First our update then the rest of the cruise.  John and I disembarked the Viking Sun in Darwin, Australia Feb 29th, due to John’s inability to walk. Nothing to do with the virus. The long flight from Brisbane to LAX went surprisingly well for us. I think we were flying on Angel wings in answer […]

In northern Australia, a didgeridoo is a wind instrument made by Aborigines from fallen eucalyptus branches or trunks that had been naturally hollowed out by termites. They cut off the bark, smooth and paint them. It is their haunting sound that has been identified for thousands of years.

It looks like it has taken 2 months instead of 2 weeks to get back to this. A very brief update is that I am in Yuma, AZ at home and John is in a Healthcare Rehab center in Phoenix, AZ 3 hours north of home. Due to the virus shut down everywhere, I am […]

“What wings are to a bird and sails to a ship, so is prayer to the soul.”  ~  Corrie Ten Boom Because John has developed a severe case of Parkinson’s Disease, we are very saddened to say we will be departing the Ultimate World Cruise Saturday Feb 29th, making it only 3/4 of the whole […]

Now back to what we are seeing and not dwelling on what we can’t see. The virus isn’t the only thing cancelling stops, bad weather makes a big dent in our trip, too. Melbourne was scratched due to ‘really’ wild storms. So we went straight to Sydney and spent an additional day there. One of […]

A number of friends have asked how the virus worldwide has affected our trip. So this is the best way to catch up with you all.  Our itinerary has changed drastically due to the Coronavirus situation. All stops in China had already been cancelled, their ports are closed and now Viking thinks it prudent to […]

Here come some of the Australian animals!! We visited the Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary. Bonorong means “native companion” in the aboriginal language.  They fight with each other for food and their teeth are vicious looking, but other than that, they’re cute!! They are the largest meat-eating marsupials in the world. Wombats are often called ‘the bulldozers […]

The time it takes to sail 220 yards @ 1 nautical mile per hour  =  Knotfurlong  😉 With even more clouds, the next day we sailed into the Doubtful Sound, New Zealand’s Fiordland National Park. It is ten times the size of the more famous Milford Sound. Named by Captain Cook because he encountered such […]

Never be afraid to try something new. Remember, amateurs built the Ark. Professionals built the Titanic.   Good Morning! Two pictures of the same range. One without the sun, the other with the Viking Sun!  Below is the Christchurch skyline. We didn’t make the trip to Christchurch, but stayed in Akaroa.  The Southern Alps contain more […]

Wellington is located on the southern coast of the North Island, on the Cook Strait.  A bus ride thru the Capital of New Zealand showed some interesting neighborhoods, attractive parks, and ended in the Wellington Botanic Garden. The old government building built in 1876 is the largest wooden structure in the southern hemisphere. Once the […]