Rare RachelG Posted July 16 #1 Share Posted July 16 This post was recognized by Host Jazzbeau! RachelG was awarded the badge '"Live from...."' July 15, 2024–Tulsa to LAX enroute to Sydney Australia Sitting in the Flagship Lounge in LAX. We are off for another adventure, this time to the Kimberley coast of Australia aboard the Cloud. JP and Chris kindly scoped out everything for us last month. George and I generally like the same sort of expeditions as they do, and have similar expectations. Hopefully you won’t be too bored with a repeat of their trip. I scored two F tickets from TUL direct to LAX on the one non stop AA flight per day then direct from LAX to SYD again in F, one of the true international F cabins still around on AA. There is a long layover in LAX, but worth if for the only one connection. I actually was able to obtain the F tickets with miles for fewer miles than what they wanting for business. Probably a glitch in the system, but not complaining. It is a 15 hour flight from LAX to SYD, so I plan to enjoy it to the max. We have sailed on the Cloud several times previously, and we really like the ship, despite her being older. For expedition cruising, she is very nice, a big step up from the old Silversea Explorer. Just saw some friends who are also on this cruise, so got to go! 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TakingFlight Posted July 16 #2 Share Posted July 16 How far in advance did you book your mileage award tickets? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare jpalbny Posted July 16 #3 Share Posted July 16 And you're off! Wishing you a fantastic trip and a great expedition on board Silver Cloud! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare highplanesdrifters Posted July 16 #4 Share Posted July 16 You're halfway there! Wishing you safe travels with all of your luggage. Look forward to your report. I don't look at it like a repeat......its an ongoing series! 😃 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lincslady Posted July 16 #5 Share Posted July 16 I imagine by now you are more than 24 hours from Tulsa. 3 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare jpalbny Posted July 16 #6 Share Posted July 16 (edited) Hi Rachel and George! I think I see you! Hope you're getting some sleep. And Happy Wednesday - it looks like you're on the other side of the IDL by now. 50 minutes ago, highplanesdrifters said: Look forward to your report. I don't look at it like a repeat......its an ongoing series! 😃 Yes! In the month since we visited, I've followed several cruisers on the subsequent Silver Cloud voyages (on another SM site) and it's been great to relive our trip through their posts and photos. Also, CC has one of their senior editors on board the NG Orion right now. She's having a great time! Not quite as good as being back there again but you have to take what you can get... Edited July 16 by jpalbny 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare drron29 Posted July 16 #7 Share Posted July 16 Our Kimberly cruise was on the Orion when it was Australian owned. The Explorer was a much better ship. We also did our Antarctic cruise on the Orion. In the next cabin there was a senior Linblad Captain who in retrospect was seeing that she was a fit for their fleet. We got on famousaly. Even guested him into the Qantas lounge in Auckland. The interesting thing about the NG Orion is that we were on the Whisper in the Baltic sea nd when we docked in Tallinn the NG Orion was on the other side of the wharf. Virtually all of her crew from our Antarctic cruise 6 years previously were still with her. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare RachelG Posted July 17 Author #8 Share Posted July 17 21 hours ago, TakingFlight said: How far in advance did you book your mileage award tickets? I got them about 9 months in advance,so not as soon as award seats opened up but a little later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare RachelG Posted July 17 Author #9 Share Posted July 17 July 16/17, 2024-Sydney, Australia My plan was to try and stay awake on the flight from LAX to Sydney as long as possible to hopefully adjust my body faster. The flight left at 11 pm, and I made it until at 2 am which is pretty good. The F seats are very comfortable, and service was attentive. Food was just ok—the starters were just things I don’t really care that much for, arugula salad was simple but good, chicken was tough with under cooked new potatoes. I watched a movie then the flight attendant made my seat into a bed, and I was asleep for almost 8 hours. The flight was supposed to be 15 hours 10 minutes, but we had a good tailwind and landed 40 minutes early. It was still dark in Sydney and cold. The scanner wouldn’t read George and my new passports (first time we have used them), so we had to stand in a pretty long line to go through customs. But the luggage hadn’t come out yet anyway, so no matter. When the luggage came out, we were shocked—one of the metal latches on our smallest case had been smashed and ripped off. Not fixable. We caught a cab to the downtown Hilton. Our room wasn’t ready, but they had a suite available for an $150, so we grabbed it, a good value given the normal rate. The suite is huge—big living room, separate bedroom, 1 1/2 bathrooms. It would be perfect for a family traveling together. The executive lounge on the 36th floor has a great breakfast buffet with hot and cold items, and we were able to partake. They also have afternoon tea and evening cocktails there. I spent about a hour dealing with filing a report with AA regarding the suitcase, then we went to find duct tape to tape it together for the remainder of the trip. It is an Aleon so finding a replacement in Australia would be difficult plus AA says I have to hold on to it until the case is resolved. It was sunny out though still cool, so we went walking, through Hyde Park to the National Art Museum then to the botanic gardens. The art museum is huge and free except for special events. We just scratched the surface. I enjoyed the traditional paintings, but neither of us care much for modern art in general, as some of it was inexplicable. Think pantyhose filled with ground spices like turmeric, cloves, cinnamon. It smelled good but looked weird, and we couldn’t figure out the meaning. We had lunch at the restaurant in the museum. We were going to eat light , but ended with way too much food as the portions were huge. Good bread and olives and a cheese plate, but we couldn’t finish it. The botanical garden is huge as well. I was surprised about how many flowers were in bloom given it is winter down under. But it was beautiful, and we certainly got our steps, over 17,000. We kind of hit a wall about 3 pm, so went back to the hotel for a short nap. Unfortunately there is apparently construction going on, and someone was using a jackhammer. We called the desk. They said it was on the 20th floor. We are on the 31st floor, so lots of space between, but it was very noisy. There wasn’t anything they could do about it, but they did send us up a nice bottle of wine and refunded our upgrade money as a gesture. The noise stopped at 4 anyway, and we had a nice nap. We had dinner reservations at Primi, which is an Italian restaurant and very highly rated, near the hotel. It was still cold, and George was coatless, as he didn’t bring one. And it started pouring rain as we walked to the restaurant. So he was cold and wet, but the food was worth it. We split a salad (perfect)and pizza which could have been made in Italy. We were stuffed. Fortunately it stopped raining on the way back to the hotel. Now for a good sleep in a real bed. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare RachelG Posted July 17 Author #10 Share Posted July 17 View from the room 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare RachelG Posted July 17 Author #11 Share Posted July 17 Hyde Park 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare RachelG Posted July 17 Author #12 Share Posted July 17 View of the opera house 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare RachelG Posted July 17 Author #13 Share Posted July 17 Botanical gardens 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TakingFlight Posted July 17 #14 Share Posted July 17 3 hours ago, RachelG said: I got them about 9 months in advance,so not as soon as award seats opened up but a little later. Thank you, Rachel. Have a wonderful trip! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Port Power Posted July 17 #15 Share Posted July 17 Do you have a few days in Sydney? How will George manage the winter weather? I guess he was only thinking of the tropical north and not the cold and wet winter of Sydney. Perhaps find a Salvo's charity shop for a temporary fix? Or will he just tough it out? 💪 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare RachelG Posted July 17 Author #16 Share Posted July 17 2 hours ago, Port Power said: Do you have a few days in Sydney? How will George manage the winter weather? I guess he was only thinking of the tropical north and not the cold and wet winter of Sydney. Perhaps find a Salvo's charity shop for a temporary fix? Or will he just tough it out? 💪 2 days in Sydney. He is going to tough it out. If it were winter in Tulsa now, we would consider the temperature here mild, but we have lost our winter acclimation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare jpalbny Posted July 17 #17 Share Posted July 17 Poor George! Always forgetting something important. At least he has his hat. 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare RachelG Posted July 18 Author #18 Share Posted July 18 July 18, 2024–Sydney and the Blue Mountains, then on to Darwin, Australia We had a good sleep until 3:30am when George’s phone rang. I had silenced mine, but he is in the middle of a huge case and needed to be available. Neither of us could go back to sleep, but we had gotten a good 7 hours as we had gone to bed early. Not bad for first night. We both worked for a while, then ate breakfast in the lounge. I love that they have salad and smashed avocado. The schedule to called for hiking in the Blue Mountains followed by an evening flight to Darwin. It would be a long day. To maximize our time, I had hired a private guide/driver. Our driver picked us up promptly at 7:30 in a lovely van with plenty of room for our luggage, including the taped together suitcase. We drove out of Sydney to our first stop, Calmsley Hill Farm. This is a real working farm of 400 acres, just outside the city. We saw several interesting birds in the aviary, emus, kangaroos and wallabies. They also had the usual farm animals—goats, sheep, cows, donkeys, chickens and turkeys. Plus a camel. But the highlights for me were the koalas, a wombat, and a tiny kangaroo Joey which had been rejected by its mom. I got to pet and interact with the koala for a really long time, not that they are that interactive. He seemed pretty bored me, but he had nice fur. The wombat was in her log, but she woke up and came out to sniff us. The Joey lives in a makeshift pouch which they have placed in a sunny spot , so he is nice and warm. He was just adorable. We then set off to the Blue Mountain National Park. First stop was Lincoln Point, a overlook where we could view the steep canyons and verdant forest of pine and eucalyptus. It was really windy and cold, and there was a wedding going on. George says I attract weddings in weird settings. All I can say is that I am happy not to be the bride in this one. She had a cute fur jacket on, but must have been freezing. Our guide and George happened to be the exact same size, lucky for George as our guide loaned him a jacket. We then drove to EchoPoint, another overlook, where you can view the Three Sisters, a huge rock formation that is very impressive and apparently one of the iconic features of the park. There were lots of tourists here,including some particularly rude Asians who wouldn’t let anyone else have a chance to get a good photo. Next stop was Katoomba Falls. Much fewer people there was it required actual physical effort to get to the falls, and they were impressive, but my favorite part was the flocks of cockatoo which were wild . They are beautiful large white birds with a yellow topknot and very noisy. It was time for lunch, so our guide drove us to the start of the Cliff Top Trail, which is a very steep trail that hugs the edge of the canyon. He gave us lunch boxes and set us off in the right direction where he promised to meet us in 1 1/2 hours. The first part of the trail was deceiving, pretty flat with the drop off on one side and eucalyptus forest all round. Soon though, it got very steep. We were huffing and puffing for a bit, so took a lunch break. Refreshed, we pushed on. The views to our right were spectacular with hi cliffs and waterfalls rivaling anything I have ever seen. Not a lot of wildlife though, apparently due to the devastating fires they had a few years back. Finally we arrived at the car pack, and our driver was there was promised. He decided to take a different route, so we drove through a more agricultural area with lots of cattle and sheep in the fertile looking fields. Then we spotted a mob of kangaroos (yes, that is the correct term). Probably 20 of them, just hanging out eating the rancher’s grass. Reminds me of deer in Oklahoma. A little further, even more kangaroos, probably 30-40. The cattle don’t seem the least bothered by them, but George was bothered that they were eating the pasture. Final stop was the Blue Mountain Botanical Garden. It is a beautiful property, but it was super cold,probably around 38F, and windy. We walked around a little, but just too cold. Our guide drove us back to the airport through dense traffic. We are currently in the Qantas lounge awaiting the flight to Darwin. All in all, a great day. Not cheap, but you do get what you pay for most of the time. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare jpalbny Posted July 18 #19 Share Posted July 18 Sounds like a very fun day! The Blue Mountains were definitely worth the trip. Enjoy the warmer weather in Darwin! The forecast looks nice for the next few days. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare RachelG Posted July 18 Author #20 Share Posted July 18 My pet koala 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare RachelG Posted July 18 Author #21 Share Posted July 18 Tiny baby joey 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare RachelG Posted July 18 Author #22 Share Posted July 18 The beautiful Blue Mountains 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare RachelG Posted July 18 Author #23 Share Posted July 18 Cockatoos and frozen George beside a termite mound 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare RachelG Posted July 18 Author #24 Share Posted July 18 Our steep trail 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare DavyWavey70 Posted July 18 #25 Share Posted July 18 Was that Echo point Rachel? I was there in January. Such a beautiful place. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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