color. The reason for this color is because mud particles stay suspended in the water and don't settle to the bottom like in most rivers. It is a very clean river though.

We talked to one of the ferries’ operators, who mentioned that the best Soulvaki in town is in East Brunswick. We crossed a nice bridge and headed back to Swanson Street where we took the Double Decker Bus “The Explorer”.

We hopped out of the bus at Melbourne Park and watched as thousands of people headed toward a rather large stadium. We only then realized that The Australian Open, which opened on the 14th, was schedule to continue toady. We found out that it is one of the four Grand Slam Tournaments and is without doubt the largest single sporting event in Australia, attracting more than 500,000 people over the 2-week period. Anyhow, we took some pictures of the Rod Laver Arena and continued our journey.

We entered the Royal Botanic Garden, which was established in 1846, after it was selected to reside on the southern bank of the Yarra River. At the time of its foundation, the Gardens’ site was an uninspiring mixture of rocky outcrops and swamps, but it was not long before the foundations were being laid for one of the great gardens of the world. Today, the Gardens are home to more than 51,000 individual plants, representing over 12,000 different species, and have become a natural sanctuary for native wild life including black swans; bellbirds, cockatoos and kookaburras fill the air with their distinctive songs. The people of Victoria own the Gardens and without a doubt are proud of it.

Since our time was limited (we were supposed to be back to the ship by 11:00pm and there was still so much to visit) we toured the gardens quickly with a promise that “We’ll Be Back!”

We spotted the Governor’s House and tried to get in. The guard told us that this is actually the residence of Queens’ Governor and therefore, it is not a tourist attraction.

We found, at the end of the Botanic Garden, the Melbourne's Shrine of Remembrance. The Shrine is dedicated to all the Australian soldiers who gave their lives in battles in Vietnam, Malaya, Philippines etc. It was completed in 1934 and the forecourt completed in 1955. At 11 a.m. on November 11 each year, a ray of sunlight strikes through the roof to fall directly on the center of the Stone of Remembrance in the Inner Sanctuary. There is an artificial light, which imitate the sunlight and it was demonstrated to us. Pretty impressive.

We climbed up the stairs to the roof and enjoyed the panoramic view of the city.

We hopped back on the Double Decker bus and headed toward the Old Goal, which is the oldest jailhouse in Australia. Tova’s comment, as we arrived, was: “You took me all the way here to see a jailhouse? Waste of time”. Considering the fact that in a couple of days we will visit Port Arthur, in Tasmania, I agreed. So, we did not enter the site but instead walked a short distance to the City Baths.

This is a magnificent building covered with red bricks. The history of the Melbourne City Baths dates back to January 1860 when the first public baths were built to address the problem of people swimming in and drinking polluted water. The new Melbourne City Baths was officially opened in 1904 and comprised of a small pool for women and a larger pool for the men (mixed bathing was not permitted!), 16 slipper baths, Turkish Baths, a Mikvah Bath and laundry facilities.

It was lunchtime and we decided to take on the ferry’s operator advice and looked for a tram to take us to East Brunswick. We found “Soulvaki King” on the corner of Johnston Street and ordered a couple of sandwiches, bourekas (Feta Cheese plus spinach), and coke. Let me tell you: It was so delicious, the portions were overwhelming (even for me!), and the price was an unbelievable low - AU$20 for both.

East Brunswick Street reminded me a lot of Greenwich Village in NYC. Dozens of stores, cafés, and restaurants are on a long street where the tallest building is a two story. The aroma in the air, the amazing styles of the buildings, and the colorful people makes this place one to remember. This is where we realized the harmony of those 160 nationalities, which live in that city.

We caught a tram back to the City Center and hopped back on the Double Decker Bus. We were headed to St. Kilda and the Esplanade.

St. Kilda is a residential suburb on Port Phillip Bay, 6 km. southeast of Melbourne.

During 1841-42 a cargo yacht "Lady of St. Kilda" was anchored in the bay, having been placed there for sale or barter. From that event it appears that the place was named after the yacht. During the 1980s and 1990s St. Kilda became better regarded for its polite cosmopolitanism and its curbside cafés and superb European Jewish cake shops. Acland Street, the main street of St. Kilda, became a pedestrian mall. St. Kilda has parks and gardens on the foreshore, in Albert Park and of Blessington Street either side of Acland Street. There are shops in Fitzroy Street and in St. Kilda Road south of the junction. In short, this place reminded us so much of some streets in Tel Aviv and in a matter of fact we felt like at home: Hebrew is the second language on these streets, and Falafel is the most popular sandwich to be found.

We discovered that the Israelis who live in Melbourne find their home here in St. Kilda. We met an Israeli fortuneteller from Jerusalem, a couple of storeowners from Haifa and other Israelis in a café, who were talking politics (what else?). We spent about two hours on Acland Street and enjoyed this place very much.

We hopped once more on the Double Decker Bus and headed back to the City Center. We walked along Collins Street enjoying its architecture and the combination of old and new buildings.

It was about 7:00pm when we felt the change in weather. High winds and cold temperatures made it very uncomfortable. We caught the 109 Tram back to the ship.

After a shower we had dinner, watched the nightly show and planned our visit to Tasmania Island, over cocktails, along with Hennie and Herbie.

We went to bed at 1:30am

Thursday, January 24th, 2002

We woke up at 11:00am!

We spent today at sea. After lunch Tova went to the gym and I “exercised” in the Casino. I actually won some money today (for a change!)

After a dip in the Jacuzzi, we took a long nap.

After dinner and then a so-and-so show we went to sleep.

What a lazy day it was!!

Friday, January 25th, 2002

We woke up at 6:30am. The ship already had anchored in Hobart, Tasmania.

A boys’ choir welcomed us to this beautiful Island.

Tasmania, the smallest of Australia's six states, is an island lying south of the southeast corner of the Australian mainland. Roughly triangular in shape, it is surrounded by smaller islands, the most important of which are King, Flinders and Bruny islands. Tasmania is the second oldest of the Australian colonies. Its capital, Hobart, was established in 1803.

We joined Hennie and Herbie for breakfast. As we left the ship I found a van and its driver and we negotiated a price for today’s tour. The driver, Heather, was born here and spent most of her career life as a tour guide. When she heard our itinerary, she almost fainted: we were trying to squeeze two tour days into one. Oh-well, what else is new?

As we drove City Center, Heather pointed at one of the homes as the birthplace of Errol Flynn, the famous actor. Our first stop was Mt. Wellington (1271 meters high), Hobart's famous backdrop, which is a short drive from the city center, and gives a spectacular view of the entire area.

On the way down the mountain, we discovered a spring of fresh water and Heather mentioned that many residents come here to fill up their bottles so they can have the freshest of water. We stopped and I filled water, which had a great taste, into our empty water bottles.

Our next stop was at the Cascade Brewery, which Australia’s oldest brewery. Nestled in the rolling hills of South Hobart, the Historic buildings are set against the majestic backdrop of Mount Wellington and offer brewery tours, fine gardens and Historic buildings to the curious tourist.

We took the gardens’ tour and discover a “mini” botanic garden serving as a wedding hall for about 100 weddings a year. We met David, the Gardner, who provided us with more information about the garden. We visited the museum and discovered an accounting book from 1900 with entries of names and expenses. The brewery produces Apple Cider as well as beer and since it was still early in the morning, we settled for a cider.

We continued our tour and stopped at the zoo. Heather knew one of the employees and “volunteered” him to give us a private tour. We watched the Tasmanian Devil, a beautiful peacock, took some pictures with a warm loving koala bear, and hand fed the kangaroos.

Our next stop was at the Historic Village of Richmond, which is a 20-minute drive from the City of Hobart. This Georgian-style village is the oldest historic town in Tasmania. It contains the oldest Roman Catholic Church, the oldest bridge, Richmond Bridge, and the oldest postal building in Australia.

After a great latte’ along with warm fresh roll, we walked from the main street (the only street in town!) to the bridge, which was really nice and impressive. Heather was waiting for us at the other side of the bridge and we continued our journey.

I insisted to have lunch at Port Arthur’s Museum Café but Heather argued that she knows a much better place: “where the locals eat seafood”. Heather called ahead to order lunch for us. An hour later we arrived at Torana, a beach resort. We located the seafood place, which was a yellow building with no signs that it is a restaurant. Lunch included a big plate and on it we found all kind of sea fruits: shrimps (biggest ones I’ve seen), octopus, oysters, mussels, and chunks of salmon. We also ordered Fish ‘N’’ chips and beer. For desert we had a local pie and latte’ (of course). The taste of the food is really hard to describe and the fact that we were real hungry just added to the flavor. The price for all four of us was a mere AU$60.00 (US$30).

We left town and drove down to Port Arthur. We arrived there an hour later to find out that the last tour of the day had just started. We bought tickets and rushed to join the tour. The tour guide provided us with lots of information about this notorious, historical place.

Port Arthur is the pre-eminent symbol of the convict system in 19th century Australia. Begun in 1830 with timber constructions, the site was chosen because the narrow neck of land up the road at Eaglehawk Neck made it easy to cut off escapees. Prisoners who committed serious offences in the Britain Empire could expect a term at Port Arthur. It is estimated that more than 12,000 sentences were served at Port Arthur. For Port Arthur to work as a deterrent, discipline had to be severe. Newly arrived convicts were generally put to the hardest form of physical work. But, good conduct theoretically would earn assignment to lighter labor - misconduct could result in flogging, solitary confinement, and heavy irons. Many prisoners died carrying their punishments. The weak link in the system was the employment of convict overseers, who exercised a petty tyranny over the men in their gangs.

We toured the remainder of the prison, glanced at the museum, visited the Commandant’s House, the remains of the beautiful Stone Church, and the Haunted House. At the end of the tour we found a phone booth and called Emily (who wasn’t home) but were lucky to get a hold of Odie & Joy.

We headed back to Hobart. This time Heather took the short cut and we arrived at the city 45 minutes later. Hennie and Herbie were exhausted and asked to be dropped off at the ship. Tova and I continued to tour the city. We visited Constitution Dock where after Christmas every year, it is evacuated to make room for participants in the Sydney to Hobart yacht race, arguably the finest blue-water ocean classic in the world.

We walked a short distance and arrived at Salamanca Place, on the waterfront of the city, consists of rows of sandstone buildings, formerly warehouses for the port of Hobart Town, but now used as cafés and offices. We saw hundreds of people in the bars standing up (and NOT sitting down). We found out that this custom is called: “Friday’s Drinks After Work” where the locals gather every Friday evening for drinks. Kelly's Steps, between two of the buildings, leads to the historic suburb of Battery Point. We climbed up the stairs but were too tired to tour. We walked a short distance to the ship.

After a shower we joined our friends at our table in the dining room. We all started to feel very comfortable and friendly with each other. I decided to start playing table games every night after dinner and they all liked the idea. As deserts were served, we heard bagpipes sounds from a short distance. I rushed to the cabin so I could record this remarkable site, in my video camera: The locals were “throwing” a goodbye party to honor us. The band was playing beautiful themes and across the street, in an office building, I spotted people with candles waving their hands at us. Not from a far distance there were many parked cars, which started to blow their horns, and the people on the dock all waved at us. At this moment, the ship blew its horns and it was like a harmony. I’ll never forget this experience!

After dinner, we remained sitting at our table, playing the “Who Is Out Of The Square” game. It was so much fun!!!! We all headed to the Karaoke Bar and watched as the ship’s talents performed.

We went to sleep at around 2:00am.

Saturday, January 26th, 2002 

We woke up at twelve and spent a lazy day on the Legend, while it was cruising toward New Zealand.

This could be a good spot to talk about the services we receive aboard the Legend Of The Sea.

Richard, our cabin steward, is very talented and handy. He makes all kind of small animals using towels and other accessories found in the room. Today he made a rabbit wearing Tova's sunglasses. He manages to memorize all of his “clients” names and always approach us with “Good Morning Mr. And Mrs. Oren” or “Good Evening Mrs. & Mrs. Oren”. He always smiles and always pleasant. Sandeep is our table’s server. He is from India and I’ve never seen anyone so dedicated to his work. His manners and quality of service are worth mentioning. He always manage to cater the food exactly as ordered, he is patient, and extremely polite. Wawan is his assistant. He is from the Island of Bali, Indonesia. Wawan speaks a little English and we noticed that every time the crew is singing “Happy Birthday” to a guest, he manages to say at the end of the song: “Speech! Speech!” – very funny! Christine is in charge of half of the 5th floor dining room. She is French and remembered us from our previous voyage on the Legend. She is also in charge of the wine served to our table. She always tries to please and very knowledgeable about the wine list. I love her accent! There is a cocktail waitress named Gabriela. She is a Romanian and when she sees Tova or me she always says: “Tchee-Fatch” (How are you in Romanian).

Tonight I met Lisa, the “Cruise Ambassador”. She is a very nice Jewish girl who lives in Beverley Hills and spent two years in Israel (as a student at University of Jerusalem).

At the dinner table we played “Let’s open a club” and had many laughs.

Sunday, January 27th, 2002

Once again we woke up late. This time at 11:00am.

Today we will spend another day at sea.

After a light lunch, I walked around the ship for the next 90 minutes (About five miles!). I met Patrick, from Seattle, and we chatted as we “power-walked”. It felt so great!

At 1:00pm we stood in line to get our passports back (We surrendered our passports when we checked in the ship). We were “interviewed” by New Zealand Immigration Officers, who wanted to make sure none og us is trying to “sneak in” their country.

At 2:00pm I joined a Blackjack tournament and won enough to be considered one of the finalists. (I was placed 6th, out of seven). Final round will be held on Thursday.

After an afternoon nap, we had dinner and joined a very funny game at “Anchors Away” theater, and participated in Western Line Dancing. Participants of the game were divided into small groups and each group was assigned a number. The game’s host gave orders of what to do (funny things of course) and the scores were depending how fast each group accomplished the orders. The funniest order was when he asked all men to wear women bra’s, put lipstick on their lips, and carry women bags.

After dinner we played “I brought Pizza BUT not Macaroni” game. Lindsey and Wendy caught on pretty fast. The rest were clueless!

We went to sleep at midnight, anticipating tomorrow highlight of New Zealand’s fiords.

Monday, January 28th, 2002

We both woke up at 6:00am. I grabbed a cup of coffee and was at the ship’s bridge at 6:10 just in time to witness the ship entering Milford Sound. There were 2 other people on deck at this time. It was a cold and crispy morning. Milford Sound is the most famous and accessible of the grand glacier carved fiords scattered along New Zealand's southwestern coast. Mountain peaks with sculptural, hanging valleys, waterfalls cascading over sheer granite cliffs to the sea below. Traveling amongst the majestic peaks, broken by waterfalls and lined with ancient forests, is an unmatched experience.

As we entered the fiord (about an hour later), the ship’s bridge filled with spectators (now about 250 people) cheered Mother Nature. We left Milford Sound and headed toward our next fiord.

I spent the next hour and a half “power-walking” around the top deck. Once again it felt so great!

At 12:30 we arrived to Doubtful Sound, which is the deepest of all the fiords. This haven of nature, with its ancient rain forest and rich wildlife, is quite simply and unquestionably breathtaking. Practically untouched by man, the physical majesty of towering peaks, outstanding waterfalls and a lack of wind create a powerful atmosphere of solitude and serenity.

This time I was the ninth person on the bridge and still managed to find one of the best spots for picture taking. The ship entered the fiord between two towering rocks (look like the gate of the fiord) and started to maneuver in the “streets” of the fiord, making many turns. As we approached the “exit” of the fiord, three hours later, the wind had picked up and was pretty strong.

A couple of hours later we entered Dusky Sound. The ship’s loudspeaker told us some of the facts of this magnificent fiord. Over 200 years ago, (1773) Captain James Cook maneuvered the Resolution into this safe anchorage. Having made it safely into the anchorage, Cook was to spend the next six weeks there using it as a base for his activities in the sound. Cook had first sailed past the fiord three years earlier on board the Endeavor but then the weather conditions had prevented him from getting into the sound and going ashore. The fiord is not accessible from land, which makes it almost untouchable. This fiord was, by far, the most beautiful of the three.

As we sailed into the fiord, at a minimum speed, I understood why Dusky Sound was so popular and famous. Little islands, water falls, green forest, birds, dolphins, and amazing colors took my breath away.

I estimated that between the fiords I took about 100 pictures. I just hope they will be able to capture what my eyes had seen.

After a “formal” dinner we solved few brainteasers and a show we went to sleep. I closed my eyes and still saw the unbelievable views.

Tuesday, January 29th, 2002

Wake up was at 7:00. The ship had entered Dunedin (pronounced as Done Eating!!).

After breakfast we joined Linda and her gang and met Arthur – our tour guide, who was waiting for us at the dock.

A university city of Scottish heritage, Dunedin, New Zealand’s oldest city, possesses a unique combination of cultural riches, fine architecture, and world-famous wildlife reserves on the Otago Peninsula. Situated on the southeastern cost of New Zealand's South Island, Dunedin has a population of around 120,000 and is the main center of Otago, a region recognized for its spectacular scenery. The sheer physical beauty of Dunedin, dramatic bush-covered hills and valleys at the head of a long harbor attracted Maori settlers to the site over four centuries ago. Then, in 1848, Scottish migrants established a town here, giving it the ancient name of Edinburgh.

Thirteen years later gold was discovered about 120 kilometers inland, in Central Otago, and the small settlement of Dunedin became the center for the nation's wealth. Soaring cathedral spires, a magnificent railway station, fine banks and office blocks, a 19th century castle, old university building and a neo gothic convent are among the city's architectural treasures. Dunedin is also New Zealand's first University City, with educational buildings and traditions that are still the envy of the country. Students from all over the world attend the local university and are a major part of the population source of income.

Our first stop was at Dunedin Cemetery. One of the most graves there is of Lord Larnach. We are to visit his castle later on today.

Our next stop was at the world’s steepest street Baldwin Street (Guinness Book Of Records).

At its steepest section the gradient is 1 in 2.86. Every year during Dunedin's Festival, large numbers of athletes, including family groups take part in the social & competitive foot races to the top of the street and return. These races are known as the "Baldwin Gutbuster". Dunedin locals know that the street has given people plenty of problems. Warnings advise drivers not to attempt to drive up the street. And, reportedly, fire and trash trucks have had so much trouble gaining traction when going down the street that they have had to drive in reverse up the street. Other stories include a truck full of paving slabs that tumbled over when it was unloaded too quickly and a postman who, on an icy day, slid most of the way down the street--on his butt!

We exited our van and walked down the street, and were disappointed when Arthur insisted we do not have enough time to climb the street up.

We stopped to see the only synagogue in town, Beit Israel (Built in 1868) and on another stop we took a picture of (the most pictured taking building in New Zealand): The Railway Station. Built between 1904 and 1906 this magical building boasts Royal mosaic floor and architectural ceramics as well as stunning stained glass windows.

We drove for about an hour around the peninsula and arrived at Taiaroa Head – home of the Royal Albatross.

The Royal Albatross, one of the largest seabirds, is a gliding phenomenon. It regularly circumnavigates the globe, sometimes aloft for days on end. Ranging effortlessly on the prevailing winds, it spends little more than a tenth of its long life on land. Taiaroa Head on the Otago Peninsula is unique, having the only mainland colony of albatross in the world and one, which is within the bounds of a city. We watched some of the birds nesting their eggs and some with their chicks. It was AMAZING! We continued the tour at Taiaroa Head and discovered that underneath the peace of the nature reserve lie the hidden tunnels of Fort Taiaroa, established over 100 years ago to counter the threat of invasion from Tsarist Russia. The Observation Post overlooks part of the albatross colony and the Fort is now a museum, boasting the only working order Armstrong Disappearing Gun (1886) left in the world.

We ended our tour and walked down to the shore where we found a blue-eyed penguin hiding from seals, which invades the shores as they are looking for food and rest. One of those seals actually posed for our camera. It was amazing.

Our next stop was few minutes away as we entered the Yellow-Eyed Penguin Sanctuary. This unique penguin is found only along New Zealand’s south islands’ eastern coastline. The Yellow-eyed penguin is a black and white bird with distinct yellow eye stripes. It is a very secretive bird that nests away from others amongst dense vegetation normally raising two chicks every year. We managed to see one adult from about 20 meters but were able to come pretty close to the penguin’s chicks (which do not have the distinguished yellow eyes). The tour lasted for about two hours and was kind of a disappointment for me (One adult penguin in two hours!)

Next, we drove to a local restaurant and had an authentic New Zealand’s lunch.

Our next stop, Larnach Castle, was a 30 minutes drive away. Built between 1871 and 1887 is regarded as New Zealand's only genuine castle. It stands at the top of the Otago Peninsula and has spectacular views all around. It is kind of a museum, and the grounds have been lovingly restored. Peacocks and geese stroll around the gardens. The castle has its own gasworks for power.

As we headed back to the city, Arthur made another stop. This time at a sheep farm. We took pictures of the beautiful scenery and continued our return to the city.

The next attraction was at Happy Hens. These hand-decorated hens have become a firmly established object of New Zealand folk-art and have won a New Zealand export award. We bought a “family of hens” to bring home. Arthur told us that this is the only place in the world where they still create those hens using only craft tools and hands.

The next attraction was First Church. Taking six years to complete, the church with its magnificent spire rising to 54 meters, opened for worship in 1873. We entered the church and were impressed by its’ style and design.

The Otago Boys High School was our next stop. This Gothic Revival School was opened for the school year of 1885.

We arrived back to the ship at 5:30, moments before it sailed away from Dunedin.

After a long nap we went to dinner and a show and then straight to bed. Tomorrow we will arrive at Christchurch.

Wednesday, January 30th, 2002

We woke up at 6:00am and by 7:15am, right after a delicious breakfast, we stood in line to depart the ship. We were FIRST in line!!

The ship anchored at Lyttleton, a port city and neighboring Christchurch (Only 13km away).
We took a taxicab, which took us to Christchurch City Center. After a short visit to the Tourist Information Center we decided to tour the city on foot. We acquired a city map including an attractions list and started our tour of the inner city.

Christchurch is the South Island's largest city, situated on the Avon and Heathcote rivers, and located on the edge of the Canterbury Plains. It has beautiful gardens, rivers and beaches at every turn. Christchurch is almost like a typical English city with Gothic architecture and statues as well as many English-style parks and gardens. No wonder this city is described as the most English city outside England. There is a wonderful blend of the old with the new. Old facades are now home to stylish cafés, restaurants and boutique fashion stores. Christchurch is also known as “Garden City” and as we started to walk along the Avon River, we understood exactly why.
With gardens at every corner we turned, it is truly a city within gardens. The city is named after Oxford's Christ Church College.

Along the way we saw many statues, an old theater, and the Bridge Of Remembrance, which is dedicated to the soldiers who fought in the World Wars. It's inscribed with the names of battles in which New Zealanders fought. We saw the magnificent Church Of St. Michaels, which is Christchurch's first wooden gothic church, and also the city's proto-cathedral.

We continued to walk along the river and reached Antigua Boat Sheds (built in 1882), the sole survivor of several boating sheds that once stood on the riverbank. We hired a boat (called punt) and its driver and for the next 45 minutes we enjoyed a ride along the Avon River, and through the Botanical Gardens. Afterwards, We sat at a café next to the shed and had a delicious latte’.

Our next stop was The Botanic Gardens. The Canterbury Pilgrims reserved 500 acres to serve as a park and a garden so that city dwellers would never lack for outdoor spaces. In the middle of the park they planted a garden of English trees and beds of daffodils so that Spring in the heart of Christchurch would always remind them of April in England. The garden was very colorful with beds of flowers everywhere.

We visited the Art Center, located in the garden and viewed a painting collection from the 18th and 19th centuries. We also viewed a collection by a Samoan artist, which reflects his opinion and disgust of meat-eaters by creating a statue of a bull made up by empty “spam” beef cans.

Christ's College, the city's oldest school, was our next stop, and is not far from the Botanical Gardens. Founded in the first decade of settlement, this boys' (only) secondary school still holds to English grammar school tradition. We talked to few students, who were all dressed the same with a suit and tie. (Like in the movies!!).

We continued our self-guided tour and along the way saw a beautiful building. It was the city’s oldest stone church, The Durham Street Methodist Church. Opposite it was a stunning new building, which occupies the city’s courthouse.

We arrived at Colombo Street, which took us back to the City Center and to Cathedral Square. We grabbed a Soulvaki and Falafel sandwiches, and sat in the square watching hundreds of people shopping at the open market, located on the square. There were four “preachers” who wanted to share their opinion about Bible matters with the crowd and it was pretty interesting and funny. The most outstanding preacher is known as The Wizard Of New Zealand. This eccentric character, who is actually an Australian, and a former sociology lecturer, appears at 1pm every weekday, dressed in robes, and talk to the crowd about his various causes, one of which is the inversion of the world map to place New Zealand in its rightful place: at the top. He was wearing his summer outfit and stood on a small ladder to better address the crowd. For his long service he was proclaimed Wizard of New Zealand in 1990, by New Zealand government! (So he says).

We entered the Cathedral, which is the most important building in Christchurch.

After paying our dues (included the right to take pictures…hmmm..) we joined a tour of the building. Our tour guide, a woman in her seventies, was very informative and we learned a lot about this building: The cornerstone had been laid in 1864, and the foundations had been completed in 1865. But the money had run out, with some people arguing that the Church had more important things to spend its money on. At one point the site was almost sold off. One of the Bishops managed to get the building started again by promising some of his own salary to help costs. Other leading people in the community supported him and building began again in 1873. By 1881 the tower had been completed. The addition of the chancel and the transepts completed the building in 1904. The cathedral was built mainly of Canterbury stone. The timber in the roof came from black pine and totara trees on the Banks Peninsula, where it was pit-sawn before being carted to Christchurch. There is a Menorah in the cathedral, donated by a Jewish family and is used by Jews, who come to the cathedral, for candle lighting. After climbing the 133 steps to the tower, 33 meters above the city, we discovered (breathless) a glorious view over the city and beyond.

We took bus number 27 to the Gondola Of Christchurch, which is the city's number one attraction, and is located on the crater rim of an extinct volcano (15 minutes ride from Christchurch city). A cable car took us to the summit where we witnessed a 360 ° panorama, one of the most dramatic in the world. In front of our eyes were unparalleled views over the Canterbury Plains to Mt. Hutt and beyond to the spectacular Southern Alps. The view north included Pegasus Bay and the Pacific Ocean. To the east and south, the picturesque scenery of Lyttleton Harbor and the Legend Of The Sea!

The cable car took us back to the base where we took another bus back to Lyttleton. We had a wonderful local beer (Lion Red) at an Irish pub ($1.00 per pint!) and walked back to the ship. On our way we tried to call Emily – No answer again (grrrr)

After a short rest and a wonderful dinner we watched a variety show and then went, along with Wendy and Lindsey, to the bar for a sing-along party.

What a day!!!

Thursday, January 31st, 2002

We woke up at 10:30am. The Captain had invited us to a “Thank You Party”. We enjoyed cocktails and appetizers and even though it was the Captain Party, he was there for only five minutes and then went back to his duties. Who cares – as long as he pays for the drinks? Right?

Lisa, the Cruise Ambassador, invited us to her table for lunch. We accepted and at her table were introduced to two nice couples from New Jersey.

Tova spent the afternoon at the gym (kickboxing) and me exercising again at the casino and playing Bingo.

At night, after dinner, we watched the Three Tenors, who were so great!! This was by far the best entertainment we had had during the cruise, thus far.

After the show we toured the Gala Buffet and joined our gang, from our dinner table, for drinks and when I saw one of the tenors walking by, I invited him to our table, for a round of drinks, and he accepted.

Friday, February 1st, 2002

The phone rang at 6:00am. It was our wake up call!

I stepped out our cabin to the balcony and discovered we already had anchored at the port of Tauranga. Right in front of my eyes there was Mt Maunganui above the bay.

After breakfast we joined Linda, Sandy, and Evelyn for today’s tour with our tour guides Dave and Bev.

Tauranga is located 205kms southeast from Auckland, Tauranga - meaning "Sheltered Waters", is the largest residential and commercial area of the coastal Bay of Plenty, a name given by Captain Cook who expressed his thanks for the local Maori’s for their kindness and help.

We drove away from the city and toward Rotorua

We arrived at our first attraction: The New Zealand Agrodome, which is a working sheep and cattle farm with 1200 sheep and 120 beef cattle. Its sheep sheering show highlights 19 breeds of sheep, each represented by a champion ram. They also provided a sheep auction with audience participation (pretty funny), a demonstration by Huntaway dogs, plus a famous "Duck" dog (A dog leading ducks to a specific destination), dog trial with three sheep and a "Strong Eye" dog. When the emcee asked for a volunteer to milk a cow on stage, I raised my hands, was selected, and experienced something to remember. For my actions, I received a certificate!

We continued our tour passing two beautiful lakes: Green Lake and Blue Lake where we saw black geese and drove through a forest with huge eucalyptus trees.

An hour later we arrived at the Maori’s Village: Whakarewarewa. Try to pronounce this one! Mouthful right? Now let me write down the full name of this Thermo-Active village: 'Te Whakarewarewatanga O Te Ope Taua A Wahiao', which means: The uprising of the warriors of Wahiao". The latter was a famous Warrior of the tribe (During our visit there we saw his grave). A native Maori lady (Chris), well in her eighties, was waiting for us at the gate.

As we entered the area, the smell of rotten eggs filled our nostrils (Like in the Dead Sea). After a show of warriors (men & women), who danced and sang warrior songs, we joined Chris, who told us about the village and its history: Her people have lived in and around the geothermal activity of the village for over 600 years. She claimed that the first Maori’s to arrive here were the ancestors of the lost tribe of Israel.

We visited their cemetery, public baths, public kitchens, and more. They have their own “Old Faithful” geyser.

Dave and Bev were waiting for us outside the gates of the thermo-village. We drove for about 5 minutes and arrived at Lake Rotorua where we stopped for a picnic, sitting at the shore of the lake eating homemade sandwiches, drinking beer and sipping homemade coffee. While feasting we watched the lake and its wildlife. About sixty black geese were swimming not far from us, and about one hundred seagulls where waiting for our leftovers.

Not far from our picnic site stands the Maori’s Temple. We entered the site and saw a vivid picture of Jesus walking on water.

Our next stop was at the Buried Village. Before 1886, Te Wairoa village was the a peaceful village with vacationers from all over coming to enjoy the mud baths and to explore the Eighth Wonder Of The World: The White And Pink Terraces. On June 10th, 1886 Mount Tarawera erupted destroying the village among two other and killing 150 people. Also destroyed forever were the terraces. In the gloom of the day the wreckage of the hotels and houses, and the burial of 5,000 square miles of scenic countryside brought awe and dismay to the rescuers, who rushed to the scene. Late excavations brought alive the buried village.

We toured the village, read its history and walked a path, along a river, which carries water from Rotorua Lake to another lake (forgot its name). We discovered the most beautiful waterfall, which creates a pond and then another waterfall continues to stream the water though. It was the most beautiful waterfall I have witnessed. With the tropical surroundings this scenery was something I will always remember. As we reached the bottom of the fall we saw the notorious Mount Tarawera. Geologists think it may erupt again in the next 20,000 years. We climbed back to the village center and had a cool refreshing milk shake (me) and latte’ (Tova).

We started to head back to the city and arrived there ninety minutes later. We walked along Pilot Quay for a while and then after a tour of “Expensive Homes” we headed back to the ship.

We were the last person to arrive to the ship, since I stopped to take some pictures. It felt great to think that a whole ship is waiting JUST FOR US!

We said our goodbyes to Tauranga!

After dinner we watched a famous Australian Violinist (Ian Smith) and he was delightful.
Our table members met for drinks and small talk.

Good Night!

Saturday, February 2nd, 2002

The ship arrived at Auckland Bay at around 6:00am. After an early breakfast we headed toward the city. Tova fell down trying to cross a major street. It was a scary moment but nothing major happened: just some bruises. Thank God!

Auckland is located in the northern central region of the North Island of New Zealand. The City lies across an 11km (8 mile) wide volcanic neck of land separating two harbors.

We decided to visit Mt. Eden, the volcanic mountain. A bus took us to Mt. Eden Village, where we stopped for a latte’. I must add that the cup, which was served to us, was as big as a soup bowl. After coffee, we climbed the mountain, using side tracks and thirty minutes later we arrived to the mountain’s summit. Mt Eden is one of Auckland’s most famous landmarks.

As the highest volcano on the Auckland isthmus it provides good views over the city and the Waitemata Harbor. Close to the center of the city, Mt Eden is a constant reminder that Auckland is situated on a potentially active volcanic field. We peaked at the crater and took million of pictures of the city and the harbor.

We walked down to the streets and three miles later we arrived at The Domain. Auckland Domain is the city’s oldest park and one of its most popular. The open green area is a pleasant contrast to the bustling city center, just minutes away. Land for the Domain was set-aside in 1840. The park has the classic charm of formal gardens, statuary and green clearings edged by mature trees. Features include the Winter Garden, Fernery and the Auckland Museum.

We did not have time to visit the above three attractions and once again we used the “We’ll be back” phrase.

We later arrived at Parnell Village. This is a mile stretch with many boutiques, galleries, cafés, restaurants, and pubs. We visited Shalom Gallery, owned by an Israeli artist by the name Chen. From there, we took the bus for our next destination: The Victoria Market. We found a local pub, in the area and had a well deserved lunch, which was delicious. We entered the market and to be honest, we were kind of disappointed. Tova summarized when she said: “Like Tijuana, but cleaner”. Outside the market we found Victoria Park and a bunch of guys were playing cricket. I approached one of the players, who tried to explain to me in two minutes the rules of the game.

We walked back to the City Center and passed along the way the City Tower. From there we took Queen Street for some windows shopping. We entered Farmers Department Store and bought some clothing and gifts.

On the way back to the ship, we stopped and called Emily. This time she was home and we were so happy to hear her voice. We also called Odie & Joy. Gee! I did not realize how much I miss them all!

As we arrived back to the ship, and started packing: tomorrow is our last day!!

After dinner, our friends from the dinner table and us went to celebrate and say our goodbyes.

We found a bar at the American Express Viaduct Harbour, which is the setting for the final destination of the yachts involved in the famous Volvo Ocean Race (Sydney to Auckland). The harbor was full of people and it took us awhile to find a table for the eight of us.

Sunday, February 3rd, 2002

After breakfast, a bus showed up and took us to the Sheraton Hotel, not far from City Center. Our luggage left the ship and we will pick them up later at the airport.

We left the hotel and headed toward Auckland Aquarium. We met at the bus stop, an Israeli couple: Ilana & Amir from Israel. The funny thing happened when Amir told me that I looked familiar and when we “played” Jewish History we found out that he knows me because I look like Yishai Meir from K’far Tavor. We arrived at Kelly Tarltons, the city’s aquarium, where we viewed hundreds of different species of fish, sharks, and saw a colony of penguins in an Antarctic display.

We took a cab to the wharf and hopped on a ferry towards Davenport Village, which is a seaside village 10 minutes away, yet a world apart with restaurants and cafes, museums, galleries, sailing, beaches and historic walks. We visited a local pub with a garden, where we sat, and enjoyed the warm day, eating fish, salads and drinking delicious beer.

After lunch we climbed Mt. Victoria, and viewed its spectacular view of Auckland's skyline.

We caught the ferry back to City Center and made some final shopping. On our way back to the Sheraton, we discovered a Jewish Cemetery with stones, which testified that the first Jew was buried here in 1841. This amazing discovery and the fact that this cemetery is part of a non-Jewish cemetery raised our eyebrows. I found out later that New Zealand history involves Jewish participation from early settlement times. Jewish traders were recorded here as early as 1829, and these were probably sealers and whalers.

We arrived at the Sheraton Hotel and took our shuttle bus to the Auckland’s Airport.

Odie, Joy, and Sole’ will be waiting for us on the other side of the ocean.

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