Sydney — Day 4
For our final day in Sydney, we hopped on a hop-on-hop-off bus tour, which gave us a deeper look at the city’s history and easy access to a few spots we hadn’t reached yet.
Our first stop was St. Mary’s Cathedral, where we arrived just in time for Mass. Although I’m not religious, I’ve always appreciated the ceremony and rhythm of Catholic Mass. It did limit how many photos I could take inside, but it was still a peaceful start to the morning.
Next, we wandered through the Australian Museum, which was filled with taxidermied wildlife and an impressive dinosaur exhibit. The highlight — or maybe the fever dream? — was a “T-Rex autopsy,” featuring a disturbingly life-sized T-Rex with its leg removed and its belly sliced open. The accompanying video showed bloodied staff mid-autopsy. Very unique, and for impressionable children I imagine very scarring
After the museum, we headed to Chinatown and strolled through Sydney’s Chinese Garden of Friendship, where I nearly sat on an Australian water dragon. A delicious dumpling lunch followed, and then we wrapped up our sightseeing by walking up onto the Harbour Bridge, with picture-perfect views of the Opera House.
With our tour complete, it was time to board our cruise ship — a much smoother process than past trips. We settled into our room and set off toward Melbourne.
Day at Sea — Day 5
(A calm, quiet day onboard as we made our way south.)
Melbourne — Day 6
Melbourne and Sydney have the classic friendly rivalry of neighboring major cities. On our walking tour, our guide described Sydney as more “polished” and Melbourne as more “comfortable.” I can see what he meant.
The weather didn’t do us any favors — a steady rotation of drizzle and proper rain (by Portland standards) — but the tour was still great. We visited St. Paul’s Cathedral, wandered one of Melbourne’s famous street art laneways, and stopped by the former prison where the infamous Ned Kelly was executed. Our guide, a local, kept the group engaged despite the soggy conditions.
But Mom had her heart set on a specific destination: a park known for its large population of flying foxes. I’d found it during my pre-trip research, so after the tour we grabbed a couple of meat pies from a market and trekked across the city in search of bats.
Sadly, it wasn’t meant to be. Whether because of the rain or sheer bad luck, we didn’t spot a single bat. We did, however, find a lively flock of rainbow lorikeets, which gave me my first “tropical bird” photos of the trip. (Cockatoos are everywhere, but apparently impossible for me to photograph.) Despite being batless, it was a beautiful walk through a huge urban park.
Day at Sea — Day 7
Another relaxing day onboard as we sailed toward Tasmania.
Hobart — Day 8… Kind of
Oh, weather — you fickle mistress.
I was so excited for Tasmania. We were scheduled to visit a wildlife sanctuary famous for its rehabilitation work, especially with Tasmanian devils. But the wind had other plans. As we approached port, gusts reached 60 knots, and the captain announced it wasn’t safe to dock.
Just like that, our stop in Hobart vanished.
Instead of wandering Tasmania, we found ourselves with four unexpected days at sea. A disappointment, for sure — but I suppose it’s just an excuse to come back someday.
Days at Sea — Days 9 & 10
Lots of reading. Lots of ocean. Lots of wishing for land.
Up Next: New Zealand!
We’ll be arriving in gorgeous New Zealand next — fingers crossed that the weather finally decides to cooperate!