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Russell writes…
We were a few months into our 2001 world trip when 9/11 hit. While people back home were going through a crisis, we decided to continue our trip… and to continue blogging about it. Some readers told us it was challenging to relate to our adventures. We seemed to be in a different reality from everyone else.
We currently find ourselves in a similar situation. We are a few months into our world cruise and coronavirus has hit. Once again, we have decided to continue our trip… and to continue blogging about it. Our hearts go out to anyone who has been affected by the outbreak. But instead of reporting on every new development in the news, we will try to chronicle our adventures as best we can. We hope you don’t mind!
Port Lincoln is one of the largest protected natural harbors in the world. It is three times larger than Sydney Harbor, and is the second deepest in the world. For that reason, Port Lincoln is a major shipping port. (Ships can take on more cargo here because they can afford to sit lower in the water.)
We scheduled two excursions for today. Unfortunately, Gail now has a full-blown cold. She stayed aboard ship while Russell went out on tour. The day started out with rain, but the weather soon cleared and ended up quite nice.
The morning excursion was a 2.5 hour “Glenforest Animals & Wine” tour. Glen Forest Animal Park is a 400-acre farm, with 70 acres of animals and 60 acres of vineyards. This is the most hands-on animal experience we have had. With a bag of animal food, Russell was able to hand-feed kangaroos and birds. He was also able to pet three domesticated koalas. He doesn’t drink wine; so while the rest of the group did the wine tasting, he explored more of the animal park.
The afternoon excursion was a 3.5-hour “Journey on Erye” tour. Our main destination was the Dutton Bay Woolshed Museum. Jacqui Giles, the proprietor, is one of the most amazing women we have ever met. She has single-handedly devoted her life and savings to restoring this historic site that she remembered fondly from her childhood. She both married and separated from her business partner during the years-long restoration process. Today she continues to run it as a museum, café and B&B; and her love and passion for the place is infectious.
We also stopped at two photo sites, Farm Beach and Wintershill Lookout. Scott, our bus driver and guide, is a 30-year veteran of the fishing industry. He was full of amazing stories about Port Lincoln’s tuna and lobster fishing. He was particularly proud of Port Lincoln’s sustainable fishing practices, many of which were pioneered here.
Back aboard ship, Gail was not feeling any better, but we still tried the “Bush Tucker” theme dinner at the pool grill. It is a weird experience to visit Australian wildlife during the day, and then sample kangaroo, emu and crocodile meat in the evening…
