and so it begins.....RTW16

In case, someone else misses the shuttle bus in Darwin: We walked through the apartment complex at the harbor. One building has a public elevator that takes you up to a walkway that goes right into the CBD. It's not far at all, provided you have no mobility issues.

In case, someone else misses the shuttle bus in Darwin: We walked through the apartment complex at the harbor. One building has a public elevator that takes you up to a walkway that goes right into the CBD. It's not far at all, provided you have no mobility issues.

I had read about the public elevator and added it to my notes, but didn't realize you had to walk through an apartment complex to get to it. Thanks for mentioning this.

Well, you walk through the "garden". There must have been signs for the elevator. I don't think we would have found it without them. The apartments/hotel/shops are on ocean level, but the city is on a cliff, so the elevator is closer to the cliff than to the pier.

You can see it on google earth. It is the box attached to the corner of the Coffee Club Darwin Waterfront. You go up and then walk in the building towards the pedestrian bridge that ends at the Anglican Church.

Well, you walk through the "garden". There must have been signs for the elevator. I don't think we would have found it without them. The apartments/hotel/shops are on ocean level, but the city is on a cliff, so the elevator is closer to the cliff than to the pier.

 

You can see it on google earth. It is the box attached to the corner of the Coffee Club Darwin Waterfront. You go up and then walk in the building towards the pedestrian bridge that ends at the Anglican Church.

Thanks for the directions.

wow...look at all of these helpful comments this morning (well, my morning!)

We've been here before so know about the great pedestrian mall. The offerings from D Services is to go to a couple of wildlife experiences, a river cruise, and a brisbane highlights tour....none of which interest us.

We'll probably try to go to the tourist office located on the mall and pick up one of their self-guide tours of the area.

Since i have no access to a printer for the amount of printing I'd need to do, we're just going to read about Brisbane online and jot things down to do.

We're big fans of HOHO buses so thanks for that info--might be fun to do early in the port day and then wander the pedestrian mall in the early afternoon.

I'll send others on the ship to the posts here so they can see what you all have found for us to do.....thanks!!

We're big fans of HOHO buses so thanks for that info--might be fun to do early in the port day and then wander the pedestrian mall in the early afternoon.

 

Sorry about the misunderstanding. The elevator is in Darwin, not in Brissie where we took the CAT on the river to the CBD, walked around and took the HoHo bus without getting off. Got the ticket for the HoHo Bus in the pedestrian mall in the CBD.

We were warned, repeatedly by Ray Carr, not to take food ashore. He told all of us to take the apples out of our backpacks, empty the beef jerky out of our handbags, and never ever take bananas off ship. "No bananas" became the ship's shorthand for just leave everything to eat on board!

We haven't been to Darwin but we DID do an Auckland-Sydney cruise in 2008. Both Australia and NZ are very insistent that no food be brought on shore.

But at the time of our cruise (I don't know if this is still the case) catnip was often forbidden. I knew this because friends who shipped catnip toys to friends in Australia often had the toys rejected. Not always ... So because I was bringing catnip to a friend in Melbourne, I duly reported it on the customs form.

I knew there was a risk that the catnip would be confiscated but felt it was better to be "up front" about it.

Leaving the ship in Melbourne I told the first guard that we had catnip and she waved me over to a more senior person. He questioned me about the catnip ... wanted to know what it was for. Obviously, not a cat person! But he did wave me on and so my friend got her catnip toys.

What puzzled me most was that when we went through customs upon leaving Australia they wanted to know if I still had the catnip. Why? I can't figure it out. If they sometimes don't want it coming in, why would they care if it were going out? Anyway, I no longer had any with me so it wasn't a problem. But it COULD have been!

no confusion....we'd talked about doing HOHO in brisbane but they want $80AUS which we think is a little pricey so we've downloaded a walking tour onto the smart phone (the only one still working) and we'll do that tomorrow.

O has even moved all of the potted plants from outside to inside so that we don't break the rules about soil and plants being brought into the country.

Ray Carr repeats the rules on forbidden items every 20 minutes as he was requested to do...

i suggested to Ray that he play "yes we have no bananas" as we come into port. I don't know if the Aussies will smile but it would be fun for the passengers to hear! He liked it...whether he does it remains to be seen :)

Have fun in Brissie!

The bus wasn't 80 when we were there only 4 years ago. What a change! When we left the ship, we had to line up in front of the biohazard control and put our bags on the white line. The beagle identified my backpack which only had my rain jacket, not even a bottle of water let alone food in any form. The officer with the stern look was stumped. She asked me whether there had been a sandwich in the bag the day before. I answered yes.

That backpack had been all over the South Pacific (fruit), Germany (groceries), NZ (everything), Australia (sandwich). I retired it recently. It's not going back to Brissie in 2017!

 

i suggested to Ray that he play "yes we have no bananas" as we come into port. I don't know if the Aussies will smile but it would be fun for the passengers to hear! He liked it...whether he does it remains to be seen :)

Wonderful humorous suggestion!:D If he can't get the song downloaded for your arrival, I would bet he'll be sure to have it aboard for the next cruise that stops in Australia.

Have fun in Brissie!

Re Brisbane. (It’s my home town but we live an hour’s drive away, and I don’t do tourist things down there. However some suggestions…..)

There are two cruise ship wharves for Brisbane, with differing facilities. Portside Wharf at Hamilton, a suburb of Brisbane, is an international standard facility with restaurants, shops, and more. However, due to the height restrictions of the Gateway Bridge, larger cruise ships must dock further down near the mouth of the river at the more industrial Multi User Terminal at the Port of Brisbane. Multi User Terminal is managed by the Port of Brisbane. It is also called the Grain Terminal and is built on reclaimed land called Fisherman Islands.

Portside at Hamilton is the most convenient to the city but P & O Pacific Dawn is scheduled for 7 May and I cannot find anything which indicates that Portside can accommodate more than one cruise ship. The website is:

http://portsidewharf.com.au/cruise-terminal/

The Multi User Terminal or Grain Terminal doesn't seem to have anything scheduled for 7 May (Pacific Aria is in the Brisbane area then but they are tendering into Moreton Island at the old Tangalooma Whaling Station site.). So my guess is the Insignia will dock at the Grain Terminal. Shame but I guess you can't expect anything else with a last-minute thing. Most CC comments indicate the drive takes about 40 mins into the CBD (depends on traffic, a Sat might be better).

According to the Port of Brisbane website (listed below) this terminal is approximately 25km from the CBD.

https://www.portbris.com.au/PortBris/media/General-Files/Shipping%20Operations/Information-for-Cruise-Ship-Passengers-and-Visitors-to-the-Port-of-Brisbane-Multi_2.pdf

It hosts only a small number of day visits from cruise ships each year, so it has limited facilities. There is no regular public transport available and no hire car facilities. Taxis are available at the terminal taxi rank. Any shuttle buses will be arranged by the cruiseline not the port authority. It has a small café, no public telephone, no postal facilities, no ATM.

Blogs by CC members, Solent Richard and NorbertsNiece give a good indication of what the Grain Terminal is like. Solent Richard also has some good suggestions for sightseeing in Brisbane.

https://solentrichardscruiseblog.com/2016/01/08/one-way-to-do-brisbane/

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2336164&highlight=brisbane

Insignia is in port from 10 to 7, and most likely will dock about 40 mins away, with limited transport options into the CBD. If I were still on Insignia and had a day in Brisbane and wanted to DIY rather than use a ship’s tour I would take the ship’s shuttle to the CBD, assuming that Oceania organises something. (Comments I have read on CC indicate other cruiselines have done this, at a fee of $20 pp or more. However the late change of plan might have made it difficult for them to organise.) Otherwise the Port authority website says there are taxis.

According to comments on CC, the shuttles seem to drop off somewhere near Treasury Casino, which is at the river end of Queen Street pedestrian mall. Around the middle of this Mall there is the Brisbane Information Centre. It used to be the beautiful old Regent Theatre but now has tourist information. See below for details.

BRISBANE INFORMATION CENTRE Regents Theatre 167 Queen Street, Brisbane. (07) 3006-6290 On Saturday open 9-5.

http://brisbanevisitorsguide.com.au/places/australia/queensland/brisbane/tours-attractions/brisbane-visitor-information-and-booking-centre/

Armed with some suggestions, Brisbane is quite a walkable city. We call it the River City because the river is an important part of everyday life. So would definitely recommend taking a free City Hopper ferry or not-free CityCat on the river. (h2so4 provided the links for these). South Bank, on the opposite side from the CBD has lots of interest with excellent museums and outdoor areas. Even a beach.

http://www.visitbrisbane.com.au/south-bank?sc_lang=en-au

There are art and craft markets there on Saturdays, and also food stalls. Lots of restaurants in all price ranges. My favourite, Stokehouse, is beautiful but very expensive.,

Collective Markets, Southbank Outdoor market at Stanley St Southbank. Open 10am – 9pm on Sat 7 May.

http://www.visitbrisbane.com.au/south-bank/whats-on/arts-and-entertainment/the-collective-markets?sc_lang=en-au

http://www.collectivemarkets.com.au/southbank/

BRISBANE CITY COUNCILTheir website has plenty of information on what to do in Brisbane, including walking tours (see below).

https://www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/facilities-recreation/sports-leisure/walking/walking-trails

Emma Christ has given you some great info. I agree with you about the HOHO price...it was high when we were there also so we had originally planned to spend our time on and around the River.

Sounds like you may be docking at the Grain Terminal...when we did part of the Tahitian Princess WC (sister ship) in 2009 we docked there. There was nothing but a tent with a big Welcome sign on top then. The ship did provide a shuttle and the ride was about 30 mins according to our blog. We were let off near the river and the mall.

Our computer had been stolen in the Darling Terminal while boarding in Sydney. DH was a basket case for the first 2 days of the cruise. We were only on day 44 of our 145 day trip!!! So we spent the morning in Brisbane buying a whole new set up and getting back to the ship. DH spent the afternoon getting his life back, while I went back into town to see some of Brisbane...it is really a pretty city.

Didn't have much time...but here is what I did on the fly (from our blog)...head back to town on 3:00PM bus and am the only person on the bus. The driver strikes up a conversation with me and gives a quick tour of some sights on the way in including the Old Government House, Parliament House and The Mansions. He suggests a walking route that can be done in the short time before the last bus leaves to go back to the ship. I visit the Cathedral of St. Stephen, built in the Gothic style, where a wedding is taking place. Then walk along the beautiful river front and back up by the Post Office, built in the Neo-Classical style, and around Anzac Square. It is a nice little walk and the great Victorian architecture and some of the modern glass buildings in Brisbane are nicely highlighted. At 4:30PM, I'm on the last bus back to the ship with many of the young crew. They are all stuffing Big Macs and singing in very accented English. Fun.

You should enjoy your walking tour....Brisbane has lots to offer.

yesterday I asked Des.Services and Reception if a decision had been reached on the pier for Brisbane and they said it would be 2 days (tomorrow afternoon) before they would know for sure.

1 dock is about 8K away from city, the other 12k according to O staff.

thanks everyone for all your help. We're excited about heading to Brisbane since we too, thought it was a lovely city.

May buy opals if i can find some that won't rival a house mortgage. Also looking for shorts for me. Only bought 1 pair and bought another in Capetown. First pair now fit for cabin only!!!

not looking forward to the 30 min. tender ride into Cooktown today!

thanks again! c

Captain just announced a change in the itinerary: turns out I don't have to dread the 30 minute tender ride because there won't be one.

We are scrubbing the Cooktown port due to higher waves. Little too high at 4-6' for comfortable tendering so we are headed directly to Cairns and will be there overnight. Actually the ride within the ship is fine.

We expect to be along side at 5:30 so people will be able to leave the ship and look for pubs, etc.

Many of us will be going to the Great Barrier Reef or to inland excursions tomorrow so this provides us with a chance to go into town and DIY.

I just saw, literally, dancing in the corridors by the room stewards! Overnight means a great chance for them to leave the ship and wander about.

I'm so glad we get an overnight there. It is a great town and while I'm sorry to miss Cooktown since I really wanted to visit there, I'm NOT sorry about missing that tender ride.

I bet you are having a great day, Great Barrier Reef or rain forest? :)

Overnighting in Cairns is great news -- especially for those who were/are planning to just book their Great Barrier Reef excursions at the port.

May 3rd: arrival at Cairns early

On our way to Cooktown, we heard from the Captain that the swell was approaching 4-6 feet and the weather report said the waves/wind would increase. White caps were already forming and since we had to tender into Cooktown on a 30 minute ride, he decided that we would not attempt to visit there.

I truly am sorry to miss Cooktown since we had a little history walk that we wanted to do. I'm a big fan of Cook after reading about him. He traveled every where you can think of and brought on board artists, cartographers, and botanists.

Cook's people made many discoveries of plant and animal life, and recorded it in scientific detail. His maps were used into the 1950s because of their accuracy and the folios of the plant and animal drawings and paintings are considered works of art as well as science.

The room stewards burst into happy dances in the corridors while they were carrying linen and supplies back and forth because the Captain's announcement meant OVERNIGHT in Cairns. Indeed, they went off the ship after their work was over and some stayed out until around 2am.

Unfortunately the merchants must not have realized that we were coming, or didn't care, because many of the restaurants were closing by 10pm and the young people from Insignia were ready to eat and drink and shop. I heard the word "party" several times!!!

One of the guys in Terrace said that they did find a club and when he walked in it looked just like the crew quarters--no locals, just crew! I think they were hoping for locals to party with.

We had visited Cairns before, (pronounced "cans) and while we didn't break out our version of the happy dance, (people would be horrified), we were very pleased to have an overnight there. Since we would be on the Great Barrier Reef all of the next day in port, it was great to walk around, shop, have dinner, and see the changes since 2005...and there were many.

We remember Cairns as a beach community, laid back, with pubs, shops, and an easy going way. Now there is ....gasp...some traffic, big towering hotels, and lots of cranes building things. Still their easy going ways haven't deserted them which was so nice to see and hear.

We walked along the Esplanade which was as wonderful as ever. The town has built a lovely wide and winding walk way along the Bay which is so easy to get to from where we berthed.

There were lots of places to grill and have outdoor gatherings, picnics, little ones could run around safely, and there was a giant swimming pool....all very well maintained with large shade trees and long grassy areas to throw or kick a ball and dogs on leashes were welcomed. All in all a great place for families, friends, and tourists to walk.

We then walked into town and found the pub we had hoped was still there. Several people from the ship walked by looking for someplace to have dinner, but kept on walking.....what a shame!

The Rattle-N-Hum is a great pub. Locals were in there ordering drinks at the bar, families were there putting food orders in for their families, some people were playing pool, and everyone was having a great time.

Practically the whole place is built from wood and there are several levels in the place. On one side of the room, is a narrow raised platform with about 5 tables on each side with a walkway between them but the platform is closed off from the lower level only by open wooden railings. Just not one room with a bunch of tables, but tables kind of scattered around and up and down...just like a pub should be!!

There is an interior part, which we ate in to avoid cigarette smoke, but there is a level that faces right on the street, so if smoke doesn't bother you or you are a smoker, then that would also be a great place to eat!

At the end of dinner, I asked a dad of 4 dining nearby if we should leave a tip and he said "naw...it's not expected a'tall." (they speak something close to American English in Australia...and I'm positive they think the same of us!)

Now I must admit Mr. Wonderful had an ulterior motive to finding this pub. When we walked in, he immediately asked our young female server the following, " We were here about 10 years ago...urrr, the men's room still have the...." to which she grinned and said "right....it's still there" and she and I shared a female eye-roll!

It seems that there is a plate glass window in the men's room that looks out into the patio area but when the gentleman steps up onto the platform there is suddenly a cascade of water that runs down the whole glass that obscures what he is doing (thank heavens) from the people on the patio. He zips up, steps off, the water stops and drains away.

His goal the whole evening was to first find the pub, and then take a picture of the wall of water. He was successful and did nothing to get arrested.

We then found a Woolworths, not to be confused with what we Americans remember growing up as the 5 and 10 cent store. In Australia it is one of the chains of grocery stores, nicknamed "Woolies" and there is often a BWS (beer,wine,spirits) store or other liquor store next door...usually owned by the chain.

We got a couple of NZ sav blancs; we earnestly tried to get something from the Hunter Valley but they had nothing so New Zealand won. We also purchased Tim Tams in 2 flavors--an Aussie cookie, we had been introduced to in our last visit.

Upon our return to the ship, we put our stuff through the scanner on board, and told the officers that we had visited Woolies and the BWS store. One of them asked where they both were, and Mr. Wonderful showed them his map, pointed to our berth, and the location of the stores...about a 5 minute straight walk.

I turned and saw the guys at Reception and said "do you want to know where the store and BWS is?" and received a plaintive "yes, please." We left everyone in that area of 4 in a better mood!!

I love Cairns, but then again I love Australia. Everyone is very nice, no one seems to take themselves very seriously, and you rarely hear anyone complaining. (a.k.a. "whingeing"). It is a great place to visit and if you're even close to the area, come visit!

Tomorrow--the Great Barrier Reef!!!!

May 4, The Great Barrier Reef

At 8:15 we were in the Lounge to receive our excursion number. Some people were doing a private excursion to the Great Barrier Reef and some of them signed up through the Roll Calls to do it.

We decided that since Mr. Wonderful, who will never make Admiral of the Fleet, needed a bigger boat we went with the shorex.

(Historical side note; Admiral Raymond Spruance in WWII suffered from sea sickness. He would hold meetings, be sick over the side of the ship, and then resume the meeting!! Mr Wonderful regularly reminds me that Admirals CAN suffer from nausea and not harm their career!)

Shortly after receiving our shorex number we walked down the gangplank, through the terminal, where the drug doggies sniffed our bags to make sure we had no agricultural products and turned right.

We walked down the sidewalk, escorted by a woman who worked for the dive boat company, until we reached the boats. After a short wait, we climbed aboard. By 9:30 we were underway.

The trip to the portion of the Reef where we would tie up to a floating pontoon platform took about 1.5 hours and was a great trip. Part of the way to the pontoon, we stopped at Fitzroy Island, which looked to be idyllic. There was some buildings nestled back in the trees, a beach with children's toys, kayaks and some more isolated beaches; if one needed a "get away, this might be the place to come!

The boat we were on stopped, picked up passengers and luggage and gear, and then took them to the GBR to dive, and later dropped other people and their luggage off to spend time at the Island.

We then took off for the pontoon platform where we tied up. A buffet lunch was spread out on the boat we came on, but the pontoon part had the picnic tables, flat floors that drained, the scuba and snorkel equipment and showers.

The pontoon had steps down to a large "shelf" at water's edge with built-in seats. There you could adjust your snorkel and fins before getting into the water. Getting into the water from there was very easy as was getting out.

Lunch was fine; plenty of choices both in entrees and in salads and fruit. Water and sodas were also offered, but alcohol was an extra charge and if you were getting into the water they asked that you not drink until you were done for the day.

Also on the pontoon was a semi-submersible where you could see the Reef without getting wet, a glass bottom boat ride, a "walk under the water" where you first donned a helmet, then oxygen was pumped into the helmet as you walked on the ocean floor, and a helicopter ride. Some of those activities were free or had a nominal charge, others were more expensive.

I think most everyone went into the water, even those who were leery of snorkeling went. There was an older crew man who was able to cajole the most reluctant into trying it and he guided them around in their life jackets and holding onto a common inflatable. He was encouraged them to put their masks into the water....and they were sold!

it really was an extraordinary experience. I've snorkeled many places, but this one was probably the best. The water was clear, the sun shone into the water at an angle, highlighting the colors of the coral, sponges, and fish. Everyone was absolutely astonished at what they saw.

I swam in an enormous group of yellowtailed fusiliers...they were everywhere and all at once I felt a tiny nip on my leg. I came up sputtering only to see the lifeguard tossing a few pieces of fish food into the group. He grinned at me and yelled "snark....this big...." and held out his arms 4' apart. Of course, there wasn't a shark but swimming among the tropicals was amazing!

We later saw a very large shark swimming on the other side of the ship as we were preparing to leave. Don't know what kind and I didn't want to get close enough to ask his name!

One of our RTW guys said that he had snorkeled around the world and this day was the best ever. We were there at low tide, so all of the Reef features were just a few feet below us.

We were told to be very careful as the tide was receding even more and we had to be careful not to damage any of the coral. We were told, "snorkel around the edges, don't snorkel over the coral reef and stand up on it. You would be destroying years of coral growth."

Most obeyed but as always, there were a few clueless ones....but none I recognized as coming from the Insignia.

As I was climbing up after my last swim, i pushed my mask up on top of my head so that I could see, and a guy bumped me. I grabbed the railing, but the snorkel and mask went flying off.

One of our passengers was finishing his dive, found it under the platform and gave it back to me. Tim, you are the man!!!! Thank you so much!

All too soon it was time to leave. We untied from the pontoon, said goodbye to the Reef and began to sail away to retrace our steps. The sea was beautiful, the sky glorious and all around us was different colors of blue and hints of brown, indicating that we were still very close to the Reef.

As one of our people said, "this wasn't just great, it was magical." I've had so many magical moments on this cruise --how lucky and how blessed I am.

Thanks for the terrific description of the Barrier Reef experience Cynthia. I am an extremely reluctant snorkeler -- for that read ... I read on the beach or boat while hubby snorkels ... but you may have convinced me to give it a shot at the GBR ... need to give it some serious consideration.

You've also intrigued my husband about the "men's room" in your first post about Cairns ... unless we end up arriving the day before, however, he will likely not be able to see it for himself. It sure would be nice to arrive early, even if it is earlier in the morning (we have two days at sea before Cairns).

Question about the O shoreex boat: You mention it stopped at a resort to pick up people, so obviously it's a public boat. Were there non-Insignia people on the boat when you boarded in Cairns? And who was the operator?

Also, if you hear more about the private Seastar experience could you write a bit about it, or could you direct me to someone I can email directly to find out about their experience.

Thanks and happy travels.

Erin

Wow has Cairns changed. I was last there in 1975, now dating myself. We stayed at the Captain Cook Motel. It was the top motel in town at the time, but definitely not luxurious. Think wire springs and a 1 inch mattress on top. The beds squeaked all night and you couldn't help but laugh. We ate at a restaurant across the street and were introduced to fried bananas. I still remember how delicious they were. At that time they didn't have large boats like you went on, and after spending a day at the reef on our way back it got a little rough. Several people had fallen asleep, and all of sudden they got a rude awakening as a large wave came over the side of the boat and dumped water into their open mouths. For those of us awake, we had some entertaining moments.:D I am enjoying your blog and your write ups. They bring a smile to my face every time I read or look at them.

A wonderful description!

By the way, Captain Cook also got seasick at the beginning of his trips.

h2so4-

sunlover was the name of the company O used. If you go to

http://www.drdavebradley.blogspot.com you can see pictures of the ship and the pontoon experience.

I'll ask around about the smaller ship and their experiences. As I said, we needed the larger ship for the sea sickness factor and many others chose the larger ship for the same reason. I heard no reports of any motion sickness from our boat.

I don't think one can just show up, pay their money, and walk on. It seemed that most had reserved their spot before.

Yes, there was another group of tourists on board--an Asian group, but there didn't seem to be much mingling--mostly because of language. They tended to stay in one group on the lower level whereas the rest of us were on top, or on the 2nd level inside/outside. Certainly, there was no assigned seating.

We stayed on the 2nd level outside. Mr. Wonderful could stay cool and see the horizon and it was covered. The top level was not and an Aussie sun can be hot.

2nd level in the rear is also the smoking spot but smoking is forbidden while the boat is in motion. It wasn't a problem for us since we spent the time on the pontoon or in the water when the ship wasn't in motion.

We thought Sunlover did a great job. There were lots of crew members on board, they were everywhere checking on us and then there were at least 3 on constant life guard/observation duty at all times when we were in the water...sometimes even more. Everyone i talked to said they were very pleased by their experience.

They "performed" the safety drill for us--and by great acting were able to get their points across very effectively. Nice way to do a required item!

May 5, 2016 Townsville, Au

I confess, at the very beginning of this thread, that I love Townsville. It is lovely beach town that takes great pride in its appearance and history.

What's not to love!

We left the ship around 9:30, earlier that the Captain had predicted we would arrive. We were greeted by very nice local people in the terminal who welcomed us to their town and handed out maps, newspapers, and advice.

The local newspaper's headline was "MS Insignia Special Souvenir Edition" with a picture of 3 women on the front page and the middle one was wearing a hat with "Captain" on it. They were the head of tourism, the Mayor, and the Port of Townsville CEO and beneath their picture was a giant "WELCOME." How could you not love a town with three women in charge!

These same women were at the port and were being interviewed by what I think was probably the local TV station.

The third page was mostly about Insignia with another headline stating "Our ship's coming in again; "another said "city gears up to welcome 600 world travellers." It was a lovely article about us and how excited the city was to welcome us.

The city expects to have 11 cruise ships visit next year and the article encouraged every one in town to play their part in welcoming Insignia's passengers to their city.

Well, everyone must read the paper first thing in the morning because everywhere we went people said "hi", or nodded at us, or said "you're from the ship, aren't you."

And everywhere we went I told those people how much we loved their town.

The city had put 2 shuttle bus routes on for us; one went from the ship to a centrally located drop-off/pick up spot and the second one had a loop route, like a hop on-hop off.

It seemed as if most of the guides on the bus and streets were all volunteers and they wore pink polo shirts making it easy to find them. The pink-shirted people were so generous with their time and their earnest desire to help us. Great job ladies and gentlemen!

We were dropped off in town and immediately climbed on board the loop bus and off we went to the Strand, one of the stops on the route. The other passengers stayed on, going all the way around or got off much further away to visit other sites.

We wanted to walk the Strand, which is the waterfront walkway that connects a series of parks. It is a continuous wide sidewalk that allows parents to take little ones to the playgrounds, people to visit the Townsville City Aquatic Center, to see a memorial to those who died in all of the wars and to the local men who had earned the Victoria Cross, their highest medal.

I would love to do my early morning walk there every day. There are lots of huge trees, well kept grassy areas for people to play, and a series of picnic tables and grills for cook-outs.

The beach has lifeguard stands and the "stinger nets" were still in place. From November-May protective nets are erected to keep out the jelly-fish that sting swimmers. By swimming within these protected areas one shouldn't get stung.

There were public restrooms, a restaurant and a snack bar. Across the street were different architectural styles of houses and apartments side by side with a lovely water view.

We met some firemen and stopped to talk...and yes, they were very cute. We told them how much we loved their town and one of them replied, "Yes, we need to be reminded how good we have it here."

I told him I was ready to move there for part of every year and showed him a Queenslander house up on the bluff overlooking the water that I was ready to call my own. He congratulated me on my good taste!

Then we walked to the central business district which isn't very large. Part of the town's main street is being rehabbed into shops, pubs, and cafes. The cool part of it is that they have saved the exteriors and much of the interiors of buildings from the turn of the 20th century or earlier.

All of these buildings have historical plaques in front of them indicating what they had been and when they were built. This will create a charming shopping and dining street when they are finished. Good job, history lovers!

I also liked that the shops were different from each other; they carried items like fabrics, clothing, wall or shelf art, jewelry, bags, etc. that wasn't replicated down the street. Well done!

I was surprised to see how few souvenir shops there were but expect that will soon change as the shop keepers will begin to stock those things that cruise ship passengers want.

We looked at several menus of the restaurants and pubs but couldn't find anything that we wanted; certainly it wasn't the fault of the dining places--it was us. Have you ever been hungry but didn't know what you wanted and nothing sounded good? That was our predicament.

We decided to go to the Woolies we discovered in our walk-about and got a few things. We saw some friends coming into the store and introduced them to the Tim-Tam display so they got a package of those to try and then we all went to the wine shop next door. They stocked up since there was a nice sale and walked out happy!

Next to the Woolies was a Brumby's, a stand-alone bakery which is part of Woolies and their ham and cheese croissant and chicken and honey mustard on a fresh roll called us for lunch!

The young woman behind the counter told us that there was a little park across the street where we could eat our lunch which is exactly what we did.

We people-watched and bird watched and saw black headed ibis (which we don't see in Florida) and a bunch of brightly colored lorikeets. We also saw that practically all of the women wore black. Black in the tropics--they are stronger women than I! What a great lunch spot and it was perfectly maintained!

We strolled the streets, read historical markers, Mr. Wonderful talked to a guy in the Camera House, (of course he did!) and I found a couple of things to wear which I was not looking for, (a shout out to the Strand Emporium--loved your clothing store!) and I found a magnet announcing that I had snorkeled the Great Barrier Reef!

Note to Townsville merchants: many of us wanted Great Barrier Reef tees or hats but by the time we got off the dive boat in Cairns there was no time to go shopping--we had to be back on board Insignia. We were bummed! If we could buy those in the next port, that would be great.

So... if you could have a colorful variety of tees with Great Barrier Reef scenes on it I'm sure they would sell well. (I only saw one design on black.)

Also many of us are doting grandparents and would love to take home tees for the kids with Aussie animal and tropical ocean life on them--that would also be great. I'm not into cartoon critters; I'd rather have shirts with more realistic pictures on them.

Let me close by restating the obvious; Mr Wonderful and I loved Townsville. We are heartened by the attempt to save their historical buildings, the genuine friendliness of the citizens, the cleanliness of the streets, and of course, the Strand.

I always judge a place I visit: am I glad to be leaving, would I like to return, would I want to live here. I could live in Townsville for several months and be perfectly happy! Thanks for welcoming us so beautifully!

Thanks for the additional info CBB -- if we decide the Sunlover is the way to go, we will book it in advance.

We love visiting port cities that have not been "overfished" so to speak by the cruise industry. The welcome from the locals in such places is sincere and heartwarming.

cbb,

Thank you for the continued reporting - I look forward to it daily.

We too enjoyed Townsville a lot when we visited there a few years ago - a relaxing day with just enough to do and see.