FINAL AWARDS

SPECIAL AWARDS FOR WORLD TOUR

AWARD                         GOLD                   SILVER                 BRONZE

Best place to live              Killcare                  York                       Uppsala

Worst place to live            Colon                    Budapest                NA

Best place to holiday         Fuschl                    York                     Brig

Worst place to holiday      Colon                     Amsterdam           NA

Best national trains            Korea                     Austria                 England

Worst national trains         Netherlands            NA                       NA

Best train ride                  Virgin to Holyhead  Russia to Moscow  NA

Worst train ride                Brussels to Amsterdam  NA                NA

Most scenic train ride       Bernina Express     Lake Baikal          Oban

Best free train meal          Virgin                     Moscow                York-London

Best Metro                        Seoul                      Moscow                Munich

Worst Metro                      London                  Paris                      NA

Best railway station           Busan                     Seoul                    York

Worst railway station         Beijing West          Xi’An                   St Petersburg

Fastest train                        TGV France           Thalys                  Seoul-Busan

Slowest train                       Bernina Express     Golden Pass        Glacier Express

Best city for bikes               York                        Munich               Uppsala

Worst city for bikes           London                     Dublin                 Amsterdam

Best bus trip                        RoamWales             Incheon               Ireland

Worst bus trip                     Vienna                     London               Scarborough

Best value bus trip             Incheon                    RoamWales         Le Puy

Best ferry                           Stockholm-Turku     Rotterdam Hull   Holyhead

Worst ferry                        Tianjin-Incheon

Best rental car ride            La Chaise Dieu        Scarborough        Derry

Best tour guide                  Emma-Mongolia      Joan-Drogheda    Vadim-Ekaterinburg

Best public toilets              Uppsala museum     Busan                  Appleby

Worst public toilets           Sydney Central         Geneva               Cologne

Best Post Office                 York                        Drogheda           Incheon

Worst Post Office               Stockholm                Helsinki             Edinburgh

Tidiest city                          Savannah                 Fuschl                 Brig

Hottest city                          Klagenfurt               Colon                  Suva

Coldest city                          London                   Galway               Carlisle

Wettest country                United Kingdom       Ireland                  NA

Driest country                   China                       Korea                    Denmark

Most spectacular view      Massif Central          Switzerland          Austria

Best Hotel                         Copenhagen            Fuschl                   Brig

                                               Clarion                    Mohrenwirt         Schweizerhof

Worst Hotel                      Chur                         Dublin                  Vienna

                                               Schweizerhaus     North Star             Leonardo

Best private stay              Drogheda                  Palmerston N.       York

Best B. and B.                 Derry                         London                 Belgium

                                               Rose Park              Rachel’s                   MV Holland

Best lake                           Fuschl                      Constance              Baikal

Best concert                      Moscow                   Mongolia               Vienna

Best play                           The Mousetrap         NA                         NA

Best castle                         The Residenz           Edinburgh              Hampton Court

Best abbey                         Melk                        La Chaise Dieu      

Best cathedral                    York                        Ulm                         Derry

Best church                       St Cianan’s             Auckland MOTAT  Marsden Rd

Best ship                            Bahia                       Manet                      Hansa Salzburg

Best crew                          Hansa Salzburg        Manet                      Bahia

Best captain                       Michael                    Manet                      Bahia

Best ship’s steward           Tekabweh                 Ricky                      Bahia

Best street music               Helsinki                    Busan                      Stockholm

Best serendipity                Stockholm Opera      Derry bands            Laurel et al

Worst panic                    St Petersburg         St Petersburg                Tianjin

                                           Departure               Arrival                         Ferry wharf

Best bush walk             Corrie Fee                    La Chaise Dieu        Fuschl

FINAL ITINERARY 22/11/2012

WORLD TOUR BY SHIP, TRAIN, BUS, BIKE, FERRY,TAXI, FEET 2012

VERSION 10/5/2013

LEAVE KILLCARE                                                            MARCH 27 

         EMBARK MANET          MARCH 27

         MELBOURNE               MARCH 29

         NAPIER                      APRIL 4 (8)

         TAURANGA                  APRIL 5

         PANAMA                     APRIL 19 (24)

         KINGSTON                   APRIL 19 (25X)

         SAVANNAH                  APRIL 23 (28)

         PHILADELPHIA            APRIL 25 (30)

         TILBURY                      MAY 6         (X)                          

            ROTTERDAM                MAY 9                                  (44 DAYS)

YORK         AS BASE                         12 DAYS                  MAY 10 TO 13;18 TO 24; J 5           

LONDON RACHEL’S 10 BEECROFT ROAD BROCKLEY      MAY 14 TO 17

         WHITBY (DAY TRIP)                  MAY 20

         ROBIN HOOD BAY (DAY TRIP)    MAY 21           

BELGIUM & NETHERLANDS                 8 DAYS                   MAY 25 TO JUNE 1

         AMSTERDAM TO BRUSSELS BIKE TOUR                     MAY 26 TO JUNE (2)

YORK  SKIPTON CANAL BOAT              3 DAYS                    JUNE 1 TO 3

CARLISLE         TRAVELODGE              1 NIGHT                   JUNE 4

YORK                                                1 NIGHT                  JUNE 5

IRELAND                                          9 DAYS                    JUNE 6 TO 14

         DUBLIN               HAZELBROOK HOUSE                        JUNE 6

         DROGHEDA          PLATIN ROAD 2 DAYS                  JUNE 7 TO 8

         DERRY         ROSE PARK HOUSE 2 DAYS                  JUNE 9 TO10

         DUBLIN NORTH STAR HOTEL      4 DAYS                  JUNE 11 TO 14

CARDIFF (ROAMWALES TOURS)            5 DAYS                  JUNE 15 TO 19

SCOTLAND                                        6 DAYS                  JUNE 20 TO 25

         MONIFIETH PREMIER INN           3 DAYS                  JUNE 20 TO 22

         EDINBURGH PREMIER INN         3 DAYS                  JUNE 23 TO 25

CNL TRAIN PARIS-MUNICH                  1 NIGHT                 JUNE 26

SALZBURG (FUSCHL AM SEE)              9 DAYS                  JUNE 27 TO JULY 5

         KLAGENFURT         (LIEBETEGGER)                         JUNE 29 TO JULY 1

IRON MAN RACE                  (1 DAY)                      JULY 1

MUNICH         HOTEL PETRI                 5 DAYS                  JULY 6 TO 10

CHUR            HOTEL SCHWEIZERHAUS 4 DAYS                  JULY 11 TO 14

BRIG DELONDRES SCHWEIZERHOF       3 DAYS                  JULY 15 TO 17

VIENNA         LEONARDO                     5 DAYS                  JULY 18 TO 22

HEIDELBERG PENSION  SCHMIDT        1 DAY                    JULY 23

PARIS         CAMBRAI–GARE DU NORD 5 DAYS                  JULY 24 TO 28

FRANCE       LA CHAISE DIEU             11 DAYS                 JULY 29 TO AUGUST 8

CNL COLOGNE TO COPENHAGEN         1 NIGHT                  AUGUST 9

SCANDINAVIA                                   16 DAYS                 AUGUST 9 TO 24

         COPENHAGEN CLARION 10, GOTHENBURG FIRST G 11, OSLO PERMINALEN 12,13,16, FLAM HEIMLY 14, BERGEN FJORD VISION 15, STOCKHOLM PHILIP'S FLAT 17-19, VIKING FERRY 20, HELSINKI FLAT 21 TO 24

RUSSIA                                             5 DAYS                  AUGUST 25 TO 29

         ST PETERSBURG - IMPL PK        2 NIGHTS                           25 TO 26

         MOSCOW - COSMOS                   3 NIGHTS                           27 TO 29

TRANS-SIBERIAN                           15 DAYS                     AUGUST 30 TO SEPT 13

         TRAIN         060                           1 NIGHT                         30

         YEKATERINBURG                       3 NIGHTS                           31 TO 2

         TRAIN         002 ROSSIYA          2 NIGHTS               SEPTEM  3 TO4

         IRKUTSK                                  3 NIGHTS               SEPTEM  5 TO 7

MONGOLIA                                         4 DAYS                  SEPTEM  9 TO 12

         TRAIN         004 CHINESEK4      1 NIGHT                 SEPTEM  8

         ULAAN BAATOR                         4 NIGHTS                SEPTEM  9 TO 12

         TRAIN 024                               1 NIGHT                  SEPTEM  13

CHINA                                               6 DAYS                  SEPTEM 14 TO 19

         BEIJING – CHONGWENMEN         2 NIGHTS                SEPTEM 14 TO 15

         TRAIN Z53                                1 NIGHT                 SEPTEM 16

         XIAN – XIAN HOTEL                    1 NIGHT                 SEPTEM 17

         TRAIN Z20                                1 NIGHT                  SEPTEM 18

         BEIJING  - CHONGWENMEN         1 NIGHT                  SEPTEM 19                 

JINCHON FERRY                                 1 DAY                     SEPTEM 20                 

KOREA                                             18 DAYS                  SEPT 21 TO OCT 8

         INCHEON - PARADISE                                                      21 TO 24

         SEOUL         - MERCURE AMBASSADOR                              25 TO 29        

         BUSAN         - HAN SUNG M (4) BUSAN TOURIST (5)           30 TO OCT 8      

SHIP HANSA SALZBURG TO AUCKLAND 18 DAYS                  OCT 9 TO 27

FIJI – SUVA (DID NOT LEAVE SHIP)                                     OCT 24

AUCKLAND                                        9 DAYS                    OCT 28 TO NOV 5

SHIP BAHIA TO SYDNEY                      4 DAYS                    NOV 6 TO 9

SYDNEY DISEMBARK PORT BOTANY         8.30AM                NOV 10

KILLCARE ARRIVE HOME                        12.30PM              NOV 10

TOTAL         TIME - 7 MONTHS & 12 DAYS, OR 32 WEEKS & 4 DAYS, OR 228 DAYS

TOTAL NUMBER OF COUNTRIES VISITED - 26

BLOG URL – www.lynandmalcolmworldtour.blogspot.com

EMAIL – mccolless@gmail.com                  PHONE 0447837898

ADDRESS – 26 PAULINE AVE KILLCARE 2257

AFTERTHOUGHTS

DAY 230 SATURDAY NOVEMBER 10 HOME

The cranes worked all night and when we woke it was a fine, cool, sunny day.  We packed our bags and watched the containers going on and off.

The officials boarded at 7.30am so we had breakfast and were able to get to the exit gate by 8.30.

The gatekeeper rang a taxi for us  and one eventually arrived driven by an Indian electronics engineer working weekends as a second job.  He was very happy to bring up his children in Australia and looked after us well.  We climbed onto the 9.45 Wyong train and got to Woy Woy at 11, where Evelyn was waiting with her new VW Golf. She took us to the ATM and the supermarket and finally to 26 Pauline Ave just before noon.

We made it!
First priority was to charge the car's flat battery so we could drive to church tomorrow and meet our rostered obligations to drive the bus and serve morning tea.

DAY 229 FRIDAY NOVEMBER 9 LAST DAY AT SEA

We are due to dock at 10.30pm tonight and the captain was advised that immigration would come aboard at 10am tomorrow to clear us.  The day started calm but quickly became chilly, windy and rainy. At lunchtime we saw hundreds of birds overtaking the ship going west.  We presumed they were shearwaters heading for Tasmania.

By 2pm the sky was clearing and the white caps were disappearing so at 3.30 we took a last stroll to the focsle. We looked for land and smelled the air for eucalyptus but we were still well away from Sydney.

At tea time we started to see other ships and then watched our last sunset over the sea.

 By 9pm we could see the coastal lights.  We watched eagerly as the ship was piloted through the heads at Botany Bay and drifted into the dock at 11.30pm.

DAY 228 THURSDAY NOVEMBER 8 GOOD WEATHER

A bright calm day. We walked around the deck straight after breakfast and saw the ladder for pilots.

This ship carries a lot more containers and the refrigerated ones need cables and power outlets.

We were not invited down to the engine room but we took this photo through an open hatch.

The large cylinder is the exhaust pipe that sends smoke up the chimney.
The mooring ropes have not been put away because this is a short hop between ports.  The crew lah them in lines as there is more room on this bigger ship.  On the previous ship they were stacked up in a spiral on a pallet to save space.  We are learning the ropes. The wind is behind us so there is very little headwind on the fo'c's'le.  We see one or two birds each day  and we saw some more blows which were probably whales today. 

DAY 227 WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 7 EXPLORING

The ship was rolling during the night and we woke to a cloudy, damp day. We were following the coast up to Cape Reinga so land was visible for much of the day.  A blow of steam was visible at 9.30am but too far away to tell whether it was a whale or a porpoise.
We have no large cranes on this ship so the view from our cabin is unrestricted and makes up for the fact that we have not been invited up to the bridge.
After lunch we were given the obligatory "Familiarisation" safety lesson by a Filipino Officer. After tea we went for a walk along the main deck.

Since there were no crew outside we were required to sign off by ringing the bridge when we cam back inside.

DAY 226 TUESDAY NOVEMBER 6 LAST LEG

We spent the last of our New Zealand cash in McDonalds and walked down to the dock at 9pm.  The shuttle bus took us to the Bahia and we proceeded to the ship's office where the Third Officer looked after our boarding formalities.  The Immigration Agent was the same one who checked our papers when we arrived in Auckland and recognised us.  We took our luggage up in the lift and checked out the Owner's Cabin.  It had a lounge area with TV and DVD player,

 a desk area,

two threequarter size beds in a separate room (one with privacy curtains)

and the usual ensuite bathroom.

 The most spacious yet.  The ship is about five years old and in excellent condition.  It is 250 metres long so much bigger than the others we have been on.  It is run by Hamburg Sud.
While waiting for lunch at noon we watched the crew practise launching the lifeboat.  Here it is being raised back on board after a short trip around the dock area. It seemed to take a very long time for them to do all that.

We could see North Head on one side of the ship.

And the city on the other side.

The projected departure time was 10.30pm but we actually left at 6.30pm, which was surprising given that we had been told in April that Auckland wharf was shut down by a strike over loading speeds and that slowed our passage to the other New Zealand ports.

We looked back at the cranes that had handled our containers.

We proceeded slowly and a group of racing yachts caught us and turned back around a buoy.

Some canoeists were going the opposite direction.

Auckland Harbour is popular for after work recreation in small craft.  We played the Maori CD we bought at Auckland Museum as we left New Zealand and it finished with Now Is The Hour as we came out of the harbour.
All the senior officers were Polish and spoke to each other in Polish, but used very good English when talking to us.  The Captain's name was Marek and we lent him our copy of the Tin Drum as he came from Gdansk.  The crew were Filipinos.
Hamish had told us that 9 days in New Zealand would not be a problem and he was right as we had a great time.