Perth and Fremantle, Western Australia

We arrived in the port city of Fremantle on Sunday, February 23 (Saturday, February 22 Florida time) for an overnight stay that would give us time to visit both the port of Fremantle and the city of Perth.  Since it was a Sunday, we decided to explore Fremantle the first day and save Perth for the second day.  We were able to walk everywhere in Fremantle on our own right off the ship; no shuttles needed.  We like it that way because we have total freedom to explore on our own.  It was a very hot day (95 degrees+) with no clouds. Despite the heat, we had a great day exploring this city.  First, we walked to the historic prison and took a tour.  Established in the early 1800's it was one of the main prisons where England sent its convicts when it could no longer send them to the U.S. Some of the convicts were actually political prisoners rather than criminals. The conditions were brutal. Even after the English convict era, it continued to operate as a prison for Western Australian criminals until 1991.  The Australians have done an amazing job of preserving this historic landmark.  While the tales of convicts and prisoners is kind of grim, the bigger story of human persistence and resiliency is inspiring.

Next, we visited the Shipwreck Museum in Fremantle which houses recovered artifacts from ships that wrecked off the rugged coast of western Australia dating back to the Dutch explorers in the late 1500's.  The Dutch aggressively explored and mapped the western coast, but never realized any profits for all their efforts and hardships.  It is very interesting history.

After visiting a prison and a shipwreck museum, we decided it was time to lighten up a bit so we headed to the fishing harbor area along the wharves where there are restaurants and pubs.  On a Sunday afternoon, it was a happening area full of local families and tourists.  It was like a compact Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco.  We found the famous Little Creatures brew pub and stopped in for a couple of pints and lunch.  It is the biggest brew pub we have ever seen taking up 3 warehouses on the waterfront -- and it was packed. After our beers and lunch and purchasing a souvenir T-shirt we walked back to ship from there.

Since it was an overnight stay for us, we walked back into Fremantle after dinner that night.  We walked to an entertainment area called the "Cappuccino Strip" and had a nightcap in a local pub.  It was a treat for us to be able to spend a long day and an evening off the ship.  We loved it here!


Linda at the Prison Gate

Prison grounds - chapel in front and barracks on each side

Inside the prison barracks

A typical cell

The Gallows where 43 men and 1 woman were executed

Fishing Harbor area of Fremantle

Inside Little Creatures Brew Pub, a huge operation

Pale Ale at Little Creatures Brew Pub - Yummy!!

Little Creatures Brew Pub

On Monday, we took a commuter train from Fremantle into Perth, the capital of the state of Western Australia.  Because of its location on the western side of Australia, Perth is considered the most isolated state capital in the world.  It is a large city of 1,900,000 people.  We spent a couple of hours in the morning walking around the central business district and found a very cool shopping area in the middle of downtown.  We also walked to a beautiful city park with lots of interesting art features that was located near the historic state Supreme Court building.  The Swan River runs through the middle of Perth down to Fremantle, then into the Indian Ocean.  We took a ferry ride back to Fremantle to return to our ship.  The ferry ride took about an hour and 15 minutes and was terrific.  All along the river bank were magnificent homes perched up on bluffs overlooking the beautiful river including a $57,000,000.00 mansion.  There were marinas all along the shoreline of the Swan River and the yachts moored there were mostly 35' or larger. We were amazed at the homes and yachts all along the way.  It was a great day of sightseeing for us.


Perth - Population1,900,000

Leaving Perth by ferry along Swan River to Fremantle

Perth skyline from the Swan River

$57,000,000 Mansion on the Swan River

 

We have 2 more stops in Australia - Geraldton and Exmouth.

Western Australia

Onboard ship the crew put on an Australian Beach Party one evening on our way to Western Australia.  They decorated the pool deck with surfboards, boomerangs and sharks and served us cocktails and hors d'oeuvres.  The Band played dance music and we partied on deck all evening.  It was a really good night under the stars especially since we have a so many fun Australian passengers onboard.

As we approach the halfway point of our trip, we have come to realize that we will have a hard time adjusting to a normal lifestyle when we return home, because the Seabourn staff has been spoiling us everyday.  Thus, we are making of list of crew members that we must bring home to take care of us.  For the list, Linda has chosen Igor from Macedonia and Brian has chosen Melissa from South Africa (both are pictured below).  Life at sea is good!!!!!

Great White Sharks in the Pool

Melissa is on the "Going Home with Us" List

Igor is on the "Going Home with Us" List

Special Guests at the Deck Party

A View from the Sky Bar Above

Talented Entertainers
 

Dancing on Deck
 

We spent Saturday, February 22 (Friday, February 21 Florida time) in Bunbury, a coastal town of 35,000 people on the West Coast of Australia.  We took a scenic river cruise up the Collie River where we saw some of the picturesque countryside and enjoyed a picnic lunch under shade trees along the river.  Along the way , we saw many upscale waterfront homes that reminded us of Florida homes of stucco and tile roofs and docks on the water. In the afternoon, we walked through town and checked out the downtown waterfront along the bays that ring the City off the Indian Ocean.  The temperature has risen dramatically.  When we returned to the ship, we immediately grabbed a cold beer and jumped in the pool to cool off.

On to Fremantle and Perth from here to continue our Australian experience. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Barossa County Wine District (Adelaide)

On our first day in Adelaide, we took a full day tour to the Barossa County wine district.  We drink Barossa County wines at home so we were excited to take this tour.  Our favorite is the Shiraz grape from this region.  The noted cellars in this region are Peter Lehman, Penfolds and Jacob's Creek. Much like Napa Valley in California, Barossa County is set in rolling hills outside of the City. The area has a rich history having been settled by English, German, Polish and other European settlers in the 1800's. There is a lot of German influence in this area.  The small towns in the wine district have German names and all seem to have German bakeries which are very popular.  We visited 3 wineries (Saltram, McGuigan and Jacob's Creek) and a couple of other scenic sites for the day. This was our very first winery tour and it was a perfect weather day (not that there ever is a bad day for wine tasting).   

On our second day in Adelaide we toured the City on our own.  It's a bustling City with lots of good shopping and some interesting architecture consisting of old historic buildings mixed in with more modern office buildings.  We finished up our Adelaide visit having lunch with friends downtown.  We all agreed that Adelaide is the first Australian city we have visited that did not seem to have the British vibe of the other places we have visited perhaps because of its multi-cultural background.

We now have a 3 day sail along the coastline to our next stop.  We are traveling across the Australian Bight, a stretch of sea along the southern coast of Australia.  We will round the southwest corner of Australia and enter the Indian Ocean heading to our next port, Bunbury.  The seas are a little rough so we are feeling the rolling and watching the sea spray come up to our balcony on the 5th deck.  The temperatures are in the 60s and 70s, a little cooler than we expected, but we know hot weather is ahead so we're enjoying the moderate temperatures.

Adelaide, South Australia

Barossa County Landscape

First stop - Saltram Winery, Barossa County

Oak Barrels at Saltram Winery

Beautiful Grounds at McGuigan's Winery

Tasting at McGuigan's Winery - Yummy!

Vintage Port
 at McGuigan's Winery
 

Grapevines at Jacob's Creek

Down Under - Eden, Tasmania, Melbourne, Geelong and Kangaroo Island

After leaving Sydney, we sailed to the small fishing port of Eden which is located halfway between Sydney and Melbourne and was quite a culture shock after the big city.  However, we enjoyed our day in this quiet friendly town.  There was another small cruise ship in the harbor that day which apparently never happens.  The town really rolled out the red carpet welcoming 2 cruise ships on the same day -- a historic event here.  Two of our fellow passengers were actually interviewed by reporters from the local newspaper, The Eden Magnet, about our stop.  The weather was temperate, but there was smoke in the atmosphere from the inland wild fires.We took a ferry ride around large Twofold Bay in the morning and encountered seals and dolphins along the way and learned about the whaling history of this area.  In the afternoon, we walked around the friendly town and visited the whaling museum which was quite impressive.  Since whaling is no longer practiced in Australia, fishing and mussels are the main industry here.  This picturesque town was a good stop.



Eden on Twofold Bay

Rugged Coastline of Eden

Muscles???

Eden - Population 3,000

We sailed through the night across the Bass Strait to the island of Tasmania.  The Port city of Burnie is located on the northern coast of Tasmania.  We took a tour out to a family owned wildlife refuge.  We drove through beautiful hilly farmland.  This idyllic landscape and climate are perfect for growing every type of produce and raising cattle.  The wildlife refuge is located on the Wing family's 106 acre farm.  The family has been there for 7 generations.  Among the animals they have there are Tasmanian Devils, Koalas, Emus and Kangaroos. We were able to feed and touch the animals sheltered there.  Later in the visit we were allowed to wander around on the farm property and enjoy the countryside and other animals there under protection.  Tasmania is a fascinating place.  We would like to come back someday and do some hiking.

 

 

 

 

 







 

Melbourne  is Australia's second largest city and has been voted one of the world's most livable cities several years in a row.  In the morning of our visit we took a tour out of town to a national park area called the You Yang Mountains and a preserve area called Serendip Preserve to see animals in their natural environment.  This wildlife encounter was very different from our experience the day before in Tasmania.  Our guide was able to spot Koalas, Kangaroos and Emus for us to observe from a distance in their actual protected habitats.  We felt fortunate to have this experience and to get to see the countryside outside of Melbourne.  The terrain is very flat in this area and the countryside becomes very rural after just a short drive out of the City.

 

In the late afternoon Seabourn treated us to a very special event at a vintage theater in downtown Melbourne called The Regent Theatre.  In a beautiful old ballroom with very high ceilings and elaborate chandeliers we were served cocktails and snacks featuring local foods.  An Australian television personality who has a regular show on The Animal Planet brought in animals for us to see and touch including a crocodile, snakes, kangaroo, koala, dingo and other exotic animals.  It was a very interactive event and everyone loved it.  Also, we were treated to a show of music and dance by 3 members of a local indigenous group.  We returned to the ship after the show and were greeted with a welcome back aboard party.  We finished up our great day in Melbourne with dinner outside on deck followed by dancing under the stars with the ship's house band -- not a bad Thursday!!!

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

  





After leaving Melbourne we sailed a short distance to Geelong which is Australia's fifth busiest commercial port.  This charming town has a busy downtown with restaurants and shops and interesting architecture. It also has a beautiful waterfront featuring a swimming beach and boardwalk, marina and pier.  There is a lot of public artwork around town to add charm.  We walked along a waterfront park, then walked across town to a riverfront area.  We visited some other downtown sites, then stopped in the Lord Nelson Pub for a late lunch and a pint of local beer.  All the locals were very friendly to us which added to the charm of the seaport town.

 

 

 

 

  

After a full day at sea, we arrived in Pennashaw on Kangaroo Island, an island of ,4500 inhabitants. The locals utilize a ferry service that runs regularly to shuttle back and forth to the mainland.  The channel is about 10 miles across to a port on the mainland that is a short drive to Adelaide. As we arrived, we were greeted by a colony of Little Blue Penguins near the dock.. In the morning we took a tour that stopped at a dramatic cliff overlooking deserted beaches down below.  The weather was bright and sunny making the turquoise water look like a swimming pool.  We went on to a preserve on a beach inhabited by Australian sea lions.  These interesting marine mammals were all over the beach.  Under the supervision of guides we were able to walk along the beach and watch the female sea lions return from 3 days at sea feeding.  They come back to the beach exhausted and re-unite with their pups and feed them, then rest, then repeat the cycle of going back out to sea for 3 days.  They travel out as far as 30 miles and dive as deep as 1,000 feet to feed.  They do not sleep during their 3 day swim.  They collapse as soon as they hit the beach and let the pups nurse while they sleep.  It was a wonderful nature encounter.  In the afternoon, we walked around the small town and explored the local deserted beaches and enjoyed the splendid weather.  This was a wonderful stop for us.
   





 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next stop, Adelaide and Barossa County wine country!