Recently my wife Linda and Hall of famer son MJ had the pleasure of traveling
to “Down Under” and experiencing the sensational city of Sydney, Australia for
4 days then cruising from Sydney around New Zealand for 14 days retuning to
Sydney then flying back home direct to San Francisco.
The flight from San Francisco is 15 hours and went very smooth pampered by an
attentive staff on a new United 787 airplane.
We left San Francisco on a red eye to keep our normal sleep patterns on this journey. You loose one day and we arrived after breakfast at 8 in the morning Sydney time rested and ready to go.
We had a driver pick us up and take us to our 5 star Shagri La Hotel recommended by our world traveler friends with a great location and attentive service in what is known as the Rocks District.
The hotel rooms have panoramic views of Sydney Harbour and the famous Harbour Bridge and Sydney Opera House. At night, the breathtaking views sparkle with joy and are very soothing to your soul.
We left San Francisco on a red eye to keep our normal sleep patterns on this journey. You loose one day and we arrived after breakfast at 8 in the morning Sydney time rested and ready to go.
We had a driver pick us up and take us to our 5 star Shagri La Hotel recommended by our world traveler friends with a great location and attentive service in what is known as the Rocks District.
The hotel rooms have panoramic views of Sydney Harbour and the famous Harbour Bridge and Sydney Opera House. At night, the breathtaking views sparkle with joy and are very soothing to your soul.
The vibrant city of
Sydney is full of beauty, youthful energy and very kind people. March is their
fall season with sunny and pleasant temperatures in the mid 70’s every day. It
reminded us of the “great city by the bay” with its vast beauty and high energy
aura.
We always hire a private driver to tour the cities on these trips. Our driver Antonio was very knowledgeable and gave us an extensive tour of this great city. It was highlighted by the iconic Sidney Opera House with its world class sea shell design by Danish architect Jorn Utzon proudly perched on Sydney Harbor, the Harbor Bridge and beautiful warm Bondi beach filled with many young people surfing and swimming in the clear warm water overlooking the city.
Our hotel was holding the Asia Pacific Conference and was bustling with energy and high security as 3 of the 10 prime ministers that attended this meeting and their entourage were staying there.
On the top of our hotel is one
of the best views in the city complete with a modern decorated bar with
comfortable couches and a world class restaurant called Altitude. We dined there one night and it was fantastic
enjoying sucking pig and mushroom risotto and toasting to Sydney drinking
perfect manhattans as the sun set over stunning Sydney Harbour.We always hire a private driver to tour the cities on these trips. Our driver Antonio was very knowledgeable and gave us an extensive tour of this great city. It was highlighted by the iconic Sidney Opera House with its world class sea shell design by Danish architect Jorn Utzon proudly perched on Sydney Harbor, the Harbor Bridge and beautiful warm Bondi beach filled with many young people surfing and swimming in the clear warm water overlooking the city.
Our hotel was holding the Asia Pacific Conference and was bustling with energy and high security as 3 of the 10 prime ministers that attended this meeting and their entourage were staying there.
The city is easy to walk around and very fun to explore the outstanding variety of shopping and restaurants. We also enjoyed sitting in one of the many cafes and having a very interesting “people watching” experience.
After 4 days of fun, we boarded our ship for our 14 voyage to New Zealand. After 2 days of smooth sailing, swimming, and enjoying the warm breezes from our suite deck, we arrived in Dunedin. We sailed on St. Patrick’s Day and the ship provided lots of Irish food, decorations, live music and a Irish sing-along to the many famous Irish songs, green champagne, and a variety of Irish deserts. “Erin Go Braugh.” Our voyage continued to Akaroa, Wellington Napier, Tauranga, Auckland and then back to Sydney on the stately Sun Princess Cruise line.
Some highlights of the side trips included a pub crawl and visit to a brewery, two famous wineries, one in Auckland and one in Napier, city tour of Wellington and Christ Church, and in Tauranga visiting the home of the thermo reserve and boiling mud and geysers. We also watched the smart sheep dogs do their amazing work on the acres of beautiful green grass farmland.
On the ship, we bonded with Head Waiter Antonio and he invited us to a fabulous private wine tasting.
The tasting began with Taittinger Champagne which brought back great memories of when we toured this famous producer when we were in France a few years ago. Next was Kim Crawford Pinot Gris from Marlborough, New Zealand that delivered flavors of warm spicy fruit and had a bright clean finish. Nobilo Chardonnay was also from Marlborough and was rich mouth filling with abundant fresh fruit and a long appealing finish. Boschendal Blanc de Noir from South Africa was the next taste. It is delicate blush that has graced the tables of wine lovers for generations.
From Tasmania, we tasted Tower Estate Pinot Noir. The palate was long and concentrated with a subtle savory oak support and smooth tannins The last taste was Houghton Jack Mann Cabernet Sauvignon from Australia. Named after legendary winemaker Jack Mann, this is a fine wine of elegant power balanced by soft fine tannins.
In conclusion, we would highly recommend that you put this great part of the world on your “must do” bucket list. When you leave this peaceful paradise, they don’t say good bye to you. They say “see you again soon” which is a great thought to etch into your happy memory bank for a return trip.
For more information and to plan your bucket list cruise venture to “Down Under" contact our travel professional at DispensaCruises@comcast.com.
