Nov 12 Waterfall Way

It was time to start heading toward the coast and we had a beautiful sunny day to start this leg of the journey.  We decided to head east on the road know as waterfall way.

This road travels though table lands, bush and rain forest and is an area of great import to the aborigines who found water, food and medicine in abundance.

Our first stop was at Bakers Creek Falls.  After a short walk to a lookout we discovered a gorge dropping below us with a waterfall plummeting below.  

Next we stopped in at Wollomombi Falls.  These are the highest falls along waterfall way and again fell in a deep gorge.

We pressed on and eventually ended up in mountains along the Great Dividing Range.  This was a fun part of the drive as the road twisted and turned as it made its way to the coast.

We stopped at Doringo National Park and at a lookout there we could see the Pacific off in the distance.

We continued toward the coast through the rain forest, stopping once at a quirky little general store with a hippie vibe.

After a full day, we made it to the coast,  stopping briefly at South West Rocks.

Nov. 11 - Driving day

As we have to be in Sydney by the 13th we decided to put on some miles under our belts.   We struck out for a 5 hour drive leaving the scenic rim in our rear view mirror and headed south through beautiful landscapes.

Along the way we saw such this remarkable tree, with bats occupying its branches...

We stopped along the way to see the pyramid rock...in Girraween National Park

our travels took us through the great dividing range where there were many references made to the elevation of the area.

Nov 10-Beaudesert and the Lion Loop

We left our friends house to start making our way towards Sydney which is quite far away...11 to 12 hour drive.  We have 4 days to do it so we are taking our time.  

We started at an information centre where we learned of the Lion Loop.  This area is known as the scenic rim as there are mountains a plenty encircling parts of it.

We decided to take the Lion Loop which led us through rain forest full of the scent of eucalyptus

 and the song of cicadas and which also gave us beautiful views of mountains.  

The road was narrow and windy, with room for one car only most of the way!

we crossed over many babbling brooks

When we came to our motel there were great swarms of huge bats high in the trees!  They were there by the hundreds and they flew away as the sun set.

Fabulous day in Brisbane and environs Nov. 9, 2022

Spent a fantastic day in Brisbane.  We started with a bit of laundry and then made our way to the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary. 

This sanctuary was established in 1927 and the largest such sanctuary.  It also houses the scientific community dedicated to these animals.

The sanctuary is also home to many other animals that are native to Queensland.  We started with a visit from a kookaburra who sat calmly for his close up.  

What followed was viewing many birds, 

lizards, 

platapus (very hard to get a photo) 

dingos,

 tasmanian devils,

 kangaroos

 and...of course Koalas!

Then we went to Mount Coot-tha where the city can be seen in all its splendor.

We were not ready to stop for the day so we opted to travel to the north and ended up in Scarborough where we had supper...fish ad chips...very very fresh fish!

Then back we went...but got lost in Brisbane and ended up driving right through the city centre...a bit stressful...but we arrived back in one piece.

On our way back we saw some lovely beaches and enjoyed watchung a kite surfer doing tricks in the high winds.

Tuesday Nov. 8 2022-Brisbane

Having arrived right on time we prepared to leave the vessel and to start the next leg of our adventure.  Our bags were packed and taken off the ship before we awoke so all we had to do was wait for our turn to leave.  We waited in the cabin until our assigned number was called and we left our home away from home.

Friends we met on the ship. David and Rhonda who were members of our trivia team, very generously offered to let us stay in their house in Brisbane while they continue on to Sydney on the ship.

We made our way to the taxi stand and to our dismay there were no cabs...and many people scrambling to find alternatives.  Paul was able to get an Uber to pick the four of us up and take us to the airport to pick up the rental car we had reserved.

Paul was making the final arrangements when his credit card was declined.  Thankfully my card worked and we were soon in our car.  All of this took us until 1:15.

We took the car to our friends house which is a little corner of wonderful in the Brisbane suburbs.  

We passed the afternoon with Rhonda taking care of business.  We got some groceries, new Sim cards for our phones, and shared a meal with David, Rhonda and their daughter Caroline.

Before we knew it, it was time for David and Rhonda to return to the ship for the rest of their trip and for us to get ready for the rest of ours.

Sunday Nov 6- Nouméa, New Caledonia

We spent two days at sea and this started with an incredible send off from Tonga.  The cultural society representatives came to the wharf and sang traditional songs as we pulled away from their wharf.  They thanked us for coming as they recover from a natural disaster and said a moving prayer as we pulled away.  It was really very sweet.

Then the captain made a disturbing announcement...namely that there had been an "uptick" in illness on the ship.  Given our history to date we decided to lay low and avoid all people.  The only exception...we attended nightly trivia.  Ironically we won the sports trivia...totally unexpected!

What followed was two days of quiet reading on the balcony and planning for the next leg of our trip.  We have decided to leave the ship early, in Brisbane and start our driving adventure from there.

We arrived at our last stop before Brisbane, Nouméa early on Nov 6.  It is a large island and Nouméa is a city with all the mod cons. We quickly found an internet café and loaded up some books and made contact with family.  This island, New Caledonia is associated with France and so I was able to practice my French and enjoy delicious French cuisine.

We found a lovely park in the city centre where the song birds serenaded us on a very rainy day!  

We stopped for lunch and had a welcome break from the food on the ship which is getting a bit monotonous.  

We have two more days at sea and then Australia awaits!

Nov 2, 2022 Tonga, day 2

We decided to take it easy on day 2 in Tonga.  We took a short walk into town and enjoyed a cold drink at a local cafe. 

Then we visited the market stalls and made a few purchases.  There was a group of men enjoying a break and a communal drink of cava...given my recent illness I declined a sample!

The city is very interesting as it is a constitution monarchy.  The royal residence is visible from the ship.

Then we made our way back to the ship for a refreshing dip in the pool and a luxurious dip into our books.