Come sail with me on a virtual cruise on Majestic Princess to Fiji!

[ellie1145]

There are amazing views of the rock formations as we glide slowly up to the top. We can see the layers of sedimentary rock.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ellie1145]

We say goodbye to Scenic World

 

 

I hope you’ve enjoyed all that Scenic World has to offer.

We’ve seen so much and it’s not even lunchtime!

 

 

We walk through a gift shop and I can’t resist buying a little furry kangaroo with a joey for our little grandson. It’s difficult to choose as they are all so cuddly, but this one is also a puppet, so I think he will love it.

 

Time for a ‘comfort break’ but please don’t perch on the Toilet seat! 🥴

 

 

Outside we are just in time to hear a choir which has assembled outside.

 

We have been lucky with the weather so far, the skies are still blue

 

Kat has already phoned through our orders for lunch which will be taken at a nearby hotel, but there is time for another lookout. Kat appears to have the ability  to change and modify our route, so she adds in things which she thinks we would enjoy, and that’s a great bonus of this tour. She is so knowledgeable about the area that she can make decisions ‘on the hoof.’

 

 

 

 

 

 

We are able to explore some local flora.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 8, 2020 by ellie1145

[ellie1145]

Another view of the Blue Mountains - Elysian Rock

 

 

We hop back on the coach and off we go again. Kat is like the Duracell bunny in the adverts, she just keeps going!

 

But we don't mind, it's a great experience and we love the Blue Mountains. They are everything we hoped for and more.

 

Kat has already taken our orders for lunch and phoned them though to the hotel, but she has one more viewing point, Elysian Rock,  for us to see before we stop for food. 

 

 

Mind how you go, it's very steep!

 

 

 

 

She parks the coach and takes us down a steep incline to find another spectacular view of the Mountains. There are no crowds either as she seems to be an expert at finding hidden viewpoints.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 8, 2020 by ellie1145

[ellie1145]

 

Apologies for the three extra photos above - for some reason I wasn’t able to edit them out.

[ellie1145]

 

There is evidence of previous bush fires, as we see these charred branches and burnt tree stump.

 

 

 

 

A beautiful waterfall in the distance.

What do you see?

Can you see an animal's head?

Time to wend our weary way back up the steep slope.

 

 

 

 

[ellie1145]

Food glorious food!

 

Well, I don't know about you, but I'm starving! I'm sure I can hear a few rumbling tummies....

 

Back on the coach we go, and we pass some beautiful houses on the way. 

 

What a lovely verandah on this house.

 

 

 

 

 

There it is at last! Our hotel! Food!

 

Then we drive through small towns, past historic houses cheek by jowl with modern detached dwellings, and arrive at the hotel, where we walk though the bar area into a room which has been set up for us.

 

We join a couple at the table and start chatting. The meal, which has been pre-ordered, arrives swiftly and is piping hot. We have chosen fish and chips, which are delicious, and there is a good choice.

 

But I'm afraid I have failed.... I forgot to take a photo of our meal... guess I was too hungry to remember.

 

There are hot drinks available for us to serve ourselves. It’s a very enjoyable lunch and we leave fully replete, before getting back on the coach for our next stop, the wonderful Featherdale Wildlife Park.

 

We sit back and relax as Kat drives us to our destination, and it’s time to take a nap or simply look out of the window. We really aren’t sure what to expect at the wildlife park but it exceeds our expectations.

 

 

[AF-1]

you sure stayed busy with your four days in Sydney prior to boarding the ship. 

[ellie1145]

1 hour ago, AF-1 said:

you sure stayed busy with your four days in Sydney prior to boarding the ship. 

 

We certainly did, AF-1. Our feet never touched the ground. But it was great fun

 

Have you had your Starbucks fix yet today? 🤣

 

Only one one more day before we board! Yippee! 

[azbirdmom]

I read the article in the link about Singapore (hopefully it's not behind a paywall for you - I could read it the first time on my phone for free).  Think about all of the wonderfully impressive attractions that they have.  Singapore is now faring well against the virus but I can only hope that they are all able to survive the lack of tourism.  They have unique challenges and I can only hope that future visits will yield the same wow experiences we have had in the past.  https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-07-06/singapore-finds-staycations-can-t-fill-20-billion-tourism-hole

[ellie1145]

31 minutes ago, azbirdmom said:

I read the article in the link about Singapore (hopefully it's not behind a paywall for you - I could read it the first time on my phone for free).  Think about all of the wonderfully impressive attractions that they have.  Singapore is now faring well against the virus but I can only hope that they are all able to survive the lack of tourism.  They have unique challenges and I can only hope that future visits will yield the same wow experiences we have had in the past.  https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-07-06/singapore-finds-staycations-can-t-fill-20-billion-tourism-hole

 

OMG azbirdmom, how awful for Singapore. I hadn’t realised the impact Covid will have had on this small country. As it says, the ‘staycation’ market cannot possibly make up for the loss of international tourists. Shocking to think there have only been 880 foreign visitors in May!

 

I just hope they can survive long enough for the tourist industry to return to something like normal. But when is anyone’s guess.

 

Thank you for posting this very worrying article. 

 

I cannot imagine how they will survive this catastrophe. 

[USCcruisecrazy]

Incredible pictures.  And for the record, the first photo of the rock formation with the "animal" head, I thought it was a dog.  But with the upclose picture, it sort of reminded me of a boar's head.

[AF-1]

3 hours ago, ellie1145 said:

 

We certainly did, AF-1. Our feet never touched the ground. But it was great fun

 

Have you had your Starbucks fix yet today? 🤣

 

Only one one more day before we board! Yippee! 

Yes I did.  I have a coffee bean grinder at home; so I make my own fresh pour over coffee every day.  But I still go to the Starbucks down the street because my wife drinks Chai Tea Lattes; and she won't let me make that at home.  It's all good

[ellie1145]

3 hours ago, USCcruisecrazy said:

Incredible pictures.  And for the record, the first photo of the rock formation with the "animal" head, I thought it was a dog.  But with the upclose picture, it sort of reminded me of a boar's head.

Thank you. Glad you enjoyed them...... rather a lot of trees I’m afraid!🥴

 

My first impression was of an ape. I’ve been trying to find out what it is called, and all I can come up with is Hanging rock, but it doesn’t look quite the same.

 

I wonder if any of our Australian friends will know?

 

[azbirdmom]

4 hours ago, ellie1145 said:

 

OMG azbirdmom, how awful for Singapore. I hadn’t realised the impact Covid will have had on this small country. As it says, the ‘staycation’ market cannot possibly make up for the loss of international tourists. Shocking to think there have only been 880 foreign visitors in May!

 

I just hope they can survive long enough for the tourist industry to return to something like normal. But when is anyone’s guess.

 

Thank you for posting this very worrying article. 

 

I cannot imagine how they will survive this catastrophe. 

 

Singapore may not be the same.  The Blue Mountains will not be the same.  Nor will a whole lot of things that we are accustomed to.  We need to appreciate every minute and not put off doing or seeing things in this world.

[ellie1145]

15 minutes ago, azbirdmom said:

 

Singapore may not be the same.  The Blue Mountains will not be the same.  Nor will a whole lot of things that we are accustomed to.  We need to appreciate every minute and not put off doing or seeing things in this world.

 

You are so right. The world has changed, maybe irrevocably. Who can tell?

 

So forget it all for a while and enjoy seeing all the animals as we explore the Featherdale Wildlife Park.

[ellie1145]

                                        Featherdale Wildlife Park

🎵 We're going to the zoo, zoo zoo

       How about you, you, you

       You can come too, too, too,

       We're going to the zoo....🎵

 

Featherdale Wildlife Park contains the largest collection of Australian wildlife in the world, and has over 2,000 animals and 260 species. DH and I wanted to get ‘up close and personal’ with real Australian animals, rather than those found in most zoos, and we certainly achieved that. I have to admit that I am not a great fan of zoos. The Singapore Zoo left me feeling surprised and a little saddened that some of the larger species were kept in concrete enclosures.

 

Although this is a small wildlife park, the animals looked well cared for.

 

Featherdale Wildlife Park can be reached by the T1 train from Sydney, and the number 729 bus stops right outside the park.

 

Everything has been taken care of by Kat, and at each attraction it is seamless, no queuing, no getting tickets, and here, too, we are just given wristbands and then we are free to wander at our leisure.

Edited July 8, 2020 by ellie1145

[ellie1145]

Have you got your wristbands?

Good, well let’s go and see the animals then...

 

 

 

 

 

Kookaburra sits on the old gum tree......

 

 

 

Edited July 8, 2020 by ellie1145

[ellie1145]

Wallabies or kangaroos?

 

We find ourselves in a wallaby enclosure. They are roaming about freely and don't seem at all worried about all of us humans looking at them. They are really cute, especially the babies who hop back into their mother's pouches.

 

I am in seventh heaven!

 

Wallabies are much smaller than kangaroos, and may be anything from 12-24 inches (30-104cm). A kangaroo, on the other hand, can reach 8ft tall (2.1m) and weigh in at up to 200lbs (91kg). Both are marsupials and carry their young in their pouches.

 

We see some enchanting examples of these babies.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 8, 2020 by ellie1145

[PurpleTraveller]

2 hours ago, ellie1145 said:

Thank you. Glad you enjoyed them...... rather a lot of trees I’m afraid!🥴

 

My first impression was of an ape. I’ve been trying to find out what it is called, and all I can come up with is Hanging rock, but it doesn’t look quite the same.

 

I wonder if any of our Australian friends will know?

 

 

It looks like Boars Head Rock viewed from Cahill's Lookout. One of my favourite lookouts to take my overseas visitors. 😊

 

[ellie1145]

14 minutes ago, PurpleTraveller said:

 

It looks like Boars Head Rock viewed from Cahill's Lookout. One of my favourite lookouts to take my overseas visitors. 😊

 

 

Thank you so much for that, I had a feeling one of our Australians Adventurers would know the answer. It’s an amazing rock formation, isn’t it?

[ellie1145]

We just loved the wallabies, they were so friendly.

 

You could pay for food to give to them, and this dear little girl had fun feeding them.

 

 

They had beautiful coloured fur.

Look carefully and you will see a tiny pink paw hanging out of her pouch.

 

 

Edited July 8, 2020 by ellie1145

[PurpleTraveller]

1 minute ago, ellie1145 said:

 

Thank you so much for that, I had a feeling one of our Australians Adventurers would know the answer. It’s an amazing rock formation, isn’t it?

 

You're welcome! It is an amazing rock formation and is at a great lookout as there are usually very few people there and the views are wonderful!

 

[ellie1145]

2 minutes ago, PurpleTraveller said:

 

You're welcome! It is an amazing rock formation and is at a great lookout as there are usually very few people there and the views are wonderful!

 

 

Are the Blue Mountains recovering at all from the devastating bush fires? Since Covid all our news seems to be focussed on that, with very little, if any, international news. 

 

I would love to know how things are.

[PurpleTraveller]

11 minutes ago, ellie1145 said:

 

Are the Blue Mountains recovering at all from the devastating bush fires? Since Covid all our news seems to be focussed on that, with very little, if any, international news. 

 

I would love to know how things are.

 

As you know the Australian summer of bushfires was horrendous. One fire alone in the Blue Mountains burned 510,000 hectares and another two fires burned another 40,000 hectares. The recovery has been slow and hampered by the Covid-19 crisis. The bush is recovering (it is amazing how quickly the bush regenerates) and visitors are now being welcomed back - with social distancing of course! Scenic World has reopened but with timed tickets. A number of towns, particularly on the northern side of the Blue Mountains, were badly damaged with a number of homes and businesses lost. They are very slowly being rebuilt and reopening. It will take a long time to fully recover but they will as they are strong and resilient. 2020 has been a challenging year! 😊

 

[ellie1145]

8 hours ago, PurpleTraveller said:

 

As you know the Australian summer of bushfires was horrendous. One fire alone in the Blue Mountains burned 510,000 hectares and another two fires burned another 40,000 hectares. The recovery has been slow and hampered by the Covid-19 crisis. The bush is recovering (it is amazing how quickly the bush regenerates) and visitors are now being welcomed back - with social distancing of course! Scenic World has reopened but with timed tickets. A number of towns, particularly on the northern side of the Blue Mountains, were badly damaged with a number of homes and businesses lost. They are very slowly being rebuilt and reopening. It will take a long time to fully recover but they will as they are strong and resilient. 2020 has been a challenging year! 😊

 

 

Thank you for that update, Purple Traveller.

 

It is difficult to imagine the devastation. Our tour showed us the stunning beauty of the area, and so it makes us really sad to think that it has suffered the double blow of Covid-19 as well as the bush fires.

 

We hope that these resourceful people will be able to rebuild their homes and businesses, and that people will continue return to this glorious area.

Edited July 9, 2020 by ellie1145