possum52

Jennie, stay up there, don't come back to Melbourne. It is so miserable, raining on and off, although not quite as cold today.

Hugs to you both.

We're along the bay, so will go on East Link onto the Monash.

Thanks for that Cbtours. Our flight is a similar time to yours but with Jetstar - usually fly Qantas but couldn't get a Q flight for time we wanted. We're SE suburbs so depending on traffic can take anywhere from an hour to an hour and a half. I was thinking of leaving home about 6 because as you say much better to be there early enjoying a coffee instead of stressing about getting there on time.

What was it like at Melbourne airport this morning Cbtours? We are flying to Cairns 6 weeks today so thinking about what time we need to arrive at airport.

❤️

Sorry to hear about your beloved Niki Julie. It is so hard to make the decision to say goodbye to our pets, even when you know it is best for them. Our cat has to be put down while we were on a cruise. He wasn't well either and was being looked after by our daughter. We had talked to our vet and said if he deteriorated, he had our permission to euthenise him which is what happened. ❤️

Yes, it was Good Company Tours. Unfortunately it looks as if the company is not in operation at this time and also the Taieri Gorge train has been mothballed and there doesn't seem to be any indication it will run any time soon. There are other rail trips from Dunedin which may be of interest though.

Glad it worked well for you Marion.

Yes, our coach to take us to Dunedin railway station was waiting outside the cruise terminal and the guide was waiting inside the terminal.

You can still test positive for quite a long time after the infectious period has ended. I tested 10 days after my first positive RAT and was still positive.

I made beef, vegetable and barley last week Julie. I buy soup bones from Woolworths which always seem to have lots of meat on them and not too fatty.

I sometimes roast the pumpkin and carrot, it depends on how much time I have. It does add flavour.

😀My husband makes the pea and ham soup at our place Les. The only tin soup I will have these days is tomato. And always have a packet of chicken noodle soup in the pantry.

I have just made a pot of pumpkin soup using a butternut from our garden. I added a little celery, carrot, potato and onion, garlic and some nutmeg along with the normal seasonings. Just waiting for it to cool a little to blend. It is going to be quite thick.

Marion, the Aus ETA has to be done on an app as from February this year.

F/T Swans 10.13.73 d Dees 9.7.61

3/4 time - Dees 8.6.54 Swans 6.11.47

1/2 time Dees 7.1.43 Swans 6.9.45

1/4 time - Dees 5.1.31 Swans 1.5.11

Cruising has restarted as of this week with P&O Aus Pacific Explorer doing a return cruise from Sydney to Brisbane. Coral Princess is due to arrive this month and other cruise lines will have ships here in time for the summer season in October. There have been small ships (under 100 passengers I believe) since last year doing cruises around the northern part of the country. Tourism is really ramping up and international tourists are returning. There will be plenty of things to do in both NZ and Australia. Yes, you quite often can pick up tours at the dock.

It was shown on Channel 7 news in Melbourne.

From the Australian Home Affairs website, from 6th April, you apply on the Australian ETA app available from the Apple Store or Google Play Store and in most cases you will be notified of the result immediately - Australian ETA There is no Visa Application Charge (VAC). There may be an application service charge of AUD20. You will also need a NZeTA - NZ ETA For a NZeTA - Cost and processing time Requesting an NZeTA costs NZD $9 through the app or NZD $12 if you use the online form Allow up to 72 hours for processing, although it could take as little as 10 minutes. The IVL If you are entering New Zealand you must also pay an IVL, which funds tourism infrastructure and helps protect our natural environment. You pay the IVL at the same time as you request your NZeTA. The IVL costs NZD $35. As long as you don't need to renew or replace your passport, you can obtain your ETA or NZeTA anytime I believe. But do check the websites for the information required.

Thank you but it appears you need the app to open the menu but I downloaded the sample menu from the website. We dined at Luke's on our first cruise (Pacific Dawn) for our wedding anniversary. We were given a bottle of champers and shared it with a young couple sitting at the next table. I see my favourite dessert, the licorice parfait is still on the menu. Enjoy your return voyage to Sydney.

We were charged for the shuttle from the grain terminal back in 2015 and also took the ferry from Portside. Love that cruise up the river to the CBD.