By Bob Van Leer

  (SINGAPORE, Jan. 4, 2002) - We flew into this island nation yesterday after a 27 hour trip from Medford. We will board a cruise ship, the Crown Odyssey, here but first we have a couple of days to explore Singapore.

  This is a prosperous island nation of 4.3 million people and is definitely not "third world". A publication of the U. S. CIA says Singapore has the fifth highest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the world.

  The plane flights we took were pretty much on schedule. Out of the 27 hours of the trip we were in the air about 18 hours. This was the first air trip we had taken since Sept. 11 and we wondered about what problems we might encounter. At Medford we had to take off our shoes. Other than that, there was a little rerouting at the terminal and there were Medford National Guard troops in evidence. We had expected more.

By Bob Van Leer

  (BALI, INDONESIA, Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2002) - Our ship dropped anchor this morning at the fabled island of Bali.

  Bali is lush and green and its eastern end where we are anchored is dominated by Mt. Agung, a 3142 meter high volcano. Bali is made up of a series of volcanoes, some of them still active. This island of 3 million people is part of Indonesia, the fourth largest country in the world.

  We arrived in Bali after a two-day 985 mile sail from Singapore. We boarded our cruise ship, Crown Odyssey, Saturday morning.

By Bob Van Leer

  (KOMODO ISLAND, Indonesia, Wed. Jan. 9, 2002) - Today we went for a long hike in the woods to see the fabled Komodo dragon in his lair.
We anchored in the island harbor after an overnight run from Bali.

  There is no good dock even for our small tender boats, so we took the tenders to near shore, then transferred into zodiacs and ran up on the beach. Betty took a pass on this one.

  On the beach we were formed into groups of 20 led by a ranger. The island was established as a national park in 1980 and is also a World Heritage site.

By Bob Van Leer

  (DARWIN, Australia - Jan. 12, 2002) - This is the northernmost city in Australia with a population of about 90,000. The locals refer to this part of the state as "The Top End".

  This is tropical country. We took a tour to a Kakadu National park, a 19,000 sq. km. park 103 nautical miles east of Darwin. We flew there in a twin-engine Beechcraft Baron with just one other couple. There were four other planes on the trip.

  The area east of Darwin is a flat swamp. The Adelaide River flows through it in a series of sinuous bends. About 30 miles east the country rises straight up in sandstone scarps.
Rivers drop over the edge, making some dramatic falls. Two we flew by were Jim Jim Falls and Twin Falls. They are not much visited as the only practical way to view them is from the air.

  From the air we could see the Crocodile Hotel, built in the shape of a crocodile, but this is visible only from the air. Mostly the landscape is deserted and there is one paved road through the area.

By Bob Van Leer

  ( CAIRNS, Australia - Thursday, Jan. 17, 2002) - After three days at sea we arrived in Cairns, a city of about 130,000 people, the most northerly city on the east coast of Australia.

  The channel between Australia and New Guinea is narrow and shallow, so much so that there are buoys marking the channel. A pilot is needed.

  We turned south and are slowly sailing down the Great Barrier Reef, of which more later.

  This part of the coast is almost deserted. There is no habitation visible on shore. We are sailing between the reef and shore, but before arriving at Cairns we head out to open sea to dump waste.

By Bob Van Leer

  (BRISBANE, Australia, Tuesday, Jan. 22, 2002) - The past couple of days we were exploring the Great Barrier Reef.

  This is an immense reef system that extends for 1250 miles from south of Brisbane paralleling the coast north to Papau New Guinea. It is five to 45 miles across and contains about 750 small tropical islands.

  The reef is not continuous, as there are passages through it. It is claimed to be the largest structure built by living things. Uncounted millions of coral polyps live and die and their cast-off debris forms the basis of the reef. The system supports over 1500 species of tropical fish and a myriad of plants and animals including anemones, shellfish, turtles and morays.

  Our ship, the Crown Odyssey, anchored in Cid harbor, at one time used as a staging area to assemble the fleet for the Battle of the Coral Sea in 1942, one of the early turning points in the Pacific war.

By Bob Van Leer

  (SYDNEY, Australia, Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2002) - This city of 4 million people is the largest in Australia. It is more than 20% of the population of the whole country (19.1 million).

  We are definitely out of the tropics now. Still the climate is moderate enough that palm trees grow easily.

  This is essentially the end of one cruise and the start of the next. Capt. Erik Bjurstedt said there are 300 new passengers coming aboard (And about that many leaving.)

  On the first leg of the cruise there were 920 total passengers, compared to a theoretical maximum of 1050.

  The breakdown is 480 passengers from the U. S., 357 from Great Britain and the balance scattered around the world.

By Bob Van Leer

  (MELBOURNE, Australia, Friday, Jan. 25, 2002) - This morning our grandson, Rob Johnson, met us at the dock to spend the day visiting.

  Rob is a graduate of Gold Beach High and is now a student in Melbourne at LaTrobe University Graduate School of Business.

  Rob Just started here and has attended classes for only two weeks. He is studying for a Master of Business Administration degree (MBA).

  The graduate business school is large enough to have a separate campus near the main undergraduate campus. The school has about 150-175 students. Rob has a place in a dormitory for graduate students and seems to be enjoying the school.

By Bob Van Leer

  (HOBART, Tasmania, Australia, Monday, Jan. 28, 2002) - This is the smallest of the six states (and one territory) that make up Australia. It is a triangular island off the southeast coast of the mainland.

  Approximately half of the state's 360,000 people live in Hobart on the south coast. We took a bus tour from Hobart to a number of stops around south Tasmania.

  At one of the stops at a private zoo we were able to see a Tasmanian Devil, of which I have heard over the years. The devil is about the size and shape of a small dog. It is black, sometimes with white stripes across its chest and back. It has a reputation as a fierce predator with a nasty disposition although one raised at the zoo on a bottle was almost cuddly.

By Bob Van Leer

  (MILFORD SOUND, New Zealand, Thursday, Jan. 31, 2001) - Early this morning we entered the majestic Milford Sound, a glacier-carved fiord on the southwest coast of South Island, New Zealand.

  The sound is breathtaking. It is about 20 kilometers long and up to 1200 feet deep. Milford Sound is dominated by Mitre Peak which is 5560 feet high and drops nearly straight down to the salt water.

  There are waterfalls up to 500 feet high, but there is not a lot of water now as there haven't been many rains. Betty and I were here once before, in 1988, and drove in over a low-standard road from the east. At that time we took a tour of the sound on a local boat.

  Three cruise ships entered the sound this morning. The Pacific Sky was just coming out as we entered at 7:30 a.m. As we traveled up the sound we met and passed the Regal Princess, which was docked near us in Hobart, Tasmania. We saw a few seals and these appeared to be about three feet long.

By Bob Van Leer

  (TAURANGA, New Zealand, Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2002) - In the past several days, we visited three small New Zealand cities and the capital of the country, Wellington.

  Today we went on a tour to Rotorua, New Zealand's version of Yellowstone Park. There are several geyser areas and we were taken on a tour of one that included steam, bubbling mud pots and a sulfur smell. Pohuta geyser, which erupts occasionally, put on a demonstration of almost continuing eruptions while we were there. At the geyser area was a display house to show New Zealand's national bird, the kiwi. It is a nocturnal bird and the house was dark with a glass window to a kiwi living area. A guide in the house pointed to a round-feathered ball in the corner and said it was a kiwi sleeping so I had to take her word for it.

By Bob Van Leer

  (AUCKLAND, New Zealand, Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2002) - We disembarked the Crown Odyssey yesterday after 31 days aboard.

  It is a good ship and a good cruise. Since leaving Singapore we sailed 3028 nautical miles (1.15 statute miles to a nautical mile).

  We were to spend two days in Auckland before returning home. We were bused to our hotel, the Ascott Metropolis, for the short stay.