TUESDAY, FEB 9TH--BRISBANE

What a great day we had here in Brisbane!!! This morning we sailed from the ocean into Brisbane Bay and on up the Brisbane River. The river was lined with industry as you will see in my photos. We docked at a very nice new cruise terminal but the big cruise ships will not be able to get this close to Brisbane as they will not fit under the bridge (also pictured). Regent had free shuttle buses from terminal to city for those not on tour. We were booked on the “Highlights of Brisbane and Lone Pine”. So we boarded a bus at 10am and headed past city to our first stop, The Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary. Here there a approx 130 koalas, plus kangaroos, wallabies, emus, and other Australian animals. For a change the weather cooperated and we had a great time. The koalas were so cute. For $16 Rebecca got to “cuddle” one (it’s name was “Sprite”) and I got pictures of it. Koalas sleep over 21 hours a day as the eucalyptus leaves they eat requires a lot of energy for them to digest. How they sleep up in the trees without falling out I will never know. The kangaroos were also very neat animals. We could walk out in a field with them and try to feed them some pellets. You should have seen Rebecca trying not to step in all the kangaroo do-do. We were told to stoop over to their level when feeding them or they might try kicking us. I fully grown (6 foot) red kangaroo can kill a human by kicking them with its back legs. I got REAL low! I hope you enjoy the pictures of these animals. I even got a picture of a “joey”, kangaroo kid, nursing. Looks pretty big to be still nursing though. The emus would walk right up to you. They can run 50 mph for short distances so are really fast. After 2 hours at the sanctuary we headed to Brisbane for a thorough tour of this beautiful city. It is surrounded on 3 sides by Brisbane River. It is a very clean city and all the Aussies are very friendly.
We were suppose to sail at 6pm but Captain just made PA saying we have another medical emergency so will be delayed a half hour or so. They just sent a stretcher team to a suite. The ambulance is on the way. We will be at sea the next two days enroute to Cairns, Australia. We enjoyed the formal night last night and the show was very good. Tonight’s show is the two professional dancers and ship’s singers and dancers. I made a request with the chef for fried oysters for my dinner tonight. Does not look like I will get today’s pictures uploaded until tomorrow. I promise they will be worth waiting for. You should be able to view them tomorrow evening, your time.