February 19, 2023 - Sunday - Mooloolaba

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Wednesday, February 19, 2023 – Mooloolaba 

This port was not on our original itinerary. Initially, we were scheduled to be in Brisbane. Mooloolaba (mu  lu  lahbah) is about 60 miles north of Brisbane and is another tender port. This time it is about a 30-minute ride between the ship and where we can dock the tender, whereas, in Geelong, we were only about 10 minutes from ship to dock. 

A lovely Sunrise. 

And, the sun is UP

We have opted for an optional excursion today. We’ll drive into what are referred to as the hinterlands. We’ll go up to a village (Montville) that overlooks the coast from about 1,400 feet. Montville is a quaint little village that focuses on boutique shops and restaurants. Because of the views and the landscape, it is also a destination for weddings [Hinterland Weddings]. There are also wineries in the area, and we’ll be doing some wine tasting this afternoon.

Interesting mountains along the coast

A lake due to a dam

 

We started with a latte and fruit scone. The coffee was good, the scone very good. Then we wandered a few shops and bought macadamia brittle and ginger cookies. It will be fun to share these with our friends on board. A little after noon, we headed for the winery where we were supposed to also be tasting local cheese. The cheese didn’t happen, but they did provide some chips and dip that weren’t bad. We had a choice between a flight of wine or a flight of their beer. I took the wine, Russ took the beer. Wine was okay but not great. Beer was okay and the ginger beer was really good. 

Bloom of a ginger plant. Many varieties, only a few edible.

Amazing staghorn ferns on these trees

View from Montville down to the coast

View from the winery and the unusual mountains.

Although there are kangaroos in this area, we were late enough in the day that they had already moved into the shade so there were no sightings. Back to the ship and we set sail about 5:30.

Tomorrow is another day at sea, and we should be at Whitsunday Islands on Tuesday. We started in the Atlantic, moved into the Caribbean, then the Pacific. We were in the Pacific for a long time. On leaving New Zealand we were in the Tasman Sea. Now we are in the Coral Sea and heading toward numerous other seas and gulfs.