Day 39 April 14 – Townsville/Sydney, Australia

Day 39 Tuesday April 14th (81 days to go) — We had planned to fly from Townsville to Sydney so we could spend a few extra days in Sydney. This was planned and approved by Oceania Corporate Offices in Miami three months before our embarkation. On the day we boarded, the cabin’s butler and housekeeper spoke to me about us getting off in Townsville and getting back on in Darwin. This meant the ship knew of the plans. On the second day after we boarded in San Diego, I went to the reception desk to provide them the email from Oceania Corporate. Yesterday, I went to the reception desk to remind them we were getting off today and asked for our passports. I was told to return today as the passports were needed for review by the Australian authorities. When I went this morning to retrieve the passports I was told there was a problem because I had not informed the reception desk of our plans and we probably would not be able to get our passports and disembark. The person helping me asked who I had spoken to about this when I boarded and who I spoke to yesterday. Like really, I am going to remember anyone’s names. He went speak to the purser (who never came out of his office —- real chicken shit if you ask me) and I was told they would attempt to have Australian authorities come to the ship to meet with us face to face. They called us at 11:30am to let us know the authorities were onboard to meet with us and we needed to bring our luggage and prepare to disembark if we were allowed by the authorities. We went down, answered a few questions and they went through our two carry-on pieces of luggage. The gentleman and lady from Australian border patrol could not have been any nicer to us. They gave us information on where to eat in Sydney and in Darwin upon our return. Lesson learned today —- since we have had issues with reception telling us one thing and then changing, every time I go down there and have to meet with someone from now on, I am going to take a photo of their face and name tag. Possibly I will write up what we discussed and have them sign it.

So, we left the ship around noon after having been stopped in the terminal by security and filling out paperwork that the ship should have given to us when we walked off the ship, we called a Uber and were on our way to the Townsville Airport. Although end of that story a new one started when our flight was delayed by an hour due to mechanical issues with the plane. Finally, we arrived at the Sydney Harbour Marriott Hotel at Circular Quay. We arrived the same time a bus load of Japanese tourists arrived, and Jackie used what she learned from me when dealing with crowds of people……kill or be killed as she hurriedly got into the line to check in. 🙂

I copied information about Townsville from Wikipedia and some stock photos as we did not have a chance to tour the city while waiting in the cabin to meet with Australian authorities.

Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of approximately 204,541 as of 2026, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland and Northern Australia (specifically, the parts of Australia north of the Sunshine Coast). Townsville hosts a significant number of governmental, community and major business administrative offices for the northern half of the state.

Part of the larger local government area of the City of Townsville, it is in the dry tropics region of Queensland. The city is adjacent to the central section of the Great Barrier Reef. The city is also a major industrial center, home to one of the world’s largest zinc refineries, a nickel refinery and many other similar activities. As of December 2020, $30M operations to expand the Port of Townsville are underway, which involve channel widening and installation of a 70-tonne Liebherr Super Post Panamax Ship-to-Shore crane to allow much larger cargo and passenger ships to utilize the port. It is an increasingly important port due to its proximity to Asia and major trading partners such as China.

Popular attractions include “The Strand“, a long tropical beach and garden strip; Riverway, a riverfront parkland attraction located on the banks of Ross River; Reef HQ, which has been under renovation since 2021, a large tropical aquarium holding many of the Great Barrier Reef’s native flora and fauna; the Museum of Tropical Queensland, built around a display of relics from the sunken British warship HMS Pandora; Castle Hill or as it was originally known, Cootharinga, the most prominent landmark of the area and a popular place for exercise; The Townsville Sports Reserve; and Magnetic Island, a large neighboring island, the vast majority of which is national park.

WWII

At the beginning of 1942, Townsville had 30,000 inhabitants and between 5,000 and 7,000 of them voluntarily evacuated to other places. During World War II, the city was host to more than 50,000, and Townsville Naval Section Base. American and Australian troops and air crew were stationed here, and Townsville became a major staging point for battles in the South West Pacific. A large United States Armed Forces contingent supported the war effort from seven airfields and other bases around the city and in the region. Many buildings, schools and 177 private houses were commandeered for use by the military. Slit trenches were dug in many places, and 18 concrete air-raid shelters were built, six of them in Flinders Street. The first bombing raid on Rabaul, in Papua New Guinea, on 23 February 1942 was carried out by six B-17s based near Townsville.

In July 1942, three small Japanese air raids were conducted against Townsville, which was by then the most important air base in Australia. On 25 July 1942 two Japanese Kawanishi Flying Boats dropped 15 bombs which landed near the mouth of the Ross River, only 370 metres (400 yd) east of oil tanks in the harbour. On 28 July, one Japanese plane dropped eight 230-kilogram (500-pound) bombs near the Garbutt airfield. On 29 July 1942, a single “Emily” Flying Boat dropped one bomb at the Experimental Station of Oonoonba and seven bombs landed in Cleveland Bay where bomb craters are still clearly visible. There were no deaths and structural damage was minimal, as the Japanese missed their intended targets of the railway, the harbour and the airfield and destroyed a palm tree at the Experimental Station of Oonoonba. Although the Japanese aircraft were intercepted on two of the three raids, none was shot down.

The Ross River flows through the city. Three weirs, fish stocking and dredging of the river in these reaches has resulted in a deep, stable and clean waterway used for many recreational activities such as water skiing, fishing and rowing. Thirty kilometers (19 mi) from the mouth (at the junction of Five Head Creek) is the Ross River Dam, the major water storage for the urban areas.

The historic waterfront on Ross Creek, site of the original wharves and port facilities, has some old buildings mixed with the later modern skyline. However, the central city is dominated by the mass of red granite of Castle Hill, 286 meters (938 ft) high. There is a lookout at the summit giving panoramic views of the city and its suburbs, including Cleveland Bay and Magnetic Island. There are a number of parks scattered throughout the city, including three botanical gardens — Anderson Park, Queens Gardens and The Palmetum.

Photo of Castle Rock that Jackie took on the way to the airport

Jackie captured a picture of The Vista at the cruise terminal as we flew away from Townsville

First time flying on Quantas and we were served a meal on the 2 hour 45 minute flight. This is Lane’s Prosciutto salad

Jackie had Curry Chicken with Rice

This is what was the dessert in the box on the tray

Photo inside the Sydney Airport as we headed to the terminal exit

Photo of the Sydney Opera House from our hotel room

We saw this weird looking building when we were in Sydney the other day.

Quay Quarter Tower is a skyscraper located at 50 Bridge Street, Sydney, Australia. Built as the AMP Centre in 1976, the structure underwent a redevelopment from 2018 to 2021, which increased its height, introduced cantilevers, created additional office space, and modernized the tower’s overall form and design. The AMP Centre re-opened as Quay Quarter Tower in early 2022, and stands at a height of 216 meters (709 ft) with 54 floors.

It is the world’s first upcycled skyscraper retaining 68% of the existing buildings structure and named World Building of the Year at the 15th annual World Architecture Festival.

In 2013, Australian architectural practice BVN designed a new masterplan for the Quay Quarter Sydney precinct and a design envelope for a new tower. Together with AMP Capital and the City of Sydney, the BVN architects ran a design competition for Quay Quarter Tower. On 24 September 2014, the winning design from architect 3XN was revealed and BVN was appointed Executive Architect to collaborate with 3XN and develop their design concept for construction.

Approval for the project was finalized in November 2015 and construction began in early 2018.

Multiplex was appointed lead contractor and with the work involving a rebuild and reclad of the building’s entire exterior; increasing its height, incorporating additional floorspace, and modernizing its overall physical form, design and façade. The AMP Centre’s internal core, along with 66% of its existing columns, beams and slabs and 95% of its internal walls, were retained as part of the redevelopment. During initial stages of construction, the northern half of the original structure was dismantled, while the rest of the original exterior cladding was stripped off completely. Following this, a new northern section for the structure was gradually built, incorporating it with the existing core and the southern section of the building, which was also reclad in a corresponding new façade.

The redevelopment resulted in a new height of 216 m (709 ft) with 54 floors, a completely new interior layout with twice the amount of total floorspace, and a new cantilevered exterior design. During construction, key-tenant AMP relocated its headquarters in March 2018 into the AMP Building at 33 Alfred Street, while all other commercial tenants found premises elsewhere in the city. The building in its new form, now known as Quay Quarter Tower, was topped out in early 2021, before its completion in early 2022.

In November 2022, architects 3XN and BVN won the International High-Rise Award for Quay Quarter Tower, while in December of that year the building won the World Building of the Year Award at the World Architecture Festival.

In 2023 the tower received the award for the world’s best new tall building from the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH).

Owned by AMP Capital Wholesale Office Fund, Dexus Wholesale Property Fund and Rest, tenants include AMP, Corrs Chambers Westgarth, Deloitte, EQT and Johnson Winter Slattery.

Tomorrow, we start our three days in Sydney but not before I go a doctor’s appointment I made for tomorrow morning. In Papeete, Tahiti I was bitten by some bug, and I have not been able to get rid of these things that have decided to take up residence in my legs below my knees to my ankles and then also on my elbows and forearms. Twice I did a three-day course of steroids, and the things seemed to die and go away, only to return in two days. I have used everything I could get my hands on to cover my legs day and night, but nothing could stop these bugs. Yesterday in Airlie Beach we finally found Tea Tree Oil and I started using it last night and it appears to have stopped them, but I am still going in tomorrow to see if this physician can determine what this is. The ship doctor had zero clue. In Australia you have to see a primary care physician before you can see a dermatologist, so I am hoping the primary care physician can tell me what it is and what I need to do because my next step is a psychiatrist as these bugs are driving me crazy with the itching and pain they have caused since Tahiti. Fingers crossed for tomorrow so I can begin to really enjoy this World Cruise.

This day’s post on the ship would have taken me 4-5 hours to upload these photos. In this hotel room using the hotel Wi-Fi it took me five minutes to upload these photos.