March 23, 2018 Blue Mountains tour- whole day

March 23, 2018

We booked a small group tour from AATKings tour company to go to the Blue Mountains.

The tour included a bus ride to the mountains and then a leisurely boat trip on the Parramatta River back to Sydney.

At 7:15 am we started out on a small coach and drove across theSydney Harbor                 Bridge to go to the first stop, Leura. This was about after an hour of driving through the country side. Weather was foggy and guide was worried that we would not be able to see the Three Sisters mountain formation when we got to the Blue Mountains.

We stopped at the Loaves and Fishes cafe in Leura  and we had tea, coffee or hot cocoa and a scone. After a short break here we walked up and down the main street until it was time to board the coach.

Leura,_New_South_Wales


Our next stop was Scenic World in southern Katoomba to go to the rain forest.

https://www.scenicworld.com.au

We took a cable car across the gorge to get to the side where the restaurant and gift shop was as well as the steep incline railway which would take us down to the gorge and rainforest. It was very foggy so we could not see the Katoomba Falls as we transited from one side of the gorge to the other.

We had about 90 minutes to go down to the gorge and rainforest before we had to meet and get back on the bus.

The tram was very steep- see photos- and the ride short. We got off and walked along the boardwalk to go through the rain forest  and observe the trees, ferns and birds.

After 60 mins of  exploring we went back up to the Scenic World center to do a little shopping and then got on the bus to go to a look out to see the Three Sisters.

The guide took us to 3 overlooks but  everyone was fogged in so  we didn't see them until we went to a fourth and it was a partial view.

Now it was time for lunch so we headed to the Valley of the Waters in Wentworth Falls to go to the Conservation Hut. We chose one of the tree items for lunch and spent an hour eating and looking at the views.

https://www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au/things-to-do/walking-tracks/wentworth-falls-track


Now we are off to visit the Featherdale Wildlife Park for a 90 minute visit.

https://www.featherdale.com.au

The park was pretty compact and the paths well marked. There was  a very good Koala exhibit and we could get close enough to see them and take photos.

We hand fed the wallabies and saw kangaroos at a distance as well as saw the fairy penguins up  close.

We saw many more native animals during our stay here.

This was our last stop and now we are going to the ferry terminal to take a ferry on the Parramatta River to the Circular Quay in Sydney.

http://www.visitsydneyaustralia.com.au/parramatta-river.html

We arrived at the ferry terminal at 6:30 and decided to have dinner here. We chose the Searock Grill and Bar and had a delicious dinner by the promenade.

We walked back to the hotel tired but we had a wonderful day.

March 22, 2018 arrived in Sydney end of the cruise

March 22, 2018

The ship arrived in Sydney at 6 am and docked at 7 AM.

We had breakfast in the dining room as we were not scheduled to disembark until 9:30am so we had plenty of time to eat and have coffee.

Around 8:30am we went to our meeting place and we called to leave around 8:45am. We grabbed our carryons and left the ship to collect our luggage.

Once we collected them we proceeded to the terminal exit where we waited for the car service to pick us up.

We arrived at the Radisson Blu at 9:45am and were able to check in early as they had a room near the elevators ready.

We went down to Circular Quay for lunch at the City Extra cafe where we had a hamburger and chips for A$25.00. Lunch was good. 

We then went to the Opera House and bought tickets for the tour. Since we had 1 & 1/2 hrs before the tour started we walked to the Botanical Gardens and took a 30 min. train tour of the gardens which were very beautiful and very large in area.

https://us.sydney.com/destinations/sydney/sydney-city/city-centre/attractions/royal-botanic-gardens-and-the-domain

Headed back for the Opera House tour. We saw all the theaters and common areas in the complex. Very nice in decor and design. We saw them setting up the props for an opera in the opera house.

We walked around the wharf area and ended up eating dinner at one of the restaurants.

Circular Quay reminded us a lot like Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco except it had a lot of different restaurants and shops.

https://www.sydney.com.au/quay.htm

Back to the hotel- have a busy day planned tomorrow.

March 21, Last day at sea and heading for Sydney

March 21, 2018

Our second day at sea and heading to Sydney.

In the morning we went to a cooking demonstration and directly afterwards for a tour of the galley. Very interesting.

In the afternoon we started some packing .

We just chilled out for the rest of the day.

Went to the evening show, put out the luggage for our arrival tomorrow.

March 20, 2018 A day at sea- formal night

March 20, 2018

We had rough seas today.

We just chilled out until 3 pm when we went to a formal tea at 3 pm.

It was formal night and most people dressed very nice.

Menu featured lobster and king prawns. After dinner all the waiters were in a parade holding baked Alaskas. Later our waiter told that the desserts they held were not real and that the ones served were large sheet cakes that were sliced up and served to the guests.

We went to show tonight which was musical featuring the dancers and singers - Born to be Wild.

Lots of rock and roll hits and a pink Cadillac was on the stage as a prop.

Great show.

At 10:30 pm we gathered in the atrium for the balloon drop. It was lots of fun-guests were dancing, others catching the balloons and others taking photos.