possum52

I am only going by what the Dunedin Train website is saying. What others are saying there are bridge issues? If that was what you were asking, it would have been a good idea to mention bridges. I can find nothing online to indicate there are bridge issues or that the train is not running through the Taieri Gorge. In fact all the information I found indicates it is running as advertised. Tripadvisor has reviews from this month.

It is interesting how some retain their accent for years and years and others don't. Our neighbours when we moved into our home had been in Australia for eleven years, They were from Yorkshire and East London. Both Rob and I found them difficult to understand at times and still did forty years later!

The train that goes through the Taieri Gorg, the Inlander, does not run every day, There is a cruise ship only excursion which is the same route as the Inlander, Cruise Ship Excursion Taieri Gorge Train Perhaps look at a privately booked tour for Dunedin and surrounds. Dunedin Shore Excursions Enjoy your visit to Dunedin.

If you feel you can easily manage your luggage, you hotel is just around the corner from a stop for the 109 tram which will take to Beacon Cove Port Melbourne - about a 20 minute ride. It is then around a 300-350 metre walk to the cruise terminal. Other than the tram, a taxi or Uber would be best.

Fanning Island is part of The Republic of Kiribati and the currency is Australian dollars (note US notes may be accepted). Fanning Island (Tabuaeran) is quite remote and it is not easy for the locals to exchange foreign currency. It is very much off the grid except for some solar power.

As your hotel is at the opposite end of the city to Southern Cross Station, it's probably a better idea to take a taxi although you are not far from Parliament Station which will link up to Southern Cross. That is if you can be bothered hauling luggage into lifts or up escalators, then a couple of hundred metres walk to the Sheraton. Yes you will be arriving at a domestic terminal - With T2 being the hub for international flights, domestic travellers will pass through T1, T3 or T4; Qantas arrives and departs from T1, T3 is reserved for Virgin Australia passengers, and all remaining airlines fly from T4. You will be able to find a taxi rank close to all the terminals.

My choice for an international arrival would be a taxi - walk out of the terminal and the taxi rank is right there. Of course, if you are an Uber customer, you can use their service. There is a rideshare pick up zone outside Terminal 1. What hotel are you staying at? There is Skybus which runs between the airport and Southern Cross Train Station in the Central Business District.- cost is $23.90 per person one way. Tickets may be purchased online or at the point of departure. At Melbourne Airport, there are Skybus stops outside each terminal according to their website. Skybus

Which islands are you looking at?

Interesting that Celebrity are calling their excursion Premier Class - the most expensive class on the railway is Gold which for one way is $99 and includes the following - Gold Class inclusions: Dedicated attendant service Individual seating in comfortable lounge-style chairs A spacious heritage style carriage for travel that offers the ambience of the romance of rail Kuranda Scenic Railway gift pack including a Kuranda Scenic Railway pen and postcard Souvenir trip fan Stop and disembark at Din Din (Barron Falls) railway station, with stunning views of the Falls Refreshments featuring a selection of Queensland and local produce such as Gallo Dairyland Cheeses, Skybury Coffee, Wondaree Macadamias, Licks Mango Sorbet, a selection of Australian wines and Great Northern Brewing Company Super Crisp Lager Welcome tropical mocktails are served in the pavillion area of Freshwater railway station from 9.35am For afternoon travellers, welcome drinks are served onboard the train at Kuranda railway station from 3.10pm The Skyrail is $62 one way. I guess you have to add in the cost of transfer from Knobby's Head return but that surely would not add up to too much more than $200 give or take. That is really ripping off passengers.

Do you still have your Mancunian accent? I have a friend who is from Manchester, she has been here for about fifteen years and is still hard to understand at times, particularly if she is excited.

It would be metered. You would be unlikely to get a flat rate in a taxi to/from the airport unless you have a deal such as described above.

Perhaps this link will help - Brisbane Airport to Gold Coast We have taken the train from the airport to the Gold Coast which is easy to do as long as you can manage your luggage. You travel from the airport to Helensvale Station, you will then catch a GLink Tram to Surfers Paradise North stop which is about a 350 metre walk to the Marriott - Airtrain to Gold Coast

I suggest you do some googling, there appear to be quite a few shuttle services. Perhaps one of them will suit your needs.

Robert Street is not open to the public on cruise ship days. I would suggest you have a read of this link - How to Get to White Bay Cruise Terminal. I would use a taxi or Uber. In the link I provided, there is a link to a map showing how to get to there which is handy for the taxi/Uber driver. Uber estimates the cost between A$18.63 - A$21.70 at this time - Sunday 12.42pm AEDT

Taxis will likely be more than that. Pre covid, we paid $60 on a Saturday morning to a hotel a block from Central Station.

I would suggest that the US reps, even if in the Phillipines are only familiar with what is required for US citizens. Please come back and tell us how it all works out.

The itinerary is Australian ports only - leaving Brisbane on Monday week on Coral Princess.

As you appear to be in the US, the Princess website will automatically go to the US Princess website just like here in Australia it will automatically go to the Australian version of the site. Try adding /en-au to https://www.princess.com and see if that takes you to the Australian website.

No, Medvedev won the semi in five sets.

Quite day for us, went to watch grandson play cricket. Our son, daughter in law and two granddaughters are in Sydney on holiday. Today, son and nearly eleven year old granddaughter did the bridge climb. While they were up the top, the roulettes flew over and they had a fantastic view of their display plus all that was happing on the harbour including the tall ships. Daughter in law and younger granddaughter wandered around The Rocks enjoying the celebrations and the market. They all had a great day. Picked a great time to be in Sydney.

Our daughter in law works for the State Sports Centre Trust and her office is at MSAC (Melbourne Sports And Aquatics Centre) which is situated beside the track. She, in past years has not been able to work due to the GP as it is almost impossible to get to there because of barriers and security and no car parking.

Yes Linda, it is a very dangerous beach. Only board riders who know the conditions should use it. It would likely be a rip that took them. I would hope there would be signs saying it is dangerous but in saying that our local life saving club where Rob and I are life members is always rescuing both adults and children from the mouth of the river located in our suburb. There are signs everywhere close by stating that it is dangerous and do not swim there. But every summer there are numerous rescues because either people don’t read the signs, don’t understand them or think it won’t happen to us. There was a local man who it is believed rescued more than 80 people by himself from around 1935 to close to his death in 1980 from near the mouth of the river.

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I actually thought it meant a chef's hat but didn't think Lyle would be wearing one at the Penguin Parade.

Good idea Lyle. Just layer up if the day is cool/cold as it can be in March but then it can also be quite hot. Our son and his family usually go to the Penguin Parade at least once a year and it doesn't matter what time of the year they go, it is usually cold while waiting and watching the penguins. I assume, without looking it up touques means what we call beanies - knitted caps like this -