Hobart, Tasmania
Our next port of call was Hobart - on the island of Tasmania which is a part of Australia. This was also one of our most favorite stops. We joined with a small group to take a tour of Hobart and surrounding areas and to visit the wildlife sanctuary.
It was fun to pet the very tame kangaroos.
There was food for us to feed them. The little joeys were so cute!
Hal acting like a kangaroo!
There were also birds and other animals to see.
These are a pair of kookaburras. I kept wanting to sing the song I learned in grade school: Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree
Merry, merry king of the bush is he,
Laugh Kookaburra, laugh kookaburra,
Gay your life must be!
Of course there are more verses to this song, but I think one is enough!
The Tasmanian Devil is another interesting animal that we saw at this wildlife park.
They are marsupials and I think they are kind of cute, but they have very sharp teeth and can be ferocious.
We also saw a koala bear
After the wildlife park, we visited the village of Richmond, which was in past years, one of the penal colonies found on Tasmania. The bridge behind us is the oldest bridge in Australia, and was built by a chain gang wearing leg irons, 1823-1825
The Richmond Bridge
We also saw the St. John's Catholic Church, which was built in 1836 and is the oldest Catholic Church in Australia.
We stopped at an ice cream shop and had an ice cream cone. Hal is enjoying some licorice ice cream
Then we drove through the Tasmanian countryside, past vineyards, trees, hills and some beautiful scenery.
We then stopped at a cheese factory and sampled some cheese before traveling into Hobart to see the city.
These two photos (above and below) show some views of the suburbs and housing of Hobart.
Hobart was founded in 1804 as a penal colony.
Hobart is famous for the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race that ends at Constitution Dock. This yacht was the winner of the race in both 1947 and 1948.
Melbourne
Melbourne is the second most populous city of Australia with a population of over 4 1/2 million people. It is the capital of the state of Victoria. Founded by the British in 1835, it now rates as the World's Most Livable City and has held that title for the past six years.
Sailing into the natural bay of Port Phillip at sunrise
We took a bus into the city to see some of the sights and interesting architecture.
Hal is on one of the bridges that crosses the Yarra River which runs through Melbourne.
Melbourne City Station
Melbourne City Station
You can see the Melbourne City Station building in the background.
We walked through one of Melbourne's largest shopping malls and I took a picture of these beautiful light fixtures that intrigued me.
It was a lovely day and we enjoyed walking around the city and "people watching".
We boarded one of the city trams for a look at more of Melbourne.
We visited Rutledge Lane to see some of the famous street art found there.
A view of Melbourne from our veranda.
Leaving Melbourne that evening
Sydney
Sydney is the largest and the oldest of Australia's cities. The Sydney Opera House was beautiful and as we sailed into the harbor in the early morning, we were welcomed by these views.
Our ship docked in the harbor and we had awesome views of the city and the harbor in every direction from our veranda.
We went ashore to see the city and some of its famous sights.
You can see our ship and the Sydney Harbour Bridge in the background.
We walked up to the Opera House for a closer look.
The two photos below show the botanical gardens near the Opera House.
Then we walked to the area of the city called "The Rocks" and explored the outdoor market there.
We brought our selfie stick, so of course we had to use it!
That night the "sail away" was just as spectacular as our arrival to Sydney.
Goodbye beautiful Sydney!!
On board our ship
We spent a total of 29 days on the Noordam as we took the last New Zealand/Australian cruise of the season and then made our way across the Pacific Ocean on the ship's repositioning cruise. Of those 29 days, 15 days were in port and 14 days were at sea. The ship had delicious food and the entertainment was great. The days at sea were relaxing and Hal and I both brought our computers and projects with us to fill the time. I read 5 books while on board and also compiled my great grandfather's transcribed journal, while Hal worked on his personal history and completed about 50 pages. We also took many walks around the deck in a futile effort to burn calories from all the yummy food we were eating!
Our first formal night aboard the ship, we were treated to lobster and filet mignon.
Our second formal night we had the same delicious menu! They served lobster 3 nights while we were on board.
These were our cute waiters from Indonesia, wearing their native Indonesian dress.
We also enjoyed prime rib, which was served 4 times during our cruise.
On the deck after a great dinner
We were fortunate to see whales as we cruised along.
We also saw porpoises!
One of the interesting entertainers on board was an aborigine who played the didgeridoo. He was a most interesting performer!
Hal working on his personal history 
Me working on my great grandfather's journal and history
A beautiful view of the moon shining on the sea
