Arrived in Darwin today. It is hot! 32 degrees, but with the humidity it feels like 36. Darwin is on the north coast of Australia. It is the capital of the Northern Territory with a population of about 130,000. Darwin was bombed by the Japanese in Feb. 1942 and 75% devastated by Cyclone Tracy in 1974. The latter explains why it is a very modern city today. There is not a great deal to see here. Litchfield National Park is an attraction in the north, but i...

For the past two days the ship has been cruising on the Great Barrier Reef. Really do not see a great deal from the ship other than some of the islands, underwater reefs from a distance, etc. we hope to do a closeup of the reef in late November.

Today was devoted mainly to collecting info for our return to the Cairns/Port Douglas area in late November, after the cruise. This is first and foremost a tourist city. Restaurants, hotels and bars everywhere. It has a beautiful Esplanade (park) running for several kms. along the beach. Quite clean. We will be returning around November 24 for several days in the area, at which time we will probably take one of the day trips to the Great Barrier Reef. This ...

Today we are in Townsville, the major centre between Brisbane and Cairns. Did a lot of walking, from the ship to downtown, to the Reef HQ and the Strand (the city beach). Our major stop was the Reef HQ, which is the research centre and Aquarium featuring life on the Great Barrier Reef. A reasonably good aquarium with a glass tunnel surrounded by marine life. The pictures are OK but the glass cut down on the quality of some of them.

After a day at sea, we arrived at Hamilton Island. It is the major centre of the Whitsunday Islands, a popular recreation area on the east coast of Australia. There are many beaches and marinas in the Whitsundays. The Whitsundays are at the south end of the Great Barrier Reef. We took the tender into the marina and wandered around the town. Took a shuttle bus that toured the island -- 40 minutes in total. The cruise ship ran a tour of the Great Barrier Reef...