Part 2 takes off from Singapore and following a day at sea, we stop in the city of Surabaya, Indonesia. I have booked the NCL Tour Surabaya’s Heritage, a bus tour to explore Indonesian heritage. Surabaya is a port city on the Indonesian island of Java. A vibrant, sprawling metropolis, it mixes modern skyscrapers with canals and buildings from its Dutch colonial past. It has a thriving Chinatown and an Arab Quarter whose Ampel Mosque dates to the 15th century. The Tugu Pahlawan (Heroes Monument) honors the independence battles waged in Surabaya’s streets in 1945. Our bus tour stops at the world famous Hotel Majapahit (Oranje) built by the same brothers who build the Raffles in Singapore for snacks and beverages.
The next day is a 2nd stop in Indonesia at the world famous Bali, where I booked the NCL Tour Discover Bali. It was a wonderful day with stops in a Bali fabric store, a theater show with historical characters, Bali Bird Park, and finally to a private home that showed the lifestyle of Indonesians in that area. I bought some wonderful napkins, coasters, placemats, and cashmere scarf of $100!
Now we head south to the continent of Australia for the next 4 days at sea. We finally arrive at our first Australian port of Fremantle which is the port city for Perth. I have booked the NCL Tour Fremantle & Perth Orientation. A bus ride of about 30 minutes to get to Perth where we make several stops. Perth, capital of Western Australia, sits where the Swan River meets the southwest coast. Sandy beaches line its suburbs, and the huge, riverside Kings Park and Botanic Garden on Mount Eliza offer sweeping views of the city.
Our next day takes us to the city of Busselton, Australia and I have booked the NCL Tour Cape Naturaliste and Wine Tasting. Busselton is a city on the southwest tip of Western Australia. It’s known for its sheltered beach, great wineries, and seasonal humpback whale populations. The beachfront features the 19th-century Busselton Jetty. This wood pier stretches nearly 2km to the Underwater Observatory, where life in a coral reef is on view. The wine tasting was very nice with snacks of cheeses, meats, and bread along with the various varietals they produce at the Swings and Roundabout Winery. We stop at a southern coast line where there is a blowhole from the ocean as well as the Cape Naturaliste Lighthouse.
We continue along the southern coast of Australia with our next port of call, Albany. I have booked the NCL Tour Cruise through Oyster Harbour with a great captain who’s narrative for several hours was excellent! We are on the Kalgan Queen with his pet pelican and enjoy the fresh air, fresh oysters, and tea and biscuits along the way. Albany is a city at the southern tip of Western Australia. It’s known for its beaches, such as popular Middleton Beach.
Lots of distance to cover, so a few more days at sea puts us into the Port of Adelaide, Australia. Adelaide is South Australia’s cosmopolitan coastal capital. Its ring of parkland on the River Torrens is home to renowned museums such as the Art Gallery of South Australia. I have booked the NCL Tour Adelaide Highlights that takes us around the city with stops in Mount Lofty for views, a market, and some kangaroos in a park near homes. The first of many to be seen!
We are onward to the next stop, Kangaroo Island, which lies off the mainland of South Australia, southwest of Adelaide. Over a third of the island is protected in nature reserves, home to native wildlife like sea lions, koalas and diverse bird species. In the west, Flinders Chase National Park is known for penguin colonies and striking coastal rock formations, like the sculpted Remarkable Rocks and the stalactite-covered Admirals Arch. I have booked a NCL Tour Kangaroo, Koalas & Island Honey. This means we are taken to a nature preserve loaded with animals like Kangaroo, Wallabies, and Koalas. They are ready to be fed and petted! We move on to Clifford’s Honey Bee Farm where we are served honey ice cream and given the story about bee farming in Australia.
I am excited for our next port of call, Melbourne with an overnight. Melbourne is the coastal capital of the southeastern Australian state of Victoria. At the city’s center is the modern Federation Square development, with plazas, bars, and restaurants by the Yarra River. This gives me plenty of time to visit with my nephew and his family on the first day. The 2nd day is spent at the Werribee Zoo where you can experience the various parts of the world and their animals. So of course I see anything imaginable from giraffes, to rhinos, to elephants, to camels, to buffalos, and of course more kangaroos.
As we keep go around the southern coast we stop in Burnie, Tasmania. Burnie is a vibrant city port on Tasmania’s northwest coast known for its industrial heritage, Art Deco architecture, and stunning natural surroundings. Offering, this, it serves as a gateway to the region, featuring beaches with penguin spotting at Emu Bay, the scenic Burnie Park, and a growing reputation for local, artisanal food and whiskey. I have been here before, so I book a NCL Tour Scenic Coastlines to take me to new places. It takes us to various overlooks including Rocky Cape and there are lots of poppy fields for the pharmaceutical industries.
As we get closer to Sydney, our last stop before is Eden, Australia. I have also been here before, so booked the NCL Tour Cruise to Twofold Bay for something different. Eden is a coastal town in the South Coast region of New South Wales. The town is 478 kilometers (297 mi) south of Sydney and is the most southerly town in New South Wales, located between Nullica Bay to the south and Calle Calle Bay, the northern reach of Twofold Bay. We see lots of dolphins and birds on this 2 hour tour.
And the time has come to disembark in Sydney, Australia and after 35 days, it has been an exciting adventure to many new places. The Spirit cruise ship has reached the area for cruising the next 3 months between Sydney and Auckland. I must start my long journey home with my flights; 10 hours to Seoul, Korea and 10 more hours to Los Angeles. Then the next day, I will finally make it back to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. I will miss the cruise days and the friends you make along the way. But wait till next time, I always say!
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