Bit of a Blog : Solstice : Auckland – Fremantle – Sydney : February 14th 2016

[NorbertsNiece]

Am out and about early this morning. Things are happening on Deck 4

 

 

GF muffin

 

 

 

Breakfast at Aqua Spa

 

 

 

[NorbertsNiece]

 

Also setting up on Deck 5

 

 

Way over on the horizon.....

 

 

......this

 

 

That's a GF 'Smooth sailing' from the Aqua Spa

 

 

Land ahoy

 

[NorbertsNiece]

Solstice deck

 

 

 

 

Making pancakes demo

 

 

 

[NorbertsNiece]

 

 

 

 

 

[NorbertsNiece]

A line is shot across

 

 

 

 

 

 

I remember being able to fill my Mini for £5..... wonder how much this lot (and more) will cost....

 

[NorbertsNiece]

 

Disembarking crew members

 

 

Disembarking from two levels

 

 

 

 

[NorbertsNiece]

 

 

 

 

 

[NorbertsNiece]

Swimming in the bay

 

 

 

 

 

I spot a walkway high up in the trees

 

 

Vendors with excursions

 

[NorbertsNiece]

 

Bicycles to rent

 

 

Located the lift / Elevator up to the sky walk

 

 

 

 

 

---------------------------

 

Just an aside..... I emailed Sydney airport luggage storage back in September with a query. Received a reply this morning.

Edited March 10, 2016 by NorbertsNiece

[QE2_Fan]

 

Friends are serving cocktails

 

 

First towel animals I've seen since boarding

 

 

----------------------------

 

Captain Yannis just gave his daily location update. He always ends with a saying of some description. Today's is :

 

'I don't want life to imitate art' date=' I want it to be art.'[/quote']

 

 

What a beautiful setup for cocktails...very inviting, including the discrete towel doves behind the curtain in the window. Imitate that pose, and you too, could become art! [emoji38]

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Edited March 10, 2016 by QE2_Fan

[NorbertsNiece]

At the end of the sky walkway there's a flight of steps

 

 

 

 

 

 

[NorbertsNiece]

I didn't get as far as I'd have liked in exploring the area. It was very, very hot and my failure to get my phone fixed played heavily on my morale. It shouldn't have but there it is.

 

 

 

 

Mokuy by Nawurapu Wunungmurra, winner of the Telstra New Media Award, 27th Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award 2010.

 

 

 

[NorbertsNiece]

I head over to Cavenagh Street where I'm told any make of mobile phone can be repaired while you wait.

 

Heading the wrong way (of course)

 

 

There is a plethora of lawyers officers in this area!

 

 

 

The outdoor shopping area on Smith Street

 

 

[NorbertsNiece]

An attraction within Smith Street is the historic Victoria Hotel built in 1894. It was badly damaged by cyclones in 1897, 1937 and in 1974. Fascinating history about it here.

 

 

 

I have succumbed to the heat and head back

 

 

 

 

[NorbertsNiece]

I head up to Oceanview where Pizza and Pasta is still on offer. They have remodelled the GF pizza into something much more substantial

 

 

A really useful fan with map distributed to all on disembarking in Darwin

 

 

The Private Dining Area in Murano

 

 

Table for one. I am offered a choice of white or black napkin. I opt for white.

 

 

I have taken my gifted wine with me..... I just remembered it seeing the pic.... need to remember to finish it one evening.

 

 

There's a blurred pic of foccacia..... you can do without that.

 

This is the wine paired menu.....

 

Edited March 10, 2016 by NorbertsNiece

[KazAllen]

Haven't been to Darwin in a few years, did you visit the Star Village in Smith Street? I have family in Darwin who own Star Village, used to be a theatre for years that was destroyed in Cyclone Tracy so they converted to shops and a penthouse. Vic hotel has sure changed from when I first saw it in 1965!

[NorbertsNiece]

Haven't been to Darwin in a few years, did you visit the Star Village in Smith Street? I have family in Darwin who own Star Village, used to be a theatre for years that was destroyed in Cyclone Tracy so they converted to shops and a penthouse. Vic hotel has sure changed from when I first saw it in 1965!

 

I'm afraid my walking tour in Darwin was curtailed by the heat; I did go into a few places that appeared to be air conditioned but didn't walk down that side of the mall, wish I had.... I did venture ashore later in the evening but was nervous about walking around by myself.

 

--------------

 

Murano's

 

I've pictured the main menu in segments for easier reading

 

 

 

Don't laugh. I've forgotten to pop in my hearing aids. Am struggling. This is an Amuse Bouche. Tuna. That's all I got..... and the fact it was GF..... the waiter reiterated the GF authenticity of each dish as he placed it.... they don't always do this in the MDR

 

 

The smoked salmon starter

 

 

Sole.

 

 

Dessert menu

 

[NorbertsNiece]

 

 

 

Gently sauté strawberries in Cognac.

 

 

Place over heat and set alight

 

 

Add Chambertin sauce and continue to heat gently

 

[NorbertsNiece]

I found the recipe for this!!! Here

 

Crepe Ballon Rouge without the crepe. Still hot..... melting the ice-cream.... sigh.... sooooo good.

 

 

Petits fours

 

 

They are wrapped to go...... I understand I missed a fine cheese course.....

 

 

I go ashore for a brief look around

 

 

It's still possible to access the causeway

 

 

The shuttles have stopped but taxis are still running. Many crew are heading ashore..... I understand many didn't get back until 5am!

 

[NorbertsNiece]

 

 

Heading to Litchfield Park. Our driver pulled over to the side of the road to accept a phone call.... there was a dingo right in his path

 

 

 

That's what's called a road train..... pulling three trailers

 

 

It turns before us

 

[NorbertsNiece]

and went on

 

 

and on

 

 

and on

 

 

We pass, or are passed by, quite a few of these. Some are empty but heading towards a place where they will be loaded with live animals for export, to be shipped out of Darwin. Our driver assures us this is an ethical practice. I do hope so.

 

The A1 highway is relatively broad and green. In this part of Australia it's known as the Stuart Highway; named after Scottish explorer John McDougall Stuart, who was the first European to cross Australia from south to north. There are water pipes above ground for a great deal of the way; in WWII they were built this way as, in the event of bombing, they would be easier to repair.

 

 

We arrive in the town of Batchelor, about 100k south of Darwin. The original air field here was upgraded during WWII and became a major base for both the Royal Australian Air Force and the US Air Force.

 

 

There's a miniature replica of Karlstein Castle built between 1974 and 1978 by Czechoslavakian Bernard Havlik. According to legend, he was so homesick that in his spare time after retiring from work at the Rum Jungle Uranium Mine, he set out building a beautiful castle to remind him of home. (ref : virtualtourist.com)

 

Edited March 10, 2016 by NorbertsNiece

[NorbertsNiece]

I've been sitting outside on Deck 5..... massive thunder and lightning storm..... with the accompanying rain..... but so nice to sit outside without the accompanying heat.....

 

------------------------

 

Brahman Cattle

 

 

 

 

 

 

[NorbertsNiece]

 

 

It's quite a walk down..... I've mostly been walking down from Deck 14 to 3 so I feel fit enough for this. 135 stairs. 400 metres.

 

 

 

 

We've bypassed the other buses and are here first..... some people are fearless and he gets in so fast! I take considerably longer.

 

[NorbertsNiece]

I'd brought a pair of water shoes with. So happy that I did. I'm so cautious with my hips and really scared of slipping. But I make it in over the rocks. The water is almost warm..... delightful. Clear. There are slim, dark fish about 9" long. There's a pic of me taken by one of the group and once it's shared will post. I'm conscious that I will not be the fastest out let alone walking back 1km along a creek path so I tenuously manage to help myself out over the rocks. Relieved to have made it in, swim and get out.

 

There's no way I can walk up the stairs back.

 

 

An absolutely wonderful walk.

 

 

 

Across 'bridges' over rushing crystal clear waters

 

 

 

[NorbertsNiece]

 

 

 

 

 

About now is the solar eclipse