Across the Arafura to Darwin
First, some old business: Leaving Thursday Sunday, we headed west across the Arafura Sea. It is probably named for inhabitants of...
Into the Torres Strait with a Whoosh!
I took this first picture around sundown from the starboard side of the ship, hoping to find a Name That Cloud contestant, but by the...
Desperately Seeking Nemo
“It’s ‘Cans,’ Mite!” It may be spelled CaiRns and look like it should rhyme with ‘fair+n’ but the Aussies say ‘Cans’ with a really nasal...
Another Fabulous Sky. No Contest.
At home in West Newbury, I hardly ever see a sunset because only one tiny hall window faces west. I could see lots of sunrises from my...
“It’s ‘Briz-bin,’ mate!”
I haven’t heard anybody called ‘Mate’ yet, but there’s still time. We’ve got another week in Australia. I’m behind, so I’ll forego an...
Près les ramparts de Sydney
One of our lecturers, retired British Navy, thinks James Cook was the greatest captain, navigator, explorer of them all. Cook sailed into...
The Antipodean Eden
Dunedin — Celtic for Edinburgh — means ‘Eden among the hills.’ They got that right. We’d been in New Zealand for 8 days and, though we...
Not so Well-ington (NZ)
In the Norwood Rose Garden within the Wellington Botanical Garden. The roses at Fuller Garden in Rye, NH, are just as good. Some have...
Nau mai haere mai ki Tauranga
Haere Mai — Welcome — to the little town of Bethlehem, next door to Tauranga (still in New Zealand). I’d heard of most every other port...
Twenty-seven swans aswimming with ‘the maiden sought by a hundred lovers’*
New Zealand: Day 3, Auckland, Part 2 *The original Mãori name for the city We overnighted at the dock in Auckland and had most of a...
