We arrived into Sydney early yesterday morning.  We are here for two days and staying overnight.  The night before were a lot of goodbyes for people leaving. So far on the first leg the passengers were 1400 of about 2,000 at full capacity. 500 people were leaving and 400 were arriving. I think a lot the people were sad that they weren’t continuing on.  Several of the couples that left we started to get to know each other we will miss our breakfasts with Ron and Lainey.   We had a great send off from the dining staff as they sang songs and entertained us.

We had an early morning sail into the harbor with some great night views….. but you had to get up at 4:30am to catch them.

The ship was docked at White Bay Cruise Terminal yesterday which is located close to down town but requires a shuttle bus to get into town.   During the night the ship moved to the Overseas Passenger Terminal which is right in the Circular Quay in the heart of the city for the second day.

During the first day we decided to ride the hop on hop off bus (Big Bus) and also the hop on hop off boat (Captain Cook).  We met Ron and Lainey at their hotel where they are staying before continuing on and the 4 of us visited the city. 

We saw many city sights both on the bus and boat. 

We even saw people climbing up the Sydney bridge, which was crazy. 

We rounded out the day on the bar on top of the Shangri-La Hotel with our friends. 

Today our excursion was to the Blue Mountains.  More on that later but our first stop was a zoo. This was an unusal zoo as some of the animals roamed free and you could feed them and pet them. All different types of Australian animals including, kangaroos, wombats, tasmanian devils and other very unique animlas. Nana had a blast identifying anminals should has never seen and even played the stamp game (typically for children) where you got a stamp in a passport for different animals. We are bringing back a lot of new animals for our Noah’s Ark.

The Blue Mountains aren’t really mountains nor Blue. The Blue Mountains aren’t true mountains but rather a plateau that has been deeply eroded over millions of years. They were once part of a much higher landmass, but rivers and weathering carved out the valleys and cliffs, creating the rugged landscape seen today.  The Blue Mountains near Sydney are blue—but it’s an optical illusion rather than an actual color of the landscape. The blue haze comes from a combination of factors: Rayleigh Scattering – The atmosphere scatters short-wavelength blue light more than other colors, similar to why the sky appears blue. Eucalyptus Oil – The region is covered in eucalyptus forests, and the trees release tiny oil droplets into the air. These droplets, combined with dust and water vapor, scatter light in a way that enhances the blue effect. Distance and Perspective – When you view the mountains from afar, more air and particles sit between you and the landscape, amplifying the blue tint. Up close, the vegetation and rocks look their natural colors, but from a distance, the scattered blue light dominates the view.

The highlight of the Blue Mountains was the three sister rock formation. According to the Gundungurra and Dharug people, who are the traditional custodians of the land, the Three Sisters—named Meehni, Wimlah, and Gunnedoo—were originally three human sisters from the Katoomba tribe. The legend varies, but one popular version tells that they fell in love with three men from a neighboring tribe. However, tribal laws forbade their marriage, leading to a conflict.  To protect the sisters from harm, a tribal elder turned them to stone using a magic spell. Unfortunately, the elder was killed before he could reverse the spell, leaving them permanently petrified as the rock formation we see today.  In reality the Three Sisters were formed over millions of years through erosion of the soft sandstone cliffs of the Blue Mountains. The forces of wind, rain, and rivers gradually shaped the landscape, leaving behind the towering rock pillars. The formation continues to erode, meaning the Three Sisters will eventually change shape over time.

The highlight of today was riding a train that is the steepest in all the world. It was originally made to service the mine but is has turned into a major attraction with cable cars, walking paths through the rainforest and even a dinosaur trail.  Papa loved the train so much he ride it twice and sat in the very front seat the second time. It is an engineering marvel.  Originally built in the late 19th century for coal and shale mining, it was later converted into a tourist railway in the 1940s. It has an incline of 52 degrees, making it the steepest passenger railway in the world It descends 310 meters through a cliffside tunnel into the Jamison Valley. The train has adjustable seating so passengers can choose a “laid-back” or “cliffhanger” angle for their ride.  We also rode a gondola car down into the valley.

Then back to ship (a  2 hour bus ride) and leaving Sydney. The ship had a wine and cheese party with as much cheese and wine as you could eat and drink.  Everyone came out for the party.  Gorgeous views sailing out of the Sydney Harbor.   

We even had a sendoff from Ron and Lainey our friends we met on the ship for the first leg.

A sea day tomorrow and then we stop at Moreton Island, Queensland, Australia the next day.   We begin the next major segment of the Grand World Voyage going from Sydney to Singapore.  More people will be getting off in Singapore and I am sure some will be boarding to join the ship.