The Smirkonian Sightseer

A Day At Sea

A day at sea aboard Koningsdam, so time to explore the ship…

 

Just in case you forget what day it is.

 

Konningsdam was built in 2016 and operated by Holland America Line.

 

Plenty of entertainment to choose from.

 

The World Stage.

 

Roof open over midships pool deck.

 

A feature of the Konningsdam is the stair case that extends out over the sides connecting decks 9 and 10.

 

During the morning we passaged through the Strait of Messina that connects the Tyrrhenian Sea to the north and the Ionian Sea to the south, catching sight of the Aeolian Islands, Sicily and the western tip of Calabria (the boot of Italy).

Passing the Aeolian Islands

 

Passing by Sicily

 

The Strait of Messina

 

Civitavecchia

The Italian cruise port of Civitavecchia is built on history and our departure point for three week cruise around the Mediterranean.

Fort Michelangelo

 

Fort Michelangelo

 

Porta Livorno is a very prestigious architectonical work by will of Pope Clemens XIII to connect Civitavecchia with its port.

 

Vanvitelli Fountain, a feature built into Civitavecchia’s defensive wall.

 

I have a fascination with tug boats.

 

MS Koningsdam, home for the next three weeks.

 

Kiningsdam departs Civitavecchia at sunset for Dubrovnik, Croatia.

Genoa

Although we could have travelled from Nice to Civitavecchia in one day, we decided to split the journey up with an overnight stop in Genoa.

 

 

A day trip to Cannes

During our week in Nice we did a day trip to Cannes. Popularly know for its fannual film festival, the most interesting part of Cannes is the older Le Suque area.

Cannes

 

Musee de la Castre

 

Musee de la Castre

 

Le Suque

 

Le Suque

 

Pina Colada

A week in Nice

We spent a week based in Nice, France. Our intention was to go to a variety of nearby towns along the Cote d’Azur. I don’t know whether it was jet-lag or what, but we only managed to visit Cannes. Here’s a selection of photos from that week….

Relaxing stroll through Castle Hill.

A refreshing artificial waterfall on a warm evening.

 

Beautiful toy cars for sale in the market.

It's selfie central at the sun sets over Nice.

The beach front along the Promenade des Anglais.

Meet the invisible man.

Dusk settles over Nice.

 

The alleyways of the old town. 

Love these little back alleys in the old town.

Travelling to Europe

During September and October 2018, Tony and I travel around the Mediterranean with our friends Michael and Abei. Over the next few weeks I’ll upload a few photos and some details about where we were.

Let’s start with the journey getting there.

LST>MEL>DXB>NCE

From Launceston, Tony and I travelled to Melbourne for the international flight to Dubai and then on to Nice. The last sector into Nice was interesting as there were about 100 people or less on the A380 flight. We saw more crew than passengers.

It’s time to go.

 

Qantas Dash-8 Launceston to Melbourne.

 

Flying over Melbourne

 

Arriving in Dubai at 5.15am. It’s 33 degrees.

 

Empty plane to Nice.

 

Flying over the Black Sea, Northern Turkey.

 

 

Next up… We spend a week exploring Nice, France.

Europe Tour coming soon

During September and October 2018 Tony and I travel around the Mediterranean with our friends Michael and Abei. Im still processing a million photos but I plan to have some of them posted soon. Stay tuned!

Little Blue Lake, just metres off the B82 between Derby and Gladstone, is a natural phenomenon resulting from the pioneering mining days of South Mount Cameron and the surrounding areas of the Far North East of Tasmania. Originally a mine hole, the lake reflects a vivid aqua blue from the minerals in its base.

Worst blogger ever

Grrr. I just realised I haven't posted to The Smirkonian for an entire year. This will change. I have some great photos from the pst 12 months to share and an exciting overseas adventure coming up later this year.

Stand by to be amazed!

Regards, Andy.

iPhone selection...

Today I spent a few moments looking back through the photos Id taken on my iPhone over the back 10 months. Here’s a few I picked out and posted to Instagram.

 

A post shared by Andy Shepherd (@smirkstas) onJun 21, 2017 at 4:12pm PDT

 

#tamarvalley

A post shared by Andy Shepherd (@smirkstas) onJun 21, 2017 at 4:19pm PDT

 

A post shared by Andy Shepherd (@smirkstas) onJun 21, 2017 at 4:27pm PDT

 

A post shared by Andy Shepherd (@smirkstas) onJun 21, 2017 at 4:32pm PDT

 

A post shared by Andy Shepherd (@smirkstas) onJun 21, 2017 at 4:37pm PDT

 

A post shared by Andy Shepherd (@smirkstas) onJun 21, 2017 at 4:52pm PDT

Let's get personal... (no not THAT close)

I’m not a fan of Facebook. I find the platform rather annoying. I resisted for many years but peer pressure won over. Most of my friends, particularly at work, were regularly conversing about someone’s post and I’d be in the dark and feel left out. One positive was I found long lost friends so all in all it’s a love hate relationship with FB.

On a daily basis I see people participating in these personality posts. Most are a load of rubbish. I’ve posted a few to FB but usually I just take a screen capture for my own amusement. Here’s a selection, hopefully not too revealing.

The Peloton - Left v Right

Autumn in the vines

This set taken at Marion’s Vineyard in Tasmania’s Tamar Valley.

Westmorland Falls

Explored the Westmorland Falls track in Tasmania’s Great Western Tiers region just south of Mole Creek. The walk was quite spectacular, however the falls are still showing signs of flood damage from last season.

Location and mapping details at the foot of this post.

 

 

 

From Mole Creek, travel about 6 km south along Caveside Road to a T-junction. Go right into Wet Cave Road, which is unsealed. The Wet Cave reserve is soon reached straight ahead and you take the left turn and continue on until you reach a small car park on the right with a sign Mole Creek Karst Conservation Area and Westmorland Falls. Large rocks mark the track entrance. About 10 minutes drive from Mole Creek.

Historical Launceston photo

Found this unusual image of Launceston hidden in my great grandfather’s photo collection.

Taken around the early 1900’s, it’s unusual to see an image of this perspective as long lenses were not around in those days. I’m guessing the image has been heavily cropped from the glass negative.

Probably taken from the Launceston suburb of Trevalyn, the foreground shows shipping berthed at Kings Wharf and the North East River and Lower Charles Street behind it. In the town centre is the clock tower in Cameron Street and the top end of Elizabeth Street. In the background is the Ben Lomond mountain range, these days a national park.

I’m assuming the photo is by Charles A Hart, my great grandfather who was a founding member of the Northern Tasmania Camera Club.