Indonesia is a large Archipelago with more than 13,000 islands. Most of them are uninhabited. But Komodo has the Komodo Dragon National Park. Supposedly there are about 2,000 people living on this very large but hilly island with something like 5,000 Komodo dragons.

It was hot and humid when we left the ship. And the ship anchored in the bay and we tendered to shore. The only thing to do was to take an excursion through the National Park.

And that had to be a guided tour. They didn’t want anyone to be eaten!

We saw 5 dragons but mostly they were all just laying down. They hunt meat but mostly in the early morning when it is cooler. And then they just lay around. This guy was searching for something to eat but he wasn’t going to move very much. Notice his tongue. That looks dangerous enough. They typically eat the native wild boars, deer and other small rodents. But they are carnivores, so they will eat their young. Disgusting!

We did see this wild native orchid just growing on the side of a tree. They are so difficult to grow at home and here they just grow with no interference.

So we walked with our guide up and down the paths as designated until we saw the dragons, heard stories about the special trees one of which mothers can make something to eat when they are pregnant so that her baby will be good at math (sounds like a fib to me). After walking for a couple hours and several miles we had seen quite a bit and were soaking wet with sweat. There were 5 deer just sitting on the beach near to the pier where our tender was docking.

The first part of today’s story involves Cyclone Trevor again. We didn’t dock at Thursday Island as scheduled so that we could outrace the storm. And it worked. Well sort of. We got to Darwin with no strong winds or storm. So we docked. And during the night the storm caught up. Fortunately it had lost most of its punch as it crossed the York Peninsula. We still had buckets of rain and 55 km/hour winds. That meant our time on shore was somewhat limited.

However, the internet connection was very poor for a few days. So my blog was delayed.

Darwin. What a strange place. The harbor area is huge. There are miles and miles of beaches. Many are beautiful sandy beaches. But it has more crocs than any other place in the world. There is no swimming except one very small area in town. There they have netting to keep out the crocs. They also have large numbers of jelly fish that sting. And the climate is either wet or dry. But always HOT.

We went to the museum and saw the record croc. It was over 18 feet long. Fortunately stuffed.

Then walking around town we saw thus Banyan tree. They are all over Australia but this was the only one I got a decent photo. There is no real central trunk. Branches or whatever they are called drop from the upper tree and become roots. This is just one tree!

Early on during WWII the Japanese bombed Darwin with even more bombs than were dropped on Pearl Harbor but with much less loss of life. They had Hoped to break the alliance between the US and Australia. That didn’t work. But because of the damage both from the bombing and from many cyclones the city looks very new.

The best thing was the lawn mower. I thought I was home.

First of all I must explain why I have not added a blog for a few days. After the day in Cairns and taking an excursion to the Great Barrier Reef, we were told that Cyclone Trevor had formed. It was being tracked and should hit the York Peninsula just south of our next scheduled port of Thursday Island. We would have been in trouble. But the Captain changed our course and skipped stopping in this area. The storm did hit just as predicted on Tuesday March 19. It had 150 km/hour winds as it hit the land. Much damage. Glad we left the area ahead of this. But that meant we were not close to shore and had very spotty web access. So I couldn’t get a blog completed.

We had a good time at the reef. Many of the photos were only so so. But we did see blue star fish. One of the issues in the water was the jelly fish. It was their mating season and they sting people if they find uncovered skin. We saw hundreds of the jelly fish. They don’t show up clearly in photos. It just looks like I took an out of focus picture.

On the way back to the port the crew of the catamaran were somewhat bored (as were we!). So this one young lady in the photo took a barf bag and made an origami swan. it was really cute. Since I took a photo and Kathy talked to her, we were given the swan.

I am still struggling with staying on the web. That makes loading photos a problem. So I will tell the rest of the origami story. We took the swan to dinner at the café. The servers started joining in. First we got a Philippine airplane, then a lotus blossom from another, a boat, a gang plank for the boat, a big Russian airplane, and because it was St. Patrick’s Day, we got a leprechauns boot. The next day we got another boat, a box and the most special frog that actually jumps.

For dinner Kathy and I almost always get the same table in the World Café. That is the casual restaurant/buffet. We don’t get dressed up. Typically we get there just after it opens and we are almost always the last to leave. The table called “our table” is well known by the waitstaff. They aren’t allowed to put a reserved sign on it. But that is the standard joke. However, since it is a table for 4 we are generally joined by another couple. Sometimes we have known them and sometimes it is just random. On this one night it was totally random! The lady was born in Iran and moved to America. Her husband was just a quiet American but good fun. So as we sat there talking, I said I was an Arabic Linguist. So soon I took a small piece of paper and wrote my name in Arabic. She took the paper and wrote my name in Farsi (Persian). That just got things started. Our normal servers are Ardel from Philippines, Mengfei from China and Barchyn from Russia (although everyone thinks she is Chinese because of her looks). Each of these three saw the paper and asked about it. Soon all 3 had signed my name (or so they said) in their language. Then someone else came by and wrote my name and something else in their language. Unfortunately I forgot who that was or what language.

So when the restaurant was about to close and we were the only passengers left in the room I had a picture taken with the 3 and added Cholo, another server from the Philippines. He is next to me. Are we having fun or what?

Townsville has one of the largest Australian Army bases. During WWII there were over 5,000 American military stationed there. The symbol of the city is the cliff called Castle Hill. Very predominant landmark.

Our excursion was to drive to the Rainforest. Driving out of the city, a few landmarks were identified. The most notable was the hotel affectional called the Sugar Shaker. Then it was off on a long drive. So just before arriving the bus made a stop in an area where we had a tea and a bathroom break. The place was called the Frosty Mango.

I hope Alyssa Mulcahy sees this blog. She blogged while staying in Uganda and had several stories about having fresh mangoes from the trees. The trees in the background are mango trees. I think he just fell out of one!

The Naturalist guiding our group explained how the rainforest works. Without providing all of the details let me explain this picture. At the top of the trees is an almost solid canopy of leaves and branches. There was very little sunlight that got through to the ground. Every year some of the fruit trees have ripe fruit that gets eaten by the birds in the forest. Then they drop the seeds as they fly over the canopy. Some stick to the wet leaves and they grow. Then they shoot vine down towards the ground. It eventually becomes a root. And then this new tree grows wild and wraps around its original tree until it strangles the host. Our naturalist said the tree in the picture will probably die from this in about 200 years. I volunteered to come back to check!

The most fascinating tree was the Quandong tree. In order to get enough nutrients is spreads the base out over a very large area with lots of narrow arms. This tree was huge and we couldn’t see the top because lots of other foliage surrounded it. I had never been to a rainforest before which made this excursion really interesting. We both wore hiking boots and were very glad. The paths were at times steep, full of leaves and always wet. Especially wet this year. Townsville and the area was flooded just 4 weeks ago. Many of the houses and even shopping centers were still closed for remodeling. In something like 10 days of rain they had about 3 meters of rain (almost 10 feet). I am glad we weren’t there then.

Whitsunday Islands is an archipelago in the Coral Sea amid the Great Barrier Reef. There are 74 islands in the group. There is no port deep enough to tie up at a dock. So we anchored off shore and tendered into Arlie Beach. This town was most interesting. As of the last census it has 875 fulltime residents. And 20,000 tourists at a time. It supposedly has more liquor licenses per capita than any city in the world. the main street is hotels, bars and restaurants. Once in a while there was a store for swimming. Not exactly interesting except to go to the reef. Instead we took an included (free) scenic tour inland. Our major stop was in the town of Proserpine, a major sugar producing area. The people obviously knew there was a ship in port and they would have several bus loads of tourists. They were out on the streets helping us any way they could. There was a quilt show just at the bus stop.

So we asked if there was a shop with native Aboriginal fabric. Yes, of course. So we went there. Two more meters of material is now safe in our suitcase under the bed. We also walked through a grocery store and bought a package of Custard Cream cookies. They were my favorite cookie when we lived in England.

The shore was a pretty area with high blue skies but difficult to get a good sharp picture. And it was very hot and humid. We have been warned that the further north we go in Australia, the hotter it will get.

The late Steve Irwin and his family created and own the Australian Zoo. Our excursion took us there to see Australian animals once again.

This time it was up close and personal. Having our photo taken holding a koala was part of the excursion. But this zoo had many other opportunities to get close. Some such as petting a tiger cost extra. We didn’t partake. It was 94 degrees and very sunny. We got very tired just walking around. But…..

Even just walking around got us close. There were 10 or 20 kangaroos just out in a large fenced area where anyone could walk with them.

But the focus of this zoo had to be the Crocks. Steve was famous for playing with crocks. There is a huge Crocosium built around the waterways suitable for the crock shows. This stadium was completely enclosed with bleachers. The seating probably was enough for 5,000. Huge for a zoo. And the crock show was pretty intense. When the crock snaps his mouth shut around food it sounded like a gun going off. And he jumps out of the water to get his food.

Newcastle is a beautiful city and they are very interested in tourism. They have a staff of trained volunteers helping with providing shuttle bus service to ship passengers by answering question on the bus and after getting off the bus. The city is quite pretty as can be seen in this photo of the Anglican Cathedral on the hill. It isn’t surprising to have a great city until we knew that this city is the world’s largest coal exporting port. I thought that would mean a dirty and perhaps dangerous port. But the city managers kept that part way away from the city and the passenger harbor. We could just barely see it in the distance.

Kathy and I had another free excursion booked but decided not to take yet another bus tour. At breakfast we talked briefly with the Viking Resident Historian. She was a native of Newcastle. She recommended we walk along the harbor area and go to or at least towards the lighthouse. That was what we did. And we went past the lighthouse all the way to the point. Along the way we saw the old Custom’s House which is now a hotel (photo). Then we happened across Fred and Ethel (another photo).

It was sunny and warm but we felt a need to walk. Plus the views were special.

This was the lighthouse taken from the point way past it. By the time we got back to the city center we had walked 12,000 steps and it was only noon. We thought about finding a good local restaurant but decided against it.

One more interesting photo taken during our long hike to the point. Don’t kids need No.2 pencils for school? I think Kathy found one. Perhaps it was just to big to bring home.

The tradition in Newcastle is to salute visiting cruise ships as they depart by blasting their cannon. The first shot is just when the bow of the ship passes a certain buoy. Then as the bow of the ship passes this same buoy, another blast. If the ship’s Captain toots his horn they blast a third shot. We were told not to worry they seldom hit the ship. This cannon was used during WWII against a Japanese submarine and they never hit it either. I was watching for the first shot but completely missed taking a photo. This was the second shot.

Sydney was our first day with real rain other than sea days. But then it shared a great day with us.

Our excursion from the ship took us to Bondi Beach which is one of the most famous in the world. It was a Saturday in late summer but wasn’t very crowded. The fact that it had a high temperature of 70 degrees and pouring rain could be the reason. So we got wet just walking around!

We also got to see the famous Sydney Opera House. But with a heavily overcast sky, the roof wasn’t very impressive. And we weren’t outside to walk around it.

Sunday was beautiful. What a difference in the beauty of the building. It did get pretty warm while we were walking around the city. It was 85 degrees. But we couldn’t complain. Just a week before it was 117 degrees. That would have made us stop walking. We walked completely around the Opera House and then walked a lot in the area called the Rocks. That was the area where the city was originated. There are still many of the buildings over 100 years old. We found a little off the wall café to stop and have lunch. Of course I had lamb! A lamb salad.

City center is amazing but not as pretty as the old parts of town. High-rise after high-rise. So I took a photo but we didn’t attempt to walk it.

Then as we took the shuttle boat (not bus in the port) we went under the Harbor Bridge and had a perfect view with the sun on the side to make the photo look good. One of the more notable things to do in the city is to climb the bridge. We did not do that. It is quite expensive. Something like AU$300 and nothing can be carried up for fear it will drop into the water. No cameras! Why go up if I can’t take pictures.

We took an excursion today into the mountains outside of the city. It was called Trains, Wine and Wildlife. We actually started with the wildlife. We went to Healesville Sanctuary. It was zoo but a very special one in that its focus was more to prevent animals from becoming extinct and to heal ailing animals. But of course we were more interested in seeing the animals we hear about as being from down under.

Koalas are definitely the cutest. But we learned they sleep 18 hours per day on average. So even though we saw quite a few, all but one was sound asleep like this one. They sleep in the most awkward positions and precariously sitting on branches.

Of course the kangaroo had to be our next area. They weren’t as numerous as I would have thought being in Australia. I guess they aren’t in danger of becoming extinct nor were they hurt and being brought back to health. So I didn’t get any great photos. But when they did move it was very fast. I wasn’t always at the ready with the camera.

The wallaby is sort of a small relative of the kangaroo. It stands on the 2 hind legs and has a strong tail as a third point of contact. But these little creatures hid in the grasses in the cage. So they were not generally visible. They would be pretty sneaky to see in the wild like if you were camping. They would steal food before you could do anything about it.

Just look at those piercing eyes. He was ready to attack I do believe. This was the fierce Tasmanian Devil. I couldn’t get him to open his mouth when I had the camera ready. His fangs look extremely sharp. But we were told they really don’t attack other animals very often. They like to eat leftovers from other animal kills. Sort of a furry vulture. By they way, this area had sign calling it the Devil’s Sanctuary. Sort of scary, don’t you think?

Okay, I need help. This bird stands like a flamingo on one leg. But this thing was gray with a long beak. There was no sign and it really wasn’t in a cage. It seemed to be a natural visitor to the area. It had to be 3 feet tall.

From the Sanctuary we went to a vineyard. We sampled their wines and had lunch. I had the roasted chicken. Kathy had local salmon. Both were good and paired with their wine. Unfortunately we found their wine to not be very bold. Even the Pinot Noir looked more like a blush than a bold red wine. Always fun to try another country’s wine styles.

And then we got on the Puffing Billy train. Originally this railway was constructed in 1900 to carry people and cargo to the people living in the very hilly area. There were few roads at that time. The roads came in and then there was a landslide covering the tracks in 1953. So the railway was basically no longer needed. But a group of local volunteers decided it was too important. It has been operating since 1953 as a volunteer only event funded only by paying customers. Our train was packed. The Viking excursion group was over 100 people and we only made up about a third of the passengers. It is very well known and appreciated. They actually have a couple of dining cars that can be used. So at times they have 3 hour excursions where they serve lunch in the dining cars. We only had a 30 minute ride with a stop in between. If I lived in the area I am certain I would be one of the volunteers. It looked like great fun.

Back to the ship which took about 1 1/2 hours on the bus. The traffic once we got near to Melbourne was complete gridlock. Leaving the city was worse than entering but not by much. By the way we did pass by the cricket pitch. For those who don’t understand cricket, the pitch is the field. The stands at this pitch seat over 100,000. And a proper cricket test match with another country is a 5 day event. That is a lot of paying customers. And a good percentage of cricket matches end in a draw.

Back onboard it was almost time for dinner. Once again Viking served lamb from the carving station. I have been able to eat lamb 10 times so far. I never pass it by. And I had Greek moussaka with it which is an eggplant casserole. A perfect combination.