Today, we are flying home. We will cross the International Date Line again and I never thought I would cross in my lifetime.  We also cross the equator twice on this trip.

We were up and heading to the airport for our flight by 7am.  International flights require 3 hours pre-flight check-in and security.

Our cab was quick to show up and we headed out with lots of traffic.  Our fair was $46 but it was on the meter so it was accurate.

The Sydney airport is enormous.  Where we were dropped off was the far end from where United check-in was so we had a long walk past all the international airlines some of which I did not even recognize.

The agents at the United desk helped us through and on we went to security.  It went quicker than expected so we got to our gate pretty early. Plenty of time to get something to eat and some coffee.  The Australians are very picky about coffee.  Even a coffee truck vendor will have a full on espresso machine or they are out of business.  They also like it very strong and crazy hot.  A large coffee is “Long Black”.  Terms like Flat White (coffee with milk/cream...), Long Black (two espressos plus scalding water), double sweet, … Once it arrives be careful or you will burn yourself.

I watched lots of planes from every place on the planet.  China, Malaysia, Singapore, Qatar, Emirates, Japan, Korean, India,… There are more than 30 different countries airlines that fly out of Sydney.

The biggest passenger plane seemed to be Emirates where the plane has two floors.  A top floor of 100 seats of 1st and Business class and a lower floor with economy. 

​This is definitely an airport focused on the very wealthy.  As we walked to our gate we passed some very interesting shops.  The departures board showed flights just about everywhere.

Finally, we boarded but only a few minutes late.  Our plane is big and a bit cramped for our seats.  Interestingly, the plane was far from full.  There were at least a dozen people in economy who had 3 seats together to lay down during the flight. Lucky them.  We got little or no sleep on the 15 hour flight. 

It was pretty crazy flight.  After flying a couple of hours, we got a hot “dinner” of chicken and rice or pasta with sauce.  The after the lights were dimmed and windows darkened.  This plane has electronic windows.  They can be controlled by the crew or by a button to change the opaqueness of the window.  The idea was to get us used to the idea of the change of internal clocks.  BTW, it did not work for us but sitting up and not sleeping for that many hours can mess you up.  

About 8pm, the lights came up a bit and a small sandwich “snack” was passed out.  After about 30 minutes, the lights were dimmed again and stayed that way until about 1:30 am our time for breakfast.  An omelet and blueberry muffin.  Our last food made in Australia.  The reason was that we were less than 2 hours from Houston and the time there was 7am.

On food from outside the USA.  IT IS BETTER.  We have found that the food is usually better made and higher quality than what we have in the US.  Even a fast food restaurant will be better.  People outside the US do not tolerate thrown, sometimes literally, together food.  If it does not look like the ad, the company finds out really fast and fixes the problem or closes up.  Another thing is that you do not need a chemical degree to read the ingredients on anything from a soft drink to a candy bar.  Here we have a long string of chemicals in everything.  Outside of the US, they have a simple list that only has the things you expect to find.  Look it up sometimes. You will find the ingredients list to be down right simple overseas.  We put up with way to much crap in our food.

When we arrive, we are EXHAUSTED and our internal clocks are a mess.   We left Sydney at 12:45 PM on Feb 14th and arrived in Houston at 9:45 AM on Feb 14th.  We time traveled back in time by several hours. ​

The meeting place was Sydney’s Hyde Park at the Archibald Fountain.  It is a very nice fountain.  The park is surrounded by the city.  Sydney is a city where buildings have multiple basements and subways crisscrossing between them.  The park has multiple subways under it running several directions.

Nice ride.

We decided to try the downtown mall for lunch at the food court.  Well it is 3 floors up and 2 down from the ground floor.  Enormous! With every store for the extremely rich you could imagine. Prada, Rolex, Balenciaga, Versace, GUCCI, … and a lot of really expensive stores that I did not even recognize at all. Those stores had door opener/security people.  I doubt we would even be allowed past the door and that does not bother me at all.

The cab dropped us off near the Opera house where the bay tour will start.

Sydney like lots of cities has good and bad areas but touristy areas are usually nice.

We did a bit of shopping in the stores and looked at the Opera house.  No tour of it for us today.  We did not have the time and tickets were time limited

On to our boat.

The Opera house is impressive from the bay.

Next, we had very nice views of the Opera House and the bridge.

The buildings along the bay are a mixture of very old and new.

The city itself is filled with skyscrapers.  There are over 5 million people live in Sydney.

But those were not the only type of boats on the bay today. There were speed boats, a paddle wheeler, and others, such as a huge houseboat.

As we turned back, we passed under the bridge. It is massive.

Just past the bridge there is a very old amusement park and a maritime museum.  After seeing them, I wish we had more time.  Both looked like fun.

Most of the ships are fully sea worthy and go out for trips and tours.  They have been used in multiple movies and TV shows.

We found a cab downtown and headed back to the hotel to rest.

Aaaaaaahhhhhhh!  Finding Nemo is one of our favorite cartoon movies.

Arrived early in the morning and grabbed a quick breakfast.  Not much but getting the bags to the cruise terminal and grabbing a cab.  I think we were overcharged but it was still only about $24 for our trip to the hotel. 

Of course, we arrived to early to check in.  They have a nice lobby and restaurant on site so no problem relaxing till we can get our room.  The "Pantry" had a good selection with a few surprises like cocktails and wine. There was a microwave to warm up food as well.

We will try the restaurant at our first chance.

We got our reservations for tomorrow.  We will be doing both a Sydney Harbor Discovery Lunch Cruise and a Bus Tour of the city.

For a late lunch, we decided to walk a couple of blocks to a Brazilian Flame BBQ.  As soon as we arrived, it was obvious that this was not the restaurant we expected but a 'Tucker' or 'walk-up' for 'take away' with a few tables.  Seems I am taking on a bit of Ozzie slang. It was very popular with the locals.​

Tomorrow, we will wake up at the Sidney Harbor in Australia.

This is our last full day of the cruise and it is a sea day. 

Relaxing and playing cards most of the day.

​Docked by 8am and we have a 6 hour excursion to the Healsville Wildlife Sanctuary.

It was well out in the countryside.

The first animal was also very unusual.  The Echidnas which reminds me a of a porcupine. 

Koalas were next. WOW!

On to the Kangaroos.

Lots of walking.

So many animals, plants, and even Dingos.

And of course the Platypus.

Quite a few reptiles.

So many birds.

One was a fast food store called Hungry Jack's.  The company could not get a license to use the name Burger King because a Australian restaurant already had that name licensed and would not sell it.

Tonight we had an unusual and great meal.  From the appetizer to desert, it was great.

Very nice day with calm seas.

We relaxed and played cards.

The sand light box artist was great.

At the end of the day, Betty headed back to her cabin for the night. 
We went to different venues for entertainment.
​The band at the Rolling Stone Lounge was great as always. We then decided to check out the late night Comedian. ​He was good but crude.  No way I am posting any clips from his performance here.​

Walked out on deck to see the southern cross.    
I took several pictures and this is the best one not bad considering all the deck lights.

We arrived in Hobart Tasmania Australia this morning.

History warning:

When looking at a map it is obvious that this was a peninsula of Australia.  There is even history that speaks of the land sinking between Tasmania and Australia. Later travel across the area was impossible except by a long boat trip.

Over 11,000 years ago, the aboriginal people moved freely back and forth across the land. Soon after that the sea level rose or the land sank. (Wait, There were climate changes before we had anything to do with it?  Don't get me started.) 

Now there is over 100 miles of open sea between the two land masses. The two groups of human and all the animals were isolated from each other for thousands of years.  This allowed for the survival of some animal species and changes to others. An example is the Tasmanian Devil which is extinct in Australia but still exists in the wild on Tasmania.  The Tasmanian Tiger, which looks like a large striped dog, was thought to be extinct as of 80 years ago but there are reports that some may have survived in the thick jungles and mountains of the island.

The British came to the island just after 1800 and, wait for it, made a penal colony.  Of course, disease and war had killed off almost all of the Aboriginal people who were living there.

For size comparison, South Carolina, is about the same size in land mass but with 1/10th the population.  Almost half the population of Tasmania lives in the capital city of Hobart.

The Tasmanian Devil was interesting.  Small but faster than a Wombat.  They look kind of cute at first glance. 

The Devils are primarily scavengers.  When they find a larger dead animal, they will scream for others to gather.  They will then pull from opposite sides to tear off meat to swallow.  So the primary reason for their name is the sound they make and the way they eat sounds disturbing.

I got to pet a Kangaroo.  It was very soft and completely relaxed. I am glad because those claws look dangerous.  They are Forester Kangaroos. All are here because of injuries, mostly from automobile strikes.

The sanctuary has many other animals.  Several are related to the Kangaroo.

There were several birds. 

A few snakes.  All the snakes in Tasmania and Australia are very, very venomous.

Once a site was selected a hut was built as housing for the researchers. It was 24 x 24 feet. The hut was prefab constructed in Australia, dismantled, carried on the ship to Antarctica, unloaded, and then reconstructed.​

The replica of Mawson's Hut was built in 2013 and is accurate to the original.  It includes many original items from the expedition. 

This is the home port of several of the Antarctic Explorer ships. The Nuyina and Polarstern were in port when we arrived. They are both icebreaker ships specifically designed for the harsh conditions of the Antarctica waters.  Really cool ships. Ha. Ha.

We relaxed today. 

The film crew was working on the commercial.

 Tomorrow, we finish our 1000 mile trip from New Zealand to Tasmania.

Heading out across the Tasman Sea.  This is the name for the part of the Pacific Ocean between New Zealand and Australia.

Relaxing through the day.  A visit to the spa for Shawna and Betty.  Walking the deck.

Tonight "Strings Alive" which is a couple who play violin, piano, and guitar.  Very good.

Later, Shawna and I went to the Billboard onboard where two pianist play dueling pianos.  They were fantastic every time we heard them play and sing.