The final stage of this retirement on tour journey is coming to a close. A dawn arrival into Sydney Harbour this morning and we are up on deck just as it is getting light. Cruising down the harbour at sunrise and docking next to the opera house and bridge is one of the best arrivals to a city anywhere in the world!!
Today the Oriana berthed at Circular Quay in The Rocks for two days. This was also another milestone for us as stepping ashore meant we have now circumnavigated the world on the surface.
As we were not disembarking till the morning of the 24th we took the opportunity to go ashore and take a return trip on the River Cat from Circular Quay to the city of Parramatta.
We spent a couple of hours in Parramatta and found a suitable suitcase to buy to pack the extra items we had bought on our travels. Seeing as we had bought a few extra items at the ports of call on the way we needed another suitcase.
Back on board the Oriana in the late afternoon we enjoyed a late lunch and then headed back to the cabin to finish packing. We were still sorting and packing when it was time to go to dinner in The Peninsula Restaurant for our last 5 star dining for the cruise so left the packing until after dinner.
The evening entertainment in the Theatre Royal was a performance by traditional Aboriginal dancers from Northern Queensland. One of the dances was performed by the women and the dance represented picking and gathering berries. Trish was chosen to go on stage with a couple of other passengers from the audience to also join in the next dance. Then it came Steven’s turn to represent the male passengers from the audience to perform the men’s dance. Our moment of fame!
After packing it was around midnight and we spent some time on the top deck with a nightcap watching the Harbor at night.
We have been looking forward to arriving in Sydney as we are spending a few days at Trish’s sisters and catching up with other family members who we have not seen for some time.
Click read more below for more photos……….
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| Leaving Circular Key to Parramatta |
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| Parramatta River Cat |
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| Parramatta River |
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| Our last night on Oriana |
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| Sydney Harbor 1am |