Tuesday, March 3^rd, 2020

Brisbane

Carol disembarked in Brisbane, and planned to fly home as soon as she could. We were so sad to see her leave the ship, especially knowing how hard the next few days are going to be for her.

Today was the Virtuoso group tour of Brisbane. Normally Deirdre would have hosted the outing, but as she was already in Brisbane visiting with Kim, it was up to me to lead the group in the morning, and then she and Kim would join us for lunch.

Brian offered to escort a couple with mobility issues off the ship early, and I had instructed the rest of our group to meet me in the Champagne Bar at 8:15, so we could leave the ship by 8:25 and be on the bus by 8:30 as planned.

The members of our group are wonderful people, and by 8:15 all 22 of them were present and accounted for. I felt quite relieved, so holding my “Virtuoso Voyages” sign up high I led the charge to the elevators so we could head down to the gangway. Then one of the group said that someone had gone to the bathroom, and someone else had gone down to his cabin, and yet someone else had gone to the Purser’s Desk. Then people started wandering off. I felt for sure someone was going to get left behind. Keeping an eye on 22 adults is not an easy challenge. There was a short intermission while we all regrouped.

Once down the gangway we had to stick together and find the cruise terminal. The terminal is quite a long walk from the ship, but it was well signposted so no one could wander off and get lost. . As I led my group towards the coach parking area I noticed that Brian was still slowly making his way to the terminal, the guest with mobility issues having declined the offer of a wheelchair, which certainly would have been a good idea. It was already very hot.

Finally everyone was on the bus, we did several headcounts just to be sure, and then off we went.

Our first stop was at the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary.

As well as having koalas, they also have dingoes, kangaroos, crocodiles, Tasmanian devils, wombats, flying foxes, cassowaries, and all manner of Australian birds.

You could queue for the opportunity to cuddle a koala. This was very tempting I must say, I mean who hasn’t has the urge to cuddle a koala? I know I have. Unfortunately the line was very long, and our time in the park was limited, so I had to forgo this pleasure. We will have to come back again.

Koalas are low energy animals, and I can relate to that. I am probably at my happiest curling up with a book on the beach and having a nap. It turns out that they are not lazy; it’s a dietary issue. First of all they will only eat certain kinds of eucalyptus leaves, and if these aren’t available, then they won’t eat anything.

Now eucalyptus leaves are extremely low in nutrients, so koalas have to spend their days conserving energy. Thus they nap all day. It really doesn’t sound like a very productive life. Still they look very cute while napping.

We spent a lot of time looking at the koalas, and then moved on to animals that are happy to eat real food – kangaroos. They have a large enclosure which houses emus and kangaroos. You can buy a packet of roofood and feed the kangaroos. It is an amazing experience – they are so gentle and appreciative of the food. I could have been with them all day, but there are lots of other animals to meet in the park, so we had to move on.

There had been a bit of a miscommunication about where we should meet up to go on the coach, but we eventually rounded up everyone and got them on the bus, and off we set for the winery. Phew, things are going well.

Lunch was at the Sirromet Winery, and we were all very excited. The lunches that we had had on the previous Virtuoso Tours were fantastic. We thought this would be great too. We were wrong.

The position of the winery is very pretty, on a hill with a great view, surrounded by countryside, the potential is huge. However, the meal was very disappointing. It was quite embarrassing to be hosting a group of lovely people and subject them to substandard food and poor service. I think other hosts may have faced a riot, but our group were great, and there was no revolt. At least the wine at the winery was good.

Kim and Deirdre joined us for lunch. It was great to catch up with Kim. He is still on crutches and can’t put weight on his knee, but at least he is somewhat mobile. The sad thing is that I don’t think he will be able to return to the ship. I will miss him a lot.

However, Deirdre is back! With no Kim, I will still need to help her out, but at least she is in charge now. Phew!

All on board time was at 4:30, so alas there was no time to really explore Brisbane, we will just have to come back again. And go to a different winery.

The sail away was very low key, but it is always great to be out on deck when we do sail off again. I decided to go swimming. There was a man swimming laps, and as he was incapable of swimming in a straight line it was a bit of a challenge, but I was up for it, and it was a wonderful experience.

Tonight’s featured entertainment was comedian Darren Sanders. He was funny and we enjoyed his show. There were a couple of very drunk girls in the audience who constantly tried to interrupt him, and he handled this very well. I was impressed. I know I would not have been so polite.

Alas, it was cloudy again tonight, so no Southern Cross. One night will be clear, I know it.